Report from Pierfishing.com:
Another beautiful night shared with good company... Here are some pics:
Report from Pierfishing.com:
Thought I'd try making some bait for this weekend's Malibu GT. Got to the pier around 6am and threw some grubs at the surf. Caught a nice 9" perch. Put on the kroc for some mac/bonito and moved to the end but didn't get anything. Will try again tomorrow morning...
Report from Pierfishing.com:
Fished the jetty from around 6:30am to 11:00am. Thought I'd target some halibut so I started out with a 3" sardine swimbait and got hit immediately, but came up empty. The water was pretty clear and I saw a few juvenile halibut hanging around a small tide pool-type area (a couple small rays, too). Switched to 1.5" motor oil grubs a little while later to try to catch some bass around the rocks and hooked up a brilliantly spotted calico bass around 9". Things were slow after that so I decided to head back home, casting out every so often on the way back to the car. Then boils started to appear... bonito! I scrambled to get my Kroc on and tried to cast out to the boils wherever they appeared. Got a bite... turned out to be a small barred sand bass. A few more casts... Big pull on my 6# test, but it didn't feel like a bonito--this thing just hunkered down. I was pleasantly surprised to find a 19" barred sand bass on the end of my line--what a nice keeper!
Still no bonito, but a good day overall.
Report from Pierfishing.com:
Hashem unhooking David's thornback
David's leopard
Nelson's thornback
Report from Pierfishing.com:
Got to Newport Harbor around 5:45am this morning and rented a deluxe skiff. First stop was the PCH bridge... Lots of mullet (that's what my friend thought they were) jumping out of the water, but no bites as my friend threw out krocs for bonito and I dropped sardines for halibut, bass, etc. Ended up with just a small ray. Decided to try the jetty area near the bait barge...
* 2 halibut
* 1 barred sand bass (13" kept)
* 3 walleye surfperch (6", 7", 8" kept)
* 1 barracuda
* 5 mackerel
Good variety to keep things interesting, but still no bonito.
Report from Pierfishing.com:
I arrived at 6:30am... but without my tackle box! What a terrible feeling. I asked a guy in the parking lot if he'd sell me a lure, and instead gave me 2 swimbaits for free. Mike, if you're reading this thanks a ton!
Decided to walk down to the bend in the jetty (note to self: don't wear flip-flops on jetties) just across from the bait station on the harbor side. Threw the swimbait and got hooked immediately as I reeled in. The water was very clear so I saw that it was a calico bass, but he quickly ducked back under the rocks. Didn't want to break the line (6# test) so I just held it in place for about 2 minutes until he gave up and surfaced. Probably was around 15-16". Here's the bendo pic:
I eventually miscast and SNAP went the lure. Tied up the second swimbait and walked a little further out. A couple minutes later grabbed another calico somewhere around 12":
Lots of garibaldi and opaleye swimming about. I was able to catch an 8-9" opaleye, but as soon as I lifted him out of the water, SNAP!
I met up with noviceboy (who, BTW, is no novice) and he showed me how to cast with a conventional reel. After a few casts with nothing but bird's nests, I humbly set it down. noviceboy was targeting halibut and there were a few in plain view. The good visibility made it a great lesson in how they go after their prey. I know the books and experts all explain it, but it's a different thing to see it with your own eyes. There were at least 2 that ended up taking his bait, but he wasn't able to hook them. He had to leave empty-handed, but I gained more tackle to fish with (thanks man!)
I walked back towards the bait station (asked another guy if he'd sell me hooks, but gave me 2 for free), casting a motor oil grub here and there. Came across a sandy spot which had at least 12 depressions of halibut outlines--darn, missed 'em! I tried casting anyway... I reeled in slowly, jerking the rod tip every so often, then I feel a slight tug and my line starts going back and forth. Wait, wait... set the hook... woohoo! It looked to be just short of legal as I reeled it in. Then, as I'm lifted it out of the water, SNAP! Ugh, what an empty feeling.
Threw a few more casts, lost some more tackle... then I was out of sinkers and done for the day.
Lessons learned: Fishermen are good folks, halibut are pretty deliberate when taking the bait, and never underestimate good fishing line!
