Doheny State Beach - Grunion Run

[Mollysews]

We went to DSB last night and there were about 50-60 other people stretched along the water. They were all kind of loud and were using lights before the 10:05 show time for the grunions. There was no real activity until about 11PM and then I saw one fish snagged. For the next hour there were a relative few amount of fish coming onshore. I managed to grab 4 fish and someone decided to "borrow" one of my fish from my bucket so we came home with 3 total.
Someone told their kid to throw a rock into the ocean because they thought it was a grunion and it wasn't. Well, instead of tossing the rock to the ocean she slung it to the left and it landed about 6 inches from my face(since I was bending over scouting for the grunion).
Other than that it was lots of fun, we brought home much more sand than fish, but the beach was beautiful at night and the water was warm on our legs.

[midgettosser1]

glad you guys found some. my gf and i are headed out tonight to see what we can find.

[TShaffer]

Quote: "We went to DSB last night and there were about 50-60 other people stretched along the water. They were all kind of loud and were using lights before the 10:05 show time for the grunions. There was no real activity until about 11PM and then I saw one fish snagged. For the next hour there were a relative few amount of fish coming onshore. I managed to grab 4 fish and someone decided to "borrow" one of my fish from my bucket so we came home with 3 total.
Someone told their kid to throw a rock into the ocean because they thought it was a grunion and it wasn't. Well, instead of tossing the rock to the ocean she slung it to the left and it landed about 6 inches from my face(since I was bending over scouting for the grunion).
Other than that it was lots of fun, we brought home much more sand than fish, but the beach was beautiful at night and the water was warm on our legs."



What do you do with the grunion when you bring them home?

[smokehound]

Sorry to hear about the kid that threw the rock. Some parents are outright irresponsible.

[Dreamer]

cool that you got a few. The key to having a great amount of grunions come up is as follow:

Grunions are smarter than most people think, the grunions will come close to shore and just hang out there first. They send a few grunions (scouts if you want to call them that) up on the beach first, if all the scouts that went up on the first wave comes back then the other grunions know that it's safe to come up along the sand, if the troopers don't come back then the grunions know that there are predators up there waiting for them, resulting in very low numbers coming up on the beach or they will wait it out for a while and run very late. That's why the key is to not touch/grab the first few grunions that come up. I know it's hard to convince 50+ other people about this.

Hope you're next outing will be a great one.

[klymons]

What do you do with the grunion when you bring them home?

Well, you could smoke 'em, but it's hard to keep 'em lit. . .or, you could throw them under your car seat--they have a magical odor after a few weeks--something called "essence of rotting fish". . .there's also a ritual where you bite the heads off to the rockin' sounds of "Brain Salad Surgery"--upchucking is optional. . .some people actually raise them as pets--they are diligent "watchfish" and excellent musicians who really know "the scales.". .I know this all sounds really fishy, TShaffer, but then again, so does your question. . ."what do you do with the grunion when you bring them home?". . .well, you could introduce them to the immediate family(with the exception of Aunt Agnes who harbors fish racist notions & weighs herself at the nearest truck scale). . .after all the introductions--everybody fishmouthing the standard salutations--it's time to entertain your special grunion guest. . .a call to the local pizza slinger--Bobo's Pizza & Pilates(yeah, pilates--it's an El Lay thang)produces enough pizzas to circle the globe--twice!. . .the Famished Fam descends on the pizza like carb-crazed locusts. . .but your guest isn't eating--if fact, he looks like he's ready to cry. . .it seems your bonehead cousin ordered all the pizzas with anchovies. . .the grunion could not munch on a homey. . .the moral of all this, TShaffer, is that he who asks these kind of questions has only three options in life: (1) get back on the short bus & get what you missed the first time. . .(2) start reading stuff that pertains to saltwater fishing--especially local. . .(3)bust on over to Wikipedia under the heading "grunion" & get elucidated. . .

[gotstofish]

Oh my, ROFL:ROFL:

[bones]

We went to DSB last night and there were about 50-60 other people stretched along the water. They were all kind of loud and were using lights before the 10:05 show time for the grunions. There was no real activity until about 11PM and then I saw one fish snagged. For the next hour there were a relative few amount of fish coming onshore. I managed to grab 4 fish and someone decided to "borrow" one of my fish from my bucket so we came home with 3 total.
Someone told their kid to throw a rock into the ocean because they thought it was a grunion and it wasn't. Well, instead of tossing the rock to the ocean she slung it to the left and it landed about 6 inches from my face(since I was bending over scouting for the grunion).
Other than that it was lots of fun, we brought home much more sand than fish, but the beach was beautiful at night and the water was warm on our legs.

Glad you found a few Molly!
I was wondering how you were going to do. You should be out there in the AM after the run tossing a hardbait,kroc or a dropshot setup. Lots of halibut and leos move into the shallows after the runs.

[bones]

Well, you could smoke 'em, but it's hard to keep 'em lit. . .or, you could throw them under your car seat--they have a magical odor after a few weeks--something called "essence of rotting fish". . .there's also a ritual where you bite the heads off to the rockin' sounds of "Brain Salad Surgery"--upchucking is optional. . .some people actually raise them as pets--they are diligent "watchfish" and excellent musicians who really know "the scales.". .I know this all sounds really fishy, TShaffer, but then again, so does your question. . ."what do you do with the grunion when you bring them home?". . .well, you could introduce them to the immediate family(with the exception of Aunt Agnes who harbors fish racist notions & weighs herself at the nearest truck scale). . .after all the introductions--everybody fishmouthing the standard salutations--it's time to entertain your special grunion guest. . .a call to the local pizza slinger--Bobo's Pizza & Pilates(yeah, pilates--it's an El Lay thang)produces enough pizzas to circle the globe--twice!. . .the Famished Fam descends on the pizza like carb-crazed locusts. . .but your guest isn't eating--if fact, he looks like he's ready to cry. . .it seems your bonehead cousin ordered all the pizzas with anchovies. . .the grunion could not munch on a homey. . .the moral of all this, TShaffer, is that he who asks these kind of questions has only three options in life: (1) get back on the short bus & get what you missed the first time. . .(2) start reading stuff that pertains to saltwater fishing--especially local. . .(3)bust on over to Wikipedia under the heading "grunion" & get elucidated. . .

LMAO....You gotta stop smoking grunion dude!

[bones]

cool that you got a few. The key to having a great amount of grunions come up is as follow:

Grunions are smarter than most people think, the grunions will come close to shore and just hang out there first. They send a few grunions (scouts if you want to call them that) up on the beach first, if all the scouts that went up on the first wave comes back then the other grunions know that it's safe to come up along the sand, if the troopers don't come back then the grunions know that there are predators up there waiting for them, resulting in very low numbers coming up on the beach or they will wait it out for a while and run very late. That's why the key is to not touch/grab the first few grunions that come up. I know it's hard to convince 50+ other people about this.

Hope you're next outing will be a great one.

I think you are giving the little slimesticks too much credit IMHO.
Their baitfish....Not dolphins....LOL
Grunion are triggered to spawn by water temps and the full/new moons. That combined with the slope of the beach. Their instinct to breed at high tide provides them a safe return to the deeper water after spawning. The slope of the beach is the ticket. There has to be enough swell activity on a gentle slope for them to spawn effectivly. All conditions have to be perfect or they will just keep moving until they find the prime scenario for their few minutes of glory. The great news is that all of that bait in the water will probably pick up the halibut action this weekend!

[Troutman65]

Thats :Cool: you got some grunion Molly. :Big Grin:

Thanks for the report. :Cool:

[Wingnut]

Sounds like a lot of fun... it would be a good time to do some surf fishing in the next few days. :Wink:

[TShaffer]

Well, you could smoke 'em, but it's hard to keep 'em lit. . .or, you could throw them under your car seat--they have a magical odor after a few weeks--something called "essence of rotting fish". . .there's also a ritual where you bite the heads off to the rockin' sounds of "Brain Salad Surgery"--upchucking is optional. . .some people actually raise them as pets--they are diligent "watchfish" and excellent musicians who really know "the scales.". .I know this all sounds really fishy, TShaffer, but then again, so does your question. . ."what do you do with the grunion when you bring them home?". . .well, you could introduce them to the immediate family(with the exception of Aunt Agnes who harbors fish racist notions & weighs herself at the nearest truck scale). . .after all the introductions--everybody fishmouthing the standard salutations--it's time to entertain your special grunion guest. . .a call to the local pizza slinger--Bobo's Pizza & Pilates(yeah, pilates--it's an El Lay thang)produces enough pizzas to circle the globe--twice!. . .the Famished Fam descends on the pizza like carb-crazed locusts. . .but your guest isn't eating--if fact, he looks like he's ready to cry. . .it seems your bonehead cousin ordered all the pizzas with anchovies. . .the grunion could not munch on a homey. . .the moral of all this, TShaffer, is that he who asks these kind of questions has only three options in life: (1) get back on the short bus & get what you missed the first time. . .(2) start reading stuff that pertains to saltwater fishing--especially local. . .(3)bust on over to Wikipedia under the heading "grunion" & get elucidated. . .

Wow last time I ask a question on this forum.

[calico killer kevin]

Nice. Grunion grabbing is always fun and at night the water always feels warm. I've always had tons of luck at Sunset Beach , plus they have few people and lots of parking.


Well, you could smoke 'em, but it's hard to keep 'em lit. . .or, you could throw them under your car seat--they have a magical odor after a few weeks--something called "essence of rotting fish". . .there's also a ritual where you bite the heads off to the rockin' sounds of "Brain Salad Surgery"--upchucking is optional. . .some people actually raise them as pets--they are diligent "watchfish" and excellent musicians who really know "the scales.". .I know this all sounds really fishy, TShaffer, but then again, so does your question. . ."what do you do with the grunion when you bring them home?". . .well, you could introduce them to the immediate family(with the exception of Aunt Agnes who harbors fish racist notions & weighs herself at the nearest truck scale). . .after all the introductions--everybody fishmouthing the standard salutations--it's time to entertain your special grunion guest. . .a call to the local pizza slinger--Bobo's Pizza & Pilates(yeah, pilates--it's an El Lay thang)produces enough pizzas to circle the globe--twice!. . .the Famished Fam descends on the pizza like carb-crazed locusts. . .but your guest isn't eating--if fact, he looks like he's ready to cry. . .it seems your bonehead cousin ordered all the pizzas with anchovies. . .the grunion could not munch on a homey. . .the moral of all this, TShaffer, is that he who asks these kind of questions has only three options in life: (1) get back on the short bus & get what you missed the first time. . .(2) start reading stuff that pertains to saltwater fishing--especially local. . .(3)bust on over to Wikipedia under the heading "grunion" & get elucidated. . .
:ROFL::ROFL::ROFL:


Wow last time I ask a question on this forum.
Relax Shaff, it's all in good fun. Would hate to stop reading your posts just cause you got a bit blasted lol.

[TheFishcatcher]

"Well, you could smoke 'em, but it's hard to keep 'em lit. . .or, you could throw them under your car seat--they have a magical odor after a few weeks--something called "essence of rotting fish". . ."
You are insanely halarious dude :ROFL:

[Ready 2 Go]

Wow last time I ask a question on this forum.

Don't let a funny post put you off. Admit it, you almost smiled.

If the grunion are not going to used for bait, most people who take them -eat them.

Fried- whole or baked, not smoked, although I bet if you collected enough they would be great smoked.

From the DFG

Grunion should be cleaned and scaled. For best results they should be rolled in a mixture of flour and yellow corn meal to which a little salt has been added and deep fried until golden brown. Although bony, they have a very delicate flavor and provide excellent table fare when prepared fresh.


Ready to Go

[TShaffer]

Don't let a funny post put you off. Admit it, you almost smiled.

If the grunion are not going to used for bait, most people who take them -eat them.

Fried- whole or baked, not smoked, although I bet if you collected enough they would be great smoked.

From the DFG

Grunion should be cleaned and scaled. For best results they should be rolled in a mixture of flour and yellow corn meal to which a little salt has been added and deep fried until golden brown. Although bony, they have a very delicate flavor and provide excellent table fare when prepared fresh.


Ready to Go

Hey I appreciate you answering my question. I had no idea they had that kind of food value.

[Ready 2 Go]

Hey I appreciate you answering my question. I had no idea they had that kind of food value.

No problem.

Good luck out to all Grunion hunters!

Be safe and have FUN!

Ready 2 Go

[Mollysews]

We pan fried the 3 we had and served them with an onion, jalapano salsa....small yummy bites of fishy goodness.

[TShaffer]

We pan fried the 3 we had and served them with an onion, jalapano salsa....small yummy bites of fishy goodness.
That does sound delicious. Glad you enjoyed it.