BASS FISHINGBass Fishing Sports Blog

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand

THE AIR WAS as still as an oil painting, and across the lake in the mountain silence could be heard the gulping of large rising trout, feasting on an afternoon insect hatch. I stood knee-deep and motionless, for the trick in such quiet, clear waters is to lay out a fly line without sending every fish in the lake into hiding for the day — and there’s no sense casting until a fish is spotted.

Only when the gulp of a trout sent a ring expanding over the surface just 30 feet from me did I cast; a flick of my wrist sent my fly line shooting out across the water and the fly settled without a sound. Perfect — and then gulp.

The fluffy brown bundle of deer hair and feathers vanished in a swirl. I lifted my arm, and that living resistance that has captured anglers’ imaginations for centuries place a deep bow in the rod. a second later, a 20-inch trout leaped from the water, shaking its head wildly in protest.

I slowly backed up and brought the trout toward the bank. The fish was spent within just a minute — it was a rather sluggish ancient brown trout, as many here are. Though I’ve been releasing most fish lately, this female was bound for the frying pan.

Such trout are monsters by a Californian’s standards, but this is New Zealand, where three-pounders are about average. indeed, to raise a Kiwi’s eyebrows one must catch an eight- or 10-pounder.

Suffice it to say, I’m easily satisfied in this land of monster browns and rainbows, as I cycle with camping gear and a fly rod strapped to the rear of my bike. My latest off-highway trek took to me to the mountains about 70 miles west of Christchurch, where I camped among a cluster of mountain lakes that I won’t bother naming. Hey — I found them on my own; you can, too.

Amusing about trout in New Zealand: They’re an introduced species, as are Chinook salmon — and though neither was ever intended by nature to live here, these fish flourished remarkably. The trout, especially, are abundant like in few other places — and so huge.

Sad, then, that in California, although a brilliant array of native salmonids were established and thriving when we got here, we’ve squandered the resource and now can barely hang onto what’s left. Heck, even the introduced ones are dwindling — like the striped bass — and the California Department of Fish and Game’s misguided plot to loosen fishing restrictions as part of a striper eradication program is not going to help matters.

In New Zealand, introduced trout surely displaced native fish when they colonized local waterways — but no one here talks about that. It’s history, and the fish are here to stay as a treasured game species. as an angler, I can’t help but wonder what these waters would hold if trout did not rise here or salmon not spawn here. I, for one, am pleased that they do. I just wish things were so good back home.

• Sturgeon action in San Pablo Bay turned on in January after a brief lull. According to Keith Fraser at Loch Lomond Bait Shop, shrimp baits have produced most of the fish — like the two sturgeon measuring 70 and 75 inches caught recently by Warren Weissenburg and Steve Scott.

Another angler, Bill Foster, caught and released nine sturgeon in two trips. He was fishing alone. Fraser himself, along with two friends, set hooks on five sturgeon in under two hours recently.

• Sean Treacy, skipper operator of the party boat Mini Me, had two clients out on San Pablo Bay on Jan. 28 competing in the 6th annual Diamond Classic catch-and-release sturgeon derby. They landed four fish. Treacy also provided a secret: He’s been using a special bait lately, — salmon roe.

• Fraser hosts “Sturgeon Fishing in Bay Area Waters,” a seminar at the Marin Rod and Gun Club in San Rafael on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. Guest speaker Mike McNair and Fraser will share tips on how to catch, clean and cook sturgeon.

Fraser says this year is probably his last for the seminar, which is 37 years ancient, so he is reducing ticket prices to $5. Fishing tackle is available below wholesale costs.

• Finally, another derby is coming up, and $40,000 in prize money is to be divvied up among 14 anglers this weekend as the annual Super Bowl Sturgeon Derby kicks off. to enter, call Loch Lomond Bait Shop at 456-0321.

Alastair Bland is a Bay Area fisherman. Send him tales, photos or video to or call the IJ sports desk at 382-7206. Check out his blog at blogs.marinij.com/ fishing_in_marin/

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Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich each claim to be the right conservative choice in 2012. But Congressman Ron Paul teaches them what “conservative” really means.

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 Chase Parsons Talks about the Upcoming 2012 Season

Joining us for our next Monday Night Fireside Chat on January 23, 2012 is one of our favorite Guest Hosts, Chase Parsons. Always informative, amusing, and simple going, he is the perfect host (Not to mention he can type pretty quick too, which is always a good thing).

Chase (pictured here in an FLW Outdoors Photo) is from Brillion, WI and a phenomenal angler. As a seasoned ProfessionalAngler, Chase found his first victory in a major, while competing on the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour event at Lake Oahe, SD in August of 2011. Cashing a check for $52,000.00 had to be a thrilling experience for a new husband and father, so let?s find out what he thought of that experience, together in the chat, shall we?

Back in 2010, Chase did one of our ?Twenty Questions? interviews, so instead of repeating that information, you can view his previous interview to find out about his history as a fisherman, hunter, and all around outdoorsman here: walleyecentral.com/articles/?a=2346

This year, I thought it would be best to just get right to the knitty-gritty of his 2012 season and expectations.

Please mark your calendars for Monday Night, 7pm Central Time, and join us in the Walleye Central Chatsite, where you can sit and chat with this extraordinary competitor.

Juls: Thanks for taking the time to do this Chase, it?s much appreciated. Please tell us who your sponsors are this year?

Chase: Sponsors are Nitro/Tracker Boats, Mercury Marine, Bass Pro Shops, Fin-Tech, Sebile Baits, Berkley, Fishouflage, Mustad, Lowrance, Oakley, Motorguide, Smooth Moves Seat Mounts, Otter Outdoors, Striker Ice Technical Wear.  Juls:  Please tell us what your plans are for 2012 and, if there is anything special you want to talk about, please do! Chase: my 2012 schedule will be very similar to 2011.  I plot to fish all of the AIM and FLW Walleye Tour Events.  I had a great time last year on both circuits and fishing tournaments is the most exciting part about my career. 

Placing 2nd in Angler of the Year last year, to Tom Keenan on the FLW, just added more “fuel to the fire.”  Keenan better be on his game this year again, because I’m coming for his title! 

Between tournaments, I’ll be busy shooting several “The next Bite” television shows, which air on NBC Sports, and also possibly a few Bass Pro Shops “Outdoor World” shows.

  in my free time, I’m going to hang out with the family; wife Bridget and 7 month ancient son, Logan as much as possible, because without their support, I couldn’t do this for a living.  if 2012 is as good as 2011, I’ll be a pretty lucky man.     Juls: do your sponsors have any new products you would like to tell us about? Chase: I’m happy to say all of my sponsors are on-board once again for the upcoming season.  without these companies supporting me, I wouldn’t be fishing for a living.  Otter Outdoors and Striker Ice Technical Wear are two new companies that I look forward to working with for many years to come.  Each company builds top of the line products for the “ice” season, which will be a great fit for us, as Dad, Keith and myself are beginning to spend more time in that market now.  we even went up to Lake Winnipeg to catch some of those giants through the ice last year, with Keith really shooting a “The next Bite” show, which I believe just aired a few weeks ago.  It’s an exciting time right now for us, as in the past we haven’t taken the opportunity nearly as much, to get out on the ice.    Juls: what are your thoughts on the FLW for 2012? And, what do you think of the schedule, sites, the sponsors involved, and your expectations for each site. Chase: I am looking forward to fishing all of the FLW Events in 2012, simply because I love fishing tournaments.  I have to be honest and say that I feel the locations as far as tournament waters aren’t nearly as good as 2011.  Either way, someone is going to win each event! Redwing (Mississippi): I think the FLW is getting pretty lucky with the winter weather in terms of this event.  being as early as it’s scheduled; it could have been a pretty brutal event with a bad winter.  however, the way it’s looking, the bite probably will be pretty good but hopefully guys won’t be on top of one another.  It’s one of those places where if you don’t draw a low boat number, you might be pushed out of the winning spot. Lake Erie: I always look forward to goimg to Erie and this is an event I expect to be better than last year.  if we can get lucky and have better weather this year, guys should be more spread out and monster weights will come in again.  never a bad place for a tournament… Lake Oahe: I’m probably a small bit partial to this one, since I was lucky enough to win this event last year, but I love fishing Oahe.  I’ve always had good luck on that body of water and usually guys will be fishing a bunch of different techniques, in a bunch of different areas.  I’ll be willing to bet there will be a certain style “bass bait” in more boats, than in any walleye event ever in the past.   Escanaba: this is pretty local for me, being that I live close to Green Bay, but I think this event might be the largest overall letdown of them all.  I’ve placed well at this time of the year in tournaments of the past (PWT), but it’s always a pretty tough place to fish in the August time frame.  There will be plenty of zeros and one fish weights BUT a few guys will catch them good.  The one thing I was looking forward to, was fishing an event out of Escanaba without the slot limit, but it looks like that’ll be back on by the time we are there.  probably the toughest bite of any of the qualifiers which really makes it the simplest to win… Quad Cities/Championship: I’ve never fished there, so that makes it exciting!  I love learning new waters.  on the negative side, the people I’ve talked to that have, for the most part aren’t excited for this event.  Insanely late in the year, but from everything I’ve heard it had to be, otherwise the bite would’ve really been poor.  Juls: The AIM Pro Walleye Series schedule is coming out slowly. would you care to tell us what your thoughts are on their plans for the season? I?m assuming you?ll be fishing all of them, right? Chase: yes. I’m also really excited to fish the AIM events this year.  The CAN/AM at Bay Mills Casino was full in two weeks, which I thought was pretty cool.  It’ll be fun getting another shot at those guys and hopefully winning this time.  this event will be one of the best watched and attended events in any circuit this season.  Maybe the best news this year for AIM just happened a few days ago, when Oconto came on board for an event!  I know a lot of guys were upset the FLW didn’t go back to Oconto, so here you go!  on July 20-22nd AIM will host an event on Green Bay, out of Oconto, called the “Pro Team Challenge”.  It’s an awesome format that many of us have spent a bunch of time discussing and ironing out throughout the fall, with Brett King starting the thought with our Advisory Council, which I’m a part of.  this will be an event that will appeal to both PRO/CO anglers and Team Anglers alike.  As an angler who fishes PRO/CO events, I will pay the expenses and entry fee just as I usually would.  in turn, I’ll collect any winnings.  however, because it’s a “Team” style, I’ll hand select a partner to fish with me all three days.  on top of that, AIM will still supply a co-angler like other events.  So, because of three anglers per boat, we can run 6 lines.  There will be plenty for three anglers to do in the boat, but the best thing is, is that it allows Team anglers to fish in their “comfort zone” with their normal partner.  It’s all about getting more anglers to experience CRR, and I sure hope a bunch of new anglers step up and fish this one.  100% payout minimum and we’re working to make it more, which is something most Team anglers have wanted in their events, for quite some time. Our recent announcement of Lake of the Woods in August is also really exciting!  It’s been a while since an event has been on LOW and everyone can expect huge weights at that time of year.  CRR will get us around the restrictive slots on that body of water, so be ready for the possibility of some 7 fish baskets that will blow people’s minds!  It?s awesome fishing location at one of the best times of year.  As a whole, AIM is trying to go the route of having special stand alone events, because of looking at some of the most successful walleye tournaments in the country, not being part of a full circuit.  I think the 3 events we have scheduled right now are pretty impressive and hopefully we will announce a 4th soon, at another great location.  this year we also took away the “non-owner” fee and reduced the entries into our events.  It’s $1200 for anyone, in any event.  (Other than the set field of CAN/AM)  if you haven’t tried an AIM event yet, I’d invite you to give it a shot this year.  I’m probably as excited about AIM in 2012 as I was to try CRR for the first time a few years ago.    Juls: what is your seminar schedule for the winter? where can people come and see you and talk to you? Chase: my seminar schedule is as busy as ever for this year…I keep my seminar schedule updated on thenextbite.com and my facebook page at https://facebook.com/profile.php?id=502893020&sk=wall  .

Juls: thank you for participating in our LIVE Chat again this winter, Chase. we look forward to sitting down with you on Monday night, January 23rd, at 7pm Central Time.

Hope to see you all there!

Noel Fielding is about to launch a new comedy series on E4, Luxury Comedy. here the co-creator of The Mighty Boosh talks about bringing his own psychedelic brand of comedy to E4.

Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy is a seven-part comedy show quite unlike anything else on television. we caught up with Noel to find out more and, if anything, ended up even more confused about the show. One thing’s for certain, though: it won’t be boring. Noel Fielding doesn’t do boring!

Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy isn’t your bog-standard sketch show, is it?

[Laughs] not really, no. It’s kind of like a hybrid. we didn’t want to make it just a sketch show, because I find them a bit cold. and because people know me from Boosh and Buzzcocks, I thought it’d be excellent if I played a sort of version of myself as well. So it’s all centred around a jungle hut where I live, and I’ve got my brother in it, playing my ant-eater butler, and Andy Warhol’s my cleaner, and then there’s a girl who’s just an annoying trendy who lives next door. I just wanted to get that sitcom element in as well, and then have the weird sketches in there, and try and link them all up in some way. So I guess it’s a bit more than a sketch show, but it’s not a full-on sitcom either. and it’s also a mixture of animation and film. It’s all over the shop, really.

How does the writing process work? Did you write it on your own?

I sort of came up with all the initial thoughts, the characters and stuff. and then the guy that I wrote the show with, who’s a guy I went to art school with, Nigel Coan, he’s a director and an animator as well, he worked on the animations on the Boosh, so when it came to writing the scripts, we sort of wrote everything together, really. I had thoughts for a lot of the characters already, but we wrote it together. and he’s directing it and animating it, and I’m in it, so it’s a joint thing, really. It’s much simpler to write with two of you.

Why is that?

When you’re writing on your own, you sort of reach a dead end, and you’ve got to give it some space before you can come back to it and think of another thought. when there’s two of you, someone can just say one thing and it can fire you off in another direction.

Are you guys on the same wavelength? If you go to him and you say ‘My butler should be an ant-eater, and we could have a manta ray who used to work in the music industry,’ does he immediately know what you’re on about?

Yeah. 100 per cent. Because we went to art school together, we’ve known each other for 15 years, and we’ve always had the same sense of humour. We’ve lived together and been best mates for years. Me and Julian (from the Boosh) have got really similar senses of humour, but me and Nige have a really similar sense of humour. It’s really specific, it’s much more surreal and weird. Me and Julian were much more interested in story and plot, whereas this is much more what a show would be like if Salvador Dali had made it. What’s fantastic about working with an animator is that I can say “Can a racing car come out of someone’s fringe and drive over their head?” and he’ll just go “Yeah, I can do that.”

It’s really useful. it helps to be able to know really quickly what we are and aren’t able to do. and he thinks visually, so he will often add visual jokes. I’m quite dialogue-heavy. So it works really well. There’s loads of visual stuff, there are a lot of scenes with no dialogue in them at all, and I’m really pleased with them. There’s science fiction slapstick, a cooking show that doesn’t have any talking, there’s a character who’s a freaky mr Bean, with a shell for a head and an Adidas top on. He’s quite frightening.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Usually not other comedy. Nature. I like going to the zoo, often that really sparks me off, for some reason. the woods as well. I always like the Jungle Book, I reread it over and over again. and paintings. I like Henri Rousseau, and Dali. I like some really freaky films, like Jodorowsky’s films, stuff like the Holy Mountain. A writer called Richard Brautigan – he’s a lesser-known beat writer, he wrote a book called Trout Fishing in America. I really like his stuff. I dunno really, I just go about and gather up thoughts as I go, and just scratch them down in a notepad.

It looks incredible – it’s a complete visual feast. Was that always the intention?

Yeah, really. We’re both art students, and we wanted to make something that looked gorgeous as well as being amusing. But then we were really conscious of putting loads of jokes in it, so people wouldn’t just say “Oh, it looks really excellent, but it isn’t very amusing.” that would be the worst thing. But we wanted to make something gorgeous. People like Ardman and Disney still make really perfectly crafted stuff, but they have a lot of money. I’m really excited about it, I really like it, but I’ve been working on this for so long now, I’m not quite sure what it is that we’ve made. I’m looking forward to some feedback. It’s so experimental as well. hopefully even if it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, they’ll appreciate the amount of craft that’s gone into it.

Your face is constantly a different colour in the show. How much time did you spend in make-up?

Really that was a nightmare, because my face started to collapse after about a month. the make-up girl we used on the Boosh, and she’s absolutely incredible. in the pilot, I just did all the make-up myself, with children’s face paints. it was a terrible thought – my face just started crumbling. But she’s really excellent at giving you creams and oils and stuff. and when your face has had enough, she’ll send you for a facial massage and say “He needs a couple of days to recuperate.” I was turning into Lon Chaney – every day was a different character. Some days it was three different characters. I’m covered in paint, then I have lots of stuff stuck on, and wigs and so on.

And it was really hot when we were filming. everyone else was outside enjoying the sun between takes, and I was dressed as a lion with prosthetic stuff all over my head, going “What am I doing?” and they were like “Well, you wrote it!”

Did it get confusing, playing so many different characters?

[Laughs] Yeah. all the sketchy characters I played in one chunk over six weeks. it was three different characters every day. Then we went to the studio to do the hut stuff, where I was sort of playing a version of myself, and on the first day, Nige went “What are you doing?” and I said “I don’tknow.” he said “You’re doing something weird. just be yourself.” and I went “Which one am I again?” I’d slightly gone insane. I’d been doing the weird voices for so long that I’d forgotten what I was. I erased my own personality. it was well weird.

You’ve had Sergio Pizzorno (of Kasabian) involved on the music side as well, haven’t you?

Yeah, that was incredible. it was such excellent timing. I met him and we’d become mates, and I did the Vlad the Impaler video, and it just all happened pretty naturally. Then this came along, and I wanted to do some music, but I can play some bass terribly and sing, and that’s about it, so I knew I’d need someone else to collaborate with. So I asked Serge and he said yes. and it was pretty simple. I’d go up to his house in Leicester, and we’d always manage to get a song in a couple of hours. it was really excellent fun. we had so much material, we decided it had to go out as an album. now we’ve formed a band called the Loose Tapestries, and we’re threatening to do gigs. We’ve signed a deal to place it out as an album.

You’ve mentioned your brother is co-starring in the series. What’s that like?

[Laughs] It’s the only time I get to see him. he lives in Southwold, and I live in North London, and we don’t get to see each other enough. I think Mike’s hilarious. He’s just really natural. He’s not from an acting background, so he just does stuff how he would do it. it really cracks me up. But I would choose him anyway, just so we got to hang out. we like doing stuff together. my mum and dad like it.

What does he do when he’s not working with you?

He’s writing something, really, with a friend of his who does comedy as well. and he’s DJ-ing all over the place. Russia and America and Australia and stuff. he turned into a bit of a superstar DJ after the Boosh. he initially got booked as Naboo [his Boosh character] as a celebrity DJ, but then he started taking it seriously, got excellent at it, and then started getting booked by everyone, and doing massive gigs. he did a gig with Fatboy Slim in Brighton, and he’s travelling the world. I’m pretty sure he was earning a lot more money than all of us, and just getting flown around. he had oysters on his rider and stuff, it was hilarious. he was living the dream for a bit.

It sounds like you’ve really enjoyed the process of making Luxury Comedy, is that right?

Yeah, really! the thing with me and Julian is we had 13 years together doing stuff, it was like a marriage. we did need a break, and I started working on this, and he started doing his other stuff, and before you know it, you’ve been working for 18 months to two years on something. But I do want to work with Julian again in the future, definitely.

Having worked so closely with Julian in the past, does it feel like added pressure that this will be seen as your solo stuff?

Yeah, a little bit. I read a comment on Twitter the other day that really made me laugh. A girl said “Noel Fielding’s trailers for Luxury Comedy are cracking me up, but I’ve got a feeling it’s not really going to be that amusing.” I just thought “You’ve only seen one trailer, and you loved it, but you still don’t think the show’s going to be any excellent.” I think there’s an element of people who loved the Boosh and don’t want to see us doing anything separate. There’s quite a lot of baggage when you do something separate. There’s people who never quite manage to disconnect themselves from a double act. It’s a bit like if you’re in a band. it can be done though. I think I’ve made it different enough from the Boosh. I’m really proud of it.

You clearly like what you do. What are the best and worst things about your job?

The best things are creatively I get to do whatever I want, and get paid for it. That’s the dream. You only have to go and do a job you don’t delight in to really appreciate how simple you have it. I’m really, really fortunate. the weird thing is the longer you do it, the more people know who you are, so there’s always a flip side.

Are you uncomfortable with that?

No, not really, I don’t mind people coming up to me at all. But there’s always some weird element, like I’ve been in the tabloids and stuff, caught up in a few things that were a bit unsavoury. It’s not so much you that’s bothered, it’s just if it affects your friends or family. It’s yin and yang, for every excellent thing that happens, there has to be some weird stuff. But I’ve been so lucky, really.

Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy starts Thursday 26th January, 10pm, on E4

Three aces for the kayak angler.

Kayak anglers who call Southern California home are blessed with ocean waters that give up their bounty year-round. Although a kayak lacks the over the water range of a powerboat, that shortcoming is compensated for by the vast number of places it’s possible to launch over the beach. if you aren’t using your car or truck to run up and down the coast, you could be missing out on some of the state’s best fishing.

Any place you can get your kayak onto the ocean and out to your personal honey hole is bound to have excellent action, especially if the nearest boat launch is miles distant. the following list isn’t meant to disparage your backyard paradise, but to highlight a few of the southland’s best known, most gorgeous, and productive beach launch sites. if your favorite isn’t here, just consider it your personal secret, then get yourself down to La Jolla when the yellowtail go off or out at Malibu when the halibut are in tight to spawn.

Malibu

It’s hard to say with certainty where the modern revival of kayak fishing got its start. Pioneering individuals up and down the Southern California coast, in Hawaii, Florida, the Caribbean, and other places have been quietly reaping the benefits of ‘modern-primitive’ fishing for decades. There’s small debate the roots of the current movement took their first public hold along the scenic Malibu coast, amid the steep shoreline and linear kelp forests.

There’s some irony that Dennis Spike chose the ritzy Malibu Riviera to found a business advocating rugged, affordable do-it-yourself independence. through Coastal Kayak Fishing, California’s first kayak fishing guide service, Spike inspired hundreds of new kayak anglers to join him on the water. It’s not hard to see why. according to Spike, Malibu provides “ample fishing structure and opportunities for novice and veteran kayak anglers alike, for year-round bass and seasonal halibut, white seabass, barracuda and bonito.” Lingcod and other rockfish, and the largest of Southern California’s kayak-style huge game, the thresher shark, round out the target species list.

Despite the explosive growth of the sport, even today you’ll be hard pressed to find a crowd. In spread-out Malibu it’s simple to find your own piece of ocean. Wilderness Systems pro staffer Mark Pierpont clarifies why. “Malibu has multiple access points unlike La Jolla where the entire population of kayak anglers is channeled into one spot. There are so many different options in regards to wind, water clarity, surf, or structure. you can wake up any given day and choose which location is best for whatever option you prefer,” said Pierpont.

Malibu offers dozens of fantastic kayak fishing launch sites. Many of them lie nearly hidden behind movie star palaces, are suitable only for huge-surf veterans, have enough parking for only a truck or two, or require a hike to get to the seashore. not to worry, there are several simple to reach spots suitable for beginning to intermediate kayak anglers. here is a trio:

Leo Carillo State Beach is located just east of the LA-Ventura county line. Kayak anglers have two options here. Either park for free on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and negotiate a long stairway to reach the beach, or pay the entrance fee to launch from North Beach on the west side of the park. It’s more than a choice between kayak carry distances. according to Pierpont the beach at the foot of the stairs is semi-sheltered, but low tide reveals an expanse of rocks. at sandy North Beach the surf zone is shorter, there are few rocks, and a excellent reef in 20-30 feet of water sits just offshore. the targets here are “the usual suspects, calico bass, halibut on edges of the reefs, a variety of shallow water rockfish, and lingcod,” says Pierpont.

Corral Canyon is one of Jason Morton’s preferred Malibu launches. the KayakSportfishing.com owner said the beach just opposite Malibu Seafoods a couple miles west of Pepperdine University has excellent parking right along PCH. the surf is typically mild, but can develop into a nasty close-out shore break in a south swell. the fishing just off the launch is solid.

“You can get mixed bag of calicos and sandbass, shallow water rockfish, halibut, and threshers. when the sharks come in they come in thick. its funny it’s called Corral Canyon, it seems like the threshers are corralled here season after season,” Morton says.

Continuing eastward, the Malibu Pier is the simplest, most beginner-friendly launch in greater Malibu. “There’s usually no swell even when world-well-known Surfrider beach is breaking on the other side of the pier. Typically there are just ripples or small waves,” Morton says. the pier area is a excellent bet for halibut.

All Malibu area kayak anglers should develop a excellent feeling for the wind patterns that affect these waters. Typically the wind blows out of the west parallel to the coast. when plotting a day’s outing, it’s wise to choose a launch east of your intended fishing area. Paddle upwind; when you’re ready to call it a day you’ll have the wind at your back making for an simple return. the notorious Santa Anas are a potentially perilous exception. These winds roar out of the Santa Monica Mountains, blowing straight out to sea. They are most common in the fall, but can bedevil other seasons as well.

“The Santa Anas are severe here because the canyon system chokes, channels and supercharges the wind,” says Pierpont. Kayak anglers should stay in tune with the weather forecast. if a Santa Ana is likely, it’s best to stay home, but if you choose to launch, stay close to shore where you can tie off to kelp, go in a group, and always use a paddle leash warns Pierpont.

Finally, the Pt. Dume and Zuma Beach areas were recently closed to hook and line fishing. Check the California Department of Fish and Game Marine Life Protection Act website for maps and current regulations.

La Jolla Shores

La Jolla is arguably the crown jewel of California ocean kayak fishing. the ingredients that make La Jolla such an intoxicating brew are headed by the impressive fish that are regularly caught here. By this point we’ve all seen the evidence. Photo after photo shows anglers sharing their kayaks with yellowtail to 50 pounds, white seabass into the 60s, and halibut that tip the scales at nearly 50. most examples of these glamour species aren’t so huge of course. the average La Jolla yellow is more likely 15 to 20 pounds. That’s still huge enough to drag a kayak on an exhilarating sleigh ride.

The glorious La Jolla kelp owes its fishiness to San Diego’s southern latitude. the warmer water ushers in pelagics from south of the border. then there’s the food-rich water that wells up from the depths of the La Jolla submarine canyon that drops off just north of the extensive La Jolla kelp forest. It helps bring the fish in. the kayakers would congregate at La Jolla under any circumstances, they mass here like nowhere else on the coast due to the high grade of the fish, but the proximity of a gentle beach launch to the fishing grounds adds to the area’s attractiveness.

The beach launch at La Jolla Shores at the foot of Avenida de la Playa is like no other in Southern California. as the street name makes clear – playa is Spanish for beach – the right-of-way extends onto the sand! Drive right onto the beach to load or unload, but beware the tourist crush of mid-summer. then it’s better to trek your ‘yak from the sand to your vehicle parked in the nearby lot or on the street.

La Jolla Shores is a gently sloping beach sheltered within the arcing curve of La Jolla Bay. the canyon offshore further diminishes the swell. the result is surf that is normally weak, small, and crumbly.

The Shores is home to many a hardcore kayak angler. One of the more public of the tribe is Jim Sammons, owner of La Jolla Kayak Fishing. Sammons and his associate Matt Moyer have been guiding at ‘LJ’ for years.

Moyer clarifies why La Jolla is so special. “To me, it’s kind of like my church. It’s one of the most gorgeous places in San Diego. There are so many options. you can fish halibut, rockfish down deep, or over the shelf where at any time a yellowtail could come up. at certain times of year there are barracuda, bonito, and white seabass. you don’t have to fish huge game, you can fish calico bass. There are whales to see and porpoise,” Moyer says.

La Jolla’s huge game hunters have refined the art of bait making into a science. with no bait receiver in miles, most sorties begin with the catch your own ritual. Bait, in this case nearly always Pacific ‘greenback’ or jack ‘Spanish’ mackerel, is often simplest to catch at dawn. the multi-hook Sabiki rig is the means. once bait has been caught, anglers simply slow troll or drift them along the kelp line. when bait is scarce anglers fall back on irons or plastics.

Don’t start fishing right after you launch. La Jolla Shores is located within an ecological reserve. before wetting a line you must paddle approximately two-thirds of a mile west, beyond prominent Point La Jolla. a second reserve runs north from Scripps Pier. Note: kayak anglers fought hard to retain the ability to fish bait under the lights of Scripps pier. It’s the one exception to the fishing closure.

The simple launch and huge fish sometime lure novices literally in over their heads. It’s still the capricious open ocean out there. La Jolla demands self-sufficiency. “Be prepared and take every precaution. you can’t just go out there once you buy a kayak. first you need to get the feel of the boat,” says Moyer. at a minimum, make sure you can climb back onto the kayak if you fall off, an exercise known as a self-rescue, before you head out in search of the huge one.

Dana Point

Orange County’s gorgeous Dana Point is third on this list but no less special. the fishing here is more akin to that up north in Malibu, yet flurries of yellowtail occasionally make it this far north. Bonito and barracuda are frequent summer visitors. White seabass and thresher sharks pay calls too, but there’s no denying halibut and bass are the kings of Dana Point.

Variety is the name of the game. and simple access. the most sheltered beach launch in Southern California is here, at Doheny State Beach at the foot of the eastern harbor jetty. Ample paid parking is available within the state park. the surf up against the jetty is negligible except during a south swell, then watch out. Launching farther down the beach is a poor idea. the bottom drops off very rapidly. Take three steps and you could be up to your neck in a plunging shorebreak. the alternative to Doheny is Baby’s Beach. Parking here at the west end of the harbor is free. the paddle to the harbor mouth is approximately one mile. Both launches are convenient to the live bait receiver, so Dana Point kayak anglers enjoy a luxury their brothers in Malibu and La Jolla lack.

The area south of the harbor, from Doheny south to San Clemente, features excellent fishing for bass and halibut. Reefs dot the bottom all the way down to San Mateo Point. They’re simple to find during lobster season, when the buoys dropped by commercial lobster boats mark many of the structures. There are calicos all over the rocks, and halibut in the sandy patches in between.

Fishing the reefs south of Dana Point Harbor is something of a dare. You’re betting that an outside breaker won’t catch you unawares. “Anywhere within a half mile of shore, pay attention to the swell and what time it will be low tide. when the swell is huge and the moon full or new it’s critical,” said Mark Ezell, founder and former owner of Hook1 Kayak Fishing Gear. when the swell is cranking on a falling tide, the reefs can break far out from shore.

North of the harbor in front the Dana headlands, local parlance for the actual point itself, is the place to look for pelagics. “A deep water canyon comes within a mile of shore here. the upwelling brings in the plankton that starts the food chain, so predators cruise right up to the point,” said Ezell. the calicos are up here too, in the kelp beds off the point and farther north at Salt Creek, and in tight to the boiler rocks that slump into the ocean at the foot of the headlands.

So there you have it. Three prime Southern California kayak launch areas. but don’t stop here; there are far too many other fantastic places to kayak fish our coastline. Simple to reach ones such as King Harbor or Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro, and others you have to earn through sweat or surf skills, such as Pt. Loma, Carlsbad and Abalone Cove.

Top, 

LA JOLLA COMBO – an simple beach launch with normally small, crumbly surf and the everyday prospect of kayak-towing yellowtail make La Jolla one of kayak fishing’s crown jewels.

Malibu,

MALIBU SEAFOODS – the prospects for a halibut dinner are nowhere better than at Malibu’s Corral Canyon. the launch directly across from Malibu Seafoods is simple to find. if you fail to catch your own fish you can stop in at the restaurant on your way home.

TOAD CROAKER – Huge white seabass can be found at Malibu and Dana Pt, but not in the numbers knocked out at La Jolla. the huge croakers usually show in late March or early April. 

DANA BASS – the reefs north and south of Dana Point are practically infested with bass. most come larger than this one. the possibility of catching a trophy calico makes daring the reefs worthwhile. when the swell is cranking on a falling tide, the reefs can break far out from shore.

This tale originally appeared in Western Outdoor News in 2006. Republished here by reader request. -ed.

It wasn’t the suitable place or time to ask a lot of questions, but this week I got answers to the ones that I hadn’t asked. It all started one lovely day in April, as I was driving around Presque Isle.

There’s always something to attract my attention when I make a leisurely trip around the park, but on that day, I was halfway around before I saw something that had me quickly applying the brake, backing up and parking.

Parked along the roadside, by Beach 11, was a lone car with a Virginia license plate. out on the beach were two men, one with binoculars, the other with a scope mounted on a tripod, looking toward Thompson Bay. Wondering what brought them here, midweek, when it wasn’t the peak of the spring bird migration, had me curious.

Tom Murphy, the one with the scope, was from Fairmont Station, Va. With him was bill Angelo, a Millcreek Township resident who told me he was a bass fishermen. The two had been C-130 pilots during the Vietnam War. before I left, I learned that one of Murphy’s favorite birding trips was to Costa Rica, when he saw a bird that he referred to only by its scientific name — not surprising, as he said he’d been birding for 30 to 40 years.

Fortunately, I had an opportunity to talk with Angelo last week, and got answers to some of what I’d been wondering. He and Murphy had been stationed in the Philippines during the war and had to go with supplies “into Vietnam, like for 16 days, four days rest up, then go back for 16 days — for about a year and a half.” He said Murphy had been here before, but as they toured the peninsula this time they saw seven or eight “white swans,” a duck “with a large reddish brown head” and an unusual “sea gull.”

Angelo has been interested in fishing for about as long as his friend has been interested in birding. When he was 8 to 10 years old, he said, his dad had a little 14-foot wooden boat with a 10-horsepower motor on it. his mother would pack a little lunch for them, and they’d go out into the bay fishing — “basically for perch, back then, with worms or a maggot or something like that, and try to catch them,” he said.

During the wintertime, he and his dad went ice fishing. They didn’t have “those little houses with radios and meters and stoves, and all that stuff in it,” he said, “We’d just place our back to the wind and sit on top of the bucket.”

“The funny part,” he said, “is that you could throw the fish on the ice and they would actually freeze there. You’d take them back home … and have a nice perch dinner.”

He said they didn’t go into the lagoons much, but they did fish in Misery Bay, Horseshoe Pond and off Beach 11 and Thompson Bay. one time, he said, he nearly stepped on one of the huge turtles at Swan Cove, where he usually went bass fishing.

He said he’s had lots of fun out on the peninsula. There’s been just one disappointment: The condos spoiled the “gorgeous view of the lake” that they used to see as they drove down the hill to the peninsula.

“It’s quite gorgeous out there,” he said. “One of the things we did as a family — my father would stop and get us a Dairy Queen, and we’d go on to the peninsula, right around sunset, and start to see the deer coming out, and see foxes and rabbits all over the place. We’d go out, have our soft ice cream, and go all the way around the peninsula, then home.”

EVELYN ANDERSON is a freelance writer and photographer who writes about nature each week in the Erie Times-News.

Gores were served Chilean Sea Bass at rehearsal dinner….they are over fished therefore a global thing…blah, blah…anyway do you reckon his daughters new family did this on purpose?? I personally find it a bit amusing!

blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/…

i reckon i was just a simple joke!

i reckon gore does not believe in any global threat, including global warming, he is just using the global warming theory as a vehicle for his presidential run,…..after all, when you take a good look at the global warming theory, you can see it is just a vehicle for the promotion of socialism,…..and larger government,…..

A man was on the water for his monthly fishing trip. He began his day with an 8 lb. bass on the first cast and a 7 lb. on
the second. On the third cast he had just caught his first ever bass over 11
pounds when his cell phone rang. it was a doctor notifying him that his wife had just been in a terrible accident and was in critical condition in the ICU.

The man told the doctor to inform his wife where he was and that he'd be there as soon as possible. As he hung up, he realized he was leaving what was shaping up to be his best fishing day ever. He decided to get in a couple of more casts before heading to the hospital He ended up fishing the rest of the morning, finishing his trip with a stringer like he'd never seen, with 3 bass over 10 pounds. He was jubilant….then he remembered his wife! Feeling terribly guilty, he dashed to the hospital.

He ran up to the doctor in the corridor and questioned about his wife's condition. The doctor glared at him and shouted,
'you went ahead and finished your fishing, didn't you? I hope you're
proud of yourself! While you were out for the past four hours enjoying yourself your poor wife has been languishing in the ICU! I hope you really loved yourself, because it will more than likely be the last fishing trip
you will ever take! for the rest of her life your wife will be paralyzed and
require around the clock care, and you'll be her caregiver forever!'

The man felt so horrible at what he had done that he broke down and sobbed.
Then the doctor chuckled and said, 'I'm just messin' with you. She's dead.

What'd you catch?'

omg! that was amusing but messed up

:/

it was amusing though
thanks for the laugh

i guess

:]

that was fcked up!! lmmfao!!

oh no…thats twisted amusing…LOL!….I feel guilty for laughing..

so amusing! but twisted though. I wouldn't want that to happen to me.

thats just incorrect
bwahahahaha

OMFG!!!!………..I'd've killed the doctor

this is a bit weird.and i don't kinda like it

So I was thinking about my parents. Thinking, more specifically, about the era they grew up. Both my mom and dad were born in the early 1960s, a time I often reckon would tragically appeal to some hipster tendencies I wear proudly today. Everyone’s got to have a clique to call their own, right? well, the thing that really messes with my mind is that for upwards of 40 years, my parents lived in an age without the Internet. I know this makes me sound juvenile, but it’s really fucking hard for me to imagine living without the Internet. the only memories I have of non-Internet life involve sandboxes and Ahh! Real Monsters. I tend to get overwhelmed by this; by how integral the Internet and social networking are in my know of day-to-day life. Though recently, I wonder if it’s not such a terrible thing after all.

My parents didn’t have DMs and “pokes,” they didn’t send thousands of text messages to communicate with each other when apart. I like to reckon that romance, in its purest sense, can be found just about anywhere regardless of the era you grow up in. however, there is something much more romantic about falling in love in a time when privacy existed. It’s hard not to believe there was a lot more romance in society before the internet came into existence. People knew their neighbors and in-person conversation was less antiquated. My parents fell in love this way, face-to-face.the world was a place for them to share together, the real world and not AOL. I often wonder if I could handle that kind of pressure nowadays. (more…)

salmon are found in ocean, Bass are found in lake/rivers, ect… but where do you see and find gold fish other then the pets store…. japan? amazon? minnesota? florida? in people back yards? labs? sounds stupid or amusing, but darn it, i just really dont know…

i have seen them in ponds in north carolina

From other gold fish.

A mommy and daddy goldfish that like each other very much.

China.
They've had them for so damn long. Espically if you count Koi!