As Barry Brightenburg and I raced along at the eye-popping speed of 40 knots in the new Contender 31 Tournament edition, all of my thoughts turned to the fact that Barry drove right past the bait receiver in Mission Bay and did not stop. He did not even pack in a case of frozen squid. We were on our way to fish San Clemente Island for two days, and we did not have one live bait in the tank.
I personally do not have the confidence in my lure-fishing skills to make that long of a run without live bait, but Barry and his comrades do it all the time. They know that if the yellows are on the surface, they break out the surface iron, if the yellows are down deep, they fish the Butterfly jig or yo-yo iron, and when fishing the Calicos they rarely need anything beyond Fish Trap lures. The only fish for which they did not have a perfect system of lure fishing were the rockfish (reds in particular). What some were finding is that when you used the Butterfly jig or the yo-yo iron, you would end up with a lot of bycatch, like the “endangered” bocaccio (salmon grouper). With this in mind the guys over at Shimano took it into their hands to come out with a lure that fishes reds and other quality rockfish well and is also capable of being fished on light tackle to bring the sport into rockfishing.
Rockfishing has been a favorite wintertime activity for anglers dating back almost to when this fishery began. Eating quality was one of the largest draws for fisherman wanting to fill the freezer. This was probably due to the fact that the definition of fishing bottomfish in Southern California con- sisted of a huge two- to three-pound weight and a gangion of up to thirty hooks. This technique is not particularly sporting, but man, did we fill the freezers with good eating fillets. Although the memories of rail plates and bicycle-handle cranks do bring a bit of a smile to my face, someone needed to come out with a technique to make the medium-depth rockfishing sporting and still successful. After my trip to San Clemente Island with the gang, I am sure Shimano has completed the task.
This trip to San Clemente Island in November consisted of two tasks: testing the Contender 31T on a real trip to the island (not just a short run out of the harbor) to check out the fish-ability of the boat, and to test out the new Lucanus jigging system that Shimano was about to launch to the public at the Fred Hall show. You may also have seen my feature on the Butterfly Jig that came out a year after the jig was laun-ched. I will not write about a product until I have gone out and seen how it works with my own two eyes. Once they have been proven, I feel comfortable coming to PCS readers and introducing you to a new system that really works.
The name Lucanus comes from a beetle with a body that’s similar to that of the jig. The history behind the Lucanus jig started in Japan amongst the commercial fishermen who make their living off of bottomfish. The area where they fish is heavily pounded, and this jig is one of the only ways to get them to bite.
We started off the day fishing the backside, dropping in the structure off of Lost Point, fishing around forty fathoms and working small rock piles. My first drop down was an instant big red. It reminded me of fishing bait; I hit the bottom and put it in gear and – wham! I was on a quality rockfish. I had to laugh at how easy the new system was and how I thought I was on a ten-pounder.
Shimano’s Tescata rod, with its light tip yet strong backbone, is designed for bringing up big rockfish from the depths. In field testing the new Lucanus jig system, they found that with the lighter tip the fish would peck at the lure and return to pile on it hard, while with the heavier tip they seemed to bite once and leave, probably due to the jig getting pulled too far away from their feeding zone. With the sensitive rod, you easily feel it when the fish hammers the jig at depths of 300 feet.
We fished the afternoon, nailing one red after another with little bycatch of the less attractive species. Sheer size and the fact that almost every fish was a red really caught my attention. Barry, who was involved in testing Shimano’s early version of the jig, made a good analysis; he stated that if you look at a salmon grouper’s mouth, it is upturned and shaped to chase baitfish just above the water column on the bottom. More sought-after species of rockfish have a mouth that is level or turned down for chasing critters on the bottom. This is what they believe keeps it in range of the higher quality species. The real beauty of this system is that the jig is fished horizontally, staying in the strike zone of reds as well as lingcod the whole time you fish it. The slow wind produced by the new Calcutta TE 400LJV, with its gear ratio of five to one, is what keeps the jig in that horizontal movement, making it the ultimate weapon for rockfish.
We found out the next day that there was a lot of squid just outside the structure in the flats, and that’s where the reds had moved. Each fish we pulled up spat out squid once they hit the deck. When the squid was being targeted, the yellow-and-gold Lucanus really put the hurt on the reds. I found that the slower I worked the jig, the better the results.
Dave Pfieffer had a great lingcod spot up around the front side, so we made the move. The minute Dave dropped the jig on his spot, it got pounded – a nice ten-or-so-pound lingcod. The versatility of this jig is phenomenal – a huge plus when fishing an island like Clemente, where conditions change daily. While testing it the Shimano team ran across a school of yellows and nailed some bruiser homegaurds; it definitely mimics sought-after prey species. One of the main targets of the trip was going to be calico bass and yellows, but they just did not want to chew with the lack of current and chilling temps. Still, we could go out and load up on quality rockfish.
The end of that day we ended up on the west end on the Nine and found tough conditions and rough weather. We still made a few drops and stocked up on some real nice copper rockfish as well as a few more nice reds. This was the most productive trip for rockfish I have ever had at the island, and we never put a piece of bait on the hook once!
This system is going to be a huge hit with the guys up the coast, as the combination of using the light tackle and fishing shallower water will add up to great-fighting rockfish. The Tescata rod combined with the Calcutta TE 400LJV working these Lucanus jigs has taken rockfishing to a whole new level. For anglers like me who have always loved rockfishing, the system is a godsend, making trips even more fun. Fighting a big red on light tackle is awesome – somewhere between fighting a big bull calico and a huge largemouth bass – but down deep. Even guys who shied away from rockfishing for its deep water, heavy tackle and a lack of action will not be disappointed. Now, rockfishing can be jam-packed with hard-hitting bites, long battles, and tons of fun! When rockfish season opens, be the first guy on the boat to put the Lucanus jig down and outfish the group.
Lucanus System
he Lucanus system is similar to the Butterfly system in that the combination of the tackle and the jig produce the results. With the Lucanus system the rod is the Tescata, and it comes in seven models: four casting models in the eight-foot length and three spinning in seven-foot lengths built with TC4 construction. Tescata rods are priced at $199.99. The reel for the system is the Calcutta TE 400LJV with super slow retrieve to keep the jig in the strike zone longer. The new Calcutta retails for $449.99. They are recommending you fish 20- to 30-pound braid with a short wind-on, which they are making in 23-foot lengths in 20- to 40-pound test monofilament – not fluorocarbon. Reason being that there needs to be some stretch to keep the ratio high for hookups. Hooks used on these jigs are tiny, and, once again, the system is key to success. Jigs come in six colors and five weights ranging from 60 to 200 grams. Jigs cost between $14.99 and $17.99 and are rigged with hooks already.
Once you are outfitted with the proper system, the technique is extremely simple. Upon hitting the bottom you start a super slow retrieve, and as you feel small bites, you just continue and the fish pile on the jig and set themselves up. Just keep retrieving, and they are on. If you don’t get a bite, drop it back down after you are around 30 feet off of the bottom, and start again. Fishing the jig is simple and extremely efficient. To find out more, go to lucanusjig.com to download an instructional video.
