1968

OFF THE SURF
by Reg Reynolds
April 25, 1968

The three holidays last week saw. some fine action in surf fishing off the Carpinteria tar pits, and above, where our old pier had stood. Large perch up to three pounds were striking on shrimp, clams, mussels, sand crabs, and blood worms. Along with them were caught some nice size rock, calico bass, and cabazone. The large rocky reef at extreme low tide, is supplying a variety of reck fish, directly off the end. One might hook into a Targe barndoor halibut, as the reef extends out into deep water. Off Serena Beach, is another swell spot to try. Large perch, with some bass, have been striking at high tide. Off Summerland cement seawall, during high tide, large halibut, bass, cabazone, opal eye perch, barred perch, and sharks, are striking. This Is an excellent spot to fish, when the ocsan Is flooding below. Boat fishing is good off Carpinteria, and up to Santa Barbara. Barndoor halibut are also striking.Reg Reynolds 588 Palm Ave.
---------------------------------------------------------

OFF THE SURF
by Reg Reynolds
May 16, 1968

Off the long Ventura pier bonito has shown up for their spring run. These scrappy fish can be caught on shiny, torpedo sinkers, rigged with a triple hook, and with a strong leader above Or a yellow feather jig. Some of these fish will weigh up to twenty pounds, and a fighting devil when hooked. Throw your line out, and retrieve it in fast with a Jerky motion. Large barred perch, spotfin croakers, and bass are also running.

Off the long rocky sea wall running from the oil pier, up to Rincon Hill, has some fine barred perch, bass, and corbina fishing during high tide. Corbina up to five and six pounds can be seen swimming in the ebb tide, seeking sand crabs. These fish-strike on sand crabs, clams, shrimp, mussels and blood worms. Take your time when you hook one in bringing it in, as the mouth is very tender and the hook will rip out. One was caught off the rocks the other day that weighed eight pounds. They usually run up to five pounds off the surf.

Off the large reef, during extreme low tide at Carpinteria, many kinds of fish are striking. Rubber lip perch, blackperch, kelp bass, calico bass, cabazone, corbina, are just a few that are found in the deep kelpy holes. Directly off the. end, one might hook into a large halibut, on anchovies.

Where our pier once stood, and off the tar pits below, surf fishing has been reported good during high tide. Some four pound barred perch were caught during the three week ends vacation by campers.

Salmon are still out in the deep water, looking for a running stream to go up and spawn.
---------------------------------------------------------

OFF THE SURF
by Reg Reynolds
May 23, 1968

Bonito has started showing up off the Ventura pier. These fish usually start running in the deep water when anchovies move in closer to shore. A shiny torpedo sinker, a bright yellow feather jig and a fresh anchovie hooked on a wire leader and trolled through the water in back of a boat, will hook some of these hard fighting fish. Be sure you have enough line on your reel, for when hooked one of the bonito will run out several hundred feet of line in the. wink of an eye, and then you have a hard tussle working your catch toward the boat where it can be gaffed.

If you want to eat one of these fish, when you clean it, be sure to cut out all the black meat, as that is where the strong taste of these fish is. Off the beach above leading to the long pier, barred perch up to three and four pounds are being caught during the incoming tides. They have been striking on sand crabs, shrimp, clams, mussels, and anchovies. Use a number one hook for best results. Some schools of corbina are now in the surf where they feed on sand crabs that are washed in by the high tide.
---------------------------------------------------------

OFF THE SURF
by Reg Reynolds
May 30, 1968

For the past two weeks large schools of anchovies have been seen off our coast from Ventura up to Sandyland Beach. Under these schools of fish are bonito, bass and barracuda chasing them. One of these fish men­tioned will snap up a live bait hooked on a wire leader hook when trolled from the back of a boat. They will strike on a four ounce torpedo shiny sinker equipped with a triple hook or a bright red or yellow feather jig. These lures are always good to take along. Off the Ventura pier, bonito, bass, tom cod, and halibut are striking. Close to shore, barred perch can be caught with a few corbina. Try mussels or clams on the shore fish.

Off Mussel Rock Beach, barred perch up to three pounds.. have been caught. Larry Meyers and Phil North, up from L.A., hooked some nice ones off the large rock last Saturday.

All along the beach, above the long oil pier, surf fishing is picking up for the summer run. Corbina, perch, cabazone and bass are striking on most baits. Some large barndoor halibut are off the third breaker line.

The large rock seawall, directly below the Rincon Hill, is now a hot spot to fish during high tide. Square cement funnels are built under the highway to carry off the water when it rains. These funnels are nice Mo stand on and throw out into the foamy surf. Some large halibut have been hooked, at these spots. Always carry a long gaff rod so if you hook a big fish, you can drag it up to you.

From Rincon Point up to the Carpinteria tar pits, both rock and surf fishing is now good.' Carpinteria Beach Is -just fair. From Sandyland up to Serena Beach, surf fishing has been reported good. Boat fishing is good along the beach at Santa Barbara. Lots of halibut lay off shore waiting to be hooked. From there to Gaviota pier, rock and surf fishing is picking up and will get better.---------------------------------------------------------

OFF THE SURF
by Reg Reynolds
June 06, 1968

The ocean is alive with jumping anchovies, all the way from Ventura pier, off Mussel Rock to Rincon Hill. Dozens of fishing boats are cruising through these schools, catching bonito, salmon, bass, halibut, and other bottom fish. Now is a good time to get out your boat and try your hand at landing some of these scrappy fish. Off Mussel Rock, corbina, black perch, barred perch, and rock bass, are now striking on most baits.

Surf fishing is good off sandy beach, leading up to the rock lined seawall that guards the highway from the sea. One can stand on a square flume that carries water down from the mountain in the rear and catch corbina, up to five pounds, along with large barred perch, cabazone, halibut and sharks, when the tide Is at full flood at high. When they had the old seawall along this spot, one could stand and look down in the ebb tide and see hundreds of large corbina swimming in the shallow water, feeding on millions of sand crabs that washed in with the rough tide.

Around the point from where the houses line the beach, is another swell spot to try for barred perch, bass, and corbina. The ocean is lined with small rocks, and that is where the fish are usually found.

From Higgin's Point, up to the large rocky reef that lays off the tar pits, is another swell spot to fish at extreme low tide. The best spots are on the left going out in deep kelpy holes.

Directly in front of the pool of water, where the bridge crosses over, is another spot where one might catch a corbina and barred perch. From Serena to the Santa Barbara harbor, surf fishing has been good. Lots of halibut striking, for the(o)se fishing from boats this side of the boat harbor.

Joe Macias, local postman, fished off the causeway Tuesday, and landed a 5 1/2 pound spotfin croaker on fresh mussels. He said the fish sure did put up a good fight.
---------------------------------------------------------

OFF THE SURF
by Reg Reynolds
June 13, 1968

Fishing from a small boat a mile out from shore, Jerry Chaffee, from Van Nuys, and a friend, caught 30 bottom fish, on anchovies. Many of them kelp, calico and sand bass. The fish were hitting hard and fast, as the bait was dropped to the bottom. All about his boat was jumping anchovies, chased by larger fish. Schools of these fish are plentiful in the channel waters, from Ventura, to as far up as the Gaviota pier. Lots of halibut are found about the fourth breaker line from shore. Try trolling for these flatsides, and catch a delicious eating fish. Barred perch, with some corbina, are sticking off the mouth of the Ventura River. The shoreline is rocky, and affords excellent feeding grounds for many kind of fish.

The rocklined seawall near the long oil pier, is another spot to try for corbina, bass, and perch. Off Mussel Rock, perch and bass are, striking at high tide. The beach directly above, has some fine .sandy holes to cast in. Sand crabs are showing up, .and are good baits to use. The high rocklined seawall directly below the Rincon Point is now a hot spot to try for corbina, bass spotfin croakers, halibut, cabazone, and large barred porch. Off shore, for those fishing from boats, salmon continue to strike, along with bonito, schools of these fish are showing up, and soon the ocean will be alive with them.

Rincon Beach, up to Higgin's Point, has. some fine rock fishing. Tom Bevins, and his friend Alfred Woods, up from L.A. fished off the rocks Monday, and they caught eight rock bass, three cabazone, and several large barred perch. Corbina should be showing up off Carpinteria Beach, for their summer run. From Summerland down to Serena Beach, both rock, and surf fishing has been reported good.
---------------------------------------------------------

OFF THE SURF
by Reg Reynolds
June 20, 1968

Bonito continue to strike off the end of the long Ventura pier, on shiny torpedo sinkers equipped with a large triple hook, yellow feather jigs, live bait and a large spinning lure. Some of these fish will go to 20 pounds and are considered a very hard fighter when hooked. About the middle of the long pier large barndoor halibut are found. A halibut buries its body in the gray sand with its two beady eyes out and when a fish swims by the halibut darts out and snaps it up. The best way to catch halibut is to throw your line out with just a sinker. Then thread an anchovie on a large hook fastened to a wire leader and snap swivel. Hook the leader your line and let it slide down to the .bottom. Eventually a halibut will see the fish dropping down your line and the fish will think the anchovie is loose and snap it up. I have caught many of them this way.

From the Ventura River up to the long stretch of beach above, large barred perch are still striking along with some five pound corbina. Wherever you find rocks and reefs along the shore, are spots to try for calico bass, bull bass, rubber-lip perch, cabazone and even corbina. These fish feed on mussels and small crabs that are found in the cluster of-shell fish. If you can find some green moss on the rocks, wrap a chunk on your hook. A bass is a vegetarian and feeds on pieces of moss under the water. The big rock at Mussel Rock is another swell spot to climb up and fish on. Many kinds of fish are found in the rocks that line the ocean at this spot.

Fishing off the causeway late Monday afternoon, Lee Harris and, Tom Allison, up from L.A. caught four spotfin croaker, two corbina, and a number of barred perch.
---------------------------------------------------------

OFF THE SURF
by Reg Reynolds
June 27, 1968

Harry Western, and Bill Drifus, up from L.A. fished off the long Ventura pier, Friday. They caught some large jack smelt, cod, perch, and one small halibut. This time of the year, when the grunion has their runs, one can hook. some. mighty big jack smelt. I caught one off the old Carpinteria pier, that measured over twenty-two inches long, and believe me they are sure a hard scrapping fish. The best bait to use for them, is salted bonito or small chunks of mussel. Use a size eight hook, as the mouths of these fish are around, and small. Several fishermen friends bought bait for me, and drove down to the, mouth of the Ventura River. They told me that corbina, barred perch, and bass, were striking at high tide All along this beach, are rocks, and reefs, that are, excellent spots for the fish to hide in. The long stretch of beach, above the Ventura bridge, is now good. Corbina, and perch are now striking, up to the long oil pier. The rocky seawall above, is a swell spot to try. Mussel Rock bass, black perch, cabazone, and other kelp fish striking. Off the top of the large rock, one can cast out into the foamy water. The long stretch of beach leading up to the causeway, below the Rincon Hill is another spot to fish, during high tide. Large corbina can be seen in the ebb tide seeking sand crabs that are washed in with the breakers. This has always been a hot spot to fish, during the in coming tide. This rocklined seawall is lined with square cement tunnels, that carry off the water, when it rains. Stand on top of one of these, arid one can cast out into the deep water.

Around the point, leading up to the other oil pier, both rock, and surf fishing is good, during extreme low tide. That is the only time one can fish off this spot. Boat fishing is good from there up to Summerland and beyond to Santa Barbara.
---------------------------------------------------------