Party Boat Tips

Party Boat Tips
By John Stewart

1. Locate the landing of your chioce, look at the landings fish counts from prior
days and find out how they have been doing. Call the landing the day before you plan
on fishing and leave a reservation, if show up without a reservation sometimes you
will not be able to get on. Arrive at the landing about an hour before the boat
leaves, not only to be on the safe side but also so that you can get a good spot on
the boat, usually the best/most popular spots are on the stern, mainly because thats
is where the chum is thrown(off the stern). In all honesty you can catch fish no
matter where you are.

2. As far as tackle is concerned 20lb test and a 6-7 foot rod with a medium or
medium heavy action and a medium sized conventional reel should be just fine. Some
people take multiple rods, but it is not totally imperative, IMO. A dropper loop rig
is probably the most common rigging technique for the type of fishing which is done
on these trips. The dropper loop rig consists anywhere from a 1/0 - 5/0 live bait
hook depending on the size of the bait. About two feet up from the hook make a loop
and apply a led sinker anywhere from 1-4 ounces, depending on the current. Another
popular technique is flylining, which is basically just the hook fished straight
with no weight, or a small weight for help casting.

3. As far as bait is concerned you dont have to worry about it, the boat supplies
the bait. The bait is usually sardines, anchovies or squid, and if you go on longer
trips or go out to the islands mackeral will probably be available. If you want you
can buy shrimp at your grocery store use them to fish for sheephead, if the
sheephaed are biting.

4. As far as artificial lures are concerned the two most popular for these trips
would be the "iron" which is a weighted metal lure and plastics which are soft
plastic lures which are fished on led heads. The irons are usually fished on the
surface and are very effective for baracuda but yellowtail and calico bass are also
taken using this method. The plastics produce good numbers of sand and calico bass,
but baracuda, yellowtail and halibut will eat the plastic as well. The size plastics
range from 3-7 inches and come in a number of different colors. To fish the plastic
just cast out and let the plastic sink and when it reaches the bottom retreive at a
steady pace. Many times the fish will hit while the plastic sinks so be aware.