Ep. 99: Wall Fishing Setup, Beast Hook Rigs & [FISH]rx Cabrillo Killer Rod

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

Episode 99, recorded live on September 2, 2025, is the last episode before Tackle Meet and the 100th. The fishing talk is dense: Daniel’s fixation on catching a spotty on the Sudden Impact gill, new Blacktail swimbait hooks in four sizes, a hook shank straightening tip that changes hookup ratios, and Luke’s report from the wall including a midnight surface iron bite for barracuda that confirms every retrieve style works at night if there’s enough moon.

In This Episode

• Daniel’s gill obsession: why the Sudden Impact gill on a light Beast hook ga-rigged is the setup he’s been targeting spotties with
• New Blacktail swimbait hooks announced in sizes 1, 3, 5, and 7: Daniel’s been fishing the 3s, 5s, and 7s and they pair well with the Sugar Shaker 5.75″ trout
• Belly weights now available in 3/4 oz, 1 oz, and 1.5 oz: the 1.5 oz on a Sugar Shaker gets bigger baits to depth faster and holds position
• Hook shank straightening tip: pull back slightly on the hook to straighten the shank and improve hookup ratios — there’s a how-to video in the playlist
• Luke’s wall report: outside wasn’t biting, inside was — 3.8 and a couple 4.5-lb fish, a couple CCA tournament entries, and an exploration trip that ended at midnight on surface irons for barracuda
• Episode 100 preview: live at Tackle Meet in La Habra on the 6th, round table format, multiple guests, all three hosts on the floor

The Gill Rig and Why the Hook Shank Matters

Daniel has been pouring belly weights specifically to get the Sudden Impact gill to fish where he wants it. The setup he’s been workshopping: light Beast hook, ga-rigged, just clearing the bottom. The logic is the same as a Tokyo rig in principle — the hook sits elevated with clearance, the bait kicks freely, and you’re not dragging the nose of the hook along the bottom on every retrieve. He’s been catching spotties on it and wants that specific fish on a gill badly enough that it’s driving his rigging decisions.

The hook shank tip that came out of that conversation is easy to miss but immediately actionable. When a hook shank curves down, the point angle changes and hookup ratios drop. A small adjustment pulling the shank back into a straight position changes the geometry of the set. If you’re fishing any weighted hook and not checking this, you’re leaving bites on the table. The how-to is in the Time On The Water playlist.

When the Outside Isn’t Biting, Fish the Inside

Luke’s wall report from the past week had a useful pattern in it. The outside of the wall wasn’t producing, so they moved to the inside — and that’s where the 3.8 and 4.5-lb fish came from. The inside doesn’t always produce bigger fish, but when pressure or conditions push fish off the outside, the inside can be firing while everyone else is grinding the same stretch of wall. Moving and adjusting is the whole game.

The “Plan B” trip with Larry and Lim went further with that idea — six different spots across a single night, ending with midnight surface iron bites for barracuda. Luke’s point from that session: everything works at night, but the common factor when it doesn’t is low light. Enough moon and the reaction bite opens back up across slow pitch, crankbait, A-rig, and surface iron alike. The technique isn’t what’s limiting — the light is. For more on reading the wall and what conditions to look for, the SoCal structure fishing guide covers the positioning side of this.

Why This Episode Matters

This episode is useful because it connects rigging details to real fishing outcomes. The belly weight sizing conversation, the hook shank adjustment, and the ga-rig clearance discussion aren’t abstract — they’re things that changed what Daniel was catching and how Luke was reading a trip. Those kinds of small decisions compound over a session.

It’s also a good prequel to Episode 100. The community momentum heading into Tackle Meet — new hooks, new weight sizes, a midnight barracuda story — captures exactly what the show has become: a place where the actual state of SoCal inshore fishing gets talked through in real time. The spotted bay bass guide and SoCal structure fishing guide both connect to the rig and wall discussions here.

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