Partially failed surf fishing mission 6-10 (lots of pics)

[tacklejunkie]

Started out yesterday (6-9) by changing the oil in the Honda before the short trip.. (filter too!)
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSC_0331.jpg

Then I googled up 3 very fishy stretches of beach to try..
This one in particular looked like a nice spot for Hali's. The other two map shots are hidden to protect their locations as requested.
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/stretch2.jpg



Then woke up at 2am, showered and on the road by 3am.
Made it to Burbank by 4am and suiting up at the beach by 5:15.
Was fishing before the sun came up.

First Mission was to catch a hali on a spoon or LC110.
Combed the first beach northward to the end trying 4 different LCFM patterns, then back down the same stretch with a spoon to the car.
No luck there.. but noticed the entire beach was a crab mine field..
(look close, sorry the pics are dark)
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSCN0001.jpg

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSCN0002.jpg

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSCN0006.jpg

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSCN0007.jpg

Next I moved to a second spot more northward and combed the area with the plethora of LC's and the kroc, but no love there either. Tied on a C-rig with a fresh live sand crab but I'm thinkin' the beach was so littered with crabs everywhere that the fish might have had their fill on crabs.

Now I saved the third and best spot for last. Lots of structure, lots of holes, lots of rocks... tons of areas for me to fling the LC. I kid you not I worked that whole stretch tossing my LC into every crazy hole I could find.
I even lost an LC in the process, ignored the loss, and tied on another. The Kroc wouldn't even bring out the fish from any of the suspected hali-holes.
I plugged and I plugged and I plugged, until finally my arm had had enough at 1pm. I even tossed a big hammer swimbait for a few with no love. I combed every inch of sand on the above mapped out areas and even hit a lot of the rocky structures.

(A VERY SMALL portion of spot #3 pictured below. The areas was too big to photograph and for some reason I lost a pic or two)
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSCN0019.jpg

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSCN0020.jpg

Having about given up on the Hali search, I decided I had better catch something and head back home before I end up with a skunk! Headed back over to spot #2 and spent a bit of time scouting out a nice set of rocks to fish from.

Upon discovering a nice safe platform to fish from I started in with the hali lures again until I remembered how sore my arm was. I "forgot" to bring to perch crack today but the sandcrabs were goin' wild so I gave them a shot again and nothing! This is where Bill Varney's lessons came in very handy, and I'm sure he would have been proud of my natural bait find.

I was thinking of why the sandcrabs I was getting weren't full of orange roe. Then I remembered the bag of mussels Bill gave us and explained how to use them like a worm and they were kinda orange which is why he said they worked so well. I dug around on the rocks between the waves for the largest mussels I could find and found a good "crackin" rock to smash them against a big rock and open them up.

Upon opening them up I was happy to see the big worm like "lip" on the mussels just like Bill had showed us. Pulled a "lip" out and stuck it on the 'ol #10 mosquito just like I would with a gulp Sandworm. (The mussel lip kindof look just like the gulp sandworms, huh?)
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSCN0011.jpg

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSCN0014.jpg

First cast and I get the machine gun nibble from a lil prego walleye ready to pop out some micro youngins.
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSCN0016.jpg

Next cast another, and another. Then I pick up a nice little YFC who fought the best today. I stored him in my "Tide Pool Livewell" while I took my camera out to take pics so he wasn't strugglin'.
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSCN0009.jpg

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSCN0010.jpg

The TidePool LiveWell was a popular theme today..
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSCN0017.jpg

Upon moving the mussels off the rocks to the beach, I scored me a lil Barred Surfer to make it a tripple species day before heading out at about 3pm.
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSCN0018.jpg

Pics of the rocks I was catching the fish at with mussels straight from the rocks..
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSCN0012.jpg

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSCN0013.jpg

No skunk for me but not exactly mission accomplished. I came with only lures and one rod for a reason.. to get a hali! But not this time :p I'm determined to get one of those puppies soon! At least I found some new areas to play around in. I did lose a few hits from unknown fish on the LC's but I think it was just small perch. Covered over 5 miles of beach and rockfront.

Here's my mileage for the day :Shocked: Enjoy the pics.
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/Malibu%206-10-08/DSC_0332.jpg

[britheguy]

Nice trip man! Way to get out there and fish. Boy oh boy do i need to tube or fish the surf!!!

[exfactor]

I enjoyed your post. Would you tell me how to google those air shots of the coastline? Thanks in advance. Mikey

[tacklejunkie]

I enjoyed your post. Would you tell me how to google those air shots of the coastline? Thanks in advance. Mikey

pull up www.yahoo.com (http://www.yahoo.com) and type "google earth" in the box and hit enter.
Download and install google earth.
When you open it, find the area you want a picture of and center it on screen.
press the "print screen" button on your keyboard.
Now open up microsoft paint, and under the edit tab select "paste".
The pic will appear in your paint drawing.
Now you can use the tool in the top right of the tools box to crop and center, and "stretch skew" under the image tab to resize.
save the file as a .jpg and it's good to go as a picture.

[fish_sauce]

awesome report! nice pictures!!!

you're a brave man! i wouldn't toss my LC's near those rocks...snagability is almost a certainty :(:(:( and if it doesn't get snagged, it'll get beaten up or scratched up really badly...maybe you could try the drop shot next time near those structures and see what you get... (on a side note, i usually carry a few cheaper crankbaits/jigs with me to test out a new spot before i move to the more expensive lures...)

oh yeah, i don't know off hand what beach specifically that is, but if you're fishing near a tide pool, be careful about using the mussels there. I know for a fact that the mussels in the crystal cove area and southern OC beaches that have tide pools are protected...those mussels take a much longer time to mature (hence the very hard/thick shell and the vibrant orange color) and they have barnacles and all sorts of stuff growing and living on them...might want to check with the local authorities or rangers (if there are any) next time.

keep on trying. now is the best time to land a flattie...;)

[legacy1]

The other two map shots are hidden to protect their locations as requested.

Great post! however in my opinion, which I know means nothing, this "protecting" spots is lame.
/Just an opinion.
/Fish move.
/share all "secrets" myself...

[tacklejunkie]

I'm pretty sure it was just a rock on the shore with water on it..
not necessarily a tide pool, and quite a ways from OC.
I pulled the mussels from a rock, not from the pool. I figured it'd be the same as pulling them from a causeway or piling. Never really thought about it being illegal though.
But I'll look in to it. Thanks for the tip.


Great post! however in my opinion, which I know means nothing, this "protecting" spots is lame.
/Just an opinion.
/Fish move.
/share all "secrets" myself...
Oh come on.. I didn't even catch anything :rolleyes:

[GOTFISHUES]

regardless, impressive determination and adapting, you would not have gone hungry that night. good stuff T.F.Report, and done classy.

[Wingnut]

Great job trekking a good distance for some fish T.J. That's real dedication. ;) Nice job on adapting to the situation and using whatever is available. Fish Sauce is right, risky throwing hardbaits near the rocks but that's the only way you might be rewarded with a nice Hali or WSB. Keep it up Casey, you're gonna get that legal Butt soon. :cool:

[tacklejunkie]

Looked up the regs (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/pdfs/oceanfish2008.pdf)..
Looks like I'm in the clear on the mussels.
Nothing in Ventura county or LA county that I took was illegal, and all the fish were released. I was also WAAAAY under limit on my mussels by like a 10lb bucket. ;) ( I took about 6pcs)

I think the surf was too messy yesterday. I didn't even get a perch on the LC. The surf seamed really high in some areas and there was lots of current.

[DavidE]

Very nice !!!!!!!!!!!

[crystalmath79]

Great report! Next oil change, you may want to switch to synthetic motor oil. They last longer than regular oil, have lower emissions and will give your ride 1-2 extra HP. I use Royal Purple and can really feel the difference.

[tacklejunkie]

Great report! Next oil change, you may want to switch to synthetic motor oil. They last longer than regular oil, have lower emissions and will give your ride 1-2 extra HP. I use Royal Purple and can really feel the difference.
It's also much more expensive and if I need a quart of oil on the road, harder to find. (not stocked at gas stations in the middle of nowhere) I've had full synth in my other cars but prefer to keep this one bone stock.

I change my oil about every 2000 miles so it's nice to go the cheaper route. ;) (although it's probably not cheaper since you change synth less often)

Regarding tossing LC's near rocks..
I don't even care if I lose an LC anymore. I just want a hali on the LC or kroc. I'll freely toss either one straight at a pile of rocks and fish it with confidence. If I can't catch a hali on them might as well lose them trying ;) No point in babying the lure. Gotta get it in those holes!
I don't really want to catch a hali on the drop shot or bait or anything besides a kroc or LC110 (since I've bought so damn many of them with no results so far out of many trips)

When I finally get it, it will feel like a huge mission was accomplished.

[CoffeaRobusta]

Looked up the regs (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/pdfs/oceanfish2008.pdf)..
Looks like I'm in the clear on the mussels.
Nothing in Ventura county or LA county that I took was illegal, and all the fish were released. I was also WAAAAY under limit on my mussels by like a 10lb bucket. ;) ( I took about 6pcs)

I think the surf was too messy yesterday. I didn't even get a perch on the LC. The surf seamed really high in some areas and there was lots of current.

Yeah I think the regs set the limit for mussels to like 50 lbs with shell on. To know if a certain beach is closed for mussels you have to know if you are in a marine protected area (marine reserves, marine conservation areas, and marine parks). They are listed by name in the reg book. For example, Crystal Cove Marine Conservation Area is closed to all aquatic plants, and invertebrates except those specifically listed as open. Species open for take are: Chiones, clams, cockles, rock scallops, native oysters, crabs, lobster, ghost shrimp, sea urchins, mussels, worms, and finfish.

Nice going tacklejunkie. That's the way to use the learning. It's nice to know how to make bait.

[steve092]

Hey, good job chasing away the skunk.

[fish_sauce]

They are listed by name in the reg book. For example, Crystal Cove Marine Conservation Area is closed to all aquatic plants, and invertebrates except those specifically listed as open. Species open for take are: Chiones, clams, cockles, rock scallops, native oysters, crabs, lobster, ghost shrimp, sea urchins, mussels, worms, and finfish.


i'll check on this again later this summer. i was actually given a warning by one of the park rangers for using the mussels there a few years back...he told me that even the mussels are protected, so i just took his word for it. He also told me there were posted signs saying that they are protected (i didn't see any); and the justification for that was that the older mussels had species of sea anemones growing on them...

i wonder what you can possibly do with 50lbs of mussel, seeing as how they are unfit to eat. >..< thats a lot of bait!!!

[imd12nv]

Good job on the fish any day with at least one fish is a succes. Good job on giving the car maintenance many people neglect it but i would stay away from penzoil.

[THROWBACK RANGER]

Good Job Tj!!!! Nice Detailed Report As Usual

[trail blazer]

T,J,,,,that was one AWSOME report bro

[samgann93]

great job.

i wish that was a "failed" mission for me. lol