Report from Pierfishing.com:
Fished the 72nd St. jetty for the first time tonight--started at 7pm and ended at 9pm. Cut my toe stepping on the rocks, lost a couple hooks, wasted time trying to make new leaders, only had squid... obviously, I was unprepared. I've gotta get some swimbaits...
To get live bait, would you just throw out a Sabiki here? Seems like it'd get snagged and pick up lots of seaweed.
Report from Pierfishing.com:
We hit the end of the pier and caught 4 spanish macks at the beginning, then a long drought, and finally around 15 pacific macks just before we left. There was hardly anyone fishing the end, but there were plenty of tourists waiting around for Ruby's. There have been some posts recently of pier rats getting annoyed when tourists ask questions. At first, I thought you guys were just snobs :) but today I got a small taste of how it feels. Here are some interesting questions and things overheard:
* What kind of fish is that? (A mackerel. A non-stop question as the lunchtime crowd was coming through.)
* That's a barracuda, right? (Nope, it's a mack.)
* Aww, he's killing it.
* Why'd you throw that back?
* That's mean. (I was in the process of unhooking.)
Aww, it really wasn't that bad. :) Besides, most of the questions were from kids and I had no problem answering them.
Random notes:
My dad got a crabbing net and caught a keeper that was 6in. Another half dozen were so small they actually slipped through the netting as we pulled 'em up.
Mustad bait rigs just don't work well for me. I lost both my Sabiki and Lucky Lura rigs to the pilings early and had to resort to the Mustad. The line tangled easily (didn't seem to handle stretching well) and I snagged one smelt with it all day vs. the baby spanish mack and 2 smelt with the others.
Lastly, had the pleasure of meeting my first board member in person, Snookie! Overheard someone yell her name as she fetched a net, so I sheepishly introduced myself. I fired off with my questions as she cordially answered all of 'em. :) Hope to see you again soon.
Report from Fishingnetwork.net:
We went to the bay on Friday and got the deluxe for $80. Caught some halibut, barracuda, and a bat ray. Poor buddy got stung by the ray. We fished the beach area near the bait barge and the PCH bridge. Used a 1/2 oz. egg sinker with a split shot about 14" above a size 4 live bait hook. Great experience.
Thanks for the help!
Report from Pierfishing.com:
Fished from about 7:30am to 1pm. Very windy with multiple layers of smog being swept in. Caught some smelt and queenfish (I think) to use as live bait for halibut, but got nothing on that front. I'm just not having any luck with my live bait trolley rig yet. :/ Snagged a sand dab, surf perch, and a guitarfish-sorta looking fish... all three were no bigger than the palm of my hand. The latter fish didn't have the texture of a ray, but it was shaped like a guitarfish so maybe it was?? At around 11am, the left (South) side of the pier just before Ruby's started picking up on mackerel. I moved over to that side and put a chunk of squid on the hook. In the next 30 minutes I was able to pick up around 10 or so, the largest being 12in. It slowed down as we left, but I still saw a couple more being pulled in. Macs are fun. :)
Gonna go ocean fishing tomorrow so I hope to catch some nice bass!
Report from Pierfishing.com:
This is my first report so bear with me! :) Got to Balboa Pier by 7:30 AM and the end of the pier was already full. My dad and I set up at the middle on the right side. Bought some fresh squid the night before at an Asian market and used it along with my Sabiki rig for some easy live bait throughout the day (also used an aerator to keep them lively). I tried the trolley rig some of you suggested in a previous thread. Put together a few 18" leaders with 15 lb. test line which included a snap swivel on one end, 3 split shot sinkers next to the swivel, and a Mustad live bait hook on the other end. I placed a 2 oz. pyramid sinker on my main line, sometimes casting out and other times letting it drop straight down. Then I attached the bait, clipped the leader to the main line, and let 'er drop. It seemed to me this rig would cause a lot less trauma to the bait since there's absolutely no swing occuring and there's less impact with the water. What do you guys think?
Anyway, I felt like I gave myself a good chance to catch something, but we got skunked. I saw a small ray and a couple halibut caught by others (all illegal). I figured they were let go since I saw at least 4 uniformed DFG out and about, but the lady next to us said they were put on ice. :/ Other than that we saw a couple dolphins that came within a hundred yards of the beach. There was a collective "ooh" from the beach crowd every time they surfaced.
Report from Fishingnetwork.net:
Thanks russ, I've actually been pier/ocean fishing a couple times and it seemed a lot easier than lake fishing. I was out this morning and it got hot fast... no shade at Hansen. :/ I think I need to get there earlier.
