Tag: Pacific Ocean

• The Off Season

  I have not posted anything in a while for one simple reason: I have had nothing to post about. I have fished in the Pacific Ocean off and on for nearly 40 years and to date, this is the worst fishing season I can remember after last season being one of the best. I guess […]

  John Darling – Author

  October 28, 2020

  Bait, Calico Bass, California White Croakers, Cormorant, Dungeness Crab, fishing, fishing pole, fog, Goleta Pier, Mackerel, Pacific Ocean, Pelicans, Perch, Port Hueneme Beach, Port Hueneme Pier, Professional Fisherman, Sand Crab, Santa Barbara, CA, Sea Gulls, Sharks, Skate Ray, smelt, Stearns Wharf, Ventura Pier

  fishing pole, Pacific Ocean, sportfishing

• The Pond and the Pacific

  The Pond I was invited to spend the night at a magnificent 200-acre property called Ranch Grande located about 20 miles north of Ojai, CA, so this week my wife and I took the owner up on his offer.  You can do a lot of things there like horseback riding, canoe, rowboat, or paddle boat […]

  John Darling – Author

  June 11, 2020

  Uncategorized

  COVID-19, Grandpa, Mackerel, Ojai, Pacific Ocean, Rockfish, Ventura Pier

• The Pacific and the Pandemic

  I haven’t been out to the Ventura Pier since all hell broke loose because of the current worldwide pandemic even though I know fishing out there is not prohibited under California’s Marshall Law. The fishing has been way off due to the cold Pacific water anyway, but I had been checking in now and again. […]

  John Darling – Author

  March 30, 2020

  Uncategorized

  Egret, fishing, Goleta Pier, Pacific Ocean, sportfishing, Stearns Wharf, Ventura Pier

• “Catching” Up…

  It has been a while since my last blog post but that doesn’t mean that I have not been out to my home pier in Ventura to check on fishing conditions, it just means that there is still little to report due to the continued cold water in the Pacific Ocean. The weather in Ventura […]

  John Darling – Author

  March 10, 2020

  Uncategorized

  Pacific Ocean, smelt, Ventura, Ventura Pier, Wall Eyed Perch

• The Return of the King

  In an unusual occurrence, my part of SoCal experienced King Tides in back-to-back months. Last month I went out to the Ventura Pier to see if the fishing picked up despite the cold Pacific Ocean water and for the most part the catch was better although still below what it is like when the water […]

  John Darling – Author

  February 10, 2020

  Uncategorized

  fishing, King Tides, Pacific Ocean, Santa Barbara, smelt, sportfishing, Stearns Wharf, Ventura Pier

• Of Kings and Legends

  As I promised in my last post, I went out to the Ventura Pier to fish during the first day of a King Tide event that is coming to our shores. Legend has it that fishing is always betters during these very high tide times so I thought I would check the veracity of this […]

  John Darling – Author

  January 10, 2020

  Uncategorized

  King Tides, Pacific Ocean, smelt, ultralite, Ventura Pier