22nd Street Sportfishing

        Today, I went fishing off a boat in San Pedro, CA. It is called the Monte Carlo, a boat made for half day trips for the 22nd street sportfishing buisiness. They have trips from 6-12 and 12:30-6. I took the second trip.

        I woke up today ready to fish. I had a good night's sleep thinking about where to fish. That morning, we thought to do something different. We looked up party boats that we could fish off of. We finally found one that we liked. 22nd street Sportfishing! My mom, Doda Annette, Jacob, and I booked the trip, got ready, and hit the road.

        When we got there, we bought the rods, hooks, and sinkers separately and then got on board. You have to set the rods up by yourself. Soon after the boat started to move, we docked right next to a structure on the water. It was a bait shop right in the harbor! The bait that we got was paid for by the boat. We saw seals jumping and diving around the shop while we were waiting. Once we got all of our bait, which was sardines, mackerel, cut squid, and other live bait fish. We set out to pass a lighthouse and go into the ocean.

       About 50 minutes passed before we got to our fishing spot, a place to catch sandads and sculpin. They have open tanks of the live bait and pieces of cut squid in the back of the boat for anyone to take. We used squid and small sardines to start. The first fish bit the hook. Doda Annette and I switched off reeling in the fish. We caught it! A sanddab! A sanddab is a flounder type fish, but smaller. It is a good fish to eat. Everyone on the boat seemed to catch a fish. We kept on catching sanddabs, but every one was catching a mix of sandads and sculpin. The person next to us caught lots of sculpin one after another. He was using a lure that had a lead tip which made the lure stay flat at the bottom. He also had a piece of squid on the hook. One time, we had a strong tug. Fish on! We reeled in as hard as we could, and we caught it! A sculpin! It was our only one of the day. Jacob caught some sanddabs. One was the biggest fish that he had ever caught!

       Since it was a successful spot we didn't move from it until near the end. Then we moved to a spot where people could catch sand bass and barracuda. Some people caught the sea bass', but most of the catches were barracudas. The barracuda is a fish on my list of fish to catch or fishing accomplishments. It was the first fish that I put on the list. I was excited and ready to catch one. I hooked a bait fish and dropped it down. After waiting for a bit, I felt a tug. The rod bent. I pulled up my rod to set the hook and....

       I missed. It was too late. I reeled up to see what happened, and I saw bite marks on the baitfish and its face was bitten into. I quickly put on a new fish, but no bite came my chance for catching one today was gone. Next time. There are barracudas in Miami too. I'll catch one someday.

       Today was a very productive day. We caught 12 fish total, 11 sanddabs and 1 sculpin. I caught or helped to catch 10 fish, and Jacob 4. I got to learn about catching barracuda. Today was a fun day of fishing.

Tips and tricks I learned today:

22nd street sportfishing is a good fishing service in San Pedro, CA, south of Los Angeles. The half day trips on the Monte Carlo take you to places to catch sculpin, sanddabs, sand bass, and barracudas. You can use live bait and/ or cut squid as bait. You set up the rods that you buy separate along with the sinkers and hooks.

A lead tipped lure can keep the lure flat and suspended over the bottom of the ocean.

When fishing for barracuda, be patient. Be ready to set the hook when the fish bites.

How to Use Worms as Bait

Worms are a classic bait for freshwater fish. The most popular way to hook them are to run the hook through the worm from one end, leaving a small piece to squirm around and attract the fish. You can find worms in the morning or at nighttime, but they show up more after it rained and made the soil wet.

Fishing at Haddon Lake

Today I went fishing with my brother and Zaide. We went to try out a new lake in camden county, NJ, which is near Philadelphia, PA. In the morning, we searched for some worms to go fishing with. After we found some and put them in a container with wet dirt, we got ready for the fishing trip. We set out to Haddon lake. There were a few people fishing there. We weren't catching fish for a while. We changed places until we found one that we liked that had little moss in the lake near the shore. We were down to our last worm, hoping that a fish would come and bite the hook. We were waiting with excitement for a fish to bite the hook. I picked up the rod, and then a fish took a nibble at the bait! I got ready, and I set the hook! Fish on! The line got stuck on a branch and it was really heavy. I was reeling it in, and I brought it in. The fish was still on! It was a Bluegill. Because of its colors I originally thought it was a Pumpkinseed Sunfish, which would have been a new species; it turns out to be a Bluegill because of the lack of a red edge on the black spot and the fact that there aren't any blue lines around the mouth and eyes. This was still a great day and taught me not to give up and that it's not over 'till it's over. Stay tuned! More posts coming soon!

Pedal Boat Fishing

Today, I went to a summer camp near Philadelphia that opened up for the weekend.  I decided to go fishing in the lake where, years ago, I had caught a gigantic large mouth bass that cut the line just as I was pulling it up.  For bait, I used worms that I picked in the backyard last night.  We went to the boating area to get a boat.  We chose a pedal boat because it was easy for my brother and me to fish in the back while my father and sister pedaled in the front.  As we set out, I put a worm on my hook.  I cast it out and waited.  There were no bites for what seemed like an hour.  But fishing takes patience.  Finally, the bobber started to shake.  Then it shook violently, and then sunk under the water and the rod was bending.  Fish on!!  I reeled in as hard as I could but the fish was fighting hard.  I managed to bring it up. It was a great Black Crappie!  After taking a few pictures, I unhooked it and let it go.  I put on another worm, but no more fish bit for the rest of the afternoon.  It was a successful day.  Stay tuned for more posts coming soon!