Ha Ha, was on vacation the week of July 4 and had high hopes. Started in Morro Bay but shouldnt have eaten that cold BK hamburger on the way down. An evening high tide, my favorite time, but sadly the only thing biting was big kelp and Salmonella. Persistant to a fault I fished when I should have gone to the house. Scratch one pair of waders.
Limped back to Hayward the next day and spent a few days watching TV. Went to Fresno on Thursday and had the bright idea to evening fish for catfish on the way back. Shadow Cliffs. Are there any fish in that lake? Skunkaroo, plus no smoking so I had to hide. Oh man, the picnic is there so the derby should be "Any Fish" instead of "Biggest Fish".
Next morning I went to Lower Sunset and the 11:00 AM high tide. 8 other guys fishing and all of us skunkaroo. We all blame the full moon.
Now what? I've been to Quarry Lakes several times and never a bite nor ever seen anyone catch a fish. Worse than Shadow Cliffs I say but try because its close. Skunk aroo.
Next day try Pacifica/Linda Mar at daybreak and then Dunes Beach in Half Moon Bay. SkunkO.
Its surf city during the day so I try Pacifica again that evening. SkunkO. The Pacifica guys are saying "where be the fish?". All that driving around, my wife thinks I've lost my mind plus she's getting pissed that I'm not doing any work around the house.
A lot of beers went down Saturday night. Getting stink EYES from Mrs Tani. Down to two bloodworms and a few sand crabs( scared of the waves at Pacifica/HMB so I dont dig them).
Minus tide/full moon, WTF I tried HBM south of the harbor at daybreak. Seals everywhere so I start walking south and these turds seem to be following me. They finally stop and I start fishing.
Dead calm, usually its like a Maverick's washing machine. I finally catch a fish, success!
Dunes Beach opens at 8:00 so I move there and no surprise that I dont catch anything.
Okay, so now I have my favorite catfish bait from the perch. I fish Quarry Lakes after work.
I go to the back so I can smoke but of course people show up near me. They charge us to fish there but they should pay us. 3 hours sitting on gravel. I say 5 more minutes and I'm getting the F' out of here. WTF, I get my first bite there, ever. Look how happy I am.
Thanks Brian. Ha Ha, I drove more than I fished and that's a long way for three fish. WON says people are catching fish on all the beaches but I haven't seen ANY from Pacifica to Lower Sunset except for two at HMB. It says lots of catfish at Shadow Cliffs but I didn't see ANYTHING caught when I was there.
I'm not sure if the guys aren't perch fishing or aren't catching/keeping and its been a couple of months. I'll try to the north say Stinson or Bodega. Yeah, I'm afraid I'll go to Santa Cruz and get skunked again. I saw Adam's video where he caught a trout in Quarry Lakes! I've been there several times and that's the first trout I've seen bank or boat.
It's like the Trout Shoot-out at Shadow Cliffs, zippo from the bank. I'll go to Quarry Lakes for catfish again. I'll sit there for hours and wont catch anything then I'll get obsessive catfish or bust. Good luck this month.
Nice report Ed. You really put in your time fishing, didn't you! I'm glad you got that last minute catfish to show for all your hard work!