Catalina Mole 05/19-20/2024 - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Mahigeer · 05-24-2024, 10:23 AM

CATALINA MOLE 05/19-20/2024

Sunday May 19, 2024

Although I had been to the Cabrillo Mole in the city of Avalon at the island of Catalina,
in the state of California, and the country of USA about two weeks before,
I decided to once more surprise fish-ninja and join him on a weekend outing before his last ticket expires.

I was the first passenger in the general seating line.
Fish-ninja arrived a bit later and was surprised to see me. We made the 6:00 AM departing boat.

We were setting up "camp" around 7:30 at the Mole after a smooth sailing over.

I setup for bonito with cast-a-bubble rig, a green color Sabiki rig and a single hook rig for sheephead.
No Opaleye rig on this trip. I also had brought several long poles to see which one I would like for the future trips.

Although it was weekend, there were no other "bonito hunters" on the Mole or on the boat for that matter.

1- Angler in his happy place. The popular corner for casting into the harbor channel.

2- Nice Calico on lure by fish-ninja.

I heard that the "bonito hunters" were there on Friday and were catching a lot of bonito.
Perhaps they wiped out the school. It may be the reason that for two days of casting lures and top water rig,
neither of us hooked to a single bonito.

Thus, against my normal habit of not using Sabiki in the kelp covered pier, I started to cast Sabiki
and mackerel responded. Mostly the Spanish mackerel.

3-Lately the mackerel are showing up. The Pacific chub mackerel seem to be on the bigger size and they
fight like a small bonito. fish-ninja caught several using lure.

I also caught a small tree fish, scorpion fish as well as a small calico bass.

fish-ninja took the 7:45 PM boat and I stayed behind.
I stayed on the pier all night and took catnaps while sitting in my under-the-weather enclosure.
I watched an Ellery Queen DVD and then took catnaps all night sitting in a chair.

Monday My 20, 2024

Around 5:30 AM got out from my enclosure and started to cast the top water rig. No takers.

4- Sunrise (sort of) on Monday. Perfect (less sun) conditions for bonito hunting.

Then I switched to the Sabiki rig and the Spanish mackerel responded.
I also setup a single hook rig using squid as bait.

5- I had the pier to myself most of the day.

6- An interesting visitor.

7- Possibly the largest Garibaldi that I caught at the Mole. It was hooked in its eye.
I have caught a bigger one in Baja, but did not keep it.

8-This pesky cormorant has learned to hang around the pier when it sees a rod over the railing.

It kept stealing my fish from time to time, but not all. A sea lion and its pup kept hanging right in front of
me about (50) yards away from the pier. A pelican also showed up on the pier but was mostly sleeping.
I have seen a "bonito hunter" feed the pelican, which is a big no, no.

9- Wind conditions were not too bad.

After having a bucket full of Spanish mackerel (even though I had given some away),
I stopped fishing for them.

I packed and was on the 7:45 PM boat on a smooth ride to Long Beach terminal.
Got home about 10:00 PM tired, but content about my trip.

THE END

JohnMckroidJr · 05-28-2024, 10:18 AM

Many decades ago when I worked on the Freedom, the Galley cook would talk about growing up on Catalina, and how if he caught a flying fish off the pier, he could bait it on a hand line and throw it out from the shore. Hours later he would come back to find a White Sea Bass on the other end.

When I worked on the Grande, Frank Hall would talk about the days when he would pull up on a fishing spot and determine if the White Sea Bass were going to bite or not by their color.

A lot of magical stuff has happened at Catalina.

Good to see a report from there -- Thanks.

Mahigeer · 05-31-2024, 12:34 PM

Thanks for the kind words.

I am always hesitant to post non-kayak outings hear, but there is no other board to post it on this website.
I know members like to see other kind of fishing as well.
I still have my kayaks but have not used them in a long time.
So, I hope it is ok to post them.

As to Catalina, it is a magical place for me. However, there is a serious talk of major remodeling at the Mole.
Thus, during construction and then after that, I may not be able to fish the Mole.
More on that later.

05-24-2024, 10:23 AM	#1
Mahigeer Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,893	Catalina Mole 05/19-20/2024 CATALINA MOLE 05/19-20/2024 Sunday May 19, 2024 Although I had been to the Cabrillo Mole in the city of Avalon at the island of Catalina, in the state of California, and the country of USA about two weeks before, I decided to once more surprise fish-ninja and join him on a weekend outing before his last ticket expires. I was the first passenger in the general seating line. Fish-ninja arrived a bit later and was surprised to see me. We made the 6:00 AM departing boat. We were setting up "camp" around 7:30 at the Mole after a smooth sailing over. I setup for bonito with cast-a-bubble rig, a green color Sabiki rig and a single hook rig for sheephead. No Opaleye rig on this trip. I also had brought several long poles to see which one I would like for the future trips. Although it was weekend, there were no other "bonito hunters" on the Mole or on the boat for that matter. 1- Angler in his happy place. The popular corner for casting into the harbor channel. 2- Nice Calico on lure by fish-ninja. I heard that the "bonito hunters" were there on Friday and were catching a lot of bonito. Perhaps they wiped out the school. It may be the reason that for two days of casting lures and top water rig, neither of us hooked to a single bonito. Thus, against my normal habit of not using Sabiki in the kelp covered pier, I started to cast Sabiki and mackerel responded. Mostly the Spanish mackerel. 3-Lately the mackerel are showing up. The Pacific chub mackerel seem to be on the bigger size and they fight like a small bonito. fish-ninja caught several using lure. I also caught a small tree fish, scorpion fish as well as a small calico bass. fish-ninja took the 7:45 PM boat and I stayed behind. I stayed on the pier all night and took catnaps while sitting in my under-the-weather enclosure. I watched an Ellery Queen DVD and then took catnaps all night sitting in a chair. Monday My 20, 2024 Around 5:30 AM got out from my enclosure and started to cast the top water rig. No takers. 4- Sunrise (sort of) on Monday. Perfect (less sun) conditions for bonito hunting. Then I switched to the Sabiki rig and the Spanish mackerel responded. I also setup a single hook rig using squid as bait. 5- I had the pier to myself most of the day. 6- An interesting visitor. 7- Possibly the largest Garibaldi that I caught at the Mole. It was hooked in its eye. I have caught a bigger one in Baja, but did not keep it. 8-This pesky cormorant has learned to hang around the pier when it sees a rod over the railing. It kept stealing my fish from time to time, but not all. A sea lion and its pup kept hanging right in front of me about (50) yards away from the pier. A pelican also showed up on the pier but was mostly sleeping. I have seen a "bonito hunter" feed the pelican, which is a big no, no. 9- Wind conditions were not too bad. After having a bucket full of Spanish mackerel (even though I had given some away), I stopped fishing for them. I packed and was on the 7:45 PM boat on a smooth ride to Long Beach terminal. Got home about 10:00 PM tired, but content about my trip. THE END Last edited by Mahigeer; 05-25-2024 at 07:26 AM. Reason: wrong date posted

05-28-2024, 10:18 AM	#2
JohnMckroidJr Senior Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: Fort Lauderdale Posts: 1,933	Many decades ago when I worked on the Freedom, the Galley cook would talk about growing up on Catalina, and how if he caught a flying fish off the pier, he could bait it on a hand line and throw it out from the shore. Hours later he would come back to find a White Sea Bass on the other end. When I worked on the Grande, Frank Hall would talk about the days when he would pull up on a fishing spot and determine if the White Sea Bass were going to bite or not by their color. A lot of magical stuff has happened at Catalina. Good to see a report from there -- Thanks. Last edited by JohnMckroidJr; 05-28-2024 at 10:33 AM.

05-31-2024, 12:34 PM	#3
Mahigeer Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,893	Thanks for the kind words. I am always hesitant to post non-kayak outings hear, but there is no other board to post it on this website. I know members like to see other kind of fishing as well. I still have my kayaks but have not used them in a long time. So, I hope it is ok to post them. As to Catalina, it is a magical place for me. However, there is a serious talk of major remodeling at the Mole. Thus, during construction and then after that, I may not be able to fish the Mole. More on that later.