ocean beach

[pinfish]

ocean beach is slow. locals don't report much. usually there is the early early morning pluggers and then by mid morning all the holes are populated by bait soakers fishing for whatever bites cut anchovies. or whole anchovies. or whatever holds with their flimsy 2 oz weights.

because the waves are much stronger at low tide when I went yesterday early early morning. slack low tide, lots of sand. find the usual holes, hike up deep enough to be safe but out enough to deliver. still got smacked around a bit.

took about a half hours of casting until got a a nice explosion on my wood pencil popper. pulled in this 19" and it wasn't much of a fight. threw it back so skinny with a big head. later, after the wind picked up, got a few birds nests and the cast snapped off when the lines rubbed on loops, as is the usual thing with baitcasters. lost my favorite pencil. that was a net gain of negative for me today.

so after several weeks of doing this, i finally get one. action was hotter in monterrey. haha

 

[Gary]

Thanks for the report - I think there is a trend of fewer people reporting their catches online. That might just be my perception, I don't know. However, I can't say I blame people, especially considering how crowded OB can get. OB is double combat fishing - negotiating other anglers and fighting the waves.

 

[kaneohe]

Thanks for report.

 

[DIYLureJunky]

Nice fish.

 

[Ken Jones]

Just curious since I haven't been there for a while — it's a pretty big beach and I am wondering if it's the number of people that are there or are anglers using multiple rods and staking out large sections of the beach for themselves?

 

[pinfish]

Just curious since I haven't been there for a while — it's a pretty big beach and I am wondering if it's the number of people that are there or are anglers using multiple rods and staking out large sections of the beach for themselves?

large beach with a few holes. everyone knows about the holes and troughs. yeah, also multiple rods, which really is being gluttonous. One can't manage all those rods effectively, imo. a big fish will just take that out to sea.

 

[packyourtrash]

I think there is a trend of fewer people reporting their catches online.

This is a good thing for those that aren’t just chasing reports looking for the hot bite. All these social media “teams,” “gangs,” and YouTube “celebrities” are getting beyond ridiculous. It is especially bad when “limits” are the rule.

 

[Gary]

This is a good thing for those that aren’t just chasing reports looking for the hot bite.

I can only imagine what's going on with social media. I do not partake in that. People are entitled to keep their limits, but I also don't like the "meat-gathering" approach to fishing either. Uh oh, I sense the first controversy on the new board a-brewin!

 

[Ken Jones]

No, it's an ongoing debate. The Internet and various fishing sites like PFIC, the written media (regular newspapers and fishing newspapers like the Fish Sniffer or Western Outdoor News), social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter abd Instagram, and a simple instrument called a cell phone, which allows one call to morph into many, many messages geometrically. They all play a part in the crowding of fishing spots in California — as does 40 million people. It's one reason why I considered just having educational information like the pier and fish information. But, we all want the chance to exchange ideas, hear what's biting, and ask questions. The result is that message board becomes the focus 99% of the time — for better or worse.