My buddy RJ, of the Promar – Ahi USA crew that took care of me when I attended the Fred Hall Show in Long Beach, had recently started testing the new Promar Ikara jigs and was really getting into micro jigging.
I had some knicked up tungsten jigs we sell, that I had touched up with glow paint and nail polish, and a couple other JDM jigs I hadn’t used in a while, so I sent them to RJ to compare with the non-tungsten jigs he was fishing.
He had a successful outing with them and agreed to share how the tungsten jigs worked on the saltwater bass of SoCal. Thanks RJ!
RJ Oropeza:
My background: Hi Scott. Being out on the ocean, with our lines in the water is where I always want to be. For me, targeting and landing large Calico and Sand Bass is always an option, but when the weather is good, heading offshore is a must. If it’s not Santa Barbara Island, then Catalina Island is the next best location. Fishing for rockfish when it’s in season, hunting for large yellowtails coming up from the South in the summer, and drifting for Halibut can result in big and memorable catches when offshore. When I am not fishing on the boat, I scratch the itch by surf fishing, and kayak fishing. I am open and enjoy all forms of saltwater fishing. I find the ocean to be my mediation zone, and when I am fishing, I am meditating.
On Saturday, we were able to take the boat out for a couple hours to see if we can catch some keepers inside the Los Angeles Harbor. We left the dock at 11:15am, the skies were slightly overcast, with light wind blowing. The outside temperature was 69 degrees, and there was a slight chop. Our first stop was a spot, near the San Pedro Bay Area, inside the break wall. It took about 5 minutes to arrive to our desired location, we shut the engines off, and prepared the trolling motor for a slow drift.
We could see via the fish finder that there were a few fish sitting on the structure, waiting to be caught. I reached for my Daiwa Harrier rod armed with the 40gram tungsten jig (Blue/White/Silver/Pink) with VMC Techset assists. To keep things stealthy yet somewhat abrasion resistant, I was using 30lb Seaguar Premier as the fluorocarbon leader. It didn’t take me more than 2 minutes to get my line in the water. Before I could feel the jig hit the ocean floor, I was already hooked up to what felt like a nice size bass. I was shocked at how fast it took to catch the first fish of the day. This is always a good sign, when you catch the first fish within 10 minutes of starting out the trip. I had a feeling the day was going to be fun.
With the help of the new jig, we managed to put a few more bass on the deck along with a fighting mackeral. I was able to hook them on the free fall, the retrieve, and on the bounce. It was clear to me that this tungsten jig was very attractive to the bass in the harbor. The predators around could not resist the sexy dance that this lure displayed. The beveled edges create a realistic sharp darting motion, and the weight allows you to launch the lure far enough to have a long retrieve back, giving the angler plenty of time to dance the jig back to the boat. The color scheme, with added glow dots, seemed to be very effective.
On several retrieves, I was able to see fish come near the boat as they chased the jig in hope of a better view. This jig made what could have been a slow day, turn into a fun and productive one. Overall I felt that this jig was a must have for any angler interested in slow pitch jigging. The small and simple design could not be ignored by the fish we were targeting. Thanks again, for your recommendation, as always I appreciate the wisdom that you share. You were right, this jig, “slayed the bass in the harbor“.
I look forward to landing more fish in the future, with this sexy piece of tungsten and will give the other jigs their fair shot in the water.
Aloha Scott! Keep your pole bent, and your line tight.
Hi Scott! Nice fish! Did you cook em up after? I wanted to ask you about lure colors for Hawai’i. I want to stock up on lures while they are on discount and I found a couple good lures. What are some good lure colors. One diving plug is on really good discount but only has the red head white body color in stock. Is this a good color for fishing in Hawai’i? There aren’t really any baitfish that look like it. Does color matter? Thanks for your help! Tight lines!
Hi Chow,
Color does matter, but the shape and action that mimics the bait fish is more important than color. In Hawaii, our bait fish are small and move quickly.
Hope that helps.
-scott