Island Grissom

First trip to Island Grissom this season and it was definitely a sub-par day. A little windy, and little choppy, and not much action I caught a couple of calicos, a couple of barred sand bass and a juvenile barracuda. All dinks. I think part of the reason it was slow was that there was a seal working the island as well. I saw him three times.

The good news is that the kelp beds have recovered from last summer's die off, so it makes for good habitat.

Before I got my tube, I used to fish from the little jetty that sticks out from the shore there and the island was so close and yet unreachable without a boat. I just knew it had to be holding fish all around it. So it was one of the first places I went in my tube and I've done well there.

It does, of course, have it's drawbacks. Not the least of which (for me) is the 300 yard hike across soft sand from the parking lot to the water. In the summer, that sand gets blisteringly hot for your walk back to the car and it's a slog no matter what. I often have to stop half way and take a rest.

It's also more exposed than being in a harbor, so it can get choppy and it's not uncommon to have a bit of a bumpy ride. You're behind the Long Beach wall, so the swells are never massive, but they can put you on the rocks if you're not paying attention.

Despite the drawbacks, I still like the place and plan to go back several times this season.

It wasn't worth the time to edit a video, but here's one of the little calico's I caught. I love their markings. I'm just inside the marina here and the island is protecting me from the wind. The wall in the background is the little wall that protects the marina entrance. A few minutes after this, I hooked something BIG but it broke off and took my lure and I'm afraid I said a bad word.

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Nice!!! We so need to get out there.... that's totally in my back yard.

Thanks for the story. And the infrequent bad word....

- K

I have yet to fish Island Grissom but have spent many seasons in front of it
surf fishing between 1st Place and 5th place.

It seems as though that area is quite the holding nursery for juveniles.
I had stopped fishing over there a couple of years back because I had finally come
to realize that I would have to beach somewhere between 300 - 400 short Hali's before I
could finally beach a legal.
My best legal from that area is 31".

Maybe some time you'll invite me to tag along and we'll do the hot sand walk together,
I enjoy fishing kelp beds. Give me a shout out.

Thanx OB for the fish report with pic.

SP Dan     <"))><

Thanks guys!

I forgot to mention that the short kick to the island is a plus and I've definitely hooked a few Hali shorts working just outside the surf along the beach there. I'd like to do a full session just working down the beach and back.

I've hooked 5 or 6 big somethings out there. A couple were almost certainly rays, as they just headed straight for deep water and didn't fight. But the rest fought me, took respectable amounts of line and eventually broke off. I'm sure there are legal Hali's working that channel between the island and the little wall.

Anyway, next time I'm ready to brave the beach, I'll post an invite and we can give it our best shot!

There is a trench that runs parallel to beach,
I found out that it's best to work along the trench line.

Thanks for the tip!

Good for you getting and catching a few.
I think we all have that spot we are certain holds an epic day of fishing yet we have small results so far

Thanks for sharing.