Category: wishing pole

• “Back” to home

  I have not been out to the Ventura Pier, my home base, for three weeks due to a vacation at the Grand Canyon, fishing with my son in Santa Barbara, CA, a big slow down in the fishing action at my home base, and a chronic back issue that flared up the last time I […]

  John Darling – Author

  November 6, 2019

  Bait, fishing, fishing pole, Grand Canyon, Mackerel, Pacific Ocean, Santa Barbara, CA, smelt, sportfishing, Stearns Wharf, The Grand Canyon, Ventura Pier, wishing pole

  Anchovies

• Touching Home

  Prior commitments, some delays in work being done on the homestead, and an appointment to a city advisory group has kept me away from fishing most of the last few weeks but when a day opened up yesterday, I decided to go over to the Ventura Pier, my home base, for a few hours because […]

  John Darling – Author

  October 4, 2019

  fishing, fishing pole, Mackerel, Pacific Ocean, Perch, Santa Barbara, CA, Stearns Wharf, Ventura Pier, wishing pole

  Channel Islands, Highway 101, Mackerel, Pacific Ocean, Perch, Santa Barbara, Ventura Pier

• Stearns Wharf III: Big Mac Attack!

  After my amazing day yesterday, I decided to visit Stearns Wharf again to see if the fishing is really is as good as it has been the last two times I was there.  I can now say that it is since this time I caught 33 Mackerel in 4 hours.  When I arrived at the […]

  John Darling – Author

  September 10, 2019

  Bait, fishing, fishing pole, fog, Mackerel, Pacific Ocean, Shakespeare Contender, sportfishing, Stearns Wharf, Ventura Pier, wishing pole

  fishing, fishing pole, Mackerel, Stearns Wharf, Ventura Pier

• Advice from Grandpa: Patience is the best bait (this worked today)

  As a 5 to 7-year-old kid (which were the years I spent fishing with grandpa or just talking about fishing with him), I wanted to catch a fish every time my bait hit the water while not understanding how unrealistic that was.  Grandpa told me more than once that “patience is the best bait” meaning […]

  John Darling – Author

  August 31, 2019

  Grandpa Duffy, Mackerel, Ventura Pier, wishing pole

  fishing, Grandpa, Mackerel, sportfishing, Ventura, Ventura Pier, wishing pole

• Today I was ready for anything…

  I have been having some issues with the line on my Wishing Pole which I keep on the ocean’s bottom hoping to lure in a big fish.  The line on my new reel was the 35-year-old line that I had on my old reel.  It was getting fragile and I did not have enough of […]

  John Darling – Author

  August 24, 2019

  Bait, fishing, fishing pole, Mackerel, smelt, Ventura Pier, wishing pole

  baiit, fishing, fishing pole, Shakespeare ATS30, Shimano Saguaro rod, sportfishing

• Furled Flags? Forget Fishing!

  Having fished for most of the past 60 years, I know that fishermen are a superstitious lot, but I am not one of them since I don’t believe that fishing has anything to do with luck.  So, I don’t go through any particular ritual before I fish or when I am fishing.  I also do […]

  John Darling – Author

  August 20, 2019

  fishing, fishing pole, Mackerel, Ventura Pier, wishing pole

  fishing, Mackerel, sportfishing, Ventura Pier, wishing pole