Fished the end of the pier at San Clemente on Tuesday casting out to the rocky bottom areas off the end of the pier. I fished from 7:15AM - 1PM.
Was a tricky day for fishing. Bites were not hard to come by. I was able to get consistent, committed (fish would keep biting until bait was gone) but was having a very hard time hooking fish. I started out with a shorter casting setup fishing size 6 kahle hooks and lost a lot of bait (both shrimp and squid). I sized how one of the hooks to a size 8 mosquito hook but still was having a hard time. Finally I tried tipping my hooks with a piece of shrimp flavored Fish Bites and that seemed to do the trick. After the fish would steal the softer baits, the fish bites stayed on the hook. and the four better fish that I ended up landing on the day all were hooked using the residual Fish Bites.
I broke the skunk with a good fighting fish that ended being by personal best garibaldi (plate sized). Then I doubled up on a pair of small blue perch and finished with a 13" Sheephead. Also hooked a couple walleye surf perch and a handful of smelt fishing a small hook sabiki for live bait.
Catch summary:
1 Sheephead (13")
1 Garibaldi (PB)
2 Blue Perch
2 Walleye surf perch
5 jack smelt
There was a short sand bass landed by another angler, a big jack smelt and a large moray eel (broken off at the foot of the pier) caught by other anglers fishing the end with me.
I'm very happy to have found some consistent winter fishing on the mainland as my schedule has made it difficult to take day trips to Catalina this winter.
Was a tricky day for fishing. Bites were not hard to come by. I was able to get consistent, committed (fish would keep biting until bait was gone) but was having a very hard time hooking fish. I started out with a shorter casting setup fishing size 6 kahle hooks and lost a lot of bait (both shrimp and squid). I sized how one of the hooks to a size 8 mosquito hook but still was having a hard time. Finally I tried tipping my hooks with a piece of shrimp flavored Fish Bites and that seemed to do the trick. After the fish would steal the softer baits, the fish bites stayed on the hook. and the four better fish that I ended up landing on the day all were hooked using the residual Fish Bites.
I broke the skunk with a good fighting fish that ended being by personal best garibaldi (plate sized). Then I doubled up on a pair of small blue perch and finished with a 13" Sheephead. Also hooked a couple walleye surf perch and a handful of smelt fishing a small hook sabiki for live bait.
Catch summary:
1 Sheephead (13")
1 Garibaldi (PB)
2 Blue Perch
2 Walleye surf perch
5 jack smelt
There was a short sand bass landed by another angler, a big jack smelt and a large moray eel (broken off at the foot of the pier) caught by other anglers fishing the end with me.
I'm very happy to have found some consistent winter fishing on the mainland as my schedule has made it difficult to take day trips to Catalina this winter.
