In following through with the plan, I was at Laguna Beach’s Sargo Point casting the five-inch Channel Islands ‘chovie pattern Fish Trap at 4:30.  HOOK UP!  The day’s first of not many, a bass eyeballing in at one-and-a-half pounds.  I love the smell of first-cast calicos in the morning.

    Done with casting to the right of the point, I lobbed a toss straight out to the nearby boiler rock.  HOOK-UP, a fourteen-inch sandy bass added to the gunnysack collection.

    Oh baby, what a start and... what a finish.  Didn’t catch anything else the rest of the day.  I flung and flung the Trap all over the place for another hour, hooking only three snags that stole as many of the lures.

    Splitshotting mussel, I had lots of nibbles, with only one sizeable-feeling taker that didn’t stick to the hook.  Next I tried the ol’ slab-o’-mussel-near-the-bottom rig, which resulted about the same: lots of nibbles, no hook-sets by eight.

    Walking back toward the dreaded hump, I cast the Trap all over that place with no hook in a fish's face.

    I trudged across the sands of Crescent Bay southward to them other rocks over there.  Tossing and casting the Trap in Santa Ana cove was fruitless, so I scooted over to the gap between Twin Points.  First cast of the Trap and BAM, something big ate it, but again did not stick to the hook.  CRAP, lots of scratches on the plastic, but teeth marks ain’t gonna feed my babies.

    Second cast, another BAM/CRAP as a smaller one was detected screwing with the lure.  I had no more hits casting not only in the gap but all over this place too.

    Mussel time again.  Lots of nibbles but no big ones to suck in the whole wad by 9:30.  Bye bye.

    Still the dock totals are dismal, with no sand bass, only a few sargo and maybe 10 to 20 calicos per landing.  Remember, each landing sends out three to five boats.  If by May 5 the totals for my faves do not improve, I will check out the shoreline action at Diamond Valley Lake.  Thinking ahead, it’s almost too late in the largemouth season for that joint.  Thinking back, I should have been there today!

*****

From Robert S.

Hi Mike...  I continue to enjoy your postings and read every single one.  You do a great job -- it's very entertaining.  Ian, Kathy's son reads them when I am finished and he asked me to ask you what sort of "lure" you were using as described in this sentence:

"Feeling dismayed and lonely way out here far from anywhere, I made a few desperation casts for halibut with the lure from some rocks just behind the breakers, which, by the way, were small."

He was wondering if you could take a digital picture of a few lures you use so he would know what to buy in the store.  He also asked what is this "goop" you always talk about, and what is the best fresh bait to use?

Anyway, we love ya and your postings.  Hope you keep it up forever lol.

Robert....

From the editor:

The Lure is the Fish Trap, which is your basic swimbait.  Anything that eats baitfish hits these things.  Here is their link with all the pictures of the models:  https://www.fishtraplures.com/ .  Check out expert tips, color guide and Barry's Basics.  I use the blacksmith perch or channel islands 'chovy colors mostly, and sometimes the chartreuse or calico bass patterns.  I use the 1/2 or 3/4 ounce colored leadheads with eyeballs.  I find them at Turner's Outdoorsman, along with the Fish Trap bodies.  Other stores carry them, but Turner's has the best variety.  Down in San Diego there are likely more independent tackle shops that carry large inventories of Fish Traps.  Another similar brand is Big Hammer. 

The orange goo is just another way of referring to mussel.  I put the hard parts of the mollusk on the hook and let the softer orange goop Dangle so that the fish can bite that off the hook real quick, hoping they will come back for the chunk that's still pinned on.

Thanks for the kind comments.

*****

Funny from Jim L:

Top 20 Reasons why Fishing is better than Sex

20 - No matter how much whiskey you drink, you canstill fish.

19 - A limp rod is still useful while fishing.

18 - You don't have to hide your Fishing magazines..

17 - It is perfectly acceptable to pay a professional to Fish with you once in a while.

16 - The Ten Commandments don't say anything about Fishing.

15 - If your partner takes pictures or videotapes of you Fishing, you don't have to worry about them showing up on the Internet if you become famous.

14 - Your Fishing partner doesn't get upset aboutpeople you fished with long ago! !

13 - It's perfectly respectable to Fish with a total stranger.

12 - When you see a really good Fisher person, youdon't have to feel guilty about imagining the two ofyou Fishing together.

11 - If your regular Fishing partner isn't available, he/she won't  object if you Fish with someone else.

 10 - Nobody will ever tell you that you will go blindif you Fish by yourself.

9 - When dealing with a Fishing pro, you never haveto wonder  if they are really an undercover cop.

 8- You don't have to go to a sleazy shop in a seedy neighborhood to buy Fishing stuff.

7 - You can have a Fishing calendar on your wall atthe office, tell Fishing jokes, and invite coworkersto Fish with you without getting sued for harassment.

6 - There are no Fishing-transmitted diseases.

5 - If you want to watch Fishing on television, youdon't have to subscribe to the Playboy  channel.

4 - Nobody expects you to Fish with the same partnerfor the rest of  your life.

3 - Nobody expects you to give up Fishing if yourpartner loses interest in it.

2 - You don't have to be a newlywed to plan avacation primarily to enjoy your favorite activity.

AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON IS........

1 - Your Fishing partner will never say, "Not again?We just Fished last week! Is Fishing all you ever think about?"

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