https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Ocean/Regulations/Groundfish-Summary
Northern Groundfish Management Area
The Northern Groundfish Management Area means ocean waters between 42°00’ N. lat. (the Oregon/California border) and 40°10’ N. lat. (near Cape Mendocino, Humboldt County).
Mendocino Groundfish Management Area
The Mendocino Groundfish Management Area means ocean waters between 40°10’ N. lat. (near Cape Mendocino, Humboldt County) and 38°57.50’ N. lat. (at Point Arena).
San Francisco Groundfish Management
The San Francisco Groundfish Management Area means ocean waters between 38°57.50’ N. lat. (at Point Arena, Mendocino County) and 37°11’ N. lat. (at Pigeon Point, San Mateo County).
Central Groundfish Management Area
The Central Groundfish Management Area means ocean waters between 37°11’ N. lat. (at Pigeon Point, San Mateo County) and 34°27’ N. lat (at Point Conception, Santa Barbara County).
Southern Groundfish Management Area
The Southern Groundfish Management Area means ocean waters between 34°27’ N. lat. (at Point Conception, Santa Barbara County) and the U.S./Mexico border.
Very anticipated full retail release of the Tourney Sl'eel line is about to drop. After a full year of testing and smashing fish up and down the coast, we feel very confident this bait can hang with the rest of our line.
We will also be adding a new color to our full line of long baits. It's been awhile since we've added a new color so we're excited. This color will be a surprise but should be a hit.
Both the Tourney Sl'eel 2 pack and the new color will be added on July 17th. Thanks again for all your support and stay tuned for our Tourney Super Scampi in September... game changer!
The Sl'eels are here.... The Sl'eels are here!!!
Sl'eel Action Video Here
We need your help. We need 2 NEW colors for 2018/19.
We will be adding 2 new color selections to our bait arsenal. We have a few ideas but we would love to get your input. Please tell us what colors we should be pouring. Also tell us what species these colors will be most attractive too and why... what's the science behind your colors? So start working on your colors!
What if YOU WIN!!!??? If we choose your color(s), we will send you a complete set of our Big Foot swim baits, tournament slugs, the NEW sleel, 8' scampi and scampi swims. Here are the rules:
1. You must join and "like" the BransonBaits Facebook page to be eligible.
2. Your suggested color entries must be entered onto the Facebook Color Contest event page.
3. You must be able to describe your colors(s) precisely using samples pictures from other baits or other means. Try not to enter baits that resemble out existing bait colors.
4. You MUST share the page so other can participate... more suggestions the better.
5. All entries must be received by October 22nd, 2018. A winner will be chosen within 10 days.
6. You are ONLY allowed to enter ONCE per person. Each entry must include - one 3 color bait and one 2 color bait.
7. Winners will be announced on our Facebook page, event page and you will notified by Facebook messaging.
OK, Send us your entries. We are very excited to hear what colors you think we should be pouring and why....
Click HERE to get started!
Thanks You!
Well we are SO close to having one of the best colors we have ever developed. We've had a lot of customers request these and trust me guys, I want to start pouring these asap but they need to be perfect and consistent. It's called Road Kill and it's basically a red style bait color combo and it looks killer. It's has a dark brownish green pearl back section with red hairs, a semi-transparent dark red with black flake body and a extremely bright fresh blood colored tail.
This bait looks so fishy but besides that, IT CATCHES FISH!!! I personally tested this bait a bunch at the end of last season and all I have to say is, 20"+ vermillion rock fish love it.
This color will be featured in our Big Foot Swim Baits, Sea Slugs and in our 2016 Super and regular 8" Scampi's which we're planning to debut in June.
We need some MiniSlug photos!
We want yours... ALL of them! So let's run a contest.
Just take a picture of your best MiniSlug catch. Make sure the bait is completely visible. Submit your photo for your chance to win a new pair of EGO spinning fish grippers with 40lb scale. Retail value of $69.00 This contest starts on August 1st and ends November 1st 2015.
Photos of species besides Rock fish, ling and cabezon are highly recommended.
Fine Print: By submitting any photos to this contest, you agree that all and any photos are now the property of Branson Baits and you give up all rights to these photos. We also then have the right to use and/or edit these photos in any way we see fit. Thank You.
http://bransonbaits.myshopify.com/products/minislug-4-pieces
I received a couple questions and/or concerns regarding the 1.75oz BransonBaits.com lead heads. Some folks are concerned that there is not enough hook exposed out of the bait with these heads. These 1.75oz do have a smaller hook and specifically designed for rock fish like blues and cabezon who do have smaller mouths. But honestly, I don't have a problem hooking fish, even 30"+ lings. 
How can I expose more of the hook? File down the tops of the shanks!
Here are some of the benefits of filing down the shank tops on these lead heads:
• It will expose the hook a bit more, resulting in better hookups..
• It also puts a lot more plastic between the hook shank and the top of the bait, making your baits last longer.
• Also, if you're using thin plastic baits, obviously not ours... it tends to decrease the chance of the bait splitting.
I actually do this mod with all of my lead heads. I'm hoping our next generation of heads will have this option built into the mold.
Check it out...
Yesterday was our final test of our MiniSlugs. This rock fish specific bait is 5.5" long with a 3 bearing glass rattle molded right into the tail of every bait. We needed one more day of real testing before release sometime next month. I went to Timber Cove, CA which can be a challenging location for larger rock fish. I showed up and before launching I hailed the radio and received reports of very slow action which makes sense. The marine forecast was calling for a southern swell, south wind and 3.5' tide change in 6 hours.
Ok I thought, this should make for a challenging test which is exactly what I wanted. Well, we killed it! Several rock fish to 19.5", 4-5 cabbies to 17" and 4 lings to 28.5". I was able to pull a full bag of quality rock fish. As I spoke to the rest of the crews coming in, they didn't do as well. They asked what I used and I handed out a dozen of my mini and regular slugs. Good day!
Welcome MiniSlug to the Branson family of baits!
Branson Baits Owners takes 2nd Place out of 185 anglers!
Branson Baits was at one of the largest inshore tourneys on the West Coast this weekend. Give Me Shelter GS9 at Shelter Cove, CA. We sold a bunch of baits and met a bunch of guys who really like what we're doing. With 185 anglers competing it was a blast and yet very competitive. Start was at sunrise and it was already snotty. I fished a bit south of the cove in 80' of water. The wind was blowing 20+ mph with 1 - 2 wind waves. It was rough to say the least. My partner, Justin Hayes and I decided to head more north to be safe. I finally found some good fish about 2 miles north of the cove in about 30 of water. I radioed Justin over and we went to work.. The Sea Slug did it's job, boating almost 10 lings up to 29". I also caught a new personal best black rockfish at 20.5 inches at about 7lbs. I caught a CA limit of 5 and none were smaller than 18", that's a 20lb stringer of quality rock fish!
Sad to say, I did miss a couple really good fish and a monster ling at the boat very late in the day, but that's fishin' not catchin'. Anyways, I finished in 2nd place and actually tying my partner who also fished a Branson Tourney Sea Slug. We also won the team competition! Great payday no doubt!
Look out this year Branson Baits are taking it!
We will be adding 3 new color selections to our bait arsenal. We have a few ideas but we would love to get your input. Please tell us what colors we should be pouring and why. Also tell us what species these colors will be most attractive too. If we choose your color(s), we will send you our very first 2 new color pours of our Big Foot swim baits, tournament slugs and tournament scampi swims. Here are the rules:
1. You must join our Facebook Color Contest to be eligible.
2. Your suggested color entries must entered onto the Facebook Color Contest page.
3. You must be able to describe your colors(s) precisely using samples pictures from other baits or other means.
4. All entries must be received by March 31st, 2015.
5. You are allowed only 3 entries per person.
6. Winners will be notified by Facebook messaging.
OK, Send us your entries. We are very excited to hear what colors we should be pouring.
Check it out: https://www.facebook.com/events/1537705576499240/
Thanks You!
We have sponsored our first event this weekend, The Lowrance Rockfish Classic at Anchor Bay, CA. This incredible event brought in some of the best inshore anglers from around Northern California. We supplied a free Sea Slug or BigFoot swimbait in every pre-registered anglers grab bag. This was a great opportunity for Branson Baits and we were well received.
I am very happy to announce that Tim Duffy of Redding CA caught the 2nd place Ling Cod on a Branson Baits BigFoot Swimbait in halloween color. Glad that we could help you get on the podium. Having this event being our first release of any product to the public, well this is a huge win for us! Hey Tim, thanks for choosing Branson Baits!
Thanks Mike for creating an awesome bait, it landed me my personal best hook and line Lingcod @ 34 1/2 " and 15.41 lbs., ( on the first drop ) Can't wait to try some of your other baits out. - Tim Duffy
