I hit the water with my good friend Rob at first light, anxious to get him his first keeper. We set out hoping to catch the last of the flood tide. When fishing deeper water the beginning and ends of the tides are really what I refer to as "Prime Time". They are usually the most productive parts of the day.
I could see from the wind forecast that we were likely to have a steady westerly. I always develop my plan for the day based on wind and tide, direction and magnitude. When the wind and tide are moving in the same direction the boat will be far more stable with less movement. This translates into a far more enjoyable day and makes it much easier on the anglers to maintain focus on the rods. The trick is to find a location that is holding fish for every wind direction and tide combination.
We started our day in 54 feet of water in the Pittsburg area with plenty of fish marching under the boat. We had our share of small taps, but no major pull downs or action. Both Rob and I were using JPS and ghost initially as our choice of bait. At the start of the ebb the wind began to kick up to 15 knots so I was forced to make a move to water more in alignment with the wind direction. We found a good spot holding fish in 27 ft. of water and stayed there until grass began to inundate the lines. By the middle of the ebb the wind had backed off a bit so we moved out into deeper water to escape the grass. We set up in 37 ft. of water again with good marks showing. I managed to catch a shaker finally so we were encouraged that the bite could turn on.
With the ebb slowing down and heading into Prime Time again, I cracked a fresh package of eel thinking now would be the time to get the best possible scent into the water. In about ten minutes, I had a nice pull down, but couldn't connect. Knowing that the eel was most likely still on the hook (one tough bait) I dropped it right back down. Sure enough he came right back to it and with a good hard hook set, it was game on! The reel immediately started peeling line and I could tell the fish was heavy so I handed the fish off to Rob. While this is Rob's first legal sturgeon, he is no greenhorn to the sport. He has fished marlin and tuna and spent quite a few days with me fishing halibut. Rob had no problem fighting this little fatty and in short order we had his 56 inch sturgeon in the boat.
Mission accomplished!
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