FISHING
STRUCTURED SEARCH FOCUS YOUR SOUTHLAND SALTWATER BASS FISHING AROUND ARTIFICIAL REEFS, SUNKEN VESSELS AND OTHER DEEPWATER HABITAT. By Capt. Bill Schaefer
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ere we are in January and fishing for a lot of saltwater species – from bass to tuna – is still going strong. However, the tuna are drifting out of small-boat range, storms are starting to hit Southern California, and it’s not always the best fishing weather this time of year. Yet fishermen should not throw in the towel yet, because the inshore bass fishing can still be great this time of year if you follow the fish. Calico bass slide out onto deep structure and sand bass join them in their search for winter nourishment. Last January, a lot of my fishing buddies and I spent much of our time on the artificial reefs, dropoffs and even sunken boats off the Southland coast, chasing and catching bass.
THE STRUCTURE SPECTER Up and down the coast there are structure targets you need to learn for deepwater fishing. You may even discover a new one nobody knows about. It could be artificial reefs made of old pier pilings, concrete, boulders the size of Volkswagen Bugs, and outlet pipes, sunken ships, as well as natural contours on the bottom. All of these will hold bass through the rest of the winter months. I just want to remind you that on some of the artificial reefs made from old bridges or concrete, there can be rebar sticking out of the various materials. You may want to go with a form of
Author Bill Schaefer’s son Bricen holds a nice deepwater calico caught off Point Loma in San Diego. As bass head to deep water offshore in winter, finding underwater structure could help you catch more fish. (BILL SCHAEFER) calsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2023 California Sportsman
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