We are in the midst of a ripper of an El Niño right now. Yellowtail are biting everywhere. Dorado is getting caught as far north as the Channel Islands and there have been 3 wahoo caught so far by my count. While these warm water conditions present amazing fishing opportunities, they also present challenges. One of those challenges is that very small anchovies are the predominant bait right now and sardines are in short supply.

I knew this situation going into my trip on the Vendetta 2 on July 27th. The trip was a full day trip to the Coronado Islands chasing yellowtail. My response to this dilemma was to bring a couple small sized surface irons (Two Fish Mini, Salas 7X Junior below), a Shimano Colt Sniper, and a Nomad Ridgeback jig.

It was the right idea, but proved to be inadequate when it got down to it.

On the bright side, Capt. Ray Summer immediately put us on fish. On the first stop of the day, Ray marked fish. He did a chum circle and we dropped anchor. The deckhand on the tank popped a couple scoops of anchovies over the rail and immediately the yellows responded popping up on the surface all around the boat. The first person on the boat to connect was fellow Fishing Syndicate team member Chris Arnold.

I had a mint with prism belly Tady 45 tied on to my surface iron combo (Fishing Syndicate S-glass 90J and Tranx 500HG). I put several casts into the midst of boiling fish only to come up empty each time. Obviously, the fish were keyed into the small bait. It was very frustrating. That action at the beginning of the trip was the best of it. More opportunities presented themselves over the course of the day, but that action to start us off was the prime opportunity. When I find myself in these situations, I put my trust in believing in what I’m doing and usually I get my shot.

In this case though, I clearly waited too long. When I eventually did make a switch, I tried that 2 Fish jig, but it was too light. There was a bit of chop in the water at this point, and it just didn’t stay below the surface for an effective presentation. I needed something heavier. I tried the Ridgeback, but they just didn’t want it.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that trip.

I talked about it with my buddy Capt. John Anjard. He said that when these kind of conditions presented themselves in the past, they’d respond with small heavy jigs like the Tady AA or Y2 (that funky twisted metal jig with a single hook facing up). As he was telling me this, my mind drifted back to the Vendetta 2 trip last year and Chris showed me a Salas 7x Junior HEAVY that he was using.

Not that what I brought on this trip was bad. Those jigs have their time and place. But I’ve since responded by adding these jigs to my current irons box in my tackle bag.

I tried that Tady 9 on this weekend’s trip on my buddy Scott Swavings‘ boat (the SS Waving – get it?) on Sunday. No takers, but no obvious surface fish either. I mainly wanted to just see how it swam. It swam best with a medium to slower retrieve. I imagine if a faster retrieve is what they want, that 7x Junior heavy will be the ticket (which explains a lot about Chris’ success with this jig).

Another thing I’ve been bringing in response to the small bait scenario is an Alabama rig aka A-rig or Umbrella Rig. I picked up a Recon Baits A-rig at the Del Mar PCS show while I was working the Fishing Syndicate booth. They were being sold in the Big Bass Dreams booth across the aisle from us. On their video loop was a section with owner, Oliver Ngy catching maybe a 60 lb. black seabass with one. I figured if it could hold up to that fish, it could hold up in the situations I wanted it for.

My initial thought was to use it at Estero for targeting halibut and corvina. Often the available forage is small smelt. The dilemma is how to present a small profile bait, without having to resort to a light setup to throw it. I think the A-rig might be the solution. I brought it out with me on that New Seaforth trip, and deployed it after I scored 2 yellows on bait. It held up against a small bonito. When I was fishing with Scott this weekend, he told me they fished around County Line on his Aloha Spirit trip last week and guys throwing the A-rig were catching multiple legal calico bass at a time with them. Given the current situation, this might be an item you want to invest (it’s not cheap) in adding to your aresenal.

Last but not least, the Cast-A-Bubble. All these are is a bobber/floater, but with added benefits. There’s a pin in the middle of them that you run your line though. You can add or drain out water inside the bubble using this pin. Adding water adds weight that you can use to your advantage to get your small bait out and away from the boat. I picked some up earlier this year because I wanted to target corbina in a spot that I wasn’t allowed to fish in. I put the Bubble on my main line before a swivel, and then ran about a 12 inch leader under it to a small bait hook that I put a bloodworm on. I let the current take me into the prohibited area. It worked. I’ve since used this presentation at Estero for corvina and I got a bite doing that too. Another benefit of the clear bubble is its being “camo” vs. the other kinds of bobbers/floaters out there on the market. A lot of the old timers swear by this presentation and it’s a cheap add. I think I paid $3 at Walmart for the package below.

So there you have it. Don’t be upset if there aren’t any sardines available on your next trip. Be prepared with some answers if you find yourself in that situation. Good luck if you get out there.