Late Catalina Mole trip. 9/8-9/2021

[Mahigeer]

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/s...560#post315560




It was time to hit Catalina for some fun fishing.

I took the 6:30 AM boat at the Catalina Express terminal in Long beach, California.
Being a weekday, the boat was not too crowded. Since I retired, I only go to Catalina on weekdays.
Only exception is if I decide to go for the lobster opener. Since it is on a Saturday.

Since I was staying during the night, I was going record lobsters underwater. As I started to load my pier cart at the parking,
it came to me that I had brought everything, except the most important item.
The underwater camera. Well that project got scrapped quickly.
Not the first time that I have forgotten an important item. Once I had to go back home to get the ………….Fishing rods!

Once on the Cabrillo Mole (or Mole as locals call it), I setup for bonito and possible barracuda. One rod with launcher and feather,
one rod with Megabait lure and a rod for bait fishing.

As usual to Mole we had various weather from windy to calm. Very hot to overcast. It is best to have layered clothing to put on or
shed as needed.

A PFIC member, Ego for short, was there. He had brought a friend the day before and we fished and socialized some the first day.
They left with the afternoon boat.



1-The wind was perfect for casting from the Mole. Does not happen often.




2-The water was calm, which made it for the best condition to see bonito hitting the lure.




3-I setup my “camp” at the middle bench.

The umbrella was very helpful to keep the sun off of me while bait fishing. Later I moved it behind the bench and provided shade to
keep me cool while sitting on the bench.
With a slight breeze and shade it was really pleasant temperature to sit and take a rest from fishing. Next time I will take two umbrellas.



4-There were few anglers fishing the Mole.





5-The kelp is slowly coming back. This is by the flag pole.


I landed three bonito at various times with the launcher and feather. No barracuda this time.
I would switch between casting for bonito and bait fishing.

As it got dark, I set up the bait fishing rod only and almost immediately landed a calico bass.
However, all the bass that were landed and well as some sheephead were short.
Sorry to say, I do not have any pictures. I wanted to release the fish quickly. As to kept bonito, I neglected to take a picture.

The night was cold even with a hoodie sweater and a windbreaker. It was partly due my just sitting.
I was alone on the Mole after the lights went off, about 8:00 PM.



6-After being cold and bored, the sunrise was a welcome sight.




In the morning, I notice the my sea lion proof bucket with bonito in it was hanging in the air due to low tide. The heavy rope was
tangled around a rusted old metal beam. It serves nothing, but it has not been removed.




7-This was not an ordinary bucket. A very useful bucket that I had modified to keep fish fresh in the water and protect it from the
sea lions.


Pictured is with different buckle.


My efforts to undo the bucket was fruitless. Thus, I called the Harbor Patrol and asked for help.
A boat showed up with a not so bright officer. He kept looking at situation and could not figure what to do.
Finally, he unclipped the bucket and put it in the boat. After I telling him to go ahead and cut the rope on the opposite side, he did.
He then attached the rope to the bucket and I pulled it up over the railing.
After he left with my thanks, I tried to figure out how to recover my clips.

8-The challenge




9-I was lucky enough to hook the clips of the tangled rope with my pier gaff.




10-By using a piece of borrowed “duct tape” and my telescopic net handle, I made a long reach knife.


After being able to cut the rope, the clips came off the pier gaff and sank. My mistake of not snagging the rope with a lure before
cutting the rope. I felt that the clips would stay on the big hook of the pier gaff.

O well, next time I have my underwater camera, I will look for the clips.



11-For the most of the day, I had the Mole to myself for fishing.


No bonito or barracuda today. Only bass of various sizes.

Took the 7:45 boat home. Hit the bed and had a long sleep.





THE END

[blitzburgh]

Love reading about your trips to Catalina :cheers1 thank you for sharing sir!

[Mahigeer]

Originally Posted by blitzburgh

Love reading about your trips to Catalina :cheers1 thank you for sharing sir!

Glad you liked it.

I know they are not kayak reports, but there is no other board here to post them.

[MITCHELL]

But never Catalina, that's cool so you can go to Catalina and fish the mole all night, with out having to get a motel room and return on the ferry, the next day. How much does the ferry cost. And do they have available rooms if you decide to say thur the week.
How many times does the ferry run across per day

[JohnMckroidJr]

Nice report, Catalina can be a magical place. Have you ever tried chumming with bread? It's a method that I have seen work there to get perch, opaleye and small calicos to boil. Nothing big, but some potential for fun light tackle action.

[MITCHELL]

Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr

Nice report, Catalina can be a magical place. Have you ever tried chumming with bread? It's a method that I have seen work there to get perch, opaleye and small calicos to boil. Nothing big, but some potential for fun light tackle action.

Opaleye was are winter fishery at Zuniga jetty, we would anchor up along the jetty and chum up the opaeye with frozen peas and put 3 on a hook cast it into the rocks and slowly wind to keep from getting tangled and wham-o we always filled a 5gal bucket up. Opaleye eat like crappie and fight like no tomorrow on a small spiner and light pole. I fished 3 different boats that way. One time my 20ft cuddly cabin slipped anchor and we washed right over the top of the rocks with out doing any damage. We have caught just about every species of fish at the jetty on frozen peas. That was before ocean kayaks

[Mahigeer]

Originally Posted by MITCHELL

But never Catalina, that's cool so you can go to Catalina and fish the mole all night, with out having to get a motel room and return on the ferry, the next day. How much does the ferry cost. And do they have available rooms if you decide to say thur the week.
How many times does the ferry run across per day

The general seating for (65) plus from Long Beach to Avalon is $69.00. Other ports may vary.
The boat departure times varies due to the day of the week.
You can get more information here:
https://www.catalinaexpress.com/

Lots of hotels on the island from different prices. Best to make reservation ahead of time.

Being a popular island everything has be shipped there, thus costs more than the mainland.
It is also a popular vacation site; thus hotels get booked often.

Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr

Nice report, Catalina can be a magical place. Have you ever tried chumming with bread? It's a method that I have seen work there to get perch, opaleye and small calicos to boil. Nothing big, but some potential for fun light tackle action.

I learned a lot watching “Opaleye hunters” at the Mole. From using moss to using float rigs and chuming before every cast.

1-A mixture of bread crumbs and peas and maybe other leftover baits.




2-I used to toast and grind old bread, but I found this way was easier.




3-The limit of Opaleye.

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by Mahigeer

[b]

I learned a lot watching “Opaleye hunters” at the Mole. From using moss to using float rigs and chuming before every cast.

1-A mixture of bread crumbs and peas and maybe other leftover baits.

Excellent reply! I like the long spoon to help catapult the chum farther out! Love them Opo-Bass -- Brings back childhood memories of fishing off the rocks in PV. We would keep the catch alive in the tide pools until it was time to head back up the cliffs.

[Mahigeer]

I keep my catch in the bucket that I almost lost.
Pictured in the original post. #7

Opaleye stays alive the longest.