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Posted by Eagle Eye on 08:52:30 02/02/03
In Reply to: 2/1 Mission beach report posted by Iceman
: John (Eagle Eye) and I planned to launch from the Silver Strand State Beach. We met there at 6 AM, only to find the gate locked until 8 AM. We headed up at Mission Beach, launching just north of the jetti. The surf made for exciting entries and exits. Light breeze out of the south made for a decent drift. Fishing was on the slow side, a few Macs, couple Sandbass and John's legal Halibut (must have been the dodger). Was surprized to see the sport boats fishing the beach, the kelp must not be producing. I think the only thing missing in the equation is bait in the water. We didn't see any birds working all morning. As always, good to be out there. Andy
I like fishing Mission Beach and especially the sandy bottom right out in front of the roller coaster, in 65 feet of water.
Rather than make the long paddle out from the bay we decided to launch from the beach. The parking is close and there are restrooms and showers there. All you have to do is make it out past the breakers and the fishing is easy. As you can see by the first picture there are a double set of breaking waves and its one thing to time one set of waves and it’s another thing altogether to time two sets. Coming back in I was crushed by a large breaking wave in deep water. The good thing about it was that I was able to watch from the beach as the Iceman patiently waited and timed his way through both sets of waves and surfers to a dry landing. His technique is much different than most as he chooses to actually surf the waves in and even paddles for extra speed.
Today I caught my first legal halibut of the year. I average one legal halibut about every other year, but it would appear that that average is going to go way up now that I’ve started to use the bounce ball rig. I was rigged with a 4 oz weight, 00 Les Davis Herring Dodger (thanks Jas) and a frozen sardine. I didn’t find tangling to be near the problem I thought it would be and I think that is because the current was moving pretty good and I kept my sinker line long (2 foot).
I don’t want to give up on the Silver Strand because I believe that there are a lot more butts there than any where else in the county. The pounding surf and remoteness of this area is a deterrent to most fishermen, but some day I’ll figure it out.
Andy it was great fishing with you again and I can’t wait till the 15th when we will once again be traveling down to Baja and this time with our families.
John
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