introduction to fishing

I got to the USofA at the age of 8 - in 1963. A bothersome inherent condition I've had all my life is a memory in dire need of improvement. I tell this hot dog story all the time. When I was young - in Japan, I used to go the the department store in Ikebukuro - Seibu. I used to love to get the hot dogs - served cut in half. Not knowing any better, I thought all hot dogs in the world were served cut in half. What a surprise I got when I got to Los Angeles, to the nearest burger stand and got served a WHOLE hot dog - not half, but the WHOLE hot dog. What a place this 'America' is. I've had an affair with hot dogs ever since. So much for the non-fishing stories for the moment. My dad liked to fish. Somehow, after I got into it big - he just seemed to lose interest. But as my interest amplified geometrically - he would take me and drop me off at different places. I'm not sure where I got introduced to fishing first. It had to be either the rocks along Playa del Rey/Marina Del Rey breakwater, using pieces of shrimp for bait. I recall catching small calico bass. There must have been more to it, but that's all I remember. The other place I recall vividly is fishing at Malibu Pier. Now that I think about this, fishing from the rocks must have come first. Because the fishing at Malibu Pier was from the barge. 'The Star of Malibu' it was called. Big bonito, mackerel, halibut and the occasional black sea bass. The ferry boat - 'Wae We Go'. I can still hear the announcer over the PA - ' In a few minutes, the 'Wayyyyyyy WeGooooooo' will be pulling up alongside the pier for the ride out to the barge'. I'm not sure about some of the verbiage - but, the 'Wayyyyyy WeGoooooo' part is an absolute. I had a 'Optimo' spinning reel - I don't remember the brand of rod. I would think at that time, being sold at Thrifty Drug Store was 'Tuna King'. I recall hooking large bonito and having them just ripping line off the reel. Fun. At this stage of the game, everyone else was catching the most fish. I'd hook the occasional fish - but, then as today - a few folks were catching the majority of the fish. After these ventures, I recall my dad coming home from fishing with big yellowtail. This was my introduction to Pierpoint Landing. More to come tomorrow.