BajaNomad

Favorite Inshore Trolling Lure

Russ - 7-4-2010 at 08:25 AM

Since I'm fishing mostly inshore now I've had to rethink my lure selection. This is the hard bait of choice now. Crystal Minnow

It has out fished the Rapalas big time. It's a deep diver, 12' to 15' at 4mph so it works perfect for my 20' to 30' preferred trolling depth. I like it shallower but I stay out of trouble a bit more and my prop thanks me. This lures come in a full range of colors. Here are the ones that sucked me in.



[Edited on 7-4-2010 by Russ]

dtbushpilot - 7-4-2010 at 08:33 AM

Good looking lure Russ, looks like a YoZuri. What length are you using?

oops, I see it is a YoZuri.....

[Edited on 7-4-2010 by dtbushpilot]

fishabductor - 7-4-2010 at 08:33 AM

What size you run Russ.

I like little freshwater bass lures inshore. Like rattletraps, BigO's, hotshotsa, tadpollies..etc.

I have tried all the jointed Rebels...after reading the Baja Catch...but the small 2-3" bass lures are cheap and the work great. the hooks don't hold up however and have to be replaced often.

Do the crystals have a Blue/Silver? or Mackeral finish? How much do they run?

Russ - 7-4-2010 at 08:52 AM

So far I've only used the 5 1/4" ones. Missed the image of the blue so here it is and here's the URL where I stole the pix. http://www.yo-zuri.com/01_products/03_crystal_minnow_series/...
fishabductor you're right about the smaller hard baits. They do work well and the hooks do need replacing. Especially after they tangle with a trigger fish. The hooks on the Crystal Minnow aren't very strong either and need replacing too. I haven't figured out what size treble yet or if a single would work well. I'll be picking up more hooks next trip north. And yes, they're YoZuri.

Bl:slv.jpg - 35kB

fishabductor - 7-4-2010 at 09:06 AM

I'd like to try the 3.5" lures. Throw on some Owner trebels or gamaksu's. they are sharp and very strong.

KAT54 - 7-4-2010 at 09:13 AM

Are not treble hooks illegal?

dtbushpilot - 7-4-2010 at 09:13 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by KAT54
Are not treble hooks illegal?


No

KAT54 - 7-4-2010 at 09:19 AM

Did they used to be illegal?
Where did I get this info from?
Urban myth?

bajabass - 7-4-2010 at 11:24 AM

Funny you should pop in, on a trolling thread!:biggrin:
No!
Who knows!
Must be!
Go away!

[Edited on 7-4-2010 by bajabass]

wessongroup - 7-4-2010 at 12:11 PM

which color works best for you.... or does it change around ?

Cypress - 7-4-2010 at 01:45 PM

Inshore fishing? Good luck. On any day, if you're lucky, you might catch enough for dinner. :D If you're lucky!:lol:

Alan - 7-4-2010 at 02:30 PM

Don't know why because the color hasn't worked well for me anywhere else but I have always had luck using lures with reds and pinks here in Baja

bajabass - 7-4-2010 at 02:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cypress
Inshore fishing? Good luck. On any day, if you're lucky, you might catch enough for dinner. :D If you're lucky!:lol:
That's funny, I only need enough for dinner!:light:

Russ - 7-4-2010 at 02:59 PM

With this lure I'm favoring the Green/Silver but as I collect others in a variety of finishes I'll report witch one is favored here. I also like pink & reds lures too especially for the dorado. And my friends swear that a red belly painted on their hard baits out perform ones without the touch up. Hell Hook, I feel lucky if I catch a fish let alone enough for dinner. And the way this season is going so far you'd be really to get a dodo if you fished outside in the big water. Inshore is less boring at any time cuz you're exploring the rocks and coves and most of the time you're shallow enough to see the reefs you're dragging over. All eye candy compared to miles and mile of open water.

fishabductor - 7-4-2010 at 03:03 PM

I like pink for dodo's but I use pink feathers at 9mph.

BajaBruno - 7-4-2010 at 03:41 PM

I've used the blue/silver in a shallower diving model and it was killer. The sierra (and others) loved it.

MitchMan - 7-5-2010 at 06:36 PM

I'm going to try inshore fishing this year. These comments are great. I take it these 5-1/4" and 3.5" lures work for cabrilla, pargo and dorado.

Gonna try it in Bahia de los Muertos. Last year in August, caught dorado, pargo, and yellow tail about 1/2 mile to 3/4 of a mile off the beach in front of the restaurant and just around the left corner. Unbelievable! And I thought yellow tail were limited to spring time.

What do you guys catch with those lures beside an occasional dorado?

[Edited on 7-6-2010 by MitchMan]

Russ - 7-5-2010 at 07:30 PM

For me, I am targeting the rock fish, roosters and other jacks with the hard baits. I have caught some really small yellowtail with them too. Sounds like Bahia de los Muertos is hot.

wessongroup - 7-5-2010 at 08:49 PM

Bass ... man, you had better get your butt moving... these guys are having a good, strike that, a great time.. .

eating my heart out... plus you have pictures too... aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh

it's great of you guys to share so freely really... I really do appreciate it...

Thanks Wiley S

[Edited on 7-6-2010 by wessongroup]

tattuna - 7-5-2010 at 09:21 PM

I only trolled them down there once (from my kayak), but I did get a small cabrilla on it.



I'm surprised you say the hooks are weak. I haven't had any problems, but then again I haven't hung any big fish on 'em. They are super sharp though.

BajaBruno - 7-5-2010 at 09:58 PM

MitchMan, I caught a marlin between Bahia de los Muertos and the lighthouse, close enough to shore to nearly hit it with a 4 oz. sinker, and just outside the cove has also been a hot area for tuna. There is a lot of action there, both tight against the rocks and out a short distance.

Good luck to you and keep us posted so I can live it vicariously.

Russ - 7-6-2010 at 05:22 AM

tattuna , That's what I'm looking for!

MitchMan - 7-6-2010 at 07:29 AM

My 15 ft fiber glass self-bailing skiff should be ready to use sometime this month. Need to go after fish small enough for me to gaff and bring on board when I am fishing by myself. Sounds like inshore fishing with these suggested lures might just be the ticket.

Going to Longfin Tackle Shop in Orange County, CA today to get some of these lures. In my mind, I am already on the water.

BTW, three days ago I bought a Volaris round trip ticket, Tijuana to La Paz for departure Nov 30,2010 to return on Dec 5, 2010 for $76 USD.

Russ - 7-6-2010 at 07:42 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by MitchMan
My 15 ft fiber glass self-bailing skiff should be ready to use sometime this month. Need to go after fish small enough for me to gaff and bring on board when I am fishing by myself. Sounds like inshore fishing with these suggested lures might just be the ticket.

Going to Longfin Tackle Shop in Orange County, CA today to get some of these lures. In my mind, I am already on the water.

BTW, three days ago I bought a Volaris round trip ticket, Tijuana to La Paz for departure Nov 30,2010 to return on Dec 5, 2010 for $76 USD.


I'd like to see a pic of your skiff. Self-bailer. That would be cool.
Wow! What a price on air fair. Cheaper than the bus.

MitchMan - 7-6-2010 at 11:49 AM

Here is my skiff (it's a 15ft Calibogie, weighs less than 800 lbs with motor and all) together with a recently acquired 2.7L 4wd '98 Tacoma. The skiff will go up to 33 mph easily and motor all day long on 6 gallons of gas. Right now it has a two seater center console, but I am having that replaced with much narrower single seat console. Hope it will work for baja fishing.

[img] [/img]

[Edited on 7-6-2010 by MitchMan]

IMG_4264a.jpg - 48kB

wessongroup - 7-6-2010 at 11:52 AM

Nice... very nice

bajabass - 7-6-2010 at 12:02 PM

Looks perfect for Baja! Just keep and eye on the wind. Self-bailing is great. Head and shoulders above relying on a bilge pump!

Russ - 7-6-2010 at 05:53 PM

Niiiice!

fishabductor - 7-7-2010 at 08:52 AM

Mitchman,

How are you planning on launching the boat? Is there a ramp near the location you are planning to fish. If not 800lbs will be a lot of boat to man- handle solo across the beach. A set of rollers on the stern and some 4" PVC rollers to leapfrog under the boat will help get it to the water.Getting it out will be another issue if there is any sort of swell in the area. Not sure if the boat can take a slide up the beach at 20mph.

it looks like a really nice boat, make sure you really think through the launch procedure for a while before launching especially in a surf zone, like we have on the southern eastcape.

Where are you fishing out of?


You will need to get a pair of fat trailer tires, such as those used on Snow mobiler trailers. the tires on your trailer look like the narrow 4-5" mine came with. After getting the trailer stuck everytime I launched with a 500 lb boat on it, I finally got my hands on a set of fat tires and I no longer have an issue. Take into account your boat is 300lbs heavier than mine.

I fish a 15" westcoater bayrunner, that is pretty similar in profile to your boat, minus the center consol.

If you have any questoions feel free to ask.

editted to add: To make things even easier get a tilt roller trailer, or swap your out...It is almost a necessity.

I fish solo 99% of the time, and had a hell of a time figuring it all out over the years. I am finally fully set up on procedure and equipement to launch and retrieve my boat solo in a surf zone, the upper cortez would be a piece of cake.

[Edited on 7-7-2010 by fishabductor]

Pompano - 7-7-2010 at 09:07 AM

I agree with anything Rapala or Mirrolure..they seem to work very well for us. Both fresh and salt. A ferocious stike on a Rattlin' Rap when casting for muskies gets your attention..as does a nice smallmouth.

Trolling inshore in Baja is just plain fun with lures..finding the fish is just half the enjoyment.







I've had good luck with most of the quality trolling brands...one day or season is different than the next..but that's just my experience.

....SO MANY LURES. SO LITTLE TIME.

It 's all good.

p.s. sorry about the photo sizeS..I will try to downsize them a bit.

[Edited on 7-7-2010 by Pompano]

Curt63 - 7-7-2010 at 09:17 AM

The first 2 weeks of June there was 5 of us fishing pretty hard trolling inshore and off the beach on the SOC. The bite outside was non existent. (with a wide variety of methods attempted) for us.

The blue and silver jointed rebel fastrac and the Krocdiles were the top producers for us.

comitan - 7-7-2010 at 09:23 AM

Here's a Calibogie.

http://www.bloodydecks.com/classifieds/showproduct.php/produ...

MitchMan - 7-7-2010 at 02:00 PM

Thanks for all the great comments.

Fishabductor, special thanks to you for mentioning a possible issue with tire size on the trailer. About 15 years ago I put a bigger heftier axle on the trailer together with an upsize of the tires to 13" rims and tires. The original tires were really small and narrow.

I have no experience beach launching this boat or any other boat. I was hoping that trailer tire size wouldn't be an issue and that success beach launching had only to do with the launching truck capabilities on the sand. Now I am worried.

I will be fishing out of locations from La Paz and Bajia de Los Muertos. Initially, I am going to laucnh from launching ramp at the Marina in La Paz, the launching ramp at Pichilingue and from the beach in front of the resort restaurant in Bajia de Los Muertos (no surf waves or swells to speak of here). I plan to launch only from launch ramps or from easy beach launching places. Also, on occasion, I plan to take the boat to Loreto to launch from their marina (should be a piece of cake). But as far as beach launching, well I have to do a lot more research first and more looking around for decent launch sites in or near La Paz.

I don't plan to launch from beaches that have a lot of soft sand leading into the wet shore sand like the beaches at the light house near Bahia de Los Muertos. This will probably limit my experience with different locations, but I will be happy if I can find a hard sand launching area or launch ramps in marinas that will not be too far from decent fishing grounds. For me, those decent launching sites would need to be less than five miles from decent fishing grounds).

I hope that I am not deluding myself. If you have any comments, fishabductor, please feel free.

[Edited on 7-7-2010 by MitchMan]

comitan - 7-7-2010 at 02:41 PM

Mitchman
I fish the area all the time and the ramps you listed cover the area very well.

BajaBruno - 7-7-2010 at 03:20 PM

I'm voting with Comitan, with reservations. The Bahia de Los Muertos launch ramp can be problematic for one person, because it has no dock. I anchor after launching and wade in to move my truck, but sometimes the wind is parallel to the shore, which means you are jumping into deeper water. Bill Erhardt has told me that he uses his kayak (I think it is a kayak) to get in and out, which is nice if you have the room--I don't on my 20' Bayrunner. It’s certainly doable, but you will get wet. The ramp is nice despite having some surge.

I know Comitan uses the panga launching ramp at Pichilingue, but I don't, for the same reasons. With no dock and rocks all over the sand beach, one-person launching is difficult and not worth the risks (to me) when the Cantamar has a nice launch ramp for about 200 pesos.

I’ve never found a good reason to beach launch, because I usually fish alone and swimming back and forth to shore is a hassle I like to avoid.

comitan - 7-7-2010 at 03:39 PM

I never fish alone my wife of 55+years still fishes and dives with me, thats just one of my secrets.

fishabductor - 7-7-2010 at 04:26 PM

Mitchman,

If you plan on launching from ramps, you'll be fine. Especially up north with no swell/surf. You can still launch on soft sand areas you will just need to prepare accordingly. Lots of people use 5-6' long canvas bags that are a little bigger diameter than a soccer ball( the cheap kids balls) and the fill these bags with balls. You will need about 3 or 4 of them to leapfrog. These work great. We have launched 22' pangas by hand with 2 guys using these.

I myself like roller equiped tilt trailers and fat tires.

Comitan,
My wife was my partner too, until we had our 5 mo old son. She hasn't gone fishing with me now in over a year. I miss her company in the boat.

bajabruno,
Get a cheap/free surfboard and paddle in and out. They use up a lot less space.

[Edited on 7-7-2010 by fishabductor]

Russ - 7-7-2010 at 08:01 PM

I worried about tire size also. Mine were so small & narrow it looked comical. So I up sized and put new bunks with plastic glides on. It Makes it really easy to crank the boat up one handed and pushes off easily also. Here's before & after shots. the next thing I have to do is extend the axle and have some fender brackets welded up. Now that I'm in to it it would have been easier to buy a new trailer. But what's the fun in that?

1&2 .jpg - 46kB

MitchMan - 7-8-2010 at 09:27 AM

Russ, what size tires are the bigger ones?

fishabductor - 7-8-2010 at 10:30 AM

russ,

What software are you using to attach photos with? I just opened a photbucket site to see if that helps. However I can't figure out how to make them 50kb or less. And photoshot is a pain. I would like to attach photos of my boat/ trailer setup.