Ventura Pier 09-16-2012

Got to the pier around 10:30 AM and set up around mid pier. Fished with double dropper loop at first and caught my only fish of the day on squid (It was a croaker). Used it for bait for no takers. Buddy Brian was killing it on the sabiki catching Wall Eye Perch, Queen Fish, Lizard Fish and Spot Fin Croakers. All pretty small and most released except a few used for bait. Crabbing was slow too, ended up with two keeper rock crabs, but tossed em back before I left since it is not enough meat too much trouble to prepare with only two crabs, lol. Still nice to be back. Some lovely looking locals strolled the pier too, which was a nice bonus.

Crabbing and Fishing Ventura Pier 05-25-2012

Met up with Brian at about 7:15 AM and headed for the pier. Started fishing and crabbing at around 8:00 A.M. There were a few other anglers around most catching queenfish / herring on sabikis. We set up shop at the end and I placed the crab net in my usual spot. Fishing was fairly constant on the sabiki lines we used catching what they call tiny 7-11 perch, decent sized walleye perch and queenfish / herring. Buddy and I both tried shark rigs (him the whole time, me only when I got tired of using the sabiki rod) with live bait but no takers on those either. Gave some of our perch to the locals to try for sharks, no love for them either. Crabbing was spectacular as usual. I ended up getting 23 keeper red, yellow and rock crabs. I gave five away to these two younger fellows (I think they were around 17) who were camping with their family somewhere close and wanted some to boil up. They were pretty nice kids and I had plenty so I spread the wealth a little. We left at around 2:00 PM as the wind and swell was getting progressively worse (the crabbing also slowed as the swell got bigger). Good day on the pier hanging with my buddy and checking out the local scenery (love them hot days!).

Ventura Pier 05-15-2012

Hit up Ventura Pier from about 1:30 PM till 10:30 PM. Set up shop with the crab net in my usual spot baited with the usual menagerie of junk this time consisting of mackerel, sardines, whitefish head and rock fish head. Crabbing was off the charts all day. Ended up keeping twenty something rock crabs (red, yellow and rock) and two spider crabs, one if which was the biggest caught to date for me. Fishing wise you could have all the queenfish you could ever possibly want if that is your thing (I caught and released all fish caught on the day). Didn't see much else, except for a large smelt and a few sand sharks caught by others shortly before leaving. Birds were diving and dolphins were around the pier, but I never saw any baitfish anywhere on the pier. Guess the bait is hanging out just outside the pier. I forgot to bring a sabiki so I made one from crappie jigs I had in my tackle box which worked just fine.

Malibu Pier 03/02/2012

Hit up Malibu Pier with my fishing buddy Brian Friday afternoon from about 2 P.M. till about 8 P.M.. Fishing and Crabbing was SUPER slow. All day I caught one large smelt (shown below) and a bullhead. On the crabbing front, I only got a couple tiny rock crabs and a bunch of medium sized spider crabs. This trip reminded me why I am not a huge fan of this pier...

Ventura Pier 12/11/2011

Fished & Crabbed (mostly crabbed) from 4:00 P.M. till 10:30 P.M. after the wife dropped me off and then went to work. No takers on the fishing using squid and leftover shrimp from the previous day. Ended up with 17 keeper rock crabs. Pretty good outing on the crab front. Boiled them all in my new crab pot when I got home.

Ventura Pier 12/04/2011

Fished / crabbed Ventura Pier from about 7:00 A.M. till 2:30 P.M.. Started out at the end and worked our way back using cut mackerel and octopus as bait for fishing and a mash up of misc. crap, mostly mackerel, for crabbing. I caught zero fish all day, Brian managed one small perch and a jack smelt. Got three keeper crabs, one slender crab and two rock crabs, but threw them all back before leaving as three crabs ain't gonna give you much crab meat to work with. Was a long day due to the lack of action, but was nice none the less.

Ventura Pier 11/05/2011

Fished / crabbed at Ventura Pier from around 7:00 A.M. till around 4:00 P.M.. Started out at the very end for a couple hours with one medium sized white croaker and zero crabs. No bait in the water, so I moved to around mid pier for a while with no luck, then moved in closer to shore for the last few hours. Ended up with four (4) keeper rock crabs, and 3 or 4 that were close, but no cigar. Crabbing has been unusually slow there for the last couple months for some reason. Didn't catch anything else fish wise. I did see a gentleman with a couple younger fellows at the surf line killing it on the perch with Gulp Sandworms. Most were pretty small, but there were a few good sized ones.

Long day at the pier for four (4) crabs, but it was a beautiful day and it was nice to be at the ocean. Also had two fish tacos and one calamari taco from the taco shack at the base of the pier. Very good tacos! Well worth the cost, especially since they cover your parking for a minimum order of $10 (parking is $8 otherwise).

Ventura Pier 10/07/2011

Fished / crabbed from around 9PM to 12:30 PM with my wife's cousin from Israel (He wanted to fish here badly). Was pretty slow, but we did manage a zillion baby croakers, a few macs and one keeper sized rock crab. I tossed the crab back before leaving and kept the macs for bait.