Redondo Pier/Santa Monica Pier Hooping 10/10/15(Redondo)-10/11/15(Santa Monica)

It was as amazing as it was brief Saturday at Redondo Pier. The current looked like it was ripping really fast and I wanted to fish as well as hoop net. I decided to cast out a baitless hook with sinker just to see how the current was. I noticed that my puney 1 ounce weight was actually staying put and while I retrieved it, the rod tip went bendo. Up came a small crab that was promptly released. Funny thing is the ocean is so vast and that little guy managed to get hooked by his claw :EyePop:, I guess that's a good omen of things to come. I pulled up my net after a roughly 30 minute soak that produced a small lobster. A regular besides me then went on to tell me how lucky I was since he had been here the day before had nothing to show for it. On my second pull of the night was where I got my first legal of the year. A beautiful and meaty three pounder. All of my lobster are caught on a combination of half a salmon head/market squid stomped. I think the mix of juices really gets them to crawl out of their hiding spots. It's safe to say however I will not be returning to Redondo Pier after a very scary police brutality power struggle where my net was eventually confiscated and I was threatened with a fine and issued a permanent ban from coming back. My two cents is when you see someone else getting harassed it's best not to speak up unless you have friends around with video taping equipment. As a heads up it's legal to film and audio record police after informing them that you intend to do so for, "your own safety as well as his own accountability". It's a darn shame that I wasn't able to bring this to light in fear of retaliation but people nowadays really need to start standing up for themselves and others. If you see something you know is inherently wrong, whip out that camera and record the incident. Who knows maybe one day you'll be the victim of a brutal encounter and will need the public's assistant in clearing your name of any wrongdoings.

~~~Stay clear of Philip, the security officer on the golf cart that confiscates and sells your equipment on Craigslist. One wrong look and he accidentally "kicks" over your lobster gauge, threatens you with a fine, steals your net, plays the race card, then proceeded to call police LMAO.~~~

Santa Monica Pier was alright if you want a little action. I pulled up two shorts from a 2 hour session (4 pulls). On the last pull I managed to get a couple meaty pieces of mussel so as I was heading back to my car I rigged up and cast out my offering. Within seconds I get hammered for a nice yellowfin croaker. The second cast another yellowfin croaker! :LOL: I thought to myself this is more than enough but couldn't resist the urge as I already had all my mussel cut up. I threw out a third cast and to my amazement a Sargo came up! The fourth and final cast of the night yielded me the biggest Sargo to date, a three pound beauty. As a precaution stay clear of the left side, it's infested with seaweed and kelp that stink up your net and car. The right side is a little better but much more crowded. The best time I believe is to set your nets out is thirty minutes before sunset and pull them in thirty minutes after the sun sets. The action seems to drop off after 11 but who knows! I never stay past 11 so I could be missing out on a lot more fish stories :???:

Thanks for the report. Remember only 2 devices in the water at once on a public pier, one rod and one hoopnet, or 2 hoopnets, or 2 rods.
Why were the cops hassling the guy ?
DR

u hv a lobster card ?? And filled out correctly? Like hell I'll let a darn security guard take any my gear without a fight. I believe only harbor patrol or dfg can do that if its unattended or u are poaching or Excess pole/gear in water. I once saw a guy with four poles in the water on the west ramp of the life guard parking spot Castaic, lifeguard wasn't too happy gave him a big fat ticket! And that's what he gets

Yea I know and I had everything filled out beforehand. I argued with him and stood up for the guy so he called the cops. The cops weren't hassling the first guy but the security guard was, I was being hassled by the cops. 4 officers arrived, the first two actually alleviated the situation and took the time to hear both parties. It wasn't until the other two arrived that we were all threatened with who knows what fines. That's what I thought too that only DFG may confiscate equipment. I had a warden on the line who tried to talk some sense into the cops over the speakerphone but the cops made me hang up on her LOL. It was too bad she wasn't closer though I believe it was an Irvine area code or else I'm confident she woulda came over and kicked some ***. Something about this is really fishy, almost like the cops and the security dude are in on it together. Thinking back to the incident one of these nets easily run $30 and considering how trigger happy these guys are I'm not surprised if they "confiscate" two or more nets per night. The other fishermen around me told me how he sells everything on craiglist and to just keep an eye out and confront him after.

so what was the argument about? too many gear? licenses/lobster cards? trying to figure it all out.? cops trying to give the local latinos/Asians a hard time at the pier??????? .. FOR ANYONE INTERESTED. .I hv a coleman crawdad boat for sale 11ft. tagged 2015 and ready for a motor; or just paddle out ... hoop the walls innerbreak instead and avoid the hassles. toss in back of truck , no trailer needed. .. all u need is licenses, pfd, and lights to be seen for ur own safety.
take $300 firm for it.

Even I didn't know what the argument was about. All I did was speak up and told him only fish and game can confiscate gear and he went bat **** crazy. Heck I didn't even know what fine I was going to be hit with after. The first two cops were good guys but the last two had it in for themselves and knew the security guard on a first name basis. No camera or audio recording? The judge won't give a dam because in the eyes of the law the men in blue have more "credibility". So if you don't film them they will say the most ruthless intimidating **** to you. And I'm interested in your offer. Could you PM me and send me pictures by any chance?

62664441five3. For anyone interested in Crawdad boat. I'm near rosebowl.

I'm guessing you must of fished the no fishing spot too. My friend and I got our hoop net confiscated from the fat black security. He told us he either take our hoop net or call the police. Lol

sucked when they resigned and rebuilt and pier from 90s fire....all of sudden 75% of pier fishing is gone ; limited fishing section only , so us old stinky and grungy fishermen don't dirty up their new concerte sections of pier for the visitors and birdwatchers..... og pier was 180degrees fishable ;even the small jetty to right was bonita boil heaven!.. u cud fish pier for like $5 all day parking aswell; long gone good ole days

You know the point between no fishing and legal fishing. That very fine line where when you toss your net or line out it should theoretically be in the no fishing zone yet your tackle, body, and gear are all on the legal side. I was fishing in that corner and find it hard to comprehend how my body was in the no fishing zone.