We arrived just after 6AM. There was a line of cars waiting for the Bolsa Chica State Beach to Open. When we got to the inlet there were four of us total fishing. All the videos I've seen of people fishing at this place are during low tide. During low tide you can actually stand on the sand and cast out. We were there on a rising tide so we had to stand on the rocks to fish like a jetty.
I started out throw a dropshot with a plastic fluke as bait. No bites. Water was moving fast. Just seemed like the wrong conditions for a dropshot. I notice the older guy next to us caught a halibut on a whole dead anchovy. I had some salted anchovies so I switched to fishing those on a fish finder rig. I caught a small halibut.
Afterwards I tried all sorts of cut bait shrimp, squid, mussels. I tried a Berkeley Gulp sand worm and shrimp. Nothing was getting any bites with the exception of some small taps on the cut shrimp if I cast right next to the pilings of the PCH Bridge. The anchovies were the only producer today as the older guy proceeded to catch a thornback ray, and a big jack smelt. A younger guy on the otherside of us caught another small ray on some kind of cut bait.
We left at 10AM and went to Big Fish Tackle to buy some live ghost shrimp. My girlfriend didn't catch anything at the inlet so she wanted to fish more at the HB Pier. I set her up for fishing and left to go to work. The rest of the report is from her.
It was even slower at the pier. Only people catching anything were the folks fishing for mackerel at the end with sabikis. Even they only pulled four in during the hour my girlfriend fished at the end. She got some nibbles mid pier on salted mussels and live ghost shrimp but she thinks the nibbles were smelt. No bites at all closer to shore and very little at the end on live ghost shrimp.
I started out throw a dropshot with a plastic fluke as bait. No bites. Water was moving fast. Just seemed like the wrong conditions for a dropshot. I notice the older guy next to us caught a halibut on a whole dead anchovy. I had some salted anchovies so I switched to fishing those on a fish finder rig. I caught a small halibut.
Afterwards I tried all sorts of cut bait shrimp, squid, mussels. I tried a Berkeley Gulp sand worm and shrimp. Nothing was getting any bites with the exception of some small taps on the cut shrimp if I cast right next to the pilings of the PCH Bridge. The anchovies were the only producer today as the older guy proceeded to catch a thornback ray, and a big jack smelt. A younger guy on the otherside of us caught another small ray on some kind of cut bait.
We left at 10AM and went to Big Fish Tackle to buy some live ghost shrimp. My girlfriend didn't catch anything at the inlet so she wanted to fish more at the HB Pier. I set her up for fishing and left to go to work. The rest of the report is from her.
It was even slower at the pier. Only people catching anything were the folks fishing for mackerel at the end with sabikis. Even they only pulled four in during the hour my girlfriend fished at the end. She got some nibbles mid pier on salted mussels and live ghost shrimp but she thinks the nibbles were smelt. No bites at all closer to shore and very little at the end on live ghost shrimp.
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