This is my first post on our new web site following our adventures fishing in So Cal. I used to fish with my dad for years and now that my son Jonathan is old enough I’ve decided to start taking him out. Today was Jonathan’s first time fishing and it was my first time out for a long time. I decided to keep it simple and go fishing at the King Harbor Pier in Redondo Beach. My dad and I spent many days fishing on this pier and off the rocks near the bubble hole (the SoCal Edision hot water vent) and caught our share of bonita, perch, sargo and some bass. So I went out and picked up a pair of spinning reels and rods and some #8 hooks and other tackle and geared up last night to take Jonathan out.Jonathan is only 4 years old, so I need to take a few more things with me than if I just went on my own. So I got his Radio Flyer wagon (I’ll do another post later about our full set up) and put together what we needed, our tackle box, a bucket, some towels, and a box with some snacks and other misc. stuff like plastic bags. I also brought along a box of baby wipes from Costco which came in really handy. I also filled up the thermos with hot coco and headed out in the morning.I was hoping the weather would be ok. A big storm had just come through on Saturday and the forecast was for rain this morning. We left around 7am and it was cloudy and a bit cold but no rain. After picking up some frozen squid we pulled into King Harbor and set up on the pier. High tide was at 7:18 so we caught it just right. Other than the employee at the sport fishing office and one angler on the rocks we were the only ones on the pier. I also brought along frozen peas, so we set up and casted out with a mix of two peas and a small strip of squid on the hook. It was slow going and we were in the middle of the pier, after about 25 minutes and only a few little bites I moved us closer to the rocks and casted out.
 |
| From 1st Trip: King Harbor, Redondo Beach |
Got our first fish a few minutes later, hooked a good sized Buttermouth Perch on two peas and a small amount of squid. I had Jonathan take the poll and reel him in. Jonathan would not take a picture with it, so I unhooked it and the employee at the sport fishing office turned on the bait tank to put it in. The bladder had came out so we broke it to to keep it alive and went back to fishing.
 |
| From 1st Trip: King Harbor, Redondo Beach |
About a half hour later I hooked a smaller buttermouth and had Jonathan land it. This one was small (see pictures) and we put him in the tank as well. Went back to fishing while Jonathan had a snack and kept getting nibbles, but no takers. Another angler came along as well and started fishing smelt and was pulling out a few every couple minutes. I got a light hit and hooked it. Though it was another perch, but got a suprise when it came to the surface, a CO sole was hooked.
 |
| From 1st Trip: King Harbor, Redondo Beach |
Brought it up took a few pictures and released it. Guess he liked the mix of peas and squid. The weather started to get worse around 11am and a few sprinkles started so we packed up and headed home.I think the whole trip went well, being Jonathan’s first fishing trip and first catch. I was glad it was a buttermouth, it brought back some good memories of my dad and I catching buttermouths down off the stern of the Matt Walsh (LA Harbor Sporfishing) before it would go out on a half day trip.
I need to take a look at my rig setup. I used a #8 hook which I think was small enough, maybe test a #10 next time out. Also, my sinker and swivel combo was tangling up so I will research some other set ups on the internet as well.
We plan to go out again maybe next weekend, but for sure on the 21st and the 22nd of this month.
 |
| From 1st Trip: King Harbor, Redondo Beach |
