Took a day off work at the beach and the team went rock cod fishing. Wasn't as slow as I had expected--Found a few yellows first--man is fishing good all year or what!

I found this great article today with an update on the Palos Verdes DDT contamination. After reading it you'll probably feel like doing a lot more catch and release.

High DDT levels found off Calif. coast:

The Associated PressPosted: Sunday January 28th, 2007, 1:37 PMLast Updated: Sunday January 28th, 2007, 2:01 PMLOS ANGELES (AP) - Fish caught off Los Angeles County's coast still contain high levels of banned DDT decades after a manufacturer dumped tons of the pesticide into sewers, creating a toxic plume on the ocean bottom.

There has been no improvement since the last regional fish survey was conducted in the late 1980s, according to a federal survey based on data collected mainly in 2002 but only recently released.
Of 1,200 fish caught off the county coast, white croaker off San Pedro and the Palos Verdes Peninsula were the most highly contaminated. Fish off Orange County and areas north of the Redondo Beach Pier had low concentrations.
The data has prompted the state to reevaluate the risk of eating the locally caught fish. There already is a commercial fishing ban in the contamination area.
The levels "are lower than what we historically have seen" in the 1970s, "but they are still levels of concern to us," said Sharon Lin of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which conducted the survey along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
DDT was banned in the United States in 1972 after it was classified as a probable carcinogen, and has been linked to liver disease and reproductive damage.
Montrose Chemical Co. manufactured DDT from 1947 to 1971, releasing about 2,000 tons of the pesticide into sewers that flowed to the ocean. DDT adheres to sediment and continues to infect marine creatures. The contamination covers several square miles of the ocean floor near the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

KV's Ling Cod Monster

Gentle offshore breezes and warm sun on our backs greeted us at the beach this morning.

The water was flat calm with the hint of oncoming winds in the outside Chanel. You could see the ripple coming toward the beach but it didn't become an onshore breeze until 10am. The water is still a bit murky from the wind and swell but should clear up in the next week with good and somewhat warmer weather on the way.

The fishing has been slower over the past three weeks with today an average day. Had a fairly consistent pick on the 8-10inch perch but no big bites. Because I went to the beach yesterday at low tide I had a good look in the area where the inshore troughs were. One of my favorite spots had only a few feet of the trough remaining. At another spot the trough was legendary(here's a pic) but no fish were biting.

To help improve our odds we walked a good distance on the beach and found some good pockets of perch. This weekend and next week have some great tides. It's also going to be an interesting time to go to the jetties or other rock areas for some good minus tide perch fishing.

1/13/2007

Looking from Huntington Beach towards Palos Verdes

This morning was cold with a welcome offshore breeze. As the tide improves over the next couple of days, and as the wind dies down, fishing should get much better. Because the fish haven't had a chance to eat much over the last few days, they should be ready to explode once the conditions are right.

Now is a great time to get you equipment cleaned up and ready. Tie a few leaders and go through your beach tackle and be ready for the next bite. This time of year the perch are incredibly hungry and 1 & 1/2 inch grubs in curly or stump tail work great. I love to cover them in Taco Bell/Del Taco hot sauce and fan cast from the beach.

Because the perch are so deprived of food this time of year they hammer these grubs in hopes of finally finding a decent meal. Look for the big fish to start showing up as soon as TODAY!

Last week I asked the great surfer, Corky Carroll, if I could reprint his informative article on staph infections caused by local ocean water and he replied back to me just like I had inside position on a gnarley set: "Go for it dude!"

Everybody, including your kids or friends who come in contact with the ocean should read this: http://fishthesurf.homestead.com/FTSstaphinfection.html

See you at the beach (but not in the water!) Bill

1/12/2006

In a word: Cold!

Thanks John for this great picture of the Ventura sunset.



The wind has been blowing for the last week and really churning up the water. Although the surf has been smaller this week the winds have helped to slow the bite down.

Orange County, the South Bay and Ventura have all had some bad fishing weather, and coupled with the small tide changes, has made for a slow week of surf fishing.

Next week promises to be better with some great tides starting on Sunday and a bit warmer weather. Ten day weather perdictions are calling for another offshore wind event next week and good water conditions with swell size decreasing to less that two feet by Wednesday.

This is the time of year we begin to catch some of the biggest perch of the season. As the winds diminish look for the water to clean up and the fishing to get much better. Once we get back into the traditional weather pattern of rain and then sun look for some great days of fishing--especially just before each storm as the high pressure moves out and the low pressure comes ashore.

Check out a great link: WETSAND -- for current conditions and predictions for swell size, wind, weather and more.

Bill