quick Malibu report

[Freespool]

Just recently recovered from a bad slice to the foot at Tourmaline and anxious to get the kayak back out there, I finally launched up in Malibu for the first time this past weekend. That area has some really beautiful water, kelp beds, and reefs. I will definitely be back. Unfortunately, not much catching. There were a few other kayak fishermen around and it seemed everyone was doing about the same, a few bass and that's it. There was bait EVERYWHERE! Both days I went out, I just found some kelp, dropped the sabiki and had all the bait I could use in a few minutes. There were lots of small anchovies around but the biters were mostly large smelt. Dragged a few of them around on the bottom, tossed plastics and Crocs, I even got bored and tossed out some sand crabs from the beach for a guitarfish, and that was it. I couldn't help but think where are the predators? Even the pelicans were laying around looking stuffed and not working too hard to eat. I wonder if there is such a thing as too much bait? Oh well, beautiful area to paddle around in and a great time back out on the water.

[dos ballenas]

Sounds like a nice spot. I bet there are yt around there. Too much bait can be a bad thing. No surf launch pics?

[Dennis Spike]

I've fished Malibu most my life and I believe "too much bait" is a real factor and often shuts off the bite. Sometimes though, the upper water columns are bait packed and you can get halibut and other bites while the lower column is clear of baitfish. Sonar makes that a lot easier to determine.

Yellowtail cruise Dume Canyon and the outer kelp beds to a mile out in the Fall below Mugu. Fish them with a live bait, even smelt work. The YT are a historic, well documented seasonal catch in the region.

[Freespool]

I've fished Malibu most my life and I believe "too much bait" is a real factor and often shuts off the bite. Sometimes though, the upper water columns are bait packed and you can get halibut and other bites while the lower column is clear of baitfish. Sonar makes that a lot easier to determine.

Yellowtail cruise Dume Canyon and the outer kelp beds to a mile out in the Fall below Mugu. Fish them with a live bait, even smelt work. The YT are a historic, well documented seasonal catch in the region.

Thanks for the tips Dennis, I will definitely give it a try next time I'm up there.

[robmandel]

yeah, seems that's been the 'bu story for a while lately. at least for me. malibu is my main area (hell, pretty much my only area!!) and last few times out it's been lots of bait and few fish. I do think the bass are stuffed to the gills. how could they not be :):):)

halibut are there pretty much all the time. drag a bait along the kelp edges, inside the kelp along the surf line, along the channels in the kelp, and outside the kelp lines a little deeper. sometimes dragging a bait while bouncing a swimmie can be productive. there's some deeper reefs out around dume as well that hold rock fish.

other thing is to pothole the kelp and fish vertically for the bass. lately, my best fishing has been on the drop. also, alot of bait along the shores. find the pelicans workign the shore line early and throw a swimmie or a spinner bait almsot to shore and work through the bait. the calico are in the eel grass stacking up along shore ambushing bait.

[Fiskadoro]

Yellowtail cruise Dume Canyon and the outer kelp beds to a mile out in the Fall below Mugu. Fish them with a live bait, even smelt work. The YT are a historic, well documented seasonal catch in the region.

Sadly this is likely to become a thing of the past as that area will likely soon be locked up in a MLPA.

The problem is ironically it's not fished enough, so there's not enough voices defending our rights to fish it!!

It's just ridiculous that one of the best areas for Kayakers in So Cal that get's the least pressure of any area we fish on our coast is now going to be closed in the name of conservation.

The sportboats and private boaters don't usually fish it because it's too far from their ports, that only leaves the Kayakers and Commercials. We don't cause any damage there but because rich housewives don't like seeing the light boats in front of their homes a few times a year we will be excluded with them.

This area is the LA areas La Jolla. Only a handfull of locals fish it but I would appeal to all kayakers to help us keep this area open for fishing in the future. If we can not motivate enough people to come foreward to keep this one off the maps it's going to be gone for good as both WG1 and WG3 show it closed on their maps. There is enough habitat and rock bottom to the west of Dume to satisfy the science guidelines so closing the water East of Dume is purely a political decision, goin through mainly to appease a handful of very wealthy land owers who do not want fisherman driving through their neighborhoods, or fishing in front of their essentially private beaches.

They've been trying to force us out of there for over a decade, now they might just do it.

All I can say is we better fish hard for those yellows now because unless we get some support or the fishing community mobilized and looking at that location it's likely going to be our last shot at them.

Jim



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[Freespool]

You're bumming me out with this reality check Jim! How far west of Dume is likely to get locked up? This is sounding like most of the Malibu coastline will be gone. If so, you're right, a complete shame. There's very little pressure there. The isolation from ports makes it a kayak fisherman's paradise.