Belated happy new year all!
Had a busy January to my other exploits but I managed my first outing to the mole yesterday. To sum, it was a very slow day and packed with anglers fishing shoulder to shoulder plus a family of sea lions making a havoc. Regardless of some difficulties, it was so nice to be out there and catch some stories with other anglers.
The day started with some rains. By the time the 6am ferry from Long Bach birth arrived at Avalon, it was gone. It was a full-moon day with minus large tide, whose high was at 8:27am. The ferry was full with Filipino and Korean regulars to my surprise despite the incremental weather. There was an over nighter group fishing when our ferry arrived too.
Before I move on, I would like to report on the change that Catalina express made. There is a new price hike. Regular round trip fare is now $84 and for seniors $75.5. We used to be able to call in to reserve a seat and settle the fee in the morning or cancel it without consequence. Now, they will charge your account immediately at the time of reservation. The main (annoying) change for me is for those who hold commuter ticket books. They relinquished the paper books and moved to an online account (which is fine). You have to visit in person at one of their offices and hand in your book. We used to be able to change ferries without a charge but now that is gone. They charge $5 across the board no matter when you want to change issued ticket. The price for the commuter book is also hiked up I believe (now $342 per 5 round trips). If you are one of those commuter book holders, I recommend to visit their office ahead of time to handle the transaction....
Okay, now back to fishing. I fished from 7:30am to 3pm, casting out metal jigs with 10 feet rod and 30lb test PE line with 30lb leader. Others were casting sabiki rigs or float rig for opaleyes. Bonito runs are far scarce this time (which is usual). I had two hits and managed to land one which was a nice 23incher.
Everyone who were trying hard enough had a similar results but we were there more to feed this family of sea lions. This one has been around as long as I have been visiting there but yesterday they just stayed. My another bonito was taken by them. About half of larger bonitos hooked up by others were also perished into their stomach. Bait fishers hooked some nice sized fish but I saw large calico bass, sheephead, and halfmoon were also taken by the lions. Pretty high tax. I spent chatting with my neighbors more swapping stories etc. After the AM cloud gone, weather became so beautiful too. I could see Palos Verdes so clearly. I enjoyed just being there.
All in all, it was a great day. There was a new information board placed on the railing. I wondered if it is by @Mahigeer or someone else?
Thank for reading!
Had a busy January to my other exploits but I managed my first outing to the mole yesterday. To sum, it was a very slow day and packed with anglers fishing shoulder to shoulder plus a family of sea lions making a havoc. Regardless of some difficulties, it was so nice to be out there and catch some stories with other anglers.
The day started with some rains. By the time the 6am ferry from Long Bach birth arrived at Avalon, it was gone. It was a full-moon day with minus large tide, whose high was at 8:27am. The ferry was full with Filipino and Korean regulars to my surprise despite the incremental weather. There was an over nighter group fishing when our ferry arrived too.
Before I move on, I would like to report on the change that Catalina express made. There is a new price hike. Regular round trip fare is now $84 and for seniors $75.5. We used to be able to call in to reserve a seat and settle the fee in the morning or cancel it without consequence. Now, they will charge your account immediately at the time of reservation. The main (annoying) change for me is for those who hold commuter ticket books. They relinquished the paper books and moved to an online account (which is fine). You have to visit in person at one of their offices and hand in your book. We used to be able to change ferries without a charge but now that is gone. They charge $5 across the board no matter when you want to change issued ticket. The price for the commuter book is also hiked up I believe (now $342 per 5 round trips). If you are one of those commuter book holders, I recommend to visit their office ahead of time to handle the transaction....
Okay, now back to fishing. I fished from 7:30am to 3pm, casting out metal jigs with 10 feet rod and 30lb test PE line with 30lb leader. Others were casting sabiki rigs or float rig for opaleyes. Bonito runs are far scarce this time (which is usual). I had two hits and managed to land one which was a nice 23incher.
Everyone who were trying hard enough had a similar results but we were there more to feed this family of sea lions. This one has been around as long as I have been visiting there but yesterday they just stayed. My another bonito was taken by them. About half of larger bonitos hooked up by others were also perished into their stomach. Bait fishers hooked some nice sized fish but I saw large calico bass, sheephead, and halfmoon were also taken by the lions. Pretty high tax. I spent chatting with my neighbors more swapping stories etc. After the AM cloud gone, weather became so beautiful too. I could see Palos Verdes so clearly. I enjoyed just being there.
All in all, it was a great day. There was a new information board placed on the railing. I wondered if it is by @Mahigeer or someone else?
Thank for reading!
