SoCal Fishing Scene Update | Time On The Water

Hosts: Daniel Dahlin ([FISH]rx), El Charly, Luke Dean (Bait Slingers / Artemis Charters)

The SoCal fishing scene is moving. In Episode 131, recorded live on May 26, 2026, Daniel, Charly, and Luke cover the May drop sellout, how Daniel builds custom painted slow pitch jigs from blanks, the rigging setup that makes a slow pitch jig work correctly, and Charly’s calico catch on a full burn bladed jig at the San Pedro jetty.

In This Episode

The May drop sold out: soft plastics, crankbaits, and the Reaper slow pitch jigs all moved fast
How Daniel sources blanks and paints slow pitch jigs for featured drops with partner brands like Connor Doyle’s Reaper
Why solid rings matter in slow pitch jig rigging — and where to tie your line
Charly catches a calico at the San Pedro jetty on a full burn with Deek’s bladed jig (the Cheapskate collab in spotty color)
Parallel casting structure: why angle matters when you’re working a jetty wall
Daniel planning a June return to Bahia de los Angeles — different season than October, different fish
Luke and Daniel on the CCA tournament, the Waterman’s Collective event, and the West Coast Bass Series
Upcoming events: Long Beach Shipyard Marina tackle show and Lakeside Rodeo in San Diego County
Split ring tools coming soon from Bait Slingers — small and large, custom wrapped

The May Drop Recap

The Chovie Death drop soft plastics and crankbaits all moved fast, and so did the Reaper slow pitch jigs. Daniel had painted a run of blanks from Connor Doyle and they were gone quick. “You guys sold out, Daniel. That was super cool,” Charly said on-air, after his own cart got cleared before he could check out.

If you missed the jigs, you missed them. The soft plastics are still in stock. Paddle tails in all sizes, Slugs, Craws, and Dragon Tails are available now at fish-rx.com. A few of the JK Baits crankbaits in the Bluechovie Buzzsaw color are still floating around, too. They won’t last.

For the Reaper jigs, Daniel tried a new stencil method: wet card stock pressed against the jig body takes the shape as it dries, giving you a form-fitted stencil with clean edges. He’s planning to test the same approach with Mod Podge and tissue paper next, which would make the stencils even more form-fitting. The whole process grew out of him being too busy to paint the original blanks for over a year.

One blem survived. Daniel’s fishing it.

How to Rig a Slow Pitch Jig Correctly

This came up directly from Connor Doyle’s earlier appearance (Ep. 120) and the May drop. Most people tie either to the jig itself or to the split ring. What you want is a solid ring between the split ring and your line.

Here’s the setup: jig body, split ring, solid ring. Tie your line to the solid ring. That third point of connection lets the jig and the hooks swing independently. Everything has freedom of movement. Connor described how advanced slow pitch anglers keep their solid ring tied to their line and just swap jigs by changing out the split ring. Simple, efficient, and the jig fishes the way it’s supposed to.

If you’re buying slow pitch jigs pre-rigged, check whether the rings are already set up this way. A lot of them are. If you’re rigging your own, get solid rings and do it right.

For the full breakdown on how to fish a slow pitch jig in SoCal inshore conditions, start with our How to Fish a Slow Pitch Jig Field Notes guide.

Bladed Jig, Full Burn, San Pedro Jetty

Charly and his buddy Dylan hit the jetty in San Pedro after Glizzy’s. Dylan didn’t want to go. Charly made him go. Dylan caught a cabezon on a swing head with a 5-inch Sudden Impact. Then Charly made a parallel cast with a 3/4 oz Deek’s bladed jig in the spottie color from the Cheapskate collab.

Full burn. Stopped cold. Calico.

It went into the kelp and he pulled it out. Wind picked up after that and they called it, but the one fish made the trip. Parallel casting the rocks is the move at a jetty wall — work it from the right position and you’re covering the fish-holding edge the whole retrieve. A full burn isn’t always the call, but when the fish are active and you’re moving parallel to structure, it’s worth letting it run before you adjust.

What’s Next in the SoCal Fishing Scene

Luke is heading back to Bahia de los Angeles at the end of June. Last trip was October. Different season, different conditions, different fish. He’ll be putting out a pre-trip breakdown video covering what he’s bringing and how he’s rigged, and a post-trip video on what actually worked.

On the tournament side, Daniel is targeting the West Coast Bass Series, hosted by Waterman’s Collective, as his next event. He’s also looking at the CCA spotty tournament, though he noted the 15-inch submission requirement is a tough bar.

Luke has an IGFA measuring board now, which means any big fish from a charter has a legitimate path to a record submission. He floated the idea of booking a trip to target open line class records. There are plenty still sitting low in the calico and spotty categories. If you want a shot at one, that’s the move.

Upcoming shows: Long Beach Shipyard Marina tackle show at Alamitos Bay (combined [FISH]rx and Bait Slingers booth), and the Lakeside Rodeo in San Diego County on the 20th.

Why This Episode Matters

Community episodes like this one show what’s actually happening in the SoCal inshore fishing scene between product drops and guide releases. The Reaper collab opened the door for more featured product partnerships, and Daniel named it directly. What he’s actively fishing is what drives the next drop. If he’s in junior weight jigs right now, that’s probably a signal.

The slow pitch jig rigging breakdown is genuinely useful content that most people skip over. The solid ring setup is simple but it’s the difference between a jig that fishes correctly and one that doesn’t. Connor covered this in Ep. 120 and it keeps coming up because it matters.

The jetty calico story is worth filing away. Full burn on a bladed jig, parallel to the rocks, in a spot that most people walk past. That’s SoCal inshore fishing in a nutshell.

Watch the full episode on the Time On The Water YouTube channel. New episodes every Tuesday at 6 PM.

Ep. 131: May Drop Recap, Slow Pitch Jig Rigging & the SoCal Fishing Scene