catalina island

[matthewlsteward]

Does anyone know anything about float tubing catalina island?
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[TubeDude]

[cool] It's a long swim from Long Beach, but if you take your craft over on a boat it's great. On the lee side of the isand there are several beaches you can can get out of the boat and launch your donut dinghy. If you have access to a vehicle on the island, almost anywhere the road meets the water you can find a spot to launch.

It's protected in the main harbor area, so you have to get away from all the activity. I used to do well around the Isthmus Kelp. Lots of calicos, with occasional bonito and barracuda. Even a stray yellowtail once in awhile, if you get lucky and have the right lure on at the time. Also some big nasty sheepshead and lots of catalina perch. I love to light tackle them with small jigs...or flylining a small piece of squid on a size 4 or 6 bait hook. Squid is also good to tip small jigs with.

For calicos, go with big plastic scampis or swimbaits. Most of the fish will be small, but there are a few toads around. Throw blue and white or chrome hardware for the speedsters. Bounce anything that looks like a squid or anchovy on the bottom and you could hang either white seabass (daybreak best) or a big flattie or two.

The problem with hand to fin combat with big fish from a float tube or 'toon is that you got no lift. Bigger fish will tow you around. I've been spooled by a couple of homeguard yellows. The others will just play in and out the kelp fronds until you break off.

I take several rods in my rod rack...from 6# medium light spinning, to 20# on a 7 ft. fast tip conventional rig, for tossing iron and yo yoing. I use bass sized baitcasters spooled with good 10# for most fishing.

Watch out for big bull sea lions during mating season. Also, there are still a few big black sea bass that can scare the heck out of you when you see one looking up at you through that clear water.

Two words of advice. Don't go alone and pay attention to the weather and the tides. Normally you don't have to sweat wind or currents if you stay close on the lee side, but if you get out into a current you can get a long lonely ride that you can't kick your way out of. The fishing is best in close anyway, and you will get a shot at a lot of fish that don't get molested much by the boating fraternity.

Hope that helps. Be happy to address any specific questions.
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[matthewlsteward]

Thanks alot. I think that will be enough info to keep me busy for a while. Only one more question....is there anywhere to get live bait out there like maybe avalon or would I just have to try and catch my own?
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[TubeDude]

[cool] I don't know what the current situation is, or whether they have a receiver at Avalon. Unless you are dead set on fishing bait, however, I'm going to suggest that you might possibly catch more and bigger fish on artificials in many cases. One notable difference is squid. When those babies are making babies, the white seabass, yellowtail and calicos get pretty picky about eating anything but live squid. You can sometimes jig some up if you have sonar on your unit and can locate a school. A shiny sinker with a treble hook, and a few jigs above it will not only put some squid in your bait holder, but some "brown baits" for big calicos too.

If you can't get live bait, pitch some big plastics with a strip of fresh frozen squid. That will catch almost anything around the island. But, I'll tell you, if you bring nothing but what you would throw for the bass in the So Cal lakes, you can wear you arm out. Shad imitating crank baits, jerk baits, plastic swim baits, spoons. It all works. The only difference is that in salt water a two pound calico can trash your rod or break your 10# line. Tie them tail to tail with a largie of the same size and the calico will drag the scales off the freshwater contender.

I live in Phoenix these days, and I really miss the island...and the whole coast. I've tubed from about the middle of Baja to about the middle of Oregon. There's still a lot of spots that need my attention, but since I have discovered the Sea of Cortez over here, I will make do.

Imagine a dawn launch, off a smooth white sand beach. Air temp 80 degrees. Water temp 85 degrees. No waders. No surf. Water is absolutely calm and crystal clear.

You sit back in the kick boat, make about ten or twelve good kicks, turn around and begin catching fish. It is not uncommon to catch fifty fish in a row...representing twenty or more species. Using medium spinning gear and medium to medium heavy baitcasting...eight or ten pound line...most of the fish will average one to three pounds. On an average day you will hook several five to ten pounders and some you never see. The either dive into the rocks or decide to visit relatives on the other side of the Gulf.

Yeah, I miss Catalina...but I don't lose any sleep over it. By the way, have you ever tried drifting whole squid at night in Newport's back bay for sharks and rays? A bodacious bat ray will definitely make your string sing and tow you against a flowing tide. What, me crazy?
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[ROMEROFISHERKING]

[unimpressed]Try to Contact the Avalon Harbor Master's Office, and Consult with them first...I would expect that you would need a Radio,portable via Channel # for 911 emergency,and plan of fishing area Prior to Venturing Out.PERIOD. If The Coast Guard Must Respond to A 911 for You,"YOU" better have a Good Savings Account Balance.........Kayak's ARE the Choice PWC,inshore around Long Point,Camp Fox, and especailly, the ismuth.....Think Of A 50lb. White Sea Bass, TOWING YOU,on a Kayak, "Very Scary" 1st. Timer's Boyance,on a S.O.T. is Streamline,and can be Selighride, Fun. But "IN MY OPINION" Tubber's would Create a LOT OF DRAG, and YOU CAN BE PULLED DOWN! Much More Rapidly,Because, "GRAVITY SUCKS"...Boyance Factor Minimum......Hey, you may be the First!......SharkDonuts Beware[shocked]...........Just BE SAFE........The OCEAN HAS NO CONSCIENCE.......like "I" have no brain[]........lol....lol....
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[gvanzant]

This reply is a little tardy. My computer is not cooperating. If you have fished the island as much as I have, you will note that with the "locals" most all fish from small skiffs. The idea is to get among the fish, especially the white sea bass. You can get that tube right on the beach where the silver giants like to patrol. Look for mint green water on any of the beaches that stretch around the island. Drift along as close as possible casting to shore in inches of water, allow the bait to bump along with your drift. Almost always the current will turn out to sea as you approach the end of the beach. If you don't get any pick-ups swim back and start all over again. The guys that catch the bigger fish are the locals and they get them mostly in these dirty green beach areas. Use squid as fresh as possible. Frozen will work just fine. Sea bass are not finicky and if you find them on the beach it can be wide open. Meantime, the big calicos also like these areas. Catalina island is a great fishing spot but you need current and those green beaches signify that a current is running.
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[JapanRon]

Hi there,

Check out www.catalina.com for a lot of info on how to get there and what's avaliable when you arrive. Using the Google.com search engine will get you lots of Catalina Island related websites. I want to go too but I'm not going until I find out the mean current speeds on the leeward side of the island in January and Feburary with average tides and moderate wind close in-shore.

This information is hard to find! Now, I'm down to asking some of the shops there what's the scoop.

Catalina has some Winter storms called northeasters or something like that where the storm blows in from the east. That's promising! instead of getting blown out to sea, you'd be smashed, folded and stapled up against the shore or worse.

I ain't giving up and will continue planning.

Regards,

tsurikichi
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