Breakwall Dan and I found ourselves fishing low tide at Cliff Drive in Laguna Beach at five this morning, hoping for a bass bite of some sort before dawn.  According to recent local landing reports, white seabass have been lurking around San Clemente and Catalina Islands and calico bass have been biting there and at select local rocky spots.

    I immediately walked out to the end of the half-acre rock to fling the five-inch Fish Trap.  After a half-hour of fan casting here and there, covering a hundred yards of water with no takers, I walked to the south to fish a spot where two years ago I nailed two five-pound seabass.  After four casts my lure succumbed to a rock.

    Heading back to our staging area, there was enough light to start using my bobber bait rig to soak chunks of the large mussel that blanket the rock.  Seconds after my first cast with the bait wrapped around a number ten treble hook my float went down and I was on.  It was a small calico bass about one inch short of the legal twelve inches.  I flipped out again and with barely five seconds to think I was on once more.  It was another of the same, a short calico.

    Dan was over there across the gap tossing his Fish Trap.  He began whoopin’ it up as he strolled merrily over to the bucket to deposit a legal thirteen-inch calico caught on the lure.  He had a much larger hit and fight moments before but the presumed bass managed to unhook itself from the leadhead.

    Back at my spot I managed to catch yet another short calico and a short sand bass, all of the cookie cutter eleven-inch variety.

    As more of the thick overcast light was upon us, there went the bass.  I put away the bobber rig and selected my lightweight eight pound test pole to fish mussel near the bottom with a twelve-inch leader suspended two feet above a half-ounce sinker.  I felt lots of nibbles, having to re-bait the hook with the soft flesh of the orange mollusk several times before I landed one of the little teasers, a teensy shiner surfperch not even worth one taco.  I was hoping for some sargo to be around (good eating) but after four more of the small perch were caught and released I finally hooked something that felt substantial, a foot-long sheephead destined for the taco pan.

    At the end of the day good ol’ Dan was kind enough to donate his bass to my cause, which was to prepare a fresh fish dinner for Mom and Dad when they visited later in the week.  Thanks, bud.

    Saturday, April 27, we will fish Opaleye Point at low tide with green bait.  We have to get there early since high tide will be at 10:30.

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