| Plastic
swimbaits are incredibly versatile; they'll catch anything from
rockfish to tuna to bass to corvina. But various species and situations
obviously call for various sizes, colors and presentations. Here's a
brief summary of how we use Fish Traps. Keep in mind, though, that the
shape and action of a lure--and, of course, how it's presented--are
always more important than color. These are only the patterns that have
consistently worked for us. 6-1/2-inch Baits 6-1/2" baits are mainly for big calicos in the kelp and on boiler rocks. Big calicos will eat smaller baits, too, but so will lots of little calicos. To target bigger fish in areas where the bass are thick, use the big 6-1/2s, which discourage some of the little 14-inchers. We often use 6-1/2" baits in the Cortez, too, to target leopard grouper in the shallow rocks. Rig them on either a 1-oz. or 1-1/2-oz. leadhead. The lighter head offers a slower sink and better action; the heavier head allows longer casts for fishing the boilers and gets you to the bottom faster in deeper water. 6-1/2s aren't well suited to fishing the bottom in more than maybe 30 or 40 feet of water; even on a 2-oz. head, they just have too much surface area in relation to their weight.
"Christmas tree" on a red head is our go-to pattern. Unless there's an obvious reason to use something else, that's where we start. It seems to catch fish almost everywhere, almost always. We think it may look a little like a Sally Lightfoot-type crab washed off the rocks and also a little like a bleeding mackerel. It's particularly effective in clearer conditions. "Rockhopper" is a great pattern for fishing boiler rocks and isn't a bad approximation of a kelp-dwelling senorita wrasse either. We use a red or brown head. "Green grunion" in the 6-1/2" size is a good jacksmelt imitation. If you see lots of smelt swimming through the kelp stringers, try it. We use a brown or plain head. "Halloween," like Christmas tree, is just a versatile pattern that doesn't really seem to mimic any particular prey item, although the orange and black may look something like a crab. The orange belly is also reminiscent of a senorita. We start with Halloween in the Cortez. Try a plain or orange head. 5-1/2-inch Baits The 5-1/2" size is the most productive for calicos. It will nearly always draw more strikes than the larger 6-1/2" size. Which one you use depends in part on your priorities--more fish, or bigger fish? It's also a good size for dragging along the bottom for halibut and larger sand bass, and it's our go-to size for the Cortez. The 6-1/2" baits may select out bigger grouper, but the 5-1/2s seem to be more appealing to snappers and the average 2- or 3-lb. grouper. Although it's only 1/2" longer, the 5-1/2" Fish Trap has a much deeper body and a larger tail than the 5", which means it sinks more slowly and swims with more motion. Rig them on 3/4- or 1-oz. heads.
"Green grunion" remains a versatile pattern in this size for imitating smelt and grunion high up in the kelp. "Brown bait" works well, in our experience, on or near the bottom, where it imitates all kinds of drab little rockfish and sculpin types. Use a brown or plain head. "Orange brown bait," mimics a senorita wrasse almost perfectly. Senoritas live in the kelp throughout the water column and are a favorite prey item for calicos. Orange brown bait works well on the shallow rocks in the Cortez too and for sand bass on the bottom. A brown head makes it look most like a senorita. An orange head draws more attention. "Sardine" looks a lot like--you guessed it--a sardine, but also a lot like a small grunion or topsmelt. Again, this works best when the fish feeding up high in the kelp. Try this one for halibut and sandies out of Enseanada and San Quintin if you don't have live bait. We use green or plain heads. 5-inch Baits Because they don't have as much action as the 5-1/2s, we use 5" baits almost exclusively offshore, where we think they do a better job of imitating slender pelagic baitfish like anchovies and small sauries. It's widely believed--and we believe it too--that the thinner profile of the 5-inch baits appeals more to albacore, which is about the only species we use the 5-inch baits for. If you don't have live sardines or anchovies, which are very tough to come by in Baja, drop a 5-inch Fish Trap on a 1-oz. leadhead (we use plain or black) over the side as the boat comes to a stop after trolling strike. Let it sink slowly in the wake, keeping light tension on the spool with your thumb, until you figure it's down 30 or 40 feet. Then reel it back to the boat at medium speed. If you're going to get bit, it usually happens on the sink, but you'll sometimes get slammed on the retrieve too. If you've got nothing else to do while other people are fighting fish, keep casting and letting the lure sink 30 or 40 feet before retrieving. Another advantage of the slimmer 5-inch baits is that they troll better than the 5-1/2s. And occasionally, trolling a 5-inch Fish Trap on 1-oz. or 1-1/2-oz. leadhead way, way back can be deadly on albies that don't want to hit the usual stuff. For the same reason the 5-inchers troll well, they also sink fast, which makes them good for bottom fishing. Rockfish love swimbaits; the main challenge is just getting a swimbait down to them. Try a 5-inch bait on a 1-1/2- or 2-oz. head.
The three colors we carry, "Channel Islands 'chovy," "purple haze," and "green flash," are all worth trying. Channel Islands 'chovy is by far the most popular, but it's certainly worth trying others--especially if you've got enough anglers on board to drop two or more colors over after each strike and wait for a pattern to develop. Finally, it should be said that 5-inch Fish Traps aren't good only for albies and bottom-fishing. Lots of people really like the 5-inchers for calicos, sand bass, halibut, etc. And although we haven't tried it for this, that 5-inch green flash should work very well in the southern half of the Cortez to mimic sardinas. 3-1/2-inch Baits The 3-1/2-inch Fish Traps are ideal for spotted bay bass, corvina and croakers types in the Pacific lagoons in the northern half of the Cortez. The little fly-swatter halibut in the Pacific lagoons love them too. Rig them on 3/8-oz. leadheads.
"Green-chartreuse w/orange tail" works about everywhere for spotties and corvina, both of which love bright colors. Use a charteuse head. "Ghost shrimp" and "red flake w/ orange tail" are at their best crawled or hopped over the bottom in the mangrove esteros, particularly in northern Mag Bay, where shrimp figure big as prey items. Cast them right up to the roots and work them back toward you. You'll also get a lot of juvenile broomtail grouper from 1 to 5 lbs. this way. We use red or white heads. "Green flash" works best for corvina in relatively open water and over eel grass beds in the esteros, where it looks like any one of a variety of small silvery baitfish. We usually use a plain head. |
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