Natural Lefty
09-19-2009, 12:47 PM
I decided to check out Dana Harbor since I had not been there in probably over a year.
I got there around 4 p.m., but took a walk first to check out the possibilities rather than fishing right away. I parked by the Ocean Institute, and headed for the jetty area. Since it was supposedly a pretty low (+ 0.1) tide, I thought the big sand bar on the harbor side of the jetty would be out, but there was barely any sand to be seen. Either the place has been recently dredged, or global warming is doing its thing again. There is a place in the corner where I used to get mussels at low tide, but I could find no mussels this time, so I suspect dredging and moving things around. I once caught a 19 inch Corbina from this sand bar at low tide, my personal best, so I was hoping to try it.
Making my way along the walkway, I saw a man with a long bamboo pole and no reel, fishing next to shore, and he had about 6 smallish Opaleyes in his bucket. It's a good thing I saw him when I did, since he got in his car and left just after I spoke with him. I didn't go there intending to fish for Opaleyes again, but what the heck. I got my stuff out of the car, and plopped it down next to the boat the kids go on to pretend they are Pirates. I put on a leftover mussel on my rip rap rig (very rocky there) and the first fish that bit was a Garibaldi. I managed not to hook it; I don't want to be known as a Garibaldi poacher. After that, the Garibaldis seemed to lose interest, and other fish bit instead.
Over the next couple of hours, I caught 8 fish there on mussels, squid, and nightcrawler pieces. I also tried peas. When I threw them in the water, the Opaleyes did go after them, unlike Oceanside Harbor, but when I put them on a hook, they did not. I caught 6 Opaleyes there, plus an undersize Spotted Bay Bass and an undersize Kelp Bass. The Spotted Bay Bass was so unusual that at first I wasn't sure what it was. It had pink eyes and a pinkish coloration all over its body. I guess it was an albino or color variation of a Spotted Bay Bass. The Opaleyes were running on the small side there, so I only kept the largest 2, and put the other six fish I caught there back. (I just ate the Opaleyes, by the way, crispy fried skin on fillets baked in the oven, coated with Olive Oil. They were very tasty. I would recommend that method of cooking them.)
Around 6:30, with the tide really coming up by this time, I dcided to check out the pier. Nothing bit there, and the whole time I was fishing by the kiddie boat, I saw no action there, but there were a father and son at the cleaning table, cleaning about 10 Spotfin Croaker in the 10-12 inch range, plus a Sand Bass that looked barely legal. They told me they caught them from the pier on Anchovies. Huh? I was a little skeptical. When I asked if they were still biting, they just kept cleaning the fish and didn't answer me. I didn't know that Spotfin Croakers were so fond of Anchovies, plus, that had to be the best catch volume wise I had ever seen from that pier. I suspect they had caught them much earlier in the day. There was also a guy who told me a Spearfisherman had cleaned a "10 pound Bass" there a while earlier. I doubt it was 10 pounds, but I am sure it was big -- ah, Spearfishing, another form of ocean fishing, along with snagging, I wish were not legal. Anyway, that's a heads up that there may be some pretty good Croaker and Bass fishing going on at Dana Harbor Pier, although I saw no action there. I need to learn how to fish with Anchovies. That's another one of those baits that I am a dunce at. They always fall off my hook. I just recently started figuring out how to use Crickets.
After that, I headed for the Island in the middle of the harbor. I wanted to try my rip rap rig from the rocks there, and also fish "under the bridge." First, I walked down toward shore over the rocks in front of my car, casted out with my rig and mussel for bait, got a quick bite, and missed it. I cast again, and my bobber immediately went under water. I figured this was either a Jacksmelt or a Mackerel, and it turned out to be a good size Mackerel, around 11 inches. That fish really pulled hard, plus my drag was set too loose, so it kept making runs. Anyway, I kept it for future bait. Strangely, those were the only bites I got there, so I headed for "under the bridge."
Fishing was pretty good there. Within minutes, I caught a Salema on my rig baited with mussel. Then I decided to set up my 10 pound pole for bottom fishing, hoping to catch Croaker or Sargo. While I was setting the heavier pole up, my rip rap rig pole took off to the left, generally a good sign. It turned out to be a conventionally colored Spotted Bay Bass, but only about 8 inches long, so I put it back. I put the last of the mussel on the bottom fishing rig, and casted out fairly far, near the middle of the channel. Before long, my pole bent over with a good bite. "Aha, here comes my Croaker or Sargo," I thought. I was a happy camper at that point, but when I brought the fish in, it turned out to be a Sand Bass around 9 inches long. Also, it had pretty much swallowed the hook. I ended up breaking the hook off in its mouth, using my pliers. Better that, than ripping the hook out. I was worried about the fish, but it seemed to swim away okay. I have read that hooks dissolve in a fish's digestive acids within a couple of weeks. That was it for the catching. I tried Squid there, and kept getting nibbles, that seemed like small fish pecking at the bait, then just when I was thinking of leaving at 8 p.m., I got snagged and lost the entire bottom rig. I don't understand why that place is so snaggy; the whole place looks like it has a cement bottom. Anyway, after that it was definitely time to go home.
Here's the catch:
6 tiny to smallish Opaleyes, 2 largest ones kept, 4 others released
2 undersize Spotted Bay Bass (one a beautiful pink color), released
1 undersize Kelp Bass, released
1 undersize Sand Bass, released
1 good size Mackerel, kept for future bait
1 Salema, kept for future bait
I had good numbers and variety, but the size of the fish left something to be desired. Anyway, it was a good fishing trip catching various ocean species.
I got there around 4 p.m., but took a walk first to check out the possibilities rather than fishing right away. I parked by the Ocean Institute, and headed for the jetty area. Since it was supposedly a pretty low (+ 0.1) tide, I thought the big sand bar on the harbor side of the jetty would be out, but there was barely any sand to be seen. Either the place has been recently dredged, or global warming is doing its thing again. There is a place in the corner where I used to get mussels at low tide, but I could find no mussels this time, so I suspect dredging and moving things around. I once caught a 19 inch Corbina from this sand bar at low tide, my personal best, so I was hoping to try it.
Making my way along the walkway, I saw a man with a long bamboo pole and no reel, fishing next to shore, and he had about 6 smallish Opaleyes in his bucket. It's a good thing I saw him when I did, since he got in his car and left just after I spoke with him. I didn't go there intending to fish for Opaleyes again, but what the heck. I got my stuff out of the car, and plopped it down next to the boat the kids go on to pretend they are Pirates. I put on a leftover mussel on my rip rap rig (very rocky there) and the first fish that bit was a Garibaldi. I managed not to hook it; I don't want to be known as a Garibaldi poacher. After that, the Garibaldis seemed to lose interest, and other fish bit instead.
Over the next couple of hours, I caught 8 fish there on mussels, squid, and nightcrawler pieces. I also tried peas. When I threw them in the water, the Opaleyes did go after them, unlike Oceanside Harbor, but when I put them on a hook, they did not. I caught 6 Opaleyes there, plus an undersize Spotted Bay Bass and an undersize Kelp Bass. The Spotted Bay Bass was so unusual that at first I wasn't sure what it was. It had pink eyes and a pinkish coloration all over its body. I guess it was an albino or color variation of a Spotted Bay Bass. The Opaleyes were running on the small side there, so I only kept the largest 2, and put the other six fish I caught there back. (I just ate the Opaleyes, by the way, crispy fried skin on fillets baked in the oven, coated with Olive Oil. They were very tasty. I would recommend that method of cooking them.)
Around 6:30, with the tide really coming up by this time, I dcided to check out the pier. Nothing bit there, and the whole time I was fishing by the kiddie boat, I saw no action there, but there were a father and son at the cleaning table, cleaning about 10 Spotfin Croaker in the 10-12 inch range, plus a Sand Bass that looked barely legal. They told me they caught them from the pier on Anchovies. Huh? I was a little skeptical. When I asked if they were still biting, they just kept cleaning the fish and didn't answer me. I didn't know that Spotfin Croakers were so fond of Anchovies, plus, that had to be the best catch volume wise I had ever seen from that pier. I suspect they had caught them much earlier in the day. There was also a guy who told me a Spearfisherman had cleaned a "10 pound Bass" there a while earlier. I doubt it was 10 pounds, but I am sure it was big -- ah, Spearfishing, another form of ocean fishing, along with snagging, I wish were not legal. Anyway, that's a heads up that there may be some pretty good Croaker and Bass fishing going on at Dana Harbor Pier, although I saw no action there. I need to learn how to fish with Anchovies. That's another one of those baits that I am a dunce at. They always fall off my hook. I just recently started figuring out how to use Crickets.
After that, I headed for the Island in the middle of the harbor. I wanted to try my rip rap rig from the rocks there, and also fish "under the bridge." First, I walked down toward shore over the rocks in front of my car, casted out with my rig and mussel for bait, got a quick bite, and missed it. I cast again, and my bobber immediately went under water. I figured this was either a Jacksmelt or a Mackerel, and it turned out to be a good size Mackerel, around 11 inches. That fish really pulled hard, plus my drag was set too loose, so it kept making runs. Anyway, I kept it for future bait. Strangely, those were the only bites I got there, so I headed for "under the bridge."
Fishing was pretty good there. Within minutes, I caught a Salema on my rig baited with mussel. Then I decided to set up my 10 pound pole for bottom fishing, hoping to catch Croaker or Sargo. While I was setting the heavier pole up, my rip rap rig pole took off to the left, generally a good sign. It turned out to be a conventionally colored Spotted Bay Bass, but only about 8 inches long, so I put it back. I put the last of the mussel on the bottom fishing rig, and casted out fairly far, near the middle of the channel. Before long, my pole bent over with a good bite. "Aha, here comes my Croaker or Sargo," I thought. I was a happy camper at that point, but when I brought the fish in, it turned out to be a Sand Bass around 9 inches long. Also, it had pretty much swallowed the hook. I ended up breaking the hook off in its mouth, using my pliers. Better that, than ripping the hook out. I was worried about the fish, but it seemed to swim away okay. I have read that hooks dissolve in a fish's digestive acids within a couple of weeks. That was it for the catching. I tried Squid there, and kept getting nibbles, that seemed like small fish pecking at the bait, then just when I was thinking of leaving at 8 p.m., I got snagged and lost the entire bottom rig. I don't understand why that place is so snaggy; the whole place looks like it has a cement bottom. Anyway, after that it was definitely time to go home.
Here's the catch:
6 tiny to smallish Opaleyes, 2 largest ones kept, 4 others released
2 undersize Spotted Bay Bass (one a beautiful pink color), released
1 undersize Kelp Bass, released
1 undersize Sand Bass, released
1 good size Mackerel, kept for future bait
1 Salema, kept for future bait
I had good numbers and variety, but the size of the fish left something to be desired. Anyway, it was a good fishing trip catching various ocean species.