Anymore Bait Barges that I can fish on?

[Ifishtoolittle]

Found out from my old man that there used to be on outside King Harbor where you could just fill a bucket with Juvi- Bocaccio. Other than that he did not mention any other barge. I think this question was asked before, but I forgot what were the responses.

[Nessie Hunter]

There used to be a couple of Large Barges anchored offshore with shuttle boats to take you back & forth..
Used to take my kids out to the "City of Redondo" ??? (been a long time 70's)..

All gone now!!!!

[TroutOnly]

The isle of redondo,,,,,,used to be an easy slay trip ,and taxi boat every hour,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Fish Dog]

The isle of redondo,,,,,,used to be an easy slay trip ,and taxi boat every hour,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Yes, that was the "Isle of Redondo". That was the last barge operating in California. It went out of business in 1998.

If you want a great book on the subject Get "Fishing Barges of California 1921 - 1998".

http://www.montereypubs.com/fishing_barges.htm

Great book on the history of barges off our coast with lots of great pictures.

[old pudd fisher]

There used to be a couple of Large Barges anchored offshore with shuttle boats to take you back & forth..
Used to take my kids out to the "City of Redondo" ??? (been a long time 70's)..

All gone now!!!!Wow I remember that, and wish they still had them. It was good fishing and cheap to.

[Calico]

We had many a great day as kids fishing on the Isle of Redondo. Back in the 70's our parents dropped us off (we were elementary and middle school age) at King Harbor and we rode the boat out to fish all day. We also used to ride the bus to Santa Monica Pier and fish on their barge. Great times.

[Ifishtoolittle]

Damn, wish the barges were still around. Oh well, thanks for the info guys.

[bayfishingjunkie]

there are bait docks that you can fish for a small fee... I know newport used to do that and also there is one in MDR in fishermans village that lets you fish and use thier live bait...

[Ifishtoolittle]

there are bait docks that you can fish for a small fee... I know newport used to do that and also there is one in MDR in fishermans village that lets you fish and use thier live bait...

Thanks for the heads up.

[DockRat]

Old Barge Pics at below site.

http://www.montereypubs.com/fishing_barges.htm

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/AREA+FISHING+BARGES+EXTINCT%3B+ISLE+OF+REDONDO+WAS +LAST+OPEN.(SPORTS)-a083828662

So that's what happened to the Isle of Redondo.

``There was no warning to the fishing public that it was closing,'' said James Caton Jr. of Ladera Heights, who worked as a deckhand on the barge for 10 years.

``It's a shame,'' said Caton, who is obviously passionate about the customers he catered to during his tenure. He recalls a father and son from Barstow who patronized the barge at least every other month. ``A lot of youngsters won't ever get to know the joy of fishing on a barge.''

The Isle of Redondo was not only popular with kids but with families, retirees and those who got too seasick to fish off sportfishing boats. The $16 adult fare and $8 ticket for children 11 and younger appealed to lower-income anglers, Caton said.

They would catch mostly mackerel mackerel, common name for members of the family Scombridae, 60 species of open-sea fishes, including the albacore, bonito, and tuna. They are characterized by deeply forked tails that narrow greatly where they join the body; small finlets behind both the dorsal and . Bonito bonito: see mackerel.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
bonito

Swift, predaceous schooling fishes (genus Sarda) of the mackerel family (Scombridae). Bonitos, found worldwide, have a striped back and silvery belly and grow to about 30 in. (75 cm) long. , too, when they were running. The occasional bass, croaker croaker, member of the abundant and varied family Sciaenidae, carnivorous, spiny-finned fishes including the weakfishes, the drums, and the whitings. The croaker has a compressed, elongated body similar to that of the bass. and halibut halibut: see flatfish.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
halibut

Any of various flatfishes, especially the Atlantic and Pacific halibuts (genus Hippoglossus, family Pleuronectidae), both of which have eyes and colour on the right side. also were caught.

Not anymore. The final chapter of a storied past seems to have been written.

The first fishing barge in Southern California was off Long Beach in 1921 and the first off Redondo in 1922, according to ``Tales of the Golden Years of California Ocean Fishing: 1900-1950.''

Author Ed Ries, 79, of San Diego details a boom in barge fishing in 1925. By the following year, 21 barges were doing business from Santa Barbara to San Diego. People descended upon the vessels, which typically were converted ships. Redondo became home to more barges than any other spot along the coast.

When regulations became stringent on having watertight compartments throughout the old hulks, most barges were forced out of business because of the prohibitive cost to conform. The outbreak of World War II finished off the industry.

Ries wrote that war surplus vessels resurfaced after the war, but by 1960 most anglers flocked to the increasing numbers of sportfishing boats.

Still, three barges continued to operate in the '60s and '70s. Nancy Gray, 49, of Long Beach was a cook on the California, Sacramento and Sea Coaster.

``They were all out there at the same time and you used to purchase a ticket and go from one barge to the other,'' said Gray, who works at Redondo Sportfishing. ``They were full. We used to have people waiting on the pier to go out to the barge.''

The Isle of Redondo, a flat barge 60 by 120 feet and built to hold 230 anglers at a price of just under $1 million, went into operation in 1980. Another barge, the Annie B, opened for business off Long Beach in 1982. They were the only operating barges in recent years.

The Annie B closed in fall 1994 because of poor business. The Isle of Redondo lasted a few more years. It was moved to a better spot at the beginning of last year and fishing was good at the start, Gray said.

``Slowly but surely the fishing slowed down,'' she said. ``We had such a bait problem.''

All that was available were sardines, especially with El Nino's tepid waters pushing anchovies
Business slowed and it became unfeasible to continue. The barge was sold.

Alas, the local fishing barges are probably gone for good, too costly to run.

[Ifishtoolittle]

Old Barge Pics at below site.

http://www.montereypubs.com/fishing_barges.htm

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/AREA+FISHING+BARGES+EXTINCT%3B+ISLE+OF+REDONDO+WAS +LAST+OPEN.(SPORTS)-a083828662

So that's what happened to the Isle of Redondo.

``There was no warning to the fishing public that it was closing,'' said James Caton Jr. of Ladera Heights, who worked as a deckhand on the barge for 10 years.

``It's a shame,'' said Caton, who is obviously passionate about the customers he catered to during his tenure. He recalls a father and son from Barstow who patronized the barge at least every other month. ``A lot of youngsters won't ever get to know the joy of fishing on a barge.''

The Isle of Redondo was not only popular with kids but with families, retirees and those who got too seasick to fish off sportfishing boats. The $16 adult fare and $8 ticket for children 11 and younger appealed to lower-income anglers, Caton said.

They would catch mostly mackerel mackerel, common name for members of the family Scombridae, 60 species of open-sea fishes, including the albacore, bonito, and tuna. They are characterized by deeply forked tails that narrow greatly where they join the body; small finlets behind both the dorsal and . Bonito bonito: see mackerel.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
bonito

Swift, predaceous schooling fishes (genus Sarda) of the mackerel family (Scombridae). Bonitos, found worldwide, have a striped back and silvery belly and grow to about 30 in. (75 cm) long. , too, when they were running. The occasional bass, croaker croaker, member of the abundant and varied family Sciaenidae, carnivorous, spiny-finned fishes including the weakfishes, the drums, and the whitings. The croaker has a compressed, elongated body similar to that of the bass. and halibut halibut: see flatfish.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
halibut

Any of various flatfishes, especially the Atlantic and Pacific halibuts (genus Hippoglossus, family Pleuronectidae), both of which have eyes and colour on the right side. also were caught.

Not anymore. The final chapter of a storied past seems to have been written.

The first fishing barge in Southern California was off Long Beach in 1921 and the first off Redondo in 1922, according to ``Tales of the Golden Years of California Ocean Fishing: 1900-1950.''

Author Ed Ries, 79, of San Diego details a boom in barge fishing in 1925. By the following year, 21 barges were doing business from Santa Barbara to San Diego. People descended upon the vessels, which typically were converted ships. Redondo became home to more barges than any other spot along the coast.

When regulations became stringent on having watertight compartments throughout the old hulks, most barges were forced out of business because of the prohibitive cost to conform. The outbreak of World War II finished off the industry.

Ries wrote that war surplus vessels resurfaced after the war, but by 1960 most anglers flocked to the increasing numbers of sportfishing boats.

Still, three barges continued to operate in the '60s and '70s. Nancy Gray, 49, of Long Beach was a cook on the California, Sacramento and Sea Coaster.

``They were all out there at the same time and you used to purchase a ticket and go from one barge to the other,'' said Gray, who works at Redondo Sportfishing. ``They were full. We used to have people waiting on the pier to go out to the barge.''

The Isle of Redondo, a flat barge 60 by 120 feet and built to hold 230 anglers at a price of just under $1 million, went into operation in 1980. Another barge, the Annie B, opened for business off Long Beach in 1982. They were the only operating barges in recent years.

The Annie B closed in fall 1994 because of poor business. The Isle of Redondo lasted a few more years. It was moved to a better spot at the beginning of last year and fishing was good at the start, Gray said.

``Slowly but surely the fishing slowed down,'' she said. ``We had such a bait problem.''

All that was available were sardines, especially with El Nino's tepid waters pushing anchovies
Business slowed and it became unfeasible to continue. The barge was sold.

Alas, the local fishing barges are probably gone for good, too costly to run.

Thanks for the info DR. Man that sucks about the barges.

[dixoncider]

Few Isle of Redondo Pics
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/dixoncider/barge1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/dixoncider/bargesunset.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/dixoncider/NightBarge.jpg

[dixoncider]

Few barges before the Isle
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/dixoncider/SacramentoBarge.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/dixoncider/NewCaliforniaBarge.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/dixoncider/CCoasterBarge.jpg

[dixoncider]

http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/bigs/fish0354.jpg
Isle of redondo pic. There are 3 or 4 people in this picture that worked on it for a long time..R.I.P mark