7-20-22
Silverwood Lake Marina
One night fishing the Marina (on June 26), I was able to land three fish all on a jerk bait. A 2.50 lb. Largemouth Bass, a 2 lb. Catfish, & 4 lb. Largemouth Bass came out to play. Knowing that the bite was hot, I came back two days later and focused on fishing in that same area. I made a lot of casts in the same general vicinity, yet I didn’t even get any strikes. As I moved to a new location, and about ready to call it a night, I was surprised when I had a strike very close to the shore about ten feet out. Of course, I had to make a few more casts. A nice 3 lb. Striped Bass hit my jerk bait really hard and pulled down fiercely. I was able to land it very quickly. Since the night was very late, I decided to hike back up to the highway and go home.
On July 2nd, there was a free fishing day being held across the state of California. I met an angler on a social media app called Fish Brain, as well as connecting with him through YouTube. We finally met up for a night of fishing at Silverwood Lake Marina! The night started off really slow, until he caught a Catfish on a Nightcrawler. What seemed like a pretty actionless night, started to take a turn with his catch. By choosing to make a few more casts was when I was able to land a 3 lb. Largemouth Bass. Since it was getting late into the night and the bite died down, we decided to call it a night. Shout out to Zac W. (California Angling & Outdoors) for helping me grow my fishing passion, as well as YouTube support!
On July 7, I was able to go to Imperial Beach Pier in Southern California. I was visiting my sister, but I brought some fishing gear to try out the pier. My goal was to catch small fish and use it as bait to catch larger fish. I started by catching a Sardine on a Sabiki Rig, and I sliced it up to use as bait. With the Sardine bait, I caught a small Spanish Mackerel and then hooked it on my larger pole to use as live bait. I didn’t have any strikes on my larger pole though. I was also able to catch a small Pacific Mackerel, and by using it as bait I caught a small Grassy Rockfish. I had a good two to three hours of fishing on the pier before calling it quits.
Heading back to Silverwood Lake Marina (July 10), I had quite an interesting experience with a Game Warden. Being that I had my fishing license and driver’s license available on request, he took the extra step of calling a dispatcher to verify my information. I’ve been checked many times, but never has a Game Warden taken this extra step. The questions from him just kept coming too. I’m legit, that’s all that matters to me. As for fishing, I enjoyed the night and was trying to beat the skunk! I was able to land a 2 lb. Striper fishing with a jerk bait lure near the Marina boat launch ramp.
On July 11th, I hiked back down to the Marina and was able to land a Largemouth Bass weighing 2.50 lbs fishing with a jerk bait. Only one fish for the night, but it’s always a challenge to try and figure out what the fish want. You guessed it, on July 13th, I went back to the Marina. I steadily fished my usual areas and there was nothing going on. Right towards the end of my session, I landed a Largemouth Bass Weighing just over 4 pounds.
On July 18th, I hiked back down to the lake to stay consistent. I know that fishing isn’t all about catching, but what it brings to my mind, body, and soul. Catching fish is definitely a bonus, but always makes the trip top notch by putting something on the end of the line. I tied on a jerk bait and I kept feeling a slight thump on my line.
Now if you know anything at Silverwood Lake at night, there are bats flying around everywhere. Since they rely on echolation to locate their food, they often fly into my fishing line causing me to get a little jumpy because I think it’s a fish. After this happens a few times, I start to recognize the bat thump versus an actual fish striking the line. I had another Largemouth Bass on the end of my line, and I was able to land it in the net. It weighed exactly 3 pounds on the dot. I released it right away for more anglers to enjoy. I felt good that I landed a fish, but I knew I could keep going to try for more. Just a few more casts…
I walked to another location and made a few casts. All of a sudden, I felt a bite and I pulled back to set the hook. The fish surfaced and made its way toward deeper water, as well as some underwater cables. I tried my best to keep it from getting too far away from me, and as I pulled it slowly came in. I just knew my new personal best Largemouth Bass was sitting in my net waiting to be weighed. It came in at a whopping 6.60 lbs. My last personal best Largemouth Bass weighed in at 6.40 lbs., and was caught 19 months ago (a year and a half)!
Never give up! Keep on going with whatever it is you want to accomplish. Thank you to all my fishing family. Tight lines!
Salt Life Extended
My salt adventures began from a rented kayak in the Huntington Beach Harbor. It was so surreal, I was fishing for the first time in the city in which I was born. What a trip, to be padding with my feet as I tested a nice Hobie Kayak. As we explored the fishing area, my friend and I made an effort to try jigs, jerkbaits, and finally, drop shot rigs.
I actually had one strike which I missed because I pulled my rod tip back, when I should have reeled down. In other words, if you are ever using a circle hook when fishing, a fish will automatically hook themselves if you tighten your line and gently set the hook. My next cast put an interesting fish on the end of my line. A massive Bat Ray inhaled my Berkeley Gulp Mullet (4 inches). What a catch, but I will admit I was scared.
The thought of landing the beast in a kayak was too much, and I happened to ask for assistance from the Orange County Sheriff patrolling the area in a boat. They asked, “Do you have a Halibut or a Ray?” I responded, “I believe it’s a Ray, but I’m not sure what to do!” They came over and released the Ray which actually wasn’t hooked in the mouth, but the circle hook became lodged in its wing/fin during the process. The massive fish kept me near the bottom, and I had to really pull to surface it. Good thing I had used a 40 pound braided line to assure a good fight. Fishing here was a good challenge as a first timer, but I also had to dig deep to try and catch something. Shout out to my friend Erick V. for inviting me to a place I didn’t know existed!
As I headed down the southern coast from Orange County to Imperial Beach, I saw massive amounts of uninhabited coast line. When I arrived at my destination, I immediately went to fish at the Imperial Beach Pier. Not much of any catching went on, yet one small Jack Smelt was landed. Throwing it back to the sea, I casted a bit more before calling it quits. I posted a picture of the Jack Smelt on Facebook on a buddy responded, “That’s great Halibut bait!” I cringed a little reading his response because I could of used it to catch Halibut.
The plan became to target the same area in the morning with my daughter and nephew. There is something about having the perfect set up to catch and land a fish on the first cast of the day. As my daughter held the rod, and as I rigged my nephew’s rod, my daughter replied, “Dad, I got one!” She handed me the rod to land the fish. We discovered the fish to be a Shovelnose Guitarfish. A very large one at that, but was released back into the sea. I still sit in amazement at the way it all went down. That was a massive fish caught from the pier.
Two massive fish in the span of a couple of days fishing the ocean. What a gnarly experience it was fishing the ocean from a kayak, and from a pier.
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