Opaleye Point 2/13
Yet another opaleye trip. The Colorado Lagoon slime pit in Long Beach still has acres of high quality algae for bait.
You probably saw the high surf advisory yesterday, which means fishing Palos Verdes’ Long Point will be out of the question. It has been two weeks since I wetted a line there, so I needed to drive by the Terranea parking lot to see if they still had the gate open at six in the morning. Not only was it locked but there also was a guard parked there in a pick-up truck presumably to shoo away any persistent fishermen. Oh well, early access to the point was fun while it lasted.
Meanwhile, down the road at good ol’ Opaleye Point, the swell was just right for the early high tide (5.2 @ 5:33), with the occasional three-footer rolling in to keep the fish stirred up and out of the rocks. After only fifteen minutes of casting I had one bite which resulted in the landing of my first three-pound opaleye in many years. Breakwall Dan caught one last month and Breakwall Shane back in ’05.
With no more bites to the right of the point by seven, I marched across the cove to fish the ledge. I was there for two hours and had lots of nibble action but apparently the fish were too small to get hooked.
With not much catching going on, I packed up and walked back to the truck for a scouting mission to find a way to sneak onto the Terranea property. In the old days there was spot you could fit between two fences along the eastern boundary but that hole is now closed. Over at the western boundary, near the Pt. Vicente Fishing Access parking lot there is new fencing too. Oh well, now the only way to get to the pillar rock is to park here and boulder hop along the beach for a half hour, not what I feel to be a worthwhile effort.
From the top of the bluff, huge whitecaps and crashing waves surrounded all of Long Point, a great day to stay away from there anyway.
I could see why they don’t want anyone coming onto the property at this time. The parking lot is gone and they have cranes, shovels, earthmovers and other assorted tractors crisscrossing the whole place, making it rather dangerous for the mild-mannered opaleye fisherman to access.
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