Nothing symbolizes Southern California fishing better then Catalina Island. A true staple in the Southern California bight. Catalina Island fishing grounds are one of the most beautiful and healthy fishing grounds off the California coast. From Yellowtail, rockfish and Seabass the variety of species is incredible. One of our all time favorites to target at Catalina Island is the beautiful Calico Bass! An all around bitchin’ fish to target in the kelp, rocks or near the beach. The Calico Bass should definitely be on your fish bucket list.
Catalina Island fishing can be a little tricky if not geared up correctly. There are tons of different theories, techniques and ideas circulating on how to catch these fish. There is no right or wrong way, try different methods and see what works best for you.
We personally prefer a medium light rod, a baitcaster reel, heavy braid and a 5”-6” swimbait! Pitch that swimbait into the kelp, rip it back and hold on. Oh…and having your buddy pitch his swimbait to the followers and getting a double hook up is even sweeter!
Calico Followers
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term “followers”, when you hook a Calico Bass often times a pack of following bass will chase the hooked fish to the boat. The commotion and action of the hooked fish sets off almost a feeding frenzy like reaction with the other fish. So if you or your buddies are hooked into a Calico, pitch out another swimbait and be ready for that double hook up!
the set up
For us, nothing beats throwing plastics into the kelp and swimming them back. And for this application having the right gear pays dividends. Our go to set up is the Phenix Bass Recon Elite Bait Casting Rod!
An absolute beast of a rod that has the fast action needed when fishing swimbaits through heavy kelp. We pair this rod with the Shimano Tranx 301AHG! Combined this outfit makes for one lethal set up in the arsenal!
THE SHIMANO TRANX
A low profile but powerful baitcasting reel with an all metal frame. The Tranx 301 eats up 40 inches of line with each crank and comes with a fish stopping max drag of 18lbs. Equipped with Shimanos coreprotect water resistant tech that will protect your reel in the harshest of elements and provides long lasting performance. We love this reel and is worth the price tag, you wont be disappointed.
Rating: 95.5/100
Budget: $ $
PHENIX BASS RECON ELITE
A fantastic bait casting rod, especially when your Catalina Island fishing for Calico Bass. Made of premium T36 ton carbon fiber material the Bass Recon Elite series from Phenix works like a charm when whipping big swimbaits into kelp. The Medium/Light model with the Essex T-Ring carbide guides enhance casting, distance and smooth retrieves. EVA grips allow you to fish this rod all day in comfort, Phenix is a fantastic company and one of our favorite fishing rods is the Bass Recon Elite.
Rating: 93/100
Budget: $ $
WARBAITS JIG HEADS
One of our favorite jig heads on the market and the best part is there a local company out of San Diego! The Warbaits Weedless Swimbait Swim Jig is designed and made for targeting bass in Southern California. We love the 1-¼ oz. to 2 oz. sizes when throwing into kelp. You wont be disappointed with this product, we’ve been using Warbaits for years with no complaints.
Rating: 96/100
Budget: $
BIG HAMMER SWIMBAITS
To tie this outfit all together is the swimbait. Swimbaits are a dime a dozen and the market is saturated with so many different options. We’ve tried a lot of them and there are many great companies out there pumping out quality swimbaits but for this particular scenario we stick to Big Hammer. Throw on a 6inch Big Hammer Swimbait with the Warbaits jig head and you will be in the bight in no time.
Rating: 91/100
Budget: $
Here are some more Phenix Rods that can put the wood to some Catalina Island fish!
Click here, for a review on some top Phenix Rods!