Palos Verdes 11/5
October ushers in the start of opaleye season, which runs through March. What the lover of these blue-eyed babes hopes for is rain two weeks before the first morning high tide of the month to spur the growth of the ulva intestinalis algae bait at your favorite slime pit.
Behold! We had the perfect storm Saturday October 15. Problem was, that was only one week before the morning high tide of the 22nd and an early morning check at Colorado Lagoon that day saw only the beginning of the algae growth. Turned out to be a great time to get stuff done around the house.
Two weeks later after one more squall, today there was plenty of bait of such quality I gave it a 9.349. Onwards toward the bluffs of Palos Verdes I travelled.
I had already set my clocks to PST yesterday and will report from that time zone so that you will know exactly when you should show up to fish throughout the upcoming season. By the time I arrived at Christmas Tree Cove at five, gathered up all my gear and ambled down the trail to the casting rock, I had at least twenty minutes before there was enough daylight at 05:40 to be able to see my fluorescent yellow cast-a-bubble floating out there. Many a time historically I would cast for bass while waiting but at the back of the cove there was too much kelp in the way for that. Instead, I just waited.
Today all conditions were perfect. The CDIP swell chart showed a two-foot swell and it was true, we had a six-foot high tide at eight o’clock and of course the perfect bait. An added bonus was even the largest waves of the day hitting the rocks weren’t very splashy at all.
Nobody told the fish. I chummed heavily, cast for four hours but only detected one nibble from a little guy at eight. That is what I have noticed about this spot. Either I catch many big ones or nothing at all since they closed our really good opaleye rocks between Abalone Cove and Long Point ten years ago to create the MLPAs. Doesn’t seem to be as good for opaleye here on the west-facing shore as it was on the south-facing.
This coming Monday and Tuesday we are in for two fantastic days of rain. I am so excited for many reasons, one of which is that in two weeks I will return to the slime pit for more perfect bait. Only difference is, I will haul the bucket-load twenty minutes south from the back of the cove to a set of big rocks on a point, as long as the swell cooperates.