Palos Verdes 6/12
Was up at two this morning checking the CDIP Swell Chart, which reported one-foot swell from Santa Barbara all the way into Baja. Rarely do we see the ocean this calm. I was dressed, fed and out the door by 02:45.
It was too good to be true. Just like our last trip to Palos Verdes two weeks ago, today the chart did not match reality. I could hear the surf crashing against the rocks from the blufftop curb-side parking zone. As I descended the trail, I saw the two-to-three-foot conditions would prevent casting from certain rocks but heck, I caught six calico bass in the same mess last time. I have been using this chart for over 20 years and it had always been very accurate except for this last month.
After thirty minutes of hopping dry boulders and trudging through wet sand, slippery rocks, washed-up kelp piles and large wet pebbles, I arrived at the hotspot right on time at 04:45, just before first light.
At first, I cast a larger version of the WildEye mackerel, the six-inch instead of the usual five-inch. One would ponder one silly inch wouldn’t make that much of a difference but the six inch is a lot larger. My thinking here is, I always catch the biggest calicos and even white seabass early so why not start off the day with a bigger swimbait.
Again, the outside points of the rocks where I wanted to fish were wiped out by the swell. I had to fish the inside toward the back of the cove. I made 20 casts before switching over to the five-inch WildEye sardine. With that lure I felt three hits on the fourth cast and then alas on the sixth fling I hooked up and landed a calico bass that looked maybe twelve inches and tossed back.
And that was it for the rest of the day. Per usual I cast all over the place until eight but only felt one other hit in all those hours.
Just for fun I dunked my GoPro on a stick into a tide pool and shot a video of several opaleye frolicking within. It is uploaded to YouTube for your enjoyment.
If you look at that calico bass photo I just showed, you can barely make out more weed-free rocks across the cove another fifteen minutes of hiking away. I never see anybody over there and it is almost to the border of the Point Vicente SMCA. Will try that next time but will need to wake up at 01:45.