Oceanside Pier Report for 8/2

[murrieta angler]

Arrived at the pier around 1:00 after doing some work just down the road.
I checked my tide book and saw that the high was at 3:44, Perfect!
I brought 2 rod and reel combo's.
The first being my 7'6" Seeker rod, rated 8-15# with an old Corsair reel. I was using #4 hooks, 3oz lead and squid for bait.
The other rod was an Ugly Stick rated 15-30#, with a cheapie Penn 320 reel. The line was 30#, I put on a 5/0 hook with 5oz pyramid lead and let it soak with a huge anchovie. Hopefully for a big halibut.

After getting all set up, I was looking up and down the pier and saw alot of people getting YFC's and SFC's like it was a trout farm...
Cool, I would have fun catching and releasing till my departure time of 6:00.
Well after an hour of nothing, I decided to take a look at what others were fishing with and noticed that they were using these tiny mussels, still in the shell, and tying them on with a piece of string to the hooks....
Now even though I'm half Mexican, I don't speak the language, with the exception of the cuss words....
So I asked this elderly gentleman if I could buy some from him and he immediately proceeded to hand over some for nothing in return... He even gave me some of the string!
I tied it on to a 1/0 hook, after changing my set-up to a reverse dropper loop, and was hit within 5 minutes.... A nice 2-3# SFC.
As I was getting ready to throw it back, the elderly gentleman asked if he could have it. He says he feeds his family with the fish he catches there. WELL OF COURSE HE COULD HAVE IT!!!! Along with the other fish I caught for the afternoon.
Well, 6:00 came pretty quick and I started to pack up, when this young couple came up to me and asked for some pointers, I immediately gave them the 411 and the left over bait I had and wished them Good Luck.

Take Care All,
Robert

[blackberg]

nice,
just curious, where the mussels opened or closed?
not a fan of croakers but just curios

-bb

[smokehound]

were they mussels, or were they bean clams?

bean clams are the ones that have a light purple shell.. the biggest ones get around an inch long.

those things are pretty good bait. using mussels/clams in the shell is actually one of the best ways to target croaker. It's a far more natural presentation.

especially spotfins. they dont care about the shell.. actually seem to like crunchy things more.

Same thing with sargo.. i catch em with bellies full of crushed mussel shells and bean clams.

[E.A.R.G.]

Hey Robert,
Thanks for the report.
Glad to see you got in on some fish.
I've never heard of using the mussels still in the shell. I go through hell sometimes trying to break them up and use the inside for bait.. maybe next time i'll just use the whole thing!

[murrieta angler]

nice,
just curious, where the mussels opened or closed?
not a fan of croakers but just curios

-bb

Closed, he said that sometimes he cracks one for the smell?!

[murrieta angler]

Hey Smoke!
I really couldn't tell you. I am color blind, to a point, and black is too close to purple for me to tell.

[murrieta angler]

Hey Robert,
Thanks for the report.
Glad to see you got in on some fish.
I've never heard of using the mussels still in the shell. I go through hell sometimes trying to break them up and use the inside for bait.. maybe next time i'll just use the whole thing!

Hey Eric!
Nice YT with Jeff!
It works!!!

[cjmedina]

way to go robert glad to see your back. ive been hanging out there alot lately. been catching some monster spot fins in front. im pretty sure i was there that day too

[Swank909]

I've seen some guys do it with Alligator Clips instead of line, seems to work well

[murrieta angler]

Hey Carlos!
You have my number, give me a call, as work will be slow for the next couple of weeks.
Maybe we should take the boat out and try San Clemente?!