A KING'S RANSOM FISHING IN REDONDO BEACH STILL AMONG THE BEST.Byline: BILL BECHER REDONDO BEACH Redondo Beach (rĭdŏn`dō), city (1990 pop. 60,167), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1892. Once a commercial port for Los Angeles, it is a residential and resort city with a protected harbor and an excellent marina. - If you catch a fish at King Harbor at Redondo Beach, you'll have to fight the locals for it. The locals being sea lions and brown pelicans. Anglers can have fun catching bonito bonito: see mackerel. bonito Swift, predaceous schooling fishes (genus Sarda) of the mackerel family (Scombridae). Bonitos, found worldwide, have a striped back and silvery belly and grow to about 30 in. (75 cm) long. , mackerel mackerel, common name for members of the family Scombridae, 60 species of open-sea fishes, including the albacore, bonito, and tuna. They are characterized by deeply forked tails that narrow greatly where they join the body; small finlets behind both the dorsal and , halibut halibut: see flatfish. halibut Any of various flatfishes, especially the Atlantic and Pacific halibuts (genus Hippoglossus, family Pleuronectidae), both of which have eyes and colour on the right side. and calico bass calico bass n. See black crappie. [From the colored spots on its body.] . But once you hook a fish, be sure to get it in fast or a sea lion might leave you with nothing more than a fish head on the end of your line. Even pelicans are known to grab a fish as it's being landed. I showed up at Rocky Point Rocky Point may refer to:
pl.n. The ability to adjust one's balance to the motion of a ship, especially in rough seas. sea legs Noun, pl Informal . Chumming is the operative word if you're fly-fishing the ocean. Unlike your favorite trout stream, where you pretty much can find a fish once you've learned to read their holding spots, the ocean is a big place and fish move around. Tossing some bait can manufacture a hatch of fish, and bring them closer to the surface. We stopped at the bait dock and got a scoop of sardines. The rental skiffs are equipped with a plastic bucket punched with holes and surrounded by a collar that floats it next to your boat. It kept our bait alive for the full day of fishing. We fished for calicos in the fog along the seawall seawall: see coast protection. and landed a half dozen, up to 3 pounds. The trick seemed to be to cast a sink tip or shooting head parallel to the breakwater breakwater, offshore structure to protect a harbor from wave energy or deflect currents. When it also serves as a pier, it is called a quay; when covered by a roadway it is called a mole. and retrieve it with a pause. The bass hide out in the rocks and couldn't resist the blue and white deceivers we threw at them, striking on the pause. But the feature fish at King's Harbor are the bonito. These small but feisty members of the tuna family thrive in California's coastal waters. Bonito grow rapidly when young. At one year they average 18 to 20 inches and weigh about 4 pounds. At 2 years, they've grown to 25 inches and 8 pounds. After that, growth slows down. The California all-tackle record bonito is a 22-pounder caught at Malibu Cove in 1978. The configuration of King Harbor makes it a favorite bonito fishing ground. Bonito consume prey equaling about 6 percent of their body weight daily. They will eat sardines and market squid, though anchovies anchovies a cause of diarrhea, vomiting, salivation, lacrimation, depression, miosis, polypnea, tachycardia, hypothermia in cats. seem to be their favorite forage. Tagging studies have show that the warm-water discharge from electric-generating plants such as the one at Redondo Beach holds the usually migratory bonito in the area. Rocky Point owner Dick Acker says that Redondo Canyon, an underwater trench that brings nutrient-rich water from the Catalina Channel, is another reason for the excellent fishing at King's Harbor. The nutrients bring bait, and the bait brings the bonito. ``We've had squid floating in the harbor, an unusual event during the day,'' says Acker. ``We were getting 6- or 7-pound bonito then. You get a ball of bait and the bonito crash the bait ball. An amazing sight.'' As the sun comes out and the weather turns shirtsleeve, we fish closer to the bait dock, a favorite spot. The local sea lions know this too, and patrol the area looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. an easy meal. A number of skiffs were concentrated here; most were families fishing live bait. Acker says the skiffs will hold three adults or two adults and two kids. They were designed for this job, and have a minimum of projections to catch a line. Even so, Acker suggests bringing a towel to cover up your gear and have a place to strip a fly line. Or you can do what we did; bring a 5-gallon plastic bucket to strip line into. If you're conventional-gear fishing, Acker suggests using light spinning tackle with 10-pound test or less. Lures that produce bonito include small ``Crocodiles'' in blue and white or green and white. MegaBait Twitchn'L lures work well in silver shad shad, fish, Alosa sapidissima, of the family Clupeidae (herring family), found along the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland to Florida and successfully introduced on the Pacific coast. The shad is one of the largest (6 lb/2. colors fished near the surface. ``You can fish with live bait,'' Acker said. ``We encourage catch and release and provide single hooks with lures we sell. We're happy to provide single hooks free to any anglers who want to convert their treble hooks to a more safe and fish-friendly means of angling. Luhr-Jensen now packs a single hook with their lures - something we appreciate. You can catch more and release them faster if you use a single hook.'' If you fish sardines, Rocky Point manager Alex Warrington suggest you ``fly line'' them on a number 2 to 6 hook and no sinker Sinker A bond whose payments are provided by the issuer's sinking fund. Notes: A portion of these bonds are retired by the issuer each year. See also: Sinking Fund, Super Sinker Sinker unless you're after halibut, then use a 1/4-ounce of lead 3 feet from the hook. When a bonito chomps the sardine sardine: see herring. sardine Any of certain species of small (6–12 in., or 15–30 cm, long) food fishes of the herring family (Clupeidae), especially in the genera Sardina, Sardinops, and Sardinella. , let it run for three seconds before you set the hook, says Warrington, who recently landed an 8-pound bonito near the fuel dock. ``Fly-fishers usually do well with blue and white, olive and white, or chartreuse chartreuse (shärtr  z`), liqueur made exclusively by Carthusians at their monastery, La Grande Chartreuse, France, until their expulsion in 1903. and white Deceivers,'' Acker said. ``We stock at least 25 bonito patterns. We're the only on-water fly shop in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . We specialize strictly in saltwater tackle for local and travel waters. The ideal rod here is a 7 or 8 weight. Use a type III Type III may stand for:
``The fish typically hold at 8 to 12 feet unless they're coming up to work some bait,'' Acker said. ``The trick is to get the fly at the right depth and keep it there for the longest time possible. Anticorrosion saltwater construction on your reel is a good idea, as is a good drag system, as larger fish will put you into your backing. I recommend a 6- to 7-foot, 10-pound leader. If you don't get hit, go down as far as 6 pound but don't fish with less then a 7-weight rod. You can beat the fish with a 6-weight but you won't beat the sea lions.'' The water in the harbor is remarkably clear and we spot the sea lions making passes under our boat. The action heats up at midday, with the families catching mackerel and bonito. We hook up to some mackerel that give a surprisingly good fight, as do the bonito. But you have to be quick. Larry Garfinkel of Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. hooks a very nice bonito, but the sea lion is too quick. Like a cat with a mouse, the sea lion toys with the fish before making a meal out of it. Garfinkel is left with only a fish head on the end of his fly line. ``The seals tear you up, but I've had days when I catch 20 fish,'; said Kris Hirata of Loma Linda, who regularly fly fishes at King's Harbor. He says summer usually is the best time for bonito, but this year they are hanging around in the harbor. To avoid battling the locals for your fish, try fishing away from the usual spots near the bait dock, as the sea lions know them too. Frank Selby of His and Hers Flyfishing suggests that when you hook a bonito, let it run for at least 15 seconds. He says the vibrations of a hooked bonito alert the sea lions if you don't let it run first. ``You can also catch halibut, spotted bay bass and Pacific barracuda barracuda, slender, elongated fish of tropical seas. Barracudas have long snouts and projecting lower jaws armed with large, sharp-edged teeth. They are ferocious, striking at anything that gleams, and are considered excellent game fishes. by the thousands in the summer,'' Acker said. ``A legal halibut caught last week weighed in at 13 pounds plus. We're seeing more halibut. This summer we had three striped bass striped bass moronesaxatilis. and a yellowtail and some white sea bass, which are appearing more often.'' Anchovies are the prime diet for bonito. They will eat a sardine but prefer anchovies. Said Acker: ``All the stars are aligning for the bonito right now. The power plant is on line, we're into the anchovies cycle, and there are more restrictions on commercial near-shore fishing.'' Eric Martin of El Segundo, with his 6-year-old son Cody, paddles by in his kayak. Cody is grinning ear-to-ear as he tells me he just caught a mackerel on his new fishing rod. So take a kid, or the little kid in you to King's Harbor. It's one of the few places where you can fish for wild ocean fish and almost be guaranteed to catch one. IF YOU FISH If you're 16 or over you will need a California fishing license with an ocean-enhancement stamp to fish at King's Harbor. Rocky Point sells day licenses only. Skiff rentals at Rocky Point are $45 for a half-day, or $65 for a 7 a.m.-4 p.m. full-day plus a $10 deposit. Bait is $15 for a half scoop, $20 for a full scoop. They also will rent you a kayak or arrange a guided fishing trip. You can keep up to 10 calico bass if they're more than 12 inches. There are no limits on mackerel. You can keep five bonito of any size, and another five if they're more than 24 inches fork length. Bonito should be bled and put on ice quickly for best eating. Be sure to check the latest regulations because they change. Rocky Point is open every day except Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information: 310-374-9858 or www.rockypointfun.com. His and Hers Flyfishing in Costa Mesa offers guided trips to King's Harbor. For information, call (949) 548-9449 or go to www.geocities.com/hisherflyfishing/ CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color) Larry Garfinkel of Thousand Oaks, above, admires a calico bass he caught while fly fishing at King Harbor in Redondo Beach. Another catch, a bonito, was eaten by a sea lion as it was being reeled in, below. (3) Two members of the Conejo Valley Fly Fishers cruise the waters at daybreak at King Harbor in Redondo Beach. Bill Becher/Special to the Daily News Box: IF YOU FISH (see text) |
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