Stan Kaplun Battles Two, To Finally Get One. Read His Story Now.

With an offshore/inshore season that will go down in the books as one of the greatest of all time, there are still fish locally to be caught. Although many are transitioning into rockfish and lobster mode, there are still pelagics that are active and are close to home. The yellowtail are still around and they are good sized models.

Now, as the water temperature begins to drop, these fish are starting to sink out, and they're being found between 80ft and 120ft of water. They are being caught on either a dropper loop with a 4oz-6oz torpedo weight, and a size 1 or 2 Gamakatsu live bait hook, depending on the size of the sardines, anchovies, or mackerel you are using. In addition to the bait bite, the fish are also biting on the yoyo iron. They have been hitting on the drop, as well as on the way up, in regards to retrieve.

The one in the picture was a solid fish that hit a mint color Salas 7X. We all know that Cousins rods are great for fighting yellowtail but they are great for fighting seals as well. Early into the fight, the yellowtail took off on a non-stop run, stripping my 100 yards of 40lb mono topshot, and more than half of the 250 yards of 65lb spectra I had on my Shimano Torium 16. I was already thinking that the dogs got to it, but then my thoughts were confirmed and I saw the seal surface with my fish in his mouth in the distance. After a ridiculously long battle with the seal, I got my fish back, thanks to a great gaff shot by the deckhand, ripping the fish out of the dogs mouth. The rod of choice for me was my Cousins CJB 80M-CT.

Check back in soon for the next report!