Hey, if you pay me a nominal fee, I'll take you out there and just show you what to do. That's just about what you're asking here! I think there's something to be said for actually taking the time to experiment and learn the territory you're fishing.
With that said, I'll still tell you enough to get you MORE than started out there....
Ok, so the fish out there are a pretty good mix with some chances of getting the occasional big game species. Bonito, king mackerel, sardines, sharks, rays, halibut, and the infrequent yellow tail tuna. There are lots of smaller, baitfish types out there too. Perch, smelt....etc. Sabiki rigs and small strips of cut mackerel suspended under a bobber will work for those.
Live bait is by far the best bet for getting something sizable from the pier. Halibut and bonito will hit live smelt, chovies, and small mackerel. Rig them up on the bottom with a sliding sinker/live bait rig. There have been some larger blue and thresher sharks caught from this pier. They're not terribly common, but being unprepared for the power and speed of these two fish is what gets you in trouble. If you're targeting sharks here, you're going to want a wire leader - no messing around. If you're just targeting smaller sharks/rays, then a 20-40lb mono leader is more than sufficient. Circle hooks or octopus/circles are what I use, but some prefer the live bait hooks since they're generally a heavier gauge wire. I don't seem to notice any difference.
If you don't want to fish live bait, then just use cut sardine or squid. I've found that it's sometimes more productive to mix baits on the same hook. Hi/lo rigs and sliding sinker rigs work well and are easy to rig up. Otherwise, just go with a three way swivel - -one tied to mainline, one to a dropper with a sinker, and one to a leader.
Hooks for the smaller species (smelt, perch, sardines) are probably size 12-6. Larger species (bonito, mackerel, halibut) should be sizes 1/0 to 4/0 (no bigger than 5/0). Sharks and larger rays should be something like 3/0 to 8/0. Only go up past 5/0 if you're SPECIFICALLY targetting larger fish. Those hooks won't do much for a fish that can't even get it in it's mouth!!
I think that's about all....you're going to need to take the time to fish and experiment out there though. It's a different type of feeling when you hook fish out there. They are much closer to deep ocean there, and that's both good and bad for you. Bad because fish might try to take a run back to safety, and if your gear and you can't take it....that's it. Good because this makes it more likely to get bigger, open ocean fish closer to shore and a chance to hook and land something special.
Good luck. |