Weights hit the bottom, 350 feet down, and rods bent deeply without hesitation. Shoulders and arms went to work cranking up heavy hauls.
Up on the bridge, I watched the fishfinder and smiled broadly. I knew what was coming up and how many we had to look forward to catching.
At deep color, excitement grew as big red fish grew even bigger when they approached the surface. One at a time, anglers hauled big red snapper and chucklehead over the gunwale.
How big? These fish ranged from three to eight pounds apiece; big enough to provide thick slabs of the tastiest fish available at this time of year. Everyone was happily thinking about red snapper for dinner through the holiday season.
We have a nice red bonus in store for us again this December. We can target tasty red rockfish, such as vermillion (red snapper) and copper rockfish (chuckleherad). We can fish for rockfish through the end of the year at depths up to 100 fathoms (600 feet). Check for regulatory updates before you go.
Here in the Santa Barbara Channel we are blessed with the best rockfishing opportunities in all of Southern California. Along the mainland coast we have easy access to a long meandering drop-off beginning up the coast off of Ellwood and extending up to near Point Conception. The area has plenty of rocky structure for rockfish to call home.
The waters surrounding the Channel Islands are loaded with reds. Santa Rosa and San Miguel islands have the biggest populations of huge red rockfish.
Ways to get out to these areas include private boats, open-party sportboats and private charter services out of Port Hueneme, Channel Islands Harbor, Ventura Harbor and Santa Barbara Harbor.
You will fish various types of productive structure spots, including rocky rubble and outcroppings, pinnacles, canyons and shelves with irregularities along the edges. Plan to begin a drift so that baits or jigs drop right down into rocky spots, once they have been located with a good fish finder.
The important thing is to drop down immediately once the boat begins a drift. Very productive short drifts are common. Hooks tend load up quickly with fish.
As soon as the boat drifts away from the structure spot that holds fish, reel up, go back updrift, and try it again. Repeat as necessary.
Current regulations require that when fishing for rockfish, no more than two hooks may be used. Note that a treble hook, like those found on many jigs, counts as one hook. It is perfectly okay to fish with a jig on the bottom and a teaser hook tied about 18 inches above the jig. Often, multiple fish will be caught with this rig. The largest will usually be on the jig, and smaller rockfish will bite the teaser hook.