I used to body surf a ways south of there (South of Pico). Didn’t notice all those perch in there with me.

Here are some facts that would boggle the mind of most Angelenos:

Most of the fish we catch is in the whitewater IN FRONT of the waves.

The highly prized Corbina (1/2 to 5 lbs) is a salt-water-like-cat-fish that can easily be seen sucking up sand crabs in literally a few inches of water.

Just today one of the local experts was saying he’s been catching some big perch the past few weeks only about eight feet from the water’s edge (maybe as shallow as a foot or so of water).

The local bay teems with sand sharks and bat rays (some of the easiest fish to catch).

BIG thresher sharks are not uncommon just a few dozen yards from water line. As are porpoises that can be seen cruising daily.

The Sta Monica bay is full of perch, croaker, bass and halibut. It IS a wonder how they do survive!

(What’re digital cameras for, after all????)

Bon appetit!

Fascinating. I’ve seen dolphins (the mammals, not the fish) within 10 feet of the Pacific Coast Highway when I used to commute by motorcycle (Suzuki 350) from Big Rock area, Malibu to Hughes Aircraft (Inglewood - LAX)! They were at a curve near Topanga if I remember right, and would play with people in the water there.

At my favorite beach in Hawaii I’ve seen fish in the thin water of breaking surf. Never seem to touch them when I’m in the water though.

As I once mentioned, I used to body-surf in the Ocean Park area (until hurricane surf with falling through a 12-15 foot curl onto sand damaged my back). COLD…. water. I surfed for an hour after the injury without having any idea it was a problem. Then I got out of the water, and it was over a year, a gazillion doctors and meds, and then a chiroquackter - the latter solved the remaining problem through manipulation. Never saw any fish.

No wonder I can’t catch the things. They’re so sneaky.

BTW, I assume people know not to eat the Fugu Fish (puffers)? I don’t know if you have them there but they are all over Hawaiian watters. Their livers contain tetrodoxin (sp?), one of the most deadly neurotoxins known. Naturally, they are a Japanese delicacy.

My wife used to swim in the deeper water off of Palos Verdes until one day something much bigger than she swam with her Dah de dah duh dah de dah duh ….

Here in Arizona, our most invisible but common fish is the sand trout. These are found in the normally dry washes that are tributaries to the Gila River system. They eat normal stuff when the water is flowing, but small reptiles when it is dry. I’ll try to get a picture some time.

And guess what else - it’s not nearly as toxic as I thought (gotta have a chat with the neuroscientist in the family):

“A dose of 1-2 mg of purified toxin can be lethal. Reported cases from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have documented toxicity with ingestion of as little as 1.4 ounces of puffer fish.”

This compares with botulinum toxins at .4 ng/KG vs teterodoxin at about 16,000 ng/KG (one form may be 8ng/KG).

And now back to the fun part of fishing. In AZ, the deserts have normal lake fish - bass, crappie, bluegill, catfish; the canals in Phoenix have Tilapia and sometimes trout; the higher elevations (about 1/3 or the state) have trout, bass, northern pike). There are a number of high mountain streams and lakes that I like, having grown up partly in Albuquerque and fished in the Sangre de Christos.

I think most people use fake lizards. Most washes are catch and release, artificial bait only.

Please let us fellow anglers know what you and your nephew used for bait.

Thanks!

Ken

I am eager to know.

We dredge our perch in seasoned cornmeal and fry.

Serve with lemon or lime.

They taste better below the border, I find, say around Punta Cabras.

Nice to know you fish. Longtime fan, just found this site and was lured out of lurkdom.