opaleyecalico bassMike Dufish's The Breakwall Angler, starring opaleye and calico bass
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Catch Reports 1999

Long Point 4/26

I only caught one or two fish the past few times I've been out and that was a month ago. Needless to write, I'm Jonesin' for a fish taco. Chicken just ain't the same.

Saturday afternoons I can detour to the slime pit and still make it to work in less than an hour. Then I'm bait-ready for Sunday and/or Monday, this week selecting the latter day after hearing from Breakwall Darryl who said he'd be available then.

It was cold and breezy at the Opaleye Point trailhead. I had to borrow Darryl's spare sweatshirt because I didn't bring my jacket or my watch. We though we were early but as soon as we hopped over the bluff-top railing it was light enough to be too late for bass. By the time we reached the pillar rock at Long Point, it was already opaleye time.

We selected this spot for today because of the tide. It would be incoming to 4.5 at 7:40, allowing us access to the outer rock as long as the swell cooperated. Darryl selected a rock to the left of the point to position himself for perfect access to a pocket of water periodically riled by three-foot wave-sets. I waited a few minutes then jetted across to the staging and pillar rocks before the next swell rolled in. Even though I knew I was too late for calico bass, I tried for them anyway by casting a sardine-pattern Big Hammer jig. You never know. The white seabass and yellowtail too have been around lately. I only spent about twenty minutes with it before I lost it to a snag. Bay that time Darryl had his first three-taco opaleye.

I switched over to my enteromorpha bobber rig and flipped it out to a rip current to the right of the staging rock. I wouldn't call it balls-out action, but I at least caught three opaleye in about an hour, the largest going, I'd say, about a pound and a half. After a while it was apparent I wasn't going to catch many here so I went over to crowd a hooking-up Darryl out of his spot. By the time I got there he had four keepers.

For the next hour action was mixed, just like the sizes. Out of twelve more caught, we ended the day by combining to bring home only eleven three-taco keeper opaleye, topped by the two-pounder by yours truly.

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