Mission: Mission Bay
my favorite lures by drew clark
San Diego's own Mission Bay is one of my favorite local fisheries. The quality of the spotted bay bass (spotted sand bass) is unmatched in southern California and this shallow bay area can provide some outstanding bass action on lightweight gear. It's been said many times but it bears repeating, a spotted bay bass, pound for pound and ounce for ounce, will fight harder and dirtier than any other target in Mission Bay.
One of the more common questions seen on the discussion boards or heard at seminars is how to effectively target this species. To help answer this I've emptied out my tackle boxes and found my favorite lures for spotted bay bass in Mission Bay. Most of these will work wherever you find spotties but this is my hot list for the area in question. Most of these lures were someone else's choice that they introduced me to. I'll give credit where credit is due - I wouldn't be fishing kayaks today if it weren't for the fantastic group of generous people who abound in this sport. These are not the only ways to fish the bay, not by any means. Other anglers have great skill in other styles such as dropshotting, small irons or live bait. These are the techniques I use and they work for me, I hope they will work for you, too.
First, a bit about our adversary, the venerable paralabrax maculatofasciatus. Most of the data collected on this species was done by Dr. Larry Allen and is now a part of the Scientific Angler documentation project available from the Nearshore Marine Fish Research Program website. It consists of over 80 pages of fantastic information on many of SoCal's favorite gamefish, not the least of which is the Spotted Bay Bass. Known to feed mainly on crustaceans, small fish and and clams. In Mission Bay they tend to eat a great deal of the small razor clams and will often disgorge a small shellfish buffet onto the deck of your boat while you try to remove a hook.
We've got a lot of lures to cover so let's get started. These are not listed in any particular order but are grouped by types.
Plastics
Grubs
Plastic bait subject number one is our friend the rootbeer/gold flake
grub. Personally, I use the Berkley 4" Power Grub because of it's
density and resistance to tearing. They've got a good long tail and will
take a beating like few other grubs I've found. When fishing for spotties
the fortitude of your bait is definitely something to consider - they
are voracious and wicked fighters. Another popular brand is the Yamamoto
grub from the makers of the Senko. These grubs, while very soft and with
fantastic action in their long tails, tend to be shredded in short order
by our grumpy target. These are easy baits to fish, maybe the easiest
to get bit on, too. I fish mine on a 1/4 or 3/8oz Owner darter style jig
head with the pictured weedless insert glued into place (a tiny drop of
super glue does the trick). Because of the small size and light weight
of a 1/4 oz. lead I will often use a small spinning rig consisting of
a Shimano Stradic 1000 reel with 6# test and a 7' light action rod to
throw this bait out as far as I can. The lighter head is matched to the
smaller bait so that our grub isn't overpowered by weight thereby losing
action under water. Letting this bait hit the bottom is key. Often I will
fish this bait veeerry slooowly, bringing in 12 inches of line at a time
and pausing often. The lightweight tail is crucial here, it flutters in
current and when you move it above the bait moreso than behind it. San
Diego fishing guide Bill Schaefer tells me this looks like the clams underwater
when they are feeding with their tongues. The bite on this bait will often
feel like a snag at first, then the snag will start fighting back, so
when in doubt - crank down and set the hook!
Swimbaits
A second type of plastic, perhaps considered a more "traditional"
plastic bait, is the swimbait. Many companies produce about every color
imagineable of this fish-like swimmer. Again, people have their favorite
producers, companies like Fishtrap, Aztec, MC, SR Plastics and Big Hammer
and I'll leave this one up to you to decide. I like colors more than manufacturers
so that's what I'll share with you. Fishing these 4" baits on a matched
leadhead is fairly straightforward. Depending on the bottom your fishing,
be it sand, eel grass, clam beds or rocks, you can adapt this bait very
easily to catching fish. On sandy bottoms I tend to swim and drop, swim
and drop, so that my bait is hitting the bottom, stirring up a trail and
making a general nuisance of itself. Drawing attention, as it were. Fishing
over weeds, while a frustrating experience when learning, has paid off
big for me. Knowing your depth is crucial, as is knowing how fast your
bait is sinking, a few quick tests at the side of your boat will give
you some information to work with then it's off to the races. Toss the
swimbait out over the target area, let is sink to the appropriate depth
and bring it back. Add action by twitching your rod tip if you like but
keep it just above the weeds and draw the big spotties out of hiding to
ambush your bait. Often you will get hit on the drop in these situations
so be ready for a strike as soon as the bait hits the water! Similar rules
apply to fishing rocky areas, try and avoid dropping -into- the rocks
but keep just above or next to them. The bite on this bait depends on
how your fishing it. Like the grub, a bottom dragging cast can feel snagged
when the spottie picks it up; when you're cranking over grass or rocks
you'll have not doubts about the fish on the other end! I prefer two colors
over all in these areas - rainbow trout and a green and red clear/flake
pattern often called "Christmas tree". Many tournaments have
been won on these baits by anglers dedicated to learning the finesse techniques
required to adapt this bait for the different areas of the bay.
Crawdads
This bait was "discovered" by my good friend Ed Whited. He has
covered the use of this bait so thoroughly in his "Docks Fishing
for Dummies" article that I won't spend much time on it. I will,
however, mention a different way that I use this bait and show a modification
I've made. The Storm Rattlin' Craw is a fantastic plastic if ever there
was such a rhyming gem. Pinchers and legs aflutter, hollow tube body just
begging to be filled with Hot Sauce or Smelly Jelly, and the weight in
back to create a lifelike fall and dance across the bay's floor. Fishing
this near structure, as Ed details, is incredibly productive for those
lunkers hiding in the shadows. I move this bait out into open water and
drop it to the bottom on a deadstick. That is to say, I fill it with Hot
Sauce, drop the bait to the bottom and turn on a clicker. Fire and forget.
As I move, it moves. As I drift, it drifts. This is an effective bait
for bouncing along behind you as you work an area for fish - in tournaments
this bait picked up one of my final spotties that made the cull. I like
this plastic! If you click on my thumbnail there you can see the modification
I mentioned. 30# test spiderwire is tied to the shaft of the leadhead
hook. (a 1/2 oz football jig head) and it leads to a size 1 octopus hook
that I bury in the claw. This was born of too many short-strikes ripping
claws off my crawdads. This is a worthwhile, if not laborious, addition
to this bait. The bite, when deadsticked, is going to be out of your control
- set your drags or clicker tight enough to set the hook but give the
fish enough room to start pulling line if she needs to. Check your bait
from time to time to make sure it's clear of weeds.
Crankbaits
These are probably my favorite bait, but don't let that persuade you in
any way. I'm a fast angler, I like to cover a lot of water and give most
areas a quick chance to impress me or I'm moving on to find something
else. Crankbaits, and the next bait, spinnerbaits, allow me to fish in
an ADD kind of way. I know that I miss a great number of fish by doing
this and a slower paced angler may find those fish. Another thing I like
about crankbaits is that it can be an incredibly easy bait to throw. Paul
Weintraub introduced me to crankbaits by giving me this sage advice on
how to work the lure: "Throw it out there and wind it in." What
can I say, it worked and I was hooked on crankin'.
Excalibur Fat Free Fry
The first bait pictured here is the Fat Free Fry from Excalibur. This
is a smaller crank that dives to about 6' and is great for some of the
shallower areas of the bay. My rule of thumb is something like this: If
the water is 12' deep, use a crankbait that can dive to 12'. If it's not
hitting the bottom or snagging the occasional weed then it's not deep
enough. Like I said with the grub, when this bait hits the bottom it stirs
up silt and makes itself known to patroling fish. These spotties are aggressive
and announcing your presence in this way can lead to hard strikes. Devin
Harmon, four-time kayak fishing tournament winner, will tell you that
if you're not hitting the bottom then point your rod down into the water,
as deep as you can, in an effort to get it there. This tactic was used
by Arvin Reyes in the first annual Kayak Fishing Classic last year and
he took home a new Prowler for his attention to detail. The Fat Free Fry
comes in larger sizes as well and they dive to different depths. I prefer
the firetiger pattern on this bait and I fish it any style from in stop-and-go
jerking to a fast grind. The bite comes on the grind more often than not
and this is another bait that you will know when a fish hits it. Since
the lure tends to be moving rather rapidly through the water the spottie
has to make a charge at it. When you're cranking in and you suddenly find
your rod tip bending towards the center of the earth - you're bit. Dealing
with treble hooks doesn't have to be a painful experience for you or the
fish - if you're concerned at your own ability to remove the hooks quickly
and without damaging the fish then simply crimp down the barbs on the
hooks. They'll still hold your fish as long as you keep pressure on it
and you will have an easier time releasing the spottie to fight again.
Berkley Frenzy
This is the one everyone talks about - the Frenzy. Often you'll hear conversations
about a days fishing and this lure will come up more than any other in
Mission Bay. Again, we go to Devin Harmon who found this bait. The consistancy
of this bait is astounding. It will almost always catch spotties if there
are spotties to be caught. Trolling or casting this is a full on fish
finding wonder. Diving to a maximum depth of 12' is can seem like this
lure was designed for Mission Bay, the majority of which varies between
10 and 14 feet deep. Winner of tournaments, time after time, this lure
deserves a place in the kayak fishing hall of fame. It used to be the
only crankbait worth talking about, but Berkley has stopped production
on this lure and the stores are running out of them. This pictured color,
Berkley color 232, is now gone from Cabelas - the one great source for
stocking up. The search for the crankbait that will replace this is already
on but I have my doubts on whether or not it will be found.
Spinnerbaits
Last, but certainly not the least, is the spinnerbait. I've covered the use of this bait extensively in an article dedicated to this one weird lure so I won't go into much detail other than to say try them. Great fun, the most freight-train style strikes from the spotties and they look you pulled them off a Christmas tree. This one in the picture has the original skirt replaced with a really beefy skirt consisting of the original chartreuse/white rubber skirt doubled up with a firetiger rubber skirt. The two skirts give the body a bit more presence and make it look more tempting overall. Check out my whole article on spinnerbaits here: Mechanical Blurs.
So there you have it, my favorite 6 lures for Mission Bay. I put a mystery lure in the photo album where all of these smaller pictures link to. It's another crankbait that's lots of fun and will win you fish. Good luck and have fun!
--Drew Clark
drew@plasticnavy.com
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