View Full Version : Balboa Pier...bait run
So in preparation for going after the kitties at the vine this weekend I took a friend down to balboa pier hoping to get some mackerel to use for bait. Keep in mind
A) I never have fished the piers before save for a short trip to cabrillo st.
B) I wasn't sure what to expect as far as bite.
It was WFO...
We initially used sabiki rigs with no bait since i had heard mack will bite anything shiny. While we caught a few mack we were mainly killing a boat load of sardines. So I pulled out the squid and started adding it to the rigs. That was the ticket. Within 2 hours we had between 20 and 30 good size mackerel and another 20-30 sardines.
Others on the pier were doing just as good pulling in a lot of fish. Just looking in the water you could see them boiling on top and there was a large sea lion enjoying an easy meal.
There were a couple kids next to us who were using a small freshwater rod and not having much luck getting anything to stick so I gave them one of my sabikis and a small weight and showed them how we were doing it. By the time we left they were pulling in 4 plus on the sabiki.
A fun 2 hours and now more than enough bait for the weekend. For those that fish the piers regularly, what other species can be caught off of them? Definitely plan to fish them some more for things other than mack lol.
5150fishn
06-15-2011, 10:24 AM
Josh,
Well done on the Kitty bait. I fish Newport or Balboa at night usually a Fri. or Sat. night about twice a month. You never really know what you will catch. The perch are usually going off in the shallows along with the occasional corbina or YFC. I have caught many Leopard sharks, Smoothound sharks, Batrays, Shovelnose sharks, and the once in a while halibut at mid pier. The end of the balboa pier, well you just never know because I have caught eels, barracuda, and a short white seabass. You just never know. The later it gets at night the stranger the bite seems to be.
smokehound
06-15-2011, 11:24 AM
unless I'm targeting macks, I prefer checking the pilings out with dropperloop rigs and mussels..
Fresh-dead sardines are superior to macks as kitty bait, IMO.
City Dad
06-15-2011, 12:02 PM
WTG helping out the kiddos, man!
Josh,
Well done on the Kitty bait. I fish Newport or Balboa at night usually a Fri. or Sat. night about twice a month. You never really know what you will catch. The perch are usually going off in the shallows along with the occasional corbina or YFC. I have caught many Leopard sharks, Smoothound sharks, Batrays, Shovelnose sharks, and the once in a while halibut at mid pier. The end of the balboa pier, well you just never know because I have caught eels, barracuda, and a short white seabass. You just never know. The later it gets at night the stranger the bite seems to be.
sounds like fun. I may have to fish there past dark one evening.
unless I'm targeting macks, I prefer checking the pilings out with dropperloop rigs and mussels..
Fresh-dead sardines are superior to macks as kitty bait, IMO.
I may have to grab some mussels next time I head down, then again I could just pull in some sardines, hook them up and re-cast them on dropper loops. Thanks for the tip on using dines for kitty bait. I was thinking about keeping them and cutting them up for it but had so much mackerel I didn't bother.
WTG helping out the kiddos, man!
It was cool to see them catch some fish. The rig they had was working but you could see the fish doing hit and runs on their bait. What was funny is the pole they were using wasn't easy to reel with a loaded sabiki of mackerel so while one held/reeled the others were pulling the line up. Was amusing to watch
Oh and here's some of the fish pr0n.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k146/Dreggas/2011-06-14201005.jpg
smokehound
06-15-2011, 03:55 PM
I may have to grab some mussels next time I head down, then again I could just pull in some sardines, hook them up and re-cast them on dropper loops. Thanks for the tip on using dines for kitty bait. I was thinking about keeping them and cutting them up for it but had so much mackerel I didn't bother.Some 4-5 inch 'dines are excellent. I cut the head and tail off, and use the middle for the kitties. Unlike strips of mackerel, you still have all the organs inside the middle-section.
Some 4-5 inch 'dines are excellent. I cut the head and tail off, and use the middle for the kitties. Unlike strips of mackerel, you still have all the organs inside the middle-section.
I don't use strips. I chunk the mackerel guts and all, have them in one inch sections with all the guts intact. I will definitely give the sardines a try though. We were using mack last weekend for the tournament and having a lot of luck. Or I should say others were, it was my first skunk at the vine lol.
Ifishtoolittle
06-15-2011, 06:33 PM
Screw Cali- Pier fishing! :LOL: Caught this at FL just yesterday!
http://i661.photobucket.com/albums/uu337/Ifishtoolittle/DSCF3183.jpg
BabyKiller
06-15-2011, 08:27 PM
A fun 2 hours and now more than enough bait for the weekend. For those that fish the piers regularly, what other species can be caught off of them?
there can also be an excellent bite off the end of the pier. the species.....sculpin!
there can also be an excellent bite off the end of the pier. the species.....sculpin!
now I am down for getting more of those, they are super tasty. Just need to watch out for the spines lol.
OC ANGLER
06-15-2011, 09:54 PM
I think I just might head to the pier tomorrow eve for a couple hours .. lol
Hometown
06-15-2011, 10:16 PM
Thanks josh i need to get down south to get me some bait up in the south bay i havnt found much
manuel149
06-16-2011, 01:50 AM
I don't use strips. I chunk the mackerel guts and all, have them in one inch sections with all the guts intact.
How do you get all to stay on the hook?