Date: March 6, 2002
To: Pier Fishing in California Message Board
From: Mola Joe
Subject: Hermosa Pier Bat Ray
I found this old picture of me and my buddy Shawn that was dated June of ‘78. The back of the photo says 179 pounds in 1 hour 45 minutes on 40 lb test. It was one of three big ones I caught in June of that year. I don’t have a measurement, but I’m 6 foot (the one on the right in the photo) so maybe you can get an idea. I wish I had a better photo of this fish, one sitting flat on the ground, because if I remember right, it was incredibly thick. We were lucky because Hermosa Pier at that time had a landing down below the pier that was used for the old sport boats, and it was much easier gaffing fish from there. These big rays would take at least 3 gaffs, but I believe we used 4 on this one. We did throw them back, but I doubt they lived. If I were to ever start fishing rays again, I would never think about gaffing them like we did back then. One of the other rays that week was a bit smaller, but my biggest to date came about two weeks after this photo was shot. It’s the one that broke the spring on a 200 lb scale, so we never did find out the weight. It could have just been an old scale giving up, but it did look larger than this one. If I remember right, this fish just about spooled me on a 4/0 with 40 pound after eating a twin fillet of Spanish mackerel off the bottom. That photo sure brings back some great memories. Tight Lines!!
Posted by fishaholic
That’s big, state record is 181lbs, close.
Posted by snakeman70
Wow. That sure looks like it was a hell of a fight and a lot of fun. Those Rays are pretty tough, he might have lived. Great picture and thank you for sharing! That is about the size of the one my friend had caught at Santa Cruz, we were not able to land.
Posted by scooterfish
That’s a monster! Must have gotten the blood pumpin a bit? Hehe. I read on kayakfishing.com recently (in the last couple of weeks) about two socal guys who were yakfishing and hooked into a bat ray that measured 9’ across by their estimation, they had to cut him off... no way to land one that big from a yak... one guy tried did try to whack it with his paddle to subdue it, failing miserably of course...I just don't think my old Penn Squidder would cut it with a ray like that...Thanks for posting the awe inspiring pic Mola!
Posted by Songslinger
Yikes! Wonder how I'd fare... probably farm it.
Posted by Sinker
Holy Mackeral. That thing is huge, good job on bringing the beast in on 40-lb line. They have schools of those big Rays out at Anacapa Island and are fun to catch. I have never caught one that size off a pier though. May have hooked one as I have been spooled a few times but who knows. Love those kind of pics. Also love the way we have progressed/grown as fisherman in our knowledge and desire for the safe release of these magnificent beasts.
Posted by Ken Jones
Now that’s a pier fish...Great picture of an obviously great fish from a pier. Congratulations!
Posted by Corbinaman1
Bluefin Tuna From Hermosa Pier Mola!? Hey Mola! Awesome pic of that huge-bat ray...looks close enough to the state record in my book...I enjoy the stories and old pics that you post! Was that Bluefin Tuna actually hooked from the pier?! That seems unbelievable and would definitely be a “catch of a lifetime” from a pier! Nowadays, it seems bluefin are only rarely caught on overnight boats or farther out to sea! Post any pics you have of those big flatties, threshers, hammerhead's, yellowtail, etc. from the pier...I heard someone caught an 8lb. albacore some years ago from a pier up that way...all incredible catches!
Posted by mola joe
Yes, the bluefin was caught from the pier. We had a couple years in the mid '70s that bluefin moved into the canyon at Redondo. A few schools moved up the beach to Hermosa and Manhattan Beach. Many fish were hooked from the pier, but only a hand full made it on the deck. Most were the 18 to low 20-pound range. I remember watching the one that Bonita Joe caught come up and eat his live anchovy that he had on a cork and slider rig. We saw the school of tuna chasing bait by the pier, and watched as one exploded on his bait right on the surface. Half the people on that side of the pier saw the giant boil, and everyone was cheering him on. I hooked two around that time, farming both of them. I even got a giant size blister on my thumb trying to slow one down on my Squidder. You only do that mistake once!
Posted by Corbinaman1
Hey Mola...Bluefin from the pier is too cool...don’t know if that will ever happen again in our lifetimes! Nice big bat-ray pic also fun2fish! My dad and uncle used to fish a little off the Santa Monica Pier in the late 40’s. According to them there used to be fish everywhere (big flatties caught daily)...my uncle lost a big flattie when he tried to hoist it out of the water without a gaff?! I think I will have to get another (heavier duty) pole for sharks or bat-rays...or possibly a yellowtail from a pier (if there is an El Nino)...that would be a blast!
Posted by stinkyfingers
If I had just one wish... I'd say put me back in time and set me on deck next to Mola Joe with a rod in my hand...I can dream, can’t I?
Posted by Red Fish
A derby winner for sure!
Posted by salty nick
Whoa! What a giant! Awesome.
Posted by blast29
Seeing your ray and hearing your other stories brought back other “memories” that maybe you can authenticate. It was a long time ago, but I seem to remember back when I was a kid in the late 50s and early 60s that the stubby Redondo Pier where they had the live bait tank was a real killer. Didn't people catch big barn door halibut, log barries and the occasional yellowtail from the pier back then? I think I remember that happening...or am I just confusing it with an old TV show, movie or something else?
Posted by Shark Assassin
WOW! Nice batray! I was wondering, what kind of reel were you using for this 40# line? And was the line braid? (Apparently in your picture I see a steel? leader) Because I know you usually have to cast out pretty far to get the Threshers even when they move in shallow. Thanks.
Posted by mola joe
Monstad Pier at Redondo was the place to go for big halibut. Right at the edge of the canyon, it saw its share of big fish, and many legals each day during the season. I remember counting 16 legals one morning that were caught by the locals. You would have to get there at 4 in the morning to get a spot on weekends, and it used to be lined up elbow to elbow by hardcore guys. Sure is different now.
Posted by baitfish
Maybe we do need a Bat Ray tournie down here as well
Adam
Posted by realdrums
I remember that pier...or was it 2 piers? I fished it a few years before the end. I remember 2 piers. Now the new pier is sort of the same... just connecting the 2... right. So which pier was the hot one? closer to the harbor or the other? And I don't think either one ever extended any further than it currently does. Right? So if you were to fish the new pier... where would you stand to be in that old hot spot ?
Posted by Ken Jones
As I remember it they were always connected (although I didn’t fish it until the early-mid ‘60s), they weren’t any longer than today, and the Monstad Pier was always the better spot. On the new pier you would be fishing to the left of the pier in the section that is a little lower than the other part of the pier.
Posted by realdrums
Thanks, So you mean right there in front of the restaurants with the live crabs etc. on that lower walkway right? That’s where I fish when I’m there! There is a spot closer to shore with a no fishing sign that is really hot on the right tide. The spot you speak of is always loaded with smelt, especially under the pier, under Tony's Seafood. This is also the spot that produced a few striped bass a while back. Thanks again,
Posted by mola joe
One of my biggest regrets from this period in my fishing life is not taking more pictures of the fish we caught those summers on Hermosa Pier. Not only fish I caught, but from the gang that was like a family. Hammerheads, blue sharks, angel sharks, threshers, yellowtail, bluefin tuna, skipjack, giant squid, molas (had to throw that in), and 30 lb class halibut, just to name a few. The few pictures we took stayed in the bait shop on the pier and I never saw them again after Frank, the owner retired. People like Bonita Joe who was in his ‘70s, and hooked and landed a 20-pound class bluefin on heavy spinning tackle after it took him halfway around the pier, or Piano Fingers Mike catching a big thresher and breaking the fish off after it wrapped around the piling, only to still get the fish when I dropped the gaff right on top of the shark just as it swam away. Jose the Mexican (we called him that) casting a big Straggler jig from the North corner all day, for weeks, before he connected on a big yellow in the 20 pound class and put him on the pier. I would love to have pictures to go along with the memories. Bring those cameras!!
To: Pier Fishing in California Message Board
From: Mola Joe
Subject: Hermosa Pier Bat Ray
I found this old picture of me and my buddy Shawn that was dated June of ‘78. The back of the photo says 179 pounds in 1 hour 45 minutes on 40 lb test. It was one of three big ones I caught in June of that year. I don’t have a measurement, but I’m 6 foot (the one on the right in the photo) so maybe you can get an idea. I wish I had a better photo of this fish, one sitting flat on the ground, because if I remember right, it was incredibly thick. We were lucky because Hermosa Pier at that time had a landing down below the pier that was used for the old sport boats, and it was much easier gaffing fish from there. These big rays would take at least 3 gaffs, but I believe we used 4 on this one. We did throw them back, but I doubt they lived. If I were to ever start fishing rays again, I would never think about gaffing them like we did back then. One of the other rays that week was a bit smaller, but my biggest to date came about two weeks after this photo was shot. It’s the one that broke the spring on a 200 lb scale, so we never did find out the weight. It could have just been an old scale giving up, but it did look larger than this one. If I remember right, this fish just about spooled me on a 4/0 with 40 pound after eating a twin fillet of Spanish mackerel off the bottom. That photo sure brings back some great memories. Tight Lines!!
Posted by fishaholic
That’s big, state record is 181lbs, close.
Posted by snakeman70
Wow. That sure looks like it was a hell of a fight and a lot of fun. Those Rays are pretty tough, he might have lived. Great picture and thank you for sharing! That is about the size of the one my friend had caught at Santa Cruz, we were not able to land.
Posted by scooterfish
That’s a monster! Must have gotten the blood pumpin a bit? Hehe. I read on kayakfishing.com recently (in the last couple of weeks) about two socal guys who were yakfishing and hooked into a bat ray that measured 9’ across by their estimation, they had to cut him off... no way to land one that big from a yak... one guy tried did try to whack it with his paddle to subdue it, failing miserably of course...I just don't think my old Penn Squidder would cut it with a ray like that...Thanks for posting the awe inspiring pic Mola!
Posted by Songslinger
Yikes! Wonder how I'd fare... probably farm it.
Posted by Sinker
Holy Mackeral. That thing is huge, good job on bringing the beast in on 40-lb line. They have schools of those big Rays out at Anacapa Island and are fun to catch. I have never caught one that size off a pier though. May have hooked one as I have been spooled a few times but who knows. Love those kind of pics. Also love the way we have progressed/grown as fisherman in our knowledge and desire for the safe release of these magnificent beasts.
Posted by Ken Jones
Now that’s a pier fish...Great picture of an obviously great fish from a pier. Congratulations!
Posted by Corbinaman1
Bluefin Tuna From Hermosa Pier Mola!? Hey Mola! Awesome pic of that huge-bat ray...looks close enough to the state record in my book...I enjoy the stories and old pics that you post! Was that Bluefin Tuna actually hooked from the pier?! That seems unbelievable and would definitely be a “catch of a lifetime” from a pier! Nowadays, it seems bluefin are only rarely caught on overnight boats or farther out to sea! Post any pics you have of those big flatties, threshers, hammerhead's, yellowtail, etc. from the pier...I heard someone caught an 8lb. albacore some years ago from a pier up that way...all incredible catches!
Posted by mola joe
Yes, the bluefin was caught from the pier. We had a couple years in the mid '70s that bluefin moved into the canyon at Redondo. A few schools moved up the beach to Hermosa and Manhattan Beach. Many fish were hooked from the pier, but only a hand full made it on the deck. Most were the 18 to low 20-pound range. I remember watching the one that Bonita Joe caught come up and eat his live anchovy that he had on a cork and slider rig. We saw the school of tuna chasing bait by the pier, and watched as one exploded on his bait right on the surface. Half the people on that side of the pier saw the giant boil, and everyone was cheering him on. I hooked two around that time, farming both of them. I even got a giant size blister on my thumb trying to slow one down on my Squidder. You only do that mistake once!
Posted by Corbinaman1
Hey Mola...Bluefin from the pier is too cool...don’t know if that will ever happen again in our lifetimes! Nice big bat-ray pic also fun2fish! My dad and uncle used to fish a little off the Santa Monica Pier in the late 40’s. According to them there used to be fish everywhere (big flatties caught daily)...my uncle lost a big flattie when he tried to hoist it out of the water without a gaff?! I think I will have to get another (heavier duty) pole for sharks or bat-rays...or possibly a yellowtail from a pier (if there is an El Nino)...that would be a blast!
Posted by stinkyfingers
If I had just one wish... I'd say put me back in time and set me on deck next to Mola Joe with a rod in my hand...I can dream, can’t I?
Posted by Red Fish
A derby winner for sure!
Posted by salty nick
Whoa! What a giant! Awesome.
Posted by blast29
Seeing your ray and hearing your other stories brought back other “memories” that maybe you can authenticate. It was a long time ago, but I seem to remember back when I was a kid in the late 50s and early 60s that the stubby Redondo Pier where they had the live bait tank was a real killer. Didn't people catch big barn door halibut, log barries and the occasional yellowtail from the pier back then? I think I remember that happening...or am I just confusing it with an old TV show, movie or something else?
Posted by Shark Assassin
WOW! Nice batray! I was wondering, what kind of reel were you using for this 40# line? And was the line braid? (Apparently in your picture I see a steel? leader) Because I know you usually have to cast out pretty far to get the Threshers even when they move in shallow. Thanks.
Posted by mola joe
Monstad Pier at Redondo was the place to go for big halibut. Right at the edge of the canyon, it saw its share of big fish, and many legals each day during the season. I remember counting 16 legals one morning that were caught by the locals. You would have to get there at 4 in the morning to get a spot on weekends, and it used to be lined up elbow to elbow by hardcore guys. Sure is different now.
Posted by baitfish
Maybe we do need a Bat Ray tournie down here as well
AdamPosted by realdrums
I remember that pier...or was it 2 piers? I fished it a few years before the end. I remember 2 piers. Now the new pier is sort of the same... just connecting the 2... right. So which pier was the hot one? closer to the harbor or the other? And I don't think either one ever extended any further than it currently does. Right? So if you were to fish the new pier... where would you stand to be in that old hot spot ?
Posted by Ken Jones
As I remember it they were always connected (although I didn’t fish it until the early-mid ‘60s), they weren’t any longer than today, and the Monstad Pier was always the better spot. On the new pier you would be fishing to the left of the pier in the section that is a little lower than the other part of the pier.
Posted by realdrums
Thanks, So you mean right there in front of the restaurants with the live crabs etc. on that lower walkway right? That’s where I fish when I’m there! There is a spot closer to shore with a no fishing sign that is really hot on the right tide. The spot you speak of is always loaded with smelt, especially under the pier, under Tony's Seafood. This is also the spot that produced a few striped bass a while back. Thanks again,
Posted by mola joe
One of my biggest regrets from this period in my fishing life is not taking more pictures of the fish we caught those summers on Hermosa Pier. Not only fish I caught, but from the gang that was like a family. Hammerheads, blue sharks, angel sharks, threshers, yellowtail, bluefin tuna, skipjack, giant squid, molas (had to throw that in), and 30 lb class halibut, just to name a few. The few pictures we took stayed in the bait shop on the pier and I never saw them again after Frank, the owner retired. People like Bonita Joe who was in his ‘70s, and hooked and landed a 20-pound class bluefin on heavy spinning tackle after it took him halfway around the pier, or Piano Fingers Mike catching a big thresher and breaking the fish off after it wrapped around the piling, only to still get the fish when I dropped the gaff right on top of the shark just as it swam away. Jose the Mexican (we called him that) casting a big Straggler jig from the North corner all day, for weeks, before he connected on a big yellow in the 20 pound class and put him on the pier. I would love to have pictures to go along with the memories. Bring those cameras!!