An on-time report for once.
Unfortunately, I could not make it back home in time to join Hashem and Fish-Ninja at Avalon, but I still was going to get out there one way or another.
I took the 6 am ferry out to Avalon. There were several other people who were planning to fish the Mole, perhaps some of them were the same regulars that Fish-Ninja reported seeing, as some of them were talking about the fishing earlier in the week. Once docked, there was a rush for the best spots at the Mole. I lost out and was relegated to the corner by the ramp(?) near the middle of the Mole. I started off fishing a 40 gram Zakana jig. I immediately hooked up on a nice 24" fish on the first cast. (no good picture). Around me, the others were catching schoolie size bonito and large mackerel on splasher rigs and sabikis. I stuck with the jig for the rest of the morning until I had filled out my limit of <24" fish. I caught and released a few more, with a couple jack mackerel in the mix, and helped out some kids hook up on their own fish before the bite fizzled out around 11 am.
One of many medium sized bonito.
After an hour of fruitless casting, I decided to slow down a bit and do some bottom fishing. I wasn't too concerned with catching larger fish, so I downsized to a size 8 hook and squid on a dropper loop and caught some various kelp forest fishes. The others continued to cast tirelessly for bonito and picked a few off here and there to add to their already way over limit catches.
Little halfmoon.
Terminal phase rock wrasse.
At ~2 pm, I decided I wanted some opaleye to take home, and switched to float fishing peas. I could not get away from the blacksmith, juvenile halfmoon, and garibaldi. At some point, a lone opaleye showed up in the chum cloud. All the competition must have made it particularly ornery, as it charged and chased off some smaller fish pecking at the pea before grabbing the bait. Over the next hour, I hooked two more opaleye, losing one and landing the other.
One of many blacksmith.
The Orange Horde.
The first of two opaleye.
The wind began to pick up at 3, and with the sun beginning to get low in the sky, I decided to stop sight fishing and tried for some whitefish from the northern corner. The bonito chasers had largely packed up by this point, and I had more room to cast and fish. I caught four decent sized whitefish and released a couple smaller ones, while several much larger fish dove into the kelp and got off. Sometime during this session, one of the last people casting for bonito got a hard strike and started fighting a fish. The others sprung into action and partially unpacked to get a couple last casts in, including myself. The fish came up, and it turned out to be a halfmoon foul hooked through the side. I then got back to fishing for whitefish, and found an unending horde of smaller fish (as usual).
One of the better sized whitefish.
As the sun was going down, I hooked into a larger fish that immediately dove into the kelp. I managed to rip it (and about a 20 lb stringer of kelp) loose, and brought it pierside, where it turned out to be a sheephead. I was using light line, and couldn't hoist the entire mass over the railing, while the leader was hopelessly badly tangled in the kelp, so I couldn't just shake it off. I dragged it over to the rocks at the end of the Mole, clambered down in the dark, and secured my prize. After that, I was feeling pretty out of it, so I packed up and waited for the 6:30 pm boat home.
Limit of smaller bones and the one big one.
The remainder of the catch.
Very thankful (ha!) to have been able to come down to SoCal to do some fishing, I just wish I hadn't seen the others poaching bonito.
Unfortunately, I could not make it back home in time to join Hashem and Fish-Ninja at Avalon, but I still was going to get out there one way or another.
I took the 6 am ferry out to Avalon. There were several other people who were planning to fish the Mole, perhaps some of them were the same regulars that Fish-Ninja reported seeing, as some of them were talking about the fishing earlier in the week. Once docked, there was a rush for the best spots at the Mole. I lost out and was relegated to the corner by the ramp(?) near the middle of the Mole. I started off fishing a 40 gram Zakana jig. I immediately hooked up on a nice 24" fish on the first cast. (no good picture). Around me, the others were catching schoolie size bonito and large mackerel on splasher rigs and sabikis. I stuck with the jig for the rest of the morning until I had filled out my limit of <24" fish. I caught and released a few more, with a couple jack mackerel in the mix, and helped out some kids hook up on their own fish before the bite fizzled out around 11 am.
One of many medium sized bonito.
After an hour of fruitless casting, I decided to slow down a bit and do some bottom fishing. I wasn't too concerned with catching larger fish, so I downsized to a size 8 hook and squid on a dropper loop and caught some various kelp forest fishes. The others continued to cast tirelessly for bonito and picked a few off here and there to add to their already way over limit catches.
Little halfmoon.
Terminal phase rock wrasse.
At ~2 pm, I decided I wanted some opaleye to take home, and switched to float fishing peas. I could not get away from the blacksmith, juvenile halfmoon, and garibaldi. At some point, a lone opaleye showed up in the chum cloud. All the competition must have made it particularly ornery, as it charged and chased off some smaller fish pecking at the pea before grabbing the bait. Over the next hour, I hooked two more opaleye, losing one and landing the other.
One of many blacksmith.
The Orange Horde.
The first of two opaleye.
The wind began to pick up at 3, and with the sun beginning to get low in the sky, I decided to stop sight fishing and tried for some whitefish from the northern corner. The bonito chasers had largely packed up by this point, and I had more room to cast and fish. I caught four decent sized whitefish and released a couple smaller ones, while several much larger fish dove into the kelp and got off. Sometime during this session, one of the last people casting for bonito got a hard strike and started fighting a fish. The others sprung into action and partially unpacked to get a couple last casts in, including myself. The fish came up, and it turned out to be a halfmoon foul hooked through the side. I then got back to fishing for whitefish, and found an unending horde of smaller fish (as usual).
One of the better sized whitefish.
As the sun was going down, I hooked into a larger fish that immediately dove into the kelp. I managed to rip it (and about a 20 lb stringer of kelp) loose, and brought it pierside, where it turned out to be a sheephead. I was using light line, and couldn't hoist the entire mass over the railing, while the leader was hopelessly badly tangled in the kelp, so I couldn't just shake it off. I dragged it over to the rocks at the end of the Mole, clambered down in the dark, and secured my prize. After that, I was feeling pretty out of it, so I packed up and waited for the 6:30 pm boat home.
Limit of smaller bones and the one big one.
The remainder of the catch.
Very thankful (ha!) to have been able to come down to SoCal to do some fishing, I just wish I hadn't seen the others poaching bonito.
