Catalina Mole 05/18-19/2024
CATALINA MOLE 05/18-19/2024
Sunday May 18, 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 19, 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