halibut hunt of course - 4 day report
I have been hitting the surf with Ron ( paintnfish )...
Friday started in the South Bay. It was supposed to warm with clearing skies - that never happened. In about an hour and half all that was landed was a short halibut and a couple of small perch. No bait fish and the water was clean and clear.
Ron took off to work and I went to Venice. From 8am to 9:45 - 1 dink perch and 6 others in the 12-14" range. No bait fish and the water was clean and clear.
Here is the biggest:
Saturday again in the South Bay at sunrise. The surf was up and there was plenty of kelp in the water. Ron managed a 21 1/2" halibut using a different hard bait. When he pulled the fish to the beach there was 20 or 30# line wrapped around the midsection - there was some infection setting in. It was released after cutting the line. Not ten minutes later he landed a short.
Camera phone photo from a distance:
Sunday in the South Bay at sunrise it appeared to be a surf fishing party upon arrival. Close to ten people on the beach, only six had poles in the water. The surf was up and the kelp was hampering any efforts other than dropshotting. While we were there I only saw 3 perch landed by the other fishermen. We headed north to MDR tried the channel for no bites. We picked up some fresh dead anchovies from a couple of guys leaving the bridge that were getting strikes on halibuts. The remainder of the bait was thrown into the creek. No sooner did the bait go into the water one of the guys farms a halibut pulling it up. Ron and I moved under the bridge to use the anchovies and hard baits. Only managed a baby ray and lots of raked bait.
Today I fished Will Rogers. At the beach at high tide. The water was clean and clear sans bait fish. Upon arrival, 2 dink perch.
Shortly after a short at 16"
Tried to release him, but he flipped himself down between the rocks - high tide will get him back out there and at least there was water flowing around him:
Found a honey hole for three 8-10" perch:
More dead animals:
And today the coast finally started to clear up around 1:30pm - gotta love the sunshine bite:
I worked every jetty until 2pm. The water became worse at lower tide with kelp snagging on virtually every cast.
Good to see other halibut reports being post - a good sign indeed.
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