Shelter Island Youth Tourney (I missed it!)

Report from Pierfishing.com:

Great to see everyone--there was hardly any work for me to do, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time!

The pier is quiet before the event starts


Reviewing some of the local species


Folks milling around the bait shop


The kids busy fishing!


Awards are handed out--congrats!


Cool shot of a Navy ship passing an old clipper

Ok, the joke's on me... I was actually at the LA County Fair on Saturday with Mina, blithely unaware that there were hooks to be baited, fish to be released, and photos to be taken at that very moment. All this time I thought the tourney was on Sunday!

My family and I arrived Saturday night, checked into our hotel, and were settling into a restful night of sleep when I decided to do a last minute check of the PFIC board to see if there were any updates. Then I saw fishingrod's post--"Kids Tourney a success thanks to the volunteers".

Buffoon, LOL. I couldn't believe I was a day late! My wife just kept laughing at me. Oi...

Anyway, it sounds like the tourney was a success! Great pics and nice job by all who helped out. I was with you guys in spirit.

King Harbor, California Coastal Cleanup Day

Report from Pierfishing.com:

The weather was great for our participation in the California Coastal Cleanup Day. By the time I got there Hashem had already setup the table with the supplies ready. Earlier I had stopped by Paul's Bait and Tackle to get some ghost shrimp and mussels. We tried to use them as incentive for some of the fishermen--turn in a bag of trash and you get some bait--but only a few made the exchange. Next year maybe we need to arrive earlier so we get them before they hit the jetty.

There were a couple folks from Baykeepers who had also adopted King Harbor for the day so we combined forces and worked as a team. They provided surveys for reporting trash types, waiver forms, bags branded for the event, and even donuts! We swapped contact information to discuss doing it again next year.

Oscar, Kevin (fishmaniac), and Kevin's friend Mike showed up to represent PFIC. Afterwards, we treated ourselves to a little fishing with the leftover bait. It was a dink central--I got a tiny opaleye on ghost shrimp, Mike got his first halibut on a swimbait, and Kevin got his first senorita. :) Hashem may have been skunked, but I left early so maybe there's more to report??

Anyway, I think the final weight of all the trash collected was just over 200 lbs. It smelled terrible and I was sure I'd contract some terrible disease as I sifted through it for the survey, but it was all for a good cause. Thanks to Paul's Bait and Tackle for the ghost shrimp donation and thanks to Hashem for planning everything, including the pizza. Special thanks to Oscar for entertaining Mina!

Our little setup.


Reusable banner


Getting down and dirty on the jetty


These guys came around every couple hours to transport the trash


The Baykeepers and PFIC gang


Mike's first halibut


Kevin's first senorita :)


Working the rocks


Glamour shot... Our resident 'Old man and the sea'

La Jolla and Hermosa Beach Pier

Report from Baytubers.com:

Left 4:20am and was on the water by 6:50am. First time launching in the surf... kinda scary trying to get over the waves. They look tall when yer trying to shoot through 'em. Paddled out past the bouys and started jigging. Caught a couple dink rockfish. Lost my Curado from backlash while casting out an iron. The handle allowed it to float for a bit, and then it started going down. Learned my lesson. Met a couple kayakers Gary and James who allowed me to follow them around. Real helpful guys. I tried trolling with a Rapala for nada. Tons of macs, sounded like rain as they were chased out of the water. Switched back to jigging and caught a sandie. After that I got what felt like my umpteenth mac. The familiar zig zag was there, then all of a sudden my rod doubles over. I tighten the drag as it's starting to take line real fast, alternating between holding and losing line, then the leader breaks off. A couple seconds later a sea lion surfaces with the mac and butterfly jig in it's mouth. Rerigged and did some more fishing outside the kelp line. Called it a day around 11:30am. Landing was pretty scary, too. Tried to recall what I knew about landings... stay behind the waves, if you fall off then fall towards the ocean, etc. I watched the sets and started paddling after a wave. But I couldn't paddle fast enough and absorbed a couple waves, then saw a big one coming at me. It started to crest and was crashing down/pushing me. Got soaked but stayed upright, sliding sideways. Jumped off and pulled kayak as fast as I could onto beach. Quite the experience--turned out to be more fun than I imagined. Unfortunately, the center hatch leaked and my phone got jacked up.

So final count... a couple dink rockfish, a sandie, and macs galore. I don't think the other guys fared any better. Not such a good day especially since I was all hyped up about it, but oh well. I'm looking forward to next time!

La Jolla


Sandie


Dink starry


and report from Pierfishing.com:

Got to the pier around 4:30pm and setup in the middle. Sabiki'd for 2 measly baitfish. Had a smelt out for a good long time but there were no takers. I could see lots of corbina zipping around. Saw a couple small rays brought up and a short calico (released after some persuasion from another angler). Walked to the end of the pier and counted at least 47 hoop nets.

Oh, and what's this little guy, a queenfish? I didn't even realize he was on my sabiki because he was so small. He was already a goner when I brought him up.

Queenfish?

Manhattan Beach Pier

Report from Pierfishing.com:

First time at Manhattan Beach Pier... didn't have too much time to fish as I was there with the family but I did get to see a couple mac runs. I was suprised that it was so shallow at the end, maybe 15 ft deep?, but I attribute that to the pier's short length.

Anyway, I was skunked but my bro-in-law managed a small mac on a kroc--his first fish caught in the ocean. :) Others were using sabiki rigs and dropper loops tipped with cut bait with good success. There was a nice show of dolphins and sea lions cutting through the balled-up bait.

The wind picked up around 4ish... other than fishing, played a little vball, went to the local arts festival, and ate up at Mama D's. Nice day to be out!

Manhattan Beach Pier


Bro-in-law's first saltwater fish

King Harbor, Redondo Beach

Report from Baytubers.com:

Hit the water around 11am, moderate breeze. Stopped by the bait barge for some live bait, but they were working on their boat and said they would have some tomorrow. Trolled some swimbaits and threw feathers for nada.

Got stopped by the Lifeguard boat--told me I needed to be fishing west of the green buoys.

No fish so I decided to take pictures. Starts at hand launch, Ruby's, Redondo Sportfishing Pier, Redondo Pier, harbor entrance, jetty, bait barge, marina entrance, Joe's Crab Shack.

King Harbor Panorama

City of Redondo, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Pier

Was too lazy to get the kayak out today so I opted for a half-day boat out of Redondo. Only 20 people showed up for the City of Redondo which meant lots of elbow room for everyone.

Today's target species was basically sculpin, sculpin, and even more sculpin. The captain took us on a short trip just north of Manhattan Beach to an artificial reef where we spent most of the morning. Caught 5 legals (must be at least 10") and lots of shorts and pesky macs--dropper loops, 3/0 hooks, squid. We headed back towards the Redondo Canyon to find some bonita, but the only one caught was a 6 or 7lb-er by one of the deckhands.

Afterwards, I stopped by Hermosa Pier to meet up with Tim who wasn't having much luck. Even with the heavy crowds, I could see corbina and sharks cruising the surf. I saw a halibut consider the queenfish I had on the end of my line, but she decided against it.

Kayaker at Redondo Canyon

Venice Pier, Venice Beach

Stopped by Venice Pier briefly with my daughter around 11am. People were pulling up the obligatory macs and I overheard they were catching bonita the night before. The lady beside us expressed how she'd never caught a bonita before, rather content with snagging baitfish.

The makeup of this pier is unlike any of the others I've been to, with concrete sides and double-wooden railings making it difficult for kids to see over. I found it to be a little too closed-in for my tastes, yet when you reach the end there's a large circular space that's in stark contrast to the main pathway.