NIGHT TIME
BREAKWALL BASS FISHING
(“TUG-O-WAR”)
FISHING

      A)   The Wall – Structure fishing with over 12 miles of area to fish inside and out, with three “wall” sections, (Long Beach, Federal, Cabrillo).

Think of an imperfect pyramid . . . streeper inside, more gradual slopping on the outside.  (I have read that the Long Beach wall is close to 250 ft at its base)

B)     Equipment – Regular wall fisherman have customized their equipment for the special conditions at night.

Rods – 5’-9” to 6’-6” . . . grafite or glass, but heavy action with fast taper.  (I use seeker rods especially designed for wall fishing!) . . . Lots of backbone!!

Reels – Conventional bait casting reels – (ABU Garcia’s 5500-C3 are my choice, but any good quality reel that will hold 90 to 150 yards of 20 /3 test line will work!)

Line – Any good eaulity line . . like “BIG GAME” etc.  I use P-line CXX extra strong.  You can use 15# to 25# for “in-your face” baits.

C)    Before Dark/Twilight – I have caught bass on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, etc.. (basically anything that catches freshwater bass)  I prefer to use 4# or 5# swim baits, but my #1 bait is a “flats candy (wham or blam) using a custom spearhead jighead that I pour (3/4 or 1 oz)

D)    After Dark – I have used just about every kind of plastic . . . kreepy crawlers, conrads, grubs, tubes, worms, lunkerlegs, etc.  They will all work at times.  The  #1 bait of choice is the “Baby Puss” . . .  made by AA.  This bait was designed by a good friend of mine – Russ Dean.  I fish these with a ¾ oz or 1 oz football head.  I consider Russ to be one of the best wall fisherman around, and a lot of the things I am telling you I learned from him!

E)     Techniques – Your Boat should be positioned parallel to the wall (a trolling motor is almost a must to fish the structure correctly) on most days you will be drifting west to east due to normal wind and swell patterns.

Your casts should be at a 35 degree  +  45 degree angle to your right.  (This will allow the bait to freefall as you drift to it)  *A tip on casting . . . set the magnetic brake on your reel before it gets dark.  Make a cast at the distance you need and adjust the reel so it doesn’t backlash!  This will really help at night, especially dark nights where you can not see the edge of the wall.  You can now cast and know the bait is in the “zone” with no backlash.

The correct way to work your bait is to imagine that you are bringing it down stairs, swim it down until you make contact with the rocks, lift and wind a few cranks and let it fall to the next level of rocks.  You can do this until the bait is below you.  (I would not advise “dragging” your jig through the rocks, it will not return!

The other technique that will improve your wall catching ability is developing the “set-n-grind” method.  Yes, this is the same thing that Mike Gardner preaches but, using heavier tackle.

F)     General Information – A lot of fisherman fish around the walls during the day. There is a variety of things that can be tried.  Great perch fishing using frozen peas is available.  You can drift for halibut just off  the base of the wall, white sea bass and barracuda cruise the walls and at times can be caught in a variety of baits.  To me the wall takes on new life as the sun goes down and the big bass come out to play!  The first time you set the hook and a big calico or sand bass tries to take you down to his home . . . line stretching . . . you trying to crank and not getting any line.  This is the “Tug-o-war” that hooks the regular wall fisherman and makes us keep coming back!

Enjoy, Seeker Rods
Inshore Prostaf