Friday May 19th 2006. 9:30 - 11:30
The gate at Manresa was closed at 9:05 this morning, so I continued to sunset. Maybe its an omen, who knows? Better fishing elsewhere..
My trips have been really hit and miss lately; mostly miss, it feels like. Time to fish is short, so I have to be pretty lucky to hit it just right, within the 1.5 - 2 hrs that I have to fish.
Anyway, sunset looked pretty good from up high, and a guy in the parking lot said there were small fish there -- he was heading further south in search of bigger ones. Me, I thought that any fish sounded good, so I rigged up and headed down. 8 1/2', 6wt Lamiglas rod, 27' T-8 and 20lb amnesia is the current setup. Nice and light, and I've been anticipating those gratifying perch-tugs at the other end. Surf is pretty calm, and it looks like low tide. Some channels are apparent, and some small currents and holes, too.
So I cast and I fish. There is a little kelp, but not bad. The wind is up a little and I wonder about if maybe I should be fishing the 8 wt outfit. My casting feels off today, for some reason, but later I start getting it again. I keep throwing these 'S' curves with the shooting head. Possibly in part wind-induced. I work my way north to where the "Private Beach" sign is, before turning back, not stopping _too_ long in any one spot. I only had ONE hit during this time, and by the time I turn, I'm feeling pretty dejected.. I mean its nice to be out and all, but it would be even nice to catch a fish, you know. I reel in and walk back, but halfway there I get the line out again at one of the likely-er looking spots I fished earlier. A dead sandcrab was rolling around in the wash, so maybe...
Anyway, I'm thinking that writing this diary without any catches is getting old and not very interesting..., on the other hand I do want a record of my fishing experience, so maybe I should keep a private file of outings I don't want to write about, take the thing offline, or... OH, there is a TUG ON THE LINE, WOW! Well now; a nicely sized barred perch took the rusty squirrel fly (barbed, just in case).. landed, pulled up, photographed and released. About 8-9". Within 3 casts I catch a second, similar fish, that also took the rusty squirrel. Coool.
Just goes to show.. persistance pays off, and catching a fish changes everything. I cast some more, but no more hits, and I need to head in to work anyway. Mood is much improved :).
Tides for today: 2006-05-19 01:38 PDT Moonrise 2006-05-19 02:44 PDT 4.70 feet High Tide 2006-05-19 05:56 PDT Sunrise 2006-05-19 10:01 PDT -0.56 feet Low Tide 2006-05-19 11:59 PDT Moonset 2006-05-19 17:55 PDT 4.16 feet High Tide 2006-05-19 20:12 PDT Sunset 2006-05-19 22:59 PDT 2.85 feet Low Tide