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 , 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! 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