It's been a really long time since I post something in this forum last but it is better late than never. Still in SoCal fishing often but more of my times are spent in mountain streams these days. My excuses aside, I had some interesting experience a few weeks back, worth reporting here.
For the entire thanksgiving week, my wife and I visited northern California visiting friends. We started our trip at Fort Bragg. Pier fishing there is always great but I did not manage a visit, instead spent my time foraging mushrooms in the forest. It was actually great but that is another story for another forum.
On Monday the 24th, we moved to Sea Ranch joining another friend there. Next day, I managed to spend a morning at the Point Arena Pier. I have visited the pier a few times in past but my results were mixed. Mostly striped seaperch and some small rockfish. Hi-Lo rig with market shrimp at the end of the pier is the way I started. I had a few short greenlings. I moved to the inshore area to check if the perch is around. Did not find it in the usual area first. I moved to the area where boats are docked. There I felt some bites. The first one I landed was this nice 14 incher striped perch!
Found two more there. Being content of the finds. I returned to the end of the pier and tested the Hi-Lo with market squids for a change. Had a nice hit on it, and managed to land this nice buffalo sculpin. This is the second time I landed one at the same spot where the last one was a few years ago.
I finished my baits that I planed to use so I switched my gear to try artificial. I tied a 6 inch swimbait on my casting rig and tossed far. The area is full of kelp so it is easy for me to snag it. I did not bottom it out to target the bottom but let it swim what I think of mid range. My second cast got hit by something descent.....
My first shore-caught lingcod! It is short at 17 inches but I didn't care. A kid fishing next to me was as excited to see it as I was. After taking some photos and release it back to water. I tried to cast it again. You know you won't get lucky again like that, right? I got hit again!
This was an inch shorter but still Smurf blue beauty. I GOT PSYCHED.
During my stay till Saturday 29, I could not go back to Point Area Pier but did fish on rocks nearby a couple of times. I had more striped seaperch up to 12 inches. I kept a couple and fillet them to make tempuras after turkey days with foraged wild mushrooms. They were hit.
On my last day, finally, I tried the surf nearby. This surf I have tried before and I always found silver surfperch there. I used gulp warm on carolina rig to find them a dozen very quickly. Fishing tides coming in. Cloudy. Octopus hook #6.
As tides getting in, the beach area I was in was getting uncomfortably small. I was thinking various things in my mind when I felt a jolt on my hand. Earlier, I snagged balls of sea weeds multiple times already. I just thought I did it again and I started my sequence of unsnagging my hook. That was when I felt my rod wanted to jump out of my hand. It was moving. Moving out. What? fish on? When I recoup the handle and start to fight it. I realize it is something big not those silver perches. When I coax it to get to the wave break, I saw a brown color. For a moment I thought I got a halibut but it moved different. What came out of the water surprised me... My first surf-caught 15 inch rock greenling....
Though fishing was not the main activities planned for this trip, I am very happy with these outcomes. Mushroom hunting was even better I had many many choice edible mushrooms like King Boletes, Golden Chanterelles, Lobster Mushrooms, and Prince Mushrooms. I am now back to SoCal but kept thinking of when I can go back up there again.... Well, thank you for reading my report. Until the next time! -Fish Ninja
For the entire thanksgiving week, my wife and I visited northern California visiting friends. We started our trip at Fort Bragg. Pier fishing there is always great but I did not manage a visit, instead spent my time foraging mushrooms in the forest. It was actually great but that is another story for another forum.
On Monday the 24th, we moved to Sea Ranch joining another friend there. Next day, I managed to spend a morning at the Point Arena Pier. I have visited the pier a few times in past but my results were mixed. Mostly striped seaperch and some small rockfish. Hi-Lo rig with market shrimp at the end of the pier is the way I started. I had a few short greenlings. I moved to the inshore area to check if the perch is around. Did not find it in the usual area first. I moved to the area where boats are docked. There I felt some bites. The first one I landed was this nice 14 incher striped perch!
Found two more there. Being content of the finds. I returned to the end of the pier and tested the Hi-Lo with market squids for a change. Had a nice hit on it, and managed to land this nice buffalo sculpin. This is the second time I landed one at the same spot where the last one was a few years ago.
I finished my baits that I planed to use so I switched my gear to try artificial. I tied a 6 inch swimbait on my casting rig and tossed far. The area is full of kelp so it is easy for me to snag it. I did not bottom it out to target the bottom but let it swim what I think of mid range. My second cast got hit by something descent.....
My first shore-caught lingcod! It is short at 17 inches but I didn't care. A kid fishing next to me was as excited to see it as I was. After taking some photos and release it back to water. I tried to cast it again. You know you won't get lucky again like that, right? I got hit again!
This was an inch shorter but still Smurf blue beauty. I GOT PSYCHED.
During my stay till Saturday 29, I could not go back to Point Area Pier but did fish on rocks nearby a couple of times. I had more striped seaperch up to 12 inches. I kept a couple and fillet them to make tempuras after turkey days with foraged wild mushrooms. They were hit.
On my last day, finally, I tried the surf nearby. This surf I have tried before and I always found silver surfperch there. I used gulp warm on carolina rig to find them a dozen very quickly. Fishing tides coming in. Cloudy. Octopus hook #6.
As tides getting in, the beach area I was in was getting uncomfortably small. I was thinking various things in my mind when I felt a jolt on my hand. Earlier, I snagged balls of sea weeds multiple times already. I just thought I did it again and I started my sequence of unsnagging my hook. That was when I felt my rod wanted to jump out of my hand. It was moving. Moving out. What? fish on? When I recoup the handle and start to fight it. I realize it is something big not those silver perches. When I coax it to get to the wave break, I saw a brown color. For a moment I thought I got a halibut but it moved different. What came out of the water surprised me... My first surf-caught 15 inch rock greenling....
Though fishing was not the main activities planned for this trip, I am very happy with these outcomes. Mushroom hunting was even better I had many many choice edible mushrooms like King Boletes, Golden Chanterelles, Lobster Mushrooms, and Prince Mushrooms. I am now back to SoCal but kept thinking of when I can go back up there again.... Well, thank you for reading my report. Until the next time! -Fish Ninja
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