Palos Verdes 9/19
Reports from the Daily Dock Totals and Western Outdoor News the past few weeks have it that there’s a big opaleye and calico bass run under way throughout Southern California. Check out this claim from the Form Charts section of WON dated 9/9. I hate it when someone does better than me at my own fish hole.
Today we have the right kind of tide, as it will be incoming to six feet at 10:30. Problem with this time of year is that we might not have the right kind of bait, as the enteromorpha doesn’t really grow until after we have our first rain. This morning at four o’clock I made a stop to a rock in Orange County to pick 15 six- to seven-inch mussels as a backup. On over to the Colorado Lagoon slime pit in Long Beach I found barely enough of the green bait to fill a half-scoop and it wasn’t of great quality.
At Palos Verdes, as my opaleye hot spot at Long Point doesn’t open until seven, I first hit up the rocks near the end of Hawthorne Blvd. for bass before light At 05:30 I was making my first casts from a rock to the right of the bottom of the trail with a new variety of swimbait, the Storm WildEye Live Anchovy. I saw them at the local Sport Chalet last month and they caught me right away. These things are a work of art; they look just like an anchovy you would pull out of a live well. Dorky me, the on the first cast I busted it off on a rock after three cranks. I tied on the other one I had with me, made ten casts here and there, then proceeded to snag and lose that one in short order.
Back at the staging area I went with secret weapon number two, the WildEye Live Sardine. By this time it was dawn, which seemed to help the bite in the clear but stained brown water, likely colored by the wave storm that hit last week. HOOK UP! A fourteen inch calico was bounced up onto the rock. Two casts later, BAM! Aother calico of the exact size went into the bag. What I have found while fishing the rocks at this end of the peninsula the past year is that if I cast way out to the boiler rocks, the hits don’t come until my lure is right at my feet. The two just landed were no different, so with that I started casting parallel to the rock I was standing on, bringing the lure in along the edge. BENDO! I tied into a true lunker, as it pulled 20lb line from the tightened drag of my baitcasting reel before holding its ground. It went into the weeds for a moment, then into a rock crevice before I managed to gingerly bring it to the surface for netting. On the Normark 50lb digital scale it weighed in at four pounds twelve ounces. This is the same rock I caught the 5-14 in May and the 6-7 last September. I think I’m on to something!
I scooted over twenty feet to cast along the edge over there. On the second cast another calico whacked it, this one measured 16 inches. Not bad, but wait. Two casts later I brought in another notable calico, which hanged from the scale at two pounds two ounces.
Approaching seven o’clock either the bite died or I caught all that was available. I fan cast all over with no hits until a quarter after, then packed up for the next stop. Up at the parking lot there was a pair of Chinese guys assembling their gear at the back of an SUV. They saw me approaching and asked, “You catch opah-rye?” No, I responded, only bass. I told them I’ve been fishing around here for 20 years and never caught opaleye here, only over there, as I pointed over to Marineland (now called Terranea). Then I showed off my big one. They sighed with great passion. I figured the news got out and I would see more of my fellow opaleye nuts around than usual.
At Long Point I had a little under three hours before high tide. There was maybe a fifteen-minute window to hop out and fish the pillar rock before I wouldn’t be able to safely re-cross back to the mainland. From there I fan cast to various rock reefs and kelp strands with the 12th attempt netting me the last legal calico of the day, a dinky 12-incher. A few casts later, again as I brought the lure up to the rock I was standing on, I saw a calico that looked to be seven pounds came up from under my feet and attacked my lure. I reared back but the WildEye came flying out of the water. Crap, I missed! The fish went a little to the left, I spent the next ten minutes jigging the lure up and down, in and around, trying to entice the bastard to show his face once more. I had to get over it quickly as the tide came roaring in.
Over at the opaleye hole to the left of the point I tossed out some of the crummy enteromorpha and ulva along with three smashed mussels for chum. I figured since I already had something like two weeks worth the tacos in the cooler I can run a little experiment today, the opaleye bait taste challenge; fish mussel one cast and algae another. The results for the next two hours went like this, kind of as predicted. I had lots of bites with the mussel, since everything from the tiniest sardine to the mighty white seabass eats them. Looked like it was the tiniest that were stealing the bait off the hook today, as no hook-sets were produced. With the green bait, it stays on longer but you don’t get that many bites since opaleye, zebraperch and the occasionally calico are the only takers thereof. I had maybe five bobbers going down, resulting in one hook-up that was a short, fat, almost circular shaped opaleye tipping the scale at two pounds eleven ounces.
Another opaleye nut with a cane pole showed up and fished fifty yards to the left. I kept my eye on him but he never had a bite that I saw.
Even though I only caught one, ’twas a nice way to start the opaleye season nonetheless. Final tally: six calicos to 4-12 and one opaleye at 2-11.
*****
From Breakwall Dan:
not interested in soap operas. that is part of my life
I do not address any longer. please refrain from
including me in "as my stomach turns". this includes
your mentioning of your website. you should just
delete me completly from it because it appears a game
to you.
From the editor:
Done. Anyone else? Send a note to dufish at thebreakwall dot com.
*****
Pictures from the Uncle Tony High Sierra trip in August:
*****
From Breakwall Gary 9/17:
I just got back from a fishing trip to Kenai Alaska with 100lbs of salmon and halibut. I bought this smoker from EBay this afternoon. I’m going to be a smoking some fish real soon.
This is a SmokinTex Electric smoker oven. Model 1400 All Stainless Steel inside and top, sides and door. This smoker is very clean; it does not have any dents or dings. This smoker has not had any wood or food heated and is ready for use. The door has the tight seal to hold the smoke and heat to provide even cooking of the food. All of the functions of the smoker have been tested and work fine. The oven is thermostat controlled and insulated. The wood box provides smoke for full pit barbecue flavor without all the fuss of tending the fire. The model 1400 will cook 33 lbs. of food. Comes with 5 shelves (14.5x14.5 inches), Set of 4 wheels. The smoker uses 120 volts and 700 watts. It also has the instruction/ cook book Guaranteed not DOA. Unit weighs 90lbs.
Pete’s Fishing Lodge: https://www.petesfishing.com/ I’ll send you some digital photos and a brief description of the scene once I’m done reviewing them. Happy Fishing!!!
From the editor:
Dang, looks like the size of a washing machine.
The last salmon I smoked was the best I ever had. I got it at a Jap supermarket in Torrance. It was basically scraps left over after the meat guy filleted them. I bought 6 packages for $2 per pound.
From Breakwall Gary:
That’s a great price. If I were to figure out how much I spent on this trip and divide it by the amount of fish I brought home it would be over 60 bucks a pound. I spent thousands but now I have some new reels, poles lake flies, salmon flies, fly reels, heavy duty vacuum sealer, digital camera and lens and a whole bunch of other stuff I can’t use in this crappy part of the country (Kansas). Next time I go to Alaska I won’t have to buy much of anything. My check in bag weighed in at 102lbs and my carry on must have been about 50lbs with my camera equipment and all. I took 5lbs of Bishop jerky; I have no idea what I was thinking about. I couldn’t eat that much jerky in a month.
****
From Breakwall Jerry 8/11:
This afternoon turned into a good day of catching on the City of Redondo 1/2 day boat. All told I brought home six kelp bass and three white sea bass. Not to bad for an old guy. The last white sea bass I hooked was probably the grand daddy never to be pulled out of the kelp. I guess I can't complain as I already had a limit and won the jack pot besides.
*****
From Breakwall Robert 8/9:
