Flavor of the Month - Spotty Special

Three words. One name. All thriller. The Spotted Sand Bass (SSB), more popularly known in Long Beach as Spotted Bay Bass or just "Spotty." I have only recently gotten into Spotty fishing, but it has very quickly replaced Largemouth Bass (LMB) as my goto species.

Fishing for Spotties has many advantages:

1. It fills a special niche is that often overlooked. It lies right between freshwater bassfishing and big game salt water fishing. Because it is overlooked, it seems like it receives less pressure.
2. They seem to be more naive to the dangers of anglers. I can easily fish at El Dorado Park, throwing ever lure I have in my tackle box with every retrieve I can think of into every nook and cranny I can imagine and yet not produce a single bass. Yet, I can go target some spotties with one lure (a 1/4oz leadhead with 3" swimbait) and feel 80% confident I will get some action. With the addition of 2 other lures (a 1/4-3/4oz swim jig with a #3.5 - 5 blade trailer) and a 1/2-5/8oz spinnerbait, I will 95% confident that if there was a fish in an area that was willing to bite anything, I probably would have caught it on one of those lures. Even more to the point, there's a trend in Largemouth Bass fishing towards realism, which I think makes sense, yet with spotty fishing, I have no confidence qualms about the need for eyes on the jig head. In general, the fish just seem more aggressive and willing to bite first and sort through the details second (my kinda fish!)


3. This leads me to my next pro: Aggressiveness. When I caught my first spotty, I was sure I hooked up on a 4-5 lb fish, only to realize after the intense struggle, that it was a mere 12 incher! Spotties fight hard, period. Many would argue that they are pound for pound the most fightin'est bass around. I haven't had the privilege of catching every species of bass, but objectively, the spotty is looking like a damn-good contender.

4. If you know LMB fishing, you basically know spotty fishing. The way you dissect the marine bay is the same as if it were a freshwater body. Docks, cover, rocks. What do they have in common? They hold spotties. Hop a texas-rigged plastic worm through some eelgrass (seaweed). Slow roll a spinnerbait next to the rocks. Skip a swimbait under the docks and let the current gently drift it down. All ways of producing fish. If you like LMB fishing, you already like SSB fishing. You just get to catch more fish and harder fighting fish.

5. It's convenient. I love the outdoors and love a good hike as much as anyone, but the convenience of fishing within a short work of ones vehicle is surprisingly sweet. Without a long walk from my car to the water (e.g., parking outside El Dorado and walking in) I can start fishing more quickly and gain more overall time actually fishing. Often I could say that I fished for 3 hours, but that includes walking to and from the car. Having a 2 minute walk from my car gives me that much more actual fishing time, compared to a 20 minute walk. It also means I'd have to leave earlier as well. Double bummer.

It also has disadvantages:
1. Lack of access. Far and away the greatest difficulty in SSB fishing is access. There are just so few places to fish for them, especially in Long Beach. The places that spotties live are the property of others and they don't take kindly to strangers. Basically the City of Long Beach has effectively banned the fishing of spotties (from shore) through their restrictions on fishing.

2. Salt water is corrosive. A reoccuring theme is that saltwater is more extreme in general. Saltwater fish fight harder, saltwater waves are more dangerous, and saltwater is more damaging to your tackle than freshwater. Tackle needs extra mainenance, especially if they are not saltwater grade material. Reels require frequent cleaning to remove all moisture as well as relubricating. Your hands get a layer of salt that form on them giving them a dry chalky look and feel. The numerous cuts and scraps you undoubtedly acquired from your fishing burn from the salt. I also feel like the salt water hurts your line as it starts to absorb into the material. I've noticed a grimy feeling on my line after use in the saltwater.

I think the pros vastly outweigh the cons, even though the lack of access to spotty-holding water is a huge obstacle.

Now that we know what SSB fishing is all about, let's look at how to catch some. Having recently been through the In's and Out's of gaining that first bit of confidence, I can assure you that if you use these techniques and do it enough times, you will catch a spotty.

Rod: In all honesty, almost anything would work. Personally, I like a graphite baitcasting rod (spinning setups are just as popular) that's at least 7' long and rated medium-heavy with a fast-moderate to moderate tip action. The 7' length gives me distance to cast far and cover more water, while also giving good length for flipping lures to pilings. The moderate tip gives the whole rod a more parabolic bend which helps prevent the lure from being spit and helps launch those lighter lures. I prefer a medium-hvy power because it's soft enough to really bow when fighting even smaller guys, while being just stiff enough to control the fish when I'm bringing it in to land. The spotties have a tendency to bolt for the rocks and if you can't control the fish, it will cut you off on the sharp rocks. I like to fish rocks so keeping some minimal level of control is really necessary to maintain a satisfactory landing ratio. Sometimes, if I am fishing more open water (i.e., eelgrass) I will use a medium action which gets quite the bend when I hook up!

My favorite rod that I use for saltwater is a Falcon BuCoo Micro 7' Casting Rod; med-hvy, fast-mod action. It is very light weight and sensitivity and I love how it feels throwing 1/4-1/2oz lures. This is my goto rod and the one I will bring if I just carry one rod. If I carry two rods, I bring a Falcon BuCoo Micro 7' Casting Rod, med, mod action with a 1/4oz + 3" swimbait tied on and the Med-Hvy with a 1/2 oz bladed swim jig or spinnerbait ready. When I want to throw something bigger like a 3/4oz spinnerbait, I grap my Daiwa Jupiter 7'6" Flipping Stick; hvy, mod action. It's a light power flipping rod so it loads up nicely to cast heavier lures (3/4 - 1 1/2oz) and the extra length helps get a bit more distance. 

Falcon Bucoo Micro Guide Casting Rod 7' Med Hvy              Daiwa Jupiter 7'6" Heavy Flipping Rod

Reel and Line: I think you have even more flexibility with the reel. I use a Abu Garcia Pro Max with #8 P-Line FC (w/ Bucoo Med), a Lew's Laser MG spooled with 10# Vicious fluorocarbon (w/ Bucoo Med-Hvy), and a Abu Garcia Silver Max with 12# Invis X (w/ Jupiter). I have different brands spooled just to try them all out. All the reels have worked without any problems so far and I fish them pretty hard. The Laser MG and ProMax get approximately 25 hrs of use (split between them) in a week. The most important thing to remember is to rinse them after each use! If you don't, you will see where the saltwater has evaporated leaving a salty residue behind. This is really damaging to your tackle and will dramatically reduce it's life. If you really want to maximize the life of the reel, it is suggested that you break down and thoroughly clean and relubricate your reel as often as possible. If you're really worried you might even want to do it after every use. So far, I just give each reel a thorough blasting by a hose and dry. Then I re-grease my worm gear. I haven't had any reel problems so far.


Lew's Laser MG Speed Spool Casting Reel - LS1HMG


Abu Garcia Pro Max Casting Reel


Abu Garcia Silver Max Casting Reel


P-Line Ultimate Fluorocarbon Line


Vicious Fluorocarbon


Seaguar InvizX Fluorocarbon Line

In regards to braid, when I used to fish exclusively freshwater, braid was all I would use, but since starting to fish in saltwater, I have started to grow more fond of fluorocarbon. Mostly, because it feels like the braid absorbs the water quickly and really starts to hinder my long casts, which I do more of in saltwater fishing. Also, because fluorocarbon sinks, I feel like I get better depth control with my bottom contact lures (e.g., basically everything I throw at spotties). Lastly, it is because braid is suppose to be vulnerable to rocks which is the majority of what I am targeting when looking for spotties. I know plenty of people who fish with braid for spotties and I think for the most part, it is just as effective. However, for the reasons stated above, I prefer throwing fluorocarbon.

3" Big Hammer (Halloween) with 1/4oz Strike King Bitsy
 Jighead (skirt removed) for a more weedless presentation.

Lures: The swimbait, and especially the Big Hammer Swimbait Tail, is my goto lure. My favorite color is Halloween for almost all conditions, although I prefer it for darker light conditions (bright, but overcast days to straight night) and prefer a more "natural" color during bright light conditions (when you can see 2' into the water). During the bright, clear conditions, I feel more confident throwing a more translucent, harder to distinguish color such as Spottie Special.

Green back clear silver flake (top) is what I'd consider more
 subtle and Halloween (bottom) a more profile-able color.

The reason for this is that, in bright light conditions, the fish can really get a much better view of your lure. If your lure is more translucent it will be harder to detect fine details and instead will present itself as a blurry baitfish, rapidly escaping. I see Halloween as a darker more distinguished profile. This helps the fish visual lock-on during harder-to-see situations.
 

As for the leadhead, I use a variety. The classic Big Hammer heads are always a safe bet. The one thing I don't like about them is that due to the exposed hook, I find that I am constantly snagging up on things. If I am catching a lot of those leathery liquid pods, then I might strip the skirt off of a skirted bass jig and use the jighead with the Big Hammer trailer (like in the picture above). The thin brush weed guard is strong enough to deflect more snags, but soft enough to allow good hook sets. The problem is that this can get pricey as even with the brushguard, the lure gets stuck in rocks pretty often. The result is inevitably a break off and at two bucks each, the cost of spotty fishing can climb pretty quickly. Even the regular Big Hammer heads can run you about $1.50 per head for the 1/4oz size. My personal favorite leadhead is the use of Arkie brand Tube Insert 1/4oz leadheads. They are really do a good job of covering the bases. First, they are the right size 1/4oz. They also have a prominent trailer wedge that does a pretty good job of holding onto the trailer. The hooks are cheap, but it actually help prevent break offs because they can open just enough for the lure to slip loose. Don't worry though, they have been plenty strong for the fish as I have never lost a fish due to a hook opening up. The wire weedguard is also nice as it's just enough to prevent the majority of snag-ups while at the same time, being minimal enough to prevent fouled hook sets. Finally and most importantly, the price. At only 2 dollars for a package of 5, each jighead only comes out to forty cents! At a 1/3 of the price of a Big Hammer head, having a break off doesn't sting quite as much.

Due to the wire weedguard, the procedure to attach a swimbait trailer is a bit trickier. First you need to bend the wireguard all the way forward to get it out of the way.

Next align the hook next to the swimbait and note where the hook should exit the plastic when straight. I like to make a little poke with the hook tip where I should aim for it to exit.



Then do as you would for any trailer, being careful to maintain as much straightness as possible in the swimbait.

Once threaded as such, just bend the wireguard back into position and I personally like to give the tip a small bend to be flush with the hooktip. That will help prevent the wireguard from interferring with a hookset. Then you just have to tie on and you're ready to go. My knot of choice for fluorocarbon is the San Diego Jam knot with 7 twists. The color of the swimbait is Sexy Smelt.





Throwing a paddle-tail swimbait of some kind might be the most popular lure to use, but don't let that inhibit your creativity. I like to experiment with all sorts of different jighead and trailer combinations.






In bright weather, but dark water conditions, I may throw a swimbait body on a skirted jig as a swim jig. This is still a bit more subtle than a spinnerbait, but adds bulk providing a more robust profile.





If I want to increase the action a bit more, I'll replace the paddle tail swimbait with a 3" Kalins Salty Lunker Grubs. That curly tail really gives off a lot of action, which helps bass track better in lower light conditions.

Sometimes I will replace a swimming jig head with a ball head if I want the lure to fall straight down. This is particularly important when you are pitching to pilings and don't want the diagonal, spiraling fall of a darter head to get you are tangled up in the mussels and barnacles of the piling. The grub tail still produces a lot of action as it drops down.


The other lure I often throw is a spinnerbait. Generally I use a 1/2oz. So far color seems to have had very little influence on my bites. I feel most confident using white or chart/white. I like a tandem willow leaf blade with a 5 blade as the primary. In this particular incarnation, I've added an extra 3.5# willow leaf blade to the end of the spinnerbait for even more flash and vibration. I did this after a rainstorm to increase the lure's signature in especially dingy water. Also, you may notice that the skirt has been trimmed. I learned this trick for a Kevin Van Dam video. He trims the skirt to the length of the baitfish he's targeting as wall as the corner to produce a more natural, tear-drop shape when moving through the water. I'm not sure how crucial it is, but the spinnerbaits that I've done it to have been getting bit.

A lot of people also throw hardbaits, most noteably crankbaits, but I have not had much luck. I concentrate on structure and I have a lot of trouble getting the crankbait down to the strike zone. I will continue to work on expanding my repetoire so I will come back to hardbaits in another post.

Where\How to Fish: I am a shore fisherman, which is a big hinderance to accessing the "primest" spotty spots, however, I would suspect that most new spotty fishers are as well. That means you're in luck as I will let you in on the various spots that I have found that produce fish from the bank.

1. My number one target areas are rocks. If there are rocks in a harbor, there will be spotties on them at some point. The best situation is to be opposite of the rocks and fan cast to them, slowly working them back. Be warned... rocks are where lures go to die. I have lost countless lures on the rocks. The trick is to learn how to stay just above them. It really only comes with experience, but eventually you will learn the feel of your lure and get a better sense of its depth. Casting to the rocks and working your lure out significantly reduces break offs. The problem is that lures get wedged between rocks, so when you're working them from the top down, it's much more likely the lure lands harmlessly on top of the rock.

Top view (Fig 1.1)

Some people would fan cast at this point, but I prefer to cast diagonally to maximize rock coverage. Instead of facing the rocks and casting to my 10 o'clock, then 11 o'clock, then 12 o'clock, etc, I would face the rocks, cast to my 10, then 11, then take a step to my 9 and recast to my 10. That way I constantly move up and down, casting diagonally, maximizing the amount of rock face I pass. I feel that the casts directly to the rock to my twelve is not efficient because of the small amount of target zone I cover directly in front of me.

Side view (Fig 1.2)

The easiest technique, in my opinion, is the constant, slow-roll. When I say slow-roll, I mean as slow as possible without snagging on the bottom. That could mean keeping it completely off the bottom, hovering over the rocks and eelgrass (which I recommend for newbies) or slightly slow enough to tap bottom structure (ideal). I imagine the lure moving about 2-3 inches a second.


In the diagram to the left, I show a nice cast right up against the rocks. I drop my rod tip when the lure hits the water, to minimize splash as well as to let the lure drop naturally. Usually, depending on how close I am to the rocks, I will let the lure bounce off a rock, but if you're just starting out, I would recommend winding in immediately. This is where a lot of break offs happen. As you wind in slowly, you might bump into a few rocks, because the rocks are uneven. This is when a lot of strikes will occur (as indicated by the top red X). Another likely strike zone, is the drop off as the rocks transition to mud bottom. As it transitions, there will be gaps in the rocks that the spotties love to just sit and ambush from (the middle X). Finally as you swim the lure out over the sea floor, there will probably be some eelgrass which the spotties will be hiding inside of and will dart up to grab your lure (the bottom X).

Top view (Fig 2.1)

As I was saying earlier, it will be easier to not get hung up if you slow-roll above everything, but truth be told, spotties relate to the bottom, so the closer you are to the structure and cover, the more likely the spotty will be willing to charge out and smash your swimbait!

If you are fishing from on top of the rocks, things will be a bit more difficult. You will have to try to parallel the rocks. This is the most difficult technique to do and not constantly break off. I usually try to cast using the same strategy as above, except I will stand as close as I can to the water and cast out to my nine o'clock. Then as I work it back, I extend my rod arm out as far as I can in order to keep the lure parallel. Also, I minimize any contact with the rocks to avoid snagging. When you do get snagged (and you will) there are two things I try to do to get un-snagged. First, DO NOT PULL!!! If you did slip in-between two rocks, if you pull, you will wedge that lure in making it unlikely that you will recover it. I try to give the lure light pressure in order to keep it in place and not slide into some crevasse. Then I walk past the lure and try to gently work it out the way it came in. If that doesn't work, I will use the bow-snap trick. Point your rod directly at the lure. Wind in so that you have some slack in the line (about 1 ft). Then, with your free hand grab your line and pull to the side (like a flip-cast) until the line is taut. Then quickly release the line, which should snap back. The idea is that the snap loosens the lure and hopefully shakes it free.

One more thing to keep in mind when fishing off the rocks. Once you get a bite and are working the fish back in, remember that the fish will try to wedge itself into any viable cover it can, including all the rocks next to you. Keep pressure on the fish to keep him away from the rocks and if it does find a hole, don't over-work him out. The rocks will quickly cut your line if it rubs against them. I usually give the fish some slight slack and make my way towards the little devil. Also, check you line and RETIE often!

My second favorite type of area to fish is the flat floor just beyond the rocks, that are hopefully covered with eelgrass beds. I had a hard time imagine that it all looked like at first, so here'a picture.

Notice how there are open patches within the bed. That's where the spotties lie in wait. Now the technique that I explained above for fishing the rocks on the opposite bank is especially productive because it targets fish both hanging on the rocks and in the eelgrass. As shown in

Top view (Fig 1.3)

Figure 1.2, once the swimbait passes the rocks, it enters the eelgrass beds. At other times, when the fish seem to be relating to the grass more than the rocks, I will do my diagonal casts, but aim for maximum distance into the middle of the channel. When fishing the eelgrass beds, I use two retrieves. Again, the constant slow-roll is deadly effective. Especially when the swimbait just barely ticks the tops of the grass and any random structure out there. My personal favorite retrieve is what I call the hop-swim. The retrieve is similar to how you might fish a soft plastic while targetting freshwater bass. If the grass is sparse and I am not grabbing handfuls of it, I will just have my rod pointing horizontally and give two quick turns of my handle (with a 6.4 gear ratio and a 7.1). This makes the lure dart forward and then drift back to the bottom. The whole time I am watching my line. As soon as the line goes slack (after a second or two, indicating that the lure hit the bottom) and give it another two winds before letting it fall again. I continue this all the way back. Most bites come right after the fall. If I am catching a lot of grass, I will do a similar retrieve except instead of winding in to move the lure, I hop it off the bottom like a worm. I pop the rod tip about 1 to 2 ft and wind in slack as the lure drops. Sometimes, if the bite is slow, I will let the lure sit on the bottom for a few (3-5) seconds between hops. Again, bites seem to come right after the drop.

When I am explaining these methods, I mostly have the swimbait in mind, but I have also done with with spinnerbaits with success. Generally though, I reserve the hop-swim for soft plastics and primarily slow-roll the spinnerbait. One more technique I use, more so with spinnerbaits than swimbaits because they're heavier and stay low, is to give the rod a little twitch or jerk as I slow-roll it along the bottom. Sometimes, I'll just give a little, quick 1/4 turn to make the lure dart and flutter for a second. That erratic action can sometimes really trigger a fish to react on your lure.

Top view (Fig 3.1)

My third favorite area that I catch spotties are bridges. More specifically the pilings of the bridge. I try to position myself on the side of the bridge that the current is flowing towards. I cast as fast as I can under the bridge beyond the pilings. Then I lower my rod tip and try to maintain controlled slack, winding in when there's too much bow in my line. With a decent current, the lure drifts down and to the side with the current. Try to time it so that as the lure drifts past a piling it is making contact with the bottom as the fish will be facing the piling, looking up current, waiting to ambush hapless baitfish struggling in the current. You want your lure to imitate one of these baitfish.

In addition to the pilings, bridges often have rock structure and eelgrass beds lining the floor. Fish these with the techniques noted above. Standard fan casting can be very productive in these situations.

Top view (Fig 4.1)

Lastly, there are the docks. Boat slips offer excellent habitat for spotties. What's especially nice about docks is that they are often in very close proximity to both rocks and eelgrass and often even bridges! Talk about fertile fields! Fishing docks is basically an amalgation of all the previous methods discussed. Two not mentioned techniques are "flippin'" and under-drift.


Flippin' is a very popular technique in freshwater fishing. The basic idea is a short, accurate and most importantly, quick underhand cast to a specific target. Flippin' can be broken down further into two techniques; true flipping and pitching. I won't go into detail, but flipping is generally limited to close targets about 5 - 10' away, while pitching is ideal for targets 10 - 25 ft away. I will be referring to true flipping. This involves pulling out an arms length of line from the spool before engaging it and locking the line. Now the only line that will be utilized will be the length in your hand. The total amount of line from the spool to the lure should be about 15 ft, with about 5 ft hanging from your rod tip and the rest controlled by your arm length. Then using your rod tip you pendulum your lure towards your target while simultaneous feeding line with your other hand. Most often people have their rod in their right hand and hand the line with the left (even if they are using right-hand retrieve reels). It seems easy enough, but takes a bit of time to perfect. You have to train your two arms to coordinate with each other. Anyway, this techniques makes covering close strike zones very efficient. You can walk down a dock and quickly make a flip to each side of a piling before moving on to the next.

Top view (Fig. 4.2)

You can see in Fig. 4.2, the spots to target, in the order that I feel is most productive. You can see Mr. Spotty just lying downstream of the piling waiting to pounce on any food that drifts by.

Now flippin' is one technique where I use a different kind of lure. I like to flip with skirted football jig with any sort of craw trailer. I also use a round ballhead jig with a single-tail grub trailer, as mentioned earlier. Mostly, it's the shape of the head that's important. You can flip with anything really, swimbait, spinnerbait, etc., but why I prefer round headed jigs is that they fall straight down. That way you can really get your lure up tight to a piling and hopefully hit that bass right in the nose to get him to react. If you flip with, lets say a swimbait, the elongated shape of the head causes the lure to drift a bit (fall diagonally, instead of vertically). Also it can spiral. These actions are generally great, but when you're hugging the piling, the extra distance that the lure moves often gets it snagged up on mussels, barnacles, and seaweed that cover the piling.

1/4 Bass Patrol Football Jig -
(brown) with a YUM Papi Craw trailer
(peanut butter and jelly) -
imitating a shore crab

Drifting... no you don't need to be Japanese and own a sweet set of wheels to drift. This kind of drifting is a way to target fish that are suspending underneath the docks. Looking back at Fig. 4.1, you can see that on the far left-hand side, I drew a cast-line with 3 arrows. Each arrow indicates a splashpoint for your lure and where you could find suspending fish. In order to do this you need to have a fair strong current. Something that could push your 1/4oz swimbait about 4-5 feet under the dock. This method is similar to the bridge drifting, but in reverse. You want to keep controlled slack while feeding line. I will keep feeding line, giving the lure a little pop once in a while for it to recatch some current. Once the lure is on the bottom, I just wind it back using different retrieves.

You can also see the various cast-lines I drew towards the right-hand piling. The same principles apply, however, be careful when drift on the outside of the piling. You can easily snag or be cut off rubbing up against the piling as the current takes line.

So there you have it. A detailed explanation of how you can go out and catch your very own Spotted Sand Bass. One more word of warning. When I mentioned the restrictions that make spotty fishing so difficult in Long Beach, I am serious. Most (if not all) good spotty spots that are accessible from shore are in fact "inaccessible." The City of Long Beach has restrictions on the entire marina prohibiting fishing from shore. If you are spotted by the Marina Police, you can be ticketed. I think that generally, if you are not being a knucklehead, they will just tell you to scram, but just to repeat myself, you can be TICKETED with a MISDEMEANOR making you officially a CRIMINAL. Stay smart and don't get to cocky.

That being said, I would like to elicit a promise from anyone who uses what I wrote to catch a fish.

TAKE CARE OF THE ENVIRONMENT!

It makes me sick to see all the trash, fishing line, and used bait that just litter my favorite fishing holes. It is people like that who create the need for restrictions in the first place, hurting everyone else. Don't be selfish. Throw away your trash. Stuff used line into your pockets and toss it later. You only hurt yourself when you trash your own treasure. Each fish is a privilege from the Fish Gods. Don't spoil it by destroying their homes and in essense your own gift. Also, no-brainer, but practice Catch-and-Release. Give someone else the joy of catching that same fish, in the way I want to give you the honor. Take a picture, give 'em a kiss, and let 'er go! Besides, you probably are ingesting a lot of pollutants from the water. An easy way to remember how to act:

RESPECT OTHERS AND THE LAND AROUND YOU.

If you have any questions or would like to add some tips/ideas of your own feel free to comment! I sincerely hope you find luck and enjoy yourself as much as I have catching this beautiful, magnificent fish.

CHEERS and TIGHT LINES,
Szerpent Hunter