Judging interest for a Los Angeles area adventure - Marina Del Rey Reef

[goldenglory18]

All,

I'm looking to see who would be down to explore this 50 year old artificial reel off MDR and Venice Beach. At least 3.2 acres of structure to cover, and only 65' depth, this sounds like an awesome spot to find some inshore monsters. I figure at the least this area is holding some decent rocks/lings, and possibly if the conditions are right, some WSB's or Yellows.

Game and Fish Info



I figured we have two ways to get out there:

1) Paddle out from the MDR public boat ramp (green arrow). Longer in length (7.2 miles round trip) it should be an easy morning paddle with little to no boat traffic before 9am. If we time it correctly, we should be able to get out past the break wall in pretty quick time, spend plenty of time on the spot, then use the wind/current to help push us back to the break wall. If we need a break, we can hit the wall for some bass, then fish some of my favorite bass and halibut spots on the way back in using the wind as a drift. We would really need to plan this out correctly to make sure we have tidal support as MDR can be a PITA to paddle against the tidal currents.



2) Beach launch from the North jetty. This is a much shorter paddle (3.7 miles), but I'm not 100% sure about the parking situation. There is public parking (green call out) but I don't know if its a timed lot, and the only way to get the boats to the water is to walk the sidewalk. This also eliminates a lot of other fishy spots inside the Marina. Pro is we don't have to worry about the current nearly as much on this option.



The only thing I don't know is how pressured this area is by party boats and short day charters. I've never been on a short trip cattle boat, but I can only imagine these are the types of areas they hit.

I know there are "better" places to fish around SoCal, but I live really close to this area and have spent a lot of time exploring Venice, Santa Monica and the Marina. I'd love to get a chance to explore this area more from the water side. Let me know what you guys think and if there is interest, let's plan this out as soon as possible to take advantage of the bite that's been happening around the LA area...