some thoughts from Joe Lunchbucket

My old friend Russ Izor used to call the local fishermen (individually anyway) - Joe Lunchbucket. That name has stuck with me since his passing. It's not that I have been fishing longer than anyone else - nor that I have been thoroughly engrossed in the Southern California fishing scene forever. However, I am relatively certain I can count myself amongst an ever-decreasing group of crusty old fishermen that remember when there were two, maybe three times the number of people going fishing. I checked the California Department of Fish And Game website and found out the number of fishing licenses now being sold in the 2000's are about half or less compared to the 1960's and 1970's. Now mind you the area I am most familiar with is just the area from Morro Bay / San Simeon area to the Mexican Border - but mainly in the SoCal area. I do not know what the impact is in the San Francisco area - but I would bet the effect is similar. When I started to really like fishing in the mid-1960's, the LA Times had regular articles on fishing, and there was a daily fish report - listing the fish count from the pier at San Simeon to San Diego. Which brings me to why I started this post. This is going to ramble a bit as I did not have my thoughts synchronized quite well enough - but here goes. So there were two to three times the fishermen actively fishing recreationally from the Central-Southern area to Southern California/San Diego. There was a small operation at San Simeon Pier with party boats running daily for rockfish, as well as at least one (probably more) - Virg's in Morro Bay. Next there was Santa Barbara - Sea Landing, I think. Then Oxnard/Port Hueneme area - mainly Channel Islands Sportfishing Company (CISCO's) - a whole flotilla of boats fishing rockfish during the winter months at the channel islands. Not really sure what they fished during spring/summer - as I was fully engaged further south. Then there was a couple of boats running out of Paradise Cove. A quaint little place north of Malibu - with great calico bass fishing. Malibu Pier - who involved in fishing would not remember Malibu? I wrote about this in an earlier post. A few boats and a barge. It was fabulous. Next is Santa Monica Pier. About the only boat I remember out of Santa Monica Pier was the Kiaora. I am sure there were more. I am not sure - but I think Marina Del Rey's landing was a relatively recent business. Of the two piers north of Redondo Beach - I think Hermosa Pier was the one with the 1/2 day boat. There may have been a boat running out of Manhattan Pier - but not to the best of my recollection. Everybody knew Redondo Sportfishing. At one point, they had three (3) barges and a full range of 1/2 to full day boats - City of Redondo and Redondo Special running 1/2 days. I recall the Sharpshooter and New Dina Lee running the 3/4 days - not at the same time, but later on towards the 70's and 80's. The island boats were the Pursuit and Reel Special. Lots of activity. Going south around the Palos Verdes Peninsula now - Norm's Landing. I don't remember much of the early days of Norm's - but I do know it was the initial home of the two (2) 75 foot Drakes - Electra and Toronado, and the local boat Sport King. It was always a huge decision to decide which landing to go to in San Pedro - Norm's or 22nd Street Landing. 22nd Street Landing was always a busy place. Their boats and skippers were well known for consistently catching the most and biggest fish. Frank Hall (Sharpshooter) and Russ Izor (he had a few boats here - but I first met Russ Izor on the Indian in 1974) had boats there. It was always tough getting reservations there - it was always full. At that time I did not know a lot of folks fishing - so getting on a charter was out of the question. At any rate another busy area. Next is the Long Beach area - Pierpoint Landing and Pacific Landing. To me as a 10 year old kid, Pierpoint was like Disneyland. There was a tank with seals, a fish market called Dearden's (where I sold blue perch for .25 cents a pound), another flotilla of boats - both open party and charter. I could not get enough of the place. It even had its own TV show. WOW. Right down the street was Pacific Landing. There were not as many boats but was certainly a viable choice when the boats at San Pedro and Long Beach were full - or just wanted to go some place different. Next in line south was Belmont Pier. There was at least one boat that ran an operation there. Not sure about Huntington Beach Pier. Not sure I ever went there as a kid. Then Newport Beach - Davey's Locker and Art's. I think there was a few boats that ran out of there - but with all the choices between Redondo Beach and Long Beach - why go any further south? I know there was also an operation at Oceanside Harbor with open party and charter boats - but not sure there was anything at Dana Point Harbor until later. Then there is San Diego. Another big recreational fishing center with lots of boats and landings. This was the place to come for those 'long-range, multi-day' trips to Mexico. Albacore and Yellowtail Derbies - a multitude of open party boats leaving every night during the summer - full. Even in the winter time, there used to be good White Sea Bass bites at the flats, and Yellows at the Coronados. Did not get to go to San Diego much when I was a kid. Too far.

So, think about it - all these businesses catering to the recreational fisherman. Lots of fishermen. Which means lots of fishing licenses being sold - and the accompanying equipment. If you look now, from the north - there is three (3) separate operations between Morro Bay and Port San Luis. But, as rockfish and albacore being the only species fished for - the season is between April and December every year. A collective five (5) boats fighting for a limited number of fishermen - a seasonal one no less. Rockfishing seems to remain reasonably good - but albacore? They have not been caught in any numbers for a few years now. There is a small operation running one (1) boat in Santa Barbara - seasonal here also, and mainly rockfish. At Oxnard/Port Hueneme the huge crowds that used to gather around every winter for the rockfishing extravaganza are now a thing of the past. There are a few boats here - but the crowds...sparse at best. Nothing until you get to Redondo Beach. Recently, Redondo Sportfishing went out of business. There is a boat or two running operations right off the boat. Then there is two (2) operations in San Pedro - 22nd Street and L.A Harbor (ex-Ports of Call) Landings with local and island trips - but, certainly nothing like it used to be. Pierpoint Landing was replace for a while by Queen's Wharf Sportfishing - but was revived in a new location. The Toronado all day and Victory 3/4 day are the mainstays here. I think Queen's Wharf has morphed into something else - but not sure what. Newport Harbor still has Davey's - but what else I do not know. Small operations at Dana Point and Oceanside. San Diego is nowhere near what it used to be. Since albacore was the mainstay of the summer season - the absence of albacore put a huge damper on things here. Many of the boats are just not able to get much interest. I mean, what for? A lot of operations are resorting to 'hoop-netting'.....for lobster. Huh? That ain't fishin'!!! The only vestige of successful operations remaining was the long-range boats. But with a consistent - but limited clientele, the recent addition of newer boats has hurt these operations also.

Well, that was a bit of a memory dump. So is our local ocean fishery that much worse than what it was forty or fifty years ago? Is there just too many choices for kids now to get involved in besides fishing? I guess I feel fortunate to have seen a small bit of recreational fishing in its heyday. Recently, I asked a friend of mine if the recreational fishing environment was any better on the east coast. Perhaps this is a case of things always looking brighter on the other side of the rainbow. I don't know.