Tides looked great. Water Looked Great. I ran up and down the coast looking at our usual spots and found lots of great looking water. The only spot with a hug whirlpool mass of kelp was where our Plan A was going to be at the Casino. I forgot Ben was down with 3 of his buddies, so they came down to join us.
They fished closer to the reef and we had a lot of beach covered. TONS of bait thieves out there and I finally got the right kind of hit! I should have just set the hook, but waited for the rod to load up again and he dropped it. I reeled in to no bait and my brand new leader just shredded 3" from the top of the hook, so I had him, but screwed up by not setting it soon enough.
Then the Lobster Poachers came... North of the Reef is off limits, but like most lobster poachers, the law doesn't apply to them. Of course they were diving right over our lines and even got tangled up in Ben's line he had out. So not only are they poaching, but they are screwing up our fishing. My dream of seeing a great white breach on one of the guys never came to fruition.
Well, the bites were maddening again after they finally poached their limits and left the water. The kelp started to move in, albeit not much, and we called it the night. One good shot and I couldn't make it happen, but with all of that bait in the water, it might be a good weekend.
Until next tide!
https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Enforcement/CalTIP
