Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge - Monterey Trip 6/20/2017. loooong W/pic. Part one. Non-kayak

This report is more of a travel log than a fishing report, although some fishing was done and some fish was caught.

My wife had a week off from looking after my grandson, so I suggested a trip to Monterey Bay. We would do some sightseeing and visit some piers on the way that I have not been on them up to now.

If I do some fishing on those piers, I could check them out as fished piers. This will put me a bit closer to my friend Ken Jones. He has fished every pier in California for his book, Pier Fishing in California, 2nd edition. A record that would be very hard to beat.

Join me if you like and perhaps if you decide to do the same trip, you can benefit from my experience. Due to the size of the report, it is broken in two different posts.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

We got on the road not as early as I had planned, but what the heck we were on vacation.

The first stop was a restaurant called Marmalade café in Malibu for breakfast. It is by the Cross Creek, where steelhead used to run. We passed by the Malibu pier and noticed that the section toward the end was fenced off.

From there we took the PCH north toward Ventura. We saw the pier, but did not see anybody fishing on it.

To stretch our legs and see what is biting, we stopped at the Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbra. I did not fish it then, but I did fish it on the way home later.

1-There was some major repair going on, on the pier.
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2-Never the less, there was still room to fish.
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After driving through a scenic route we passed the Cachuma Lake which had more water in it now. We stopped at Solvang for lunch and again getting out of the car.

It was hot.

3-Next stop was Pismo Beach pier. The major work there had started few months back and it is expected to last two more years according to a supervisor at the pier.
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I had made reservation to stay one night at Morro Bay to keep the driving reasonable. Our hotel was very close to the bay and clean. It was also affordable for where it was located.

4-Pictured is the famous land mark there called Morro Rock.
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5-You could play chess with these large pawns.
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6-Looking south at the bay.
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7-Power plant at the north end. I wonder if they dump hot water in the bay. We noticed a heavy current going away from the plant.
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8-I love it when an object is used for a completely different purpose as well.
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A place to tie ship rope as bench seat.

9-This looked like a promising place to fish from.
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10-Then I saw this. Dooh.
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11-A pioneer.
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12-We sat at the covered patio for dinner with the same view as the restaurant. Unlike the restaurant, there was no waiting to be seated.
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13-Oysters were delicious with garlic fries to boost.
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We also had sanddab which was delicious, but I neglected to take pictures.

14-Both times, we had a show of by an otter having its own dinner.
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15-Remember him?
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16-For some reason there was a fascination with mermaids. Lots of toys and costumes.
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We visited the shops and did some shopping. Since there was still light, decided to go to Cayucos pier.

17-Next pier to visit was Cayucos pier. Not easy to pronounce.
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18-Lots of plaques routed to the railing donated by citizens.
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19-Looking south from the pier.
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We drove back to Morro Bay.

In the evening after my wife went to bed, I got some frozen sardine along with some tackle at a local liquor store. I had brought some rods, but forgot to put my tackle bag in the car.

I fished in the front of the rock, where the statues were located. See picture above #5.
I fished for about two hours and I was cold. No bites for me but saw a local land a small fish.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

We found a small coffee shop and had breakfast before getting on the way. Due to a major land slide further north on HWY 1, we had to turn inland before town of Cambria to get on 101 north. That took us through a lot of wineries with signs for wine tasting. No stop for us, since I was driving.

20-We made a pit stop at a very nicely built rest stop on the way north. Lots of squirrels and birds.
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After arriving in Salinas, we once more went west to go to Monterey and specifically the aquarium.
We had a bit of hard time finding parking space. Going rate, if you can find a spot was $10-15. We were lucky to find a 4 hour parking meter.

The aquarium was not cheap either. $40.00 for seniors and $50.00 for general admission.

21-The main stop of the trip was the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
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22-There are flatfish hiding in both colored sand. They change their color accordingly.
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23-These are (Chitons) the bait that commercial lobster fisherman use in Mexico.
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24-The caption read that the fish uses trash to live in it. I think it should have stated not to throw trash in the ocean.
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25-The main reason that city of Monterey was established. Sardine.
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26-Pictures like this remind us why we don’t have as much fish anymore.
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27-Every ten seconds or so, there was huge amount of water pouring over the glass. The kids and adults alike enjoyed being under waterfall without getting wet.
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28-More aquarium pictures.
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29-The main tank of the aquarium that is seen in the brochures.
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30-Various views from the aquarium balconies. There was a kid’s scuba lesson in the shallow pool.
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31-I wanted to dress appropriately for the occasion.
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32-Ummm; lobster.
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33-Huge school of anchovies swimming freely in the tank with other fish. Not too many were eaten.
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34-Not sure what this guy was. I should have looked for the sign.
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35-The aquarium used to be a cannery before. These are the boilers for the cannery.
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36-Huge displays.
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37-Of course there is always a shop to sell you souvenirs.
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38-More display pictures.
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39-Hammerhead shark.
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40-Dorado.
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To be continued: