california pier fishing

[Jedburton]

i am visiting my in-laws in fresno for a week and would like to fish as much as possible while I am here. I will probably be down in the oxnard area friday and saturday. Any advice on species/rigs etc. would be greatly appreciated. On saturday I will be fishing with tubn2 on a boat, but friday i would love to try some fishing from shore or pier. Also if anyone knows the monterey area well, I may be in monterey on thurs. Once again any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.
Jed Burton
[signature]

[Tarpon4me]

You're going fishing with Steve, in a boat? LOL, I have some tips for you:

1. Check his pockets before entering.
2. Keep an eye on your reel. (especially the freespool lever)
3. Wear your life jacket at all times, even when on land.
4. He will try to bring his tube with him on the boat, don't let this happen!
5. No Rock and Roll music until after 10am. I hear it gets him overly excited.

LOL!!!!!!!! [sly]

Na, you should have a great trip. If you haven't fished with him before, he's very knowledgeable and you should have a great trip and catch alot of fish. Make sure and take some pictures. TubeN2 should be able to hook you up with pier fishing info as well. There's like 30 species of perch and like 20 species of rock fish alone, not to mention all the other stuff overthere to catch.

Make sure you post this on the Cali board as well Jed, you'll get a more localized response there partner. Good luck guys, I hope you catch a bunch!
[signature]

[Jedburton]

I have fished with steve 3 times already and love it. It is a lot of fun to do and he usually hooks me up with a good boat to go on. If nothing else he is fun company even if the fishing wasn't great, but we have done alright on most trips anyway. I can't wait to play with those saltwater species. They make fishing freshwater species almost boring for a few weeks afterwards.
jed
[signature]

[tubeN2]

Hey Jedburton. I'm looking forward to hitting the Salt with you again.

As far as the piers go, make sure you have a light rig and a med/hvy rig.

On the light rig you will put on a double drop shot with #6 bait hooks and small strips of squid. Usually a 1 or 2 oz weight at the bottom will be sufficient. 1st drop at 18 inches 2nd one at 24inches. Keep an eye on the tide.

Tide in, bait fish in. Tide going out, take out the med/heavy rod and throw some of your bait fish out for a nice Halibut.

Your Halibut rig is rather simple in concept and doesn't require you to take out a 2nd mortgage on the house to get the necessary equipment.

1. Tie a swivel on to the line.

2. Tie a 3foot leader onto that swivel.

3. insert the leader to free flow through 1 more swivel and tie the tip of the leader to a 3oz pyramid sinker.

4. Tie a new leader on to the free floating swivel making sure that it stays free moving on the previous leader.

5. Tie a hook onto the line that is tied to the swivel that is on the free floating setup. The hook should be at least #1 octopus hook or a Mustad 9174 1/0 bait hook.

Instead of Monterrey, you may want to come down a little farther south to Pebble Beach. There are some kewl species to play with there evern from the shore.

That is close to the PCH Hwy 1 which will take you down to Oxnard when you are done.

Let me know if you have anymore questions. And don't listen too much to that Tarpon Dude. He is from the East side boys. hee hee.

Actually the Tarpon4me is a good salty dog too. His species are a bit different from here but we speak Shark. That is a universal language. Thank God or I wouldn't be able to understand what he is saying sometimes.[cool]
[signature]

[tubeN2]

If you remember how to do the dropper loop rig, you can do that instead of the slippy/slidie Halibut rig. It is quicker to tie and if you leave the loop extra long, it pretty much has the same effect for that type of fish.[cool]
[signature]

[Tarpon4me]

Awee Shucks. []

See, there's a reason you don't always understand me. You speak a little more "Mako," and I speak a little more "Tiger shark." [cool]
[signature]

[tubeN2]

Don't worry. I'll catch up to you this summer. I am headed to Hawaii. There are 3 specific species that I plan to add to my list of Pacific Species that I haven't caught yet.

Tiger Shark, Blue Marlin, and Peacock Bass.

If I don't get the Peacock, then I will have to head to Florida to get one. I expect to see you on the docks by 5:30am sharp!![shocked]
[signature]

[Tarpon4me]

Man, if I could go, I'd be there bro! But, if you're going to FL, you might as well slide up to SC for a bit. We'll do a little fishing up this way. []

I also wanted to add, and not to be the bearer of bad news, but don't go to Hawaii with the idea that you will catch a blue and a tiger shark. I've done 4 charters for blue marlin, and never nailed one. Not in hawaii either, but in the Micronesian islands. That's like billfish superbowl outthere. Also, Tiger sharks are a rare occurance, even around the islands. You've got a better chance with a big reef shark or blue than a Tiger. Besides, a Mako is about as good as it gets in the shark world, I don't have to tell you that. They're the fastes, most acrobatic, and controvercially the best eatting. If you've caught a big Mako, you've got the best of the shark species. [cool] LOL, but i'm sure you just want something really big. How you gonna get a picture with it? []
[signature]

[tubeN2]

I do love Mako steaks. Yummmmmy!

I have been getting some info from one of our skipper members that charters in Hawaii. He did tell me the time when the Tigers are thickest around there and when the best probability usually is for the Blue Marlin.

I am actually going to use his charter service when I go out there.

As far as the photo goes, you have to take a hand that still has fingers on it, reach down and gently rub them under the chin. That will usually calm them down. If not, take the other hand that still has fingers on it and try again. ha ha.
[signature]