Malibu to Santa Barbara 1/15/10
by Chuck Melber
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One of Steve Slee's surf Perch at Zuma
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Rain, rain, go away come again some other day. We may have a minor reprieve from the weather gods for the time being, but it looks as though another, stronger system is on the way for next week. Its a Southern California winter gang, a couple days of snotty weather rewarded by a handful of beautiful days. I sit here writing this enjoying a cup of coffee in the warm morning sun. It's a shame to think that in only 72 hours more time it will be windy and rainy all over again.
Boat Work:
As part of the ongoing winter doldrums I will be bringing you weekly updates on various boats in the fleet. Many captains are taking advantage of the slow season to upgrade their boat and I want to give you all a chance to take not only a look at the new boats coming to the fleet but also check in on the upgrades to those who have been around for a while.
For this weeks update we will take a look at the Stardust from Santa Barbara. This year the owner/operator of the boat, Jason Diamond, elected to pull her out of the water and give the bottom paint a once over and replace the transducer. Diamond prides himself in the level of detail he and his crew go to when it comes to boat maintenance. So, when the boat came out this year there was nothing drastic to be done. Along with repainting the bottom the crew sanded the entire hull from the water line up and filled the dents and dings left by peoples swinging sinkers. A 10 or 12 once sinker on a rough day can leave quite a ding in a wood hulled boat like the Stardust, but the yearly ritual of repainting leaves her looking brand spank'n new.
Surf Fishing:
Up until this latest storm blew through surf fishing throughout the zone has been amazing for nearly everyone. From fly-fishers to carolina rig and Gulp! guys the perch have been eating everything in sight and some have been really big too. Many beaches throughout the zone have had fantastic structure with the fish really schooling up in the big holes and trough's.
Steve Slee, a regular at Malibu beaches like Zuma, had some amazing fishing last weekend by keying in on the structure the big surf produced. On Saturday conditions looked un-fishable given the massive breakers on the outside, but luckily they cut some great structure in shallow and as the tide dropped the bite really turned on. As it got closer to low tide the fish started to school up and the swimming pool sized holes. Unfortunately Steve was in such a hurry to get to the beach he neglected to grab all of his gear which left him short on bait, and without a camera to document the day. Three hours, and fifteen fish over ten inches later Steve was out of bait and forced to leave the fish biting. He vowed to return the next day in hopes of a repeat performance.
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The Stardust getting some fresh paint
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It seems that the camera always scares off the big fish, and when Steve came back the following day he found the conditions had improved, but the bite just wasn't the same. Thats not to say that he didn't catch fish though, and he put in a great effort pulling a ton of fish out of the same big holes using Gulp! Sandworms. Steve also took the time to take pictures of the holes so other anglers can get an idea of just how structure looks. Thanks Steve!
Something New:
If your looking to give something new a shot this winter, why not fly fishing from the surf? While toying around on the internet the other day I stumbled upon someone in our back yard who offers a guide service for just that type of fishing. Lee Baermann has been an Oxnard local since he was a toddler, and has been fishing the beaches throughout the Malibu to Santa Barbara zone his whole life. Lee also spends parts of the summer down in Loretto guiding and fishing the beaches and offshore.
Six years ago Lee began his guide service with the goal of not only putting anglers on fish, but teaching them what it takes to fly fish from the surf in Southern California. His mantra as a guide is to not only have you catch fish, but understand all aspects of the day so that the angler can return on his or her own and catch fish without Lee. While this may not do much for repeat business it does help to bring more anglers to the sport of fly fishing.
If you have ever wondered what it takes to catch perch, halibut, leopord sharks, and Corbina from the beach I suggest you check out Lee's website http://www.flyfishthesurf.com/ or just give him a call at (805) 486-8226. Also, for those of you a little more to the south, Lee will be doing a fly fish demo at the Bass Pro Shop in Rancho Cucamonga sometime in the next month, so keep your eyes open for that.
Well thats it for this week gang. I hope the weather holds out and you get a chance to get out on the water. If not, there's always next week.
Until then, tight lines and screamn drags.
If you have any questions, comments, reports, or fish photos please feel free to email me at tunachuck@gmail.com. You can also follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/tunachuck
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What surf fishing structure looks like. Fish Here!
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