|
|
Note: Ken Jones, second from left, is the author of Pier
Fishing in California. To keep current he visits and reviews
most piers in California each year. This year he visited Goleta and
was met by a group of Pier Rats from his message
board at Pierfishing.com. as well as by a number of Goleta Pier regulars*.
Posted 12-14-02 on
Pierfishing.com
Message board
Time: 7:30am - 3:00pm
Location: West side, mid-pier at the boat hoist
Tide: Hi 6:18am 4.9, Lo 1:06pm 1.1
Weather: Cloudy overcast, air temps 52-60 degrees, water 59 degrees
Water: clear to 3 feet, slight swell. Baitfish:sardines and jacksmelt
Got to the pier a little after 7am and ran into Ranger Dave who said there was a good turnout already and everybody was wondering where I was ... have to confess that last night's shovelnose slowed me down a bit but I bounced back as soon as I joined up with the group. Pictured above, left to right are:
Donblaze420, Ken Jones, Sinker*, Gerrit, Thresher, Ranger Dave*, Ruben*, Martin* and Skinner. Leapin' Bass*, and 2 regulars Charley* and Norm*, didn't get in the group photo but I was able to add their photos to the Goleta Pier Regulars page on my site. I'm getting a lot of positive feedback for that page ... seems like everyone enjoys having their pictures posted and being identified as a 'regular':)
This was the first time that the regulars got to meet the Pier Rats although many of them do lurk on pierfishing.com and finally were able to put a face to the people they have been reading about. Hopefully they were encouraged by today's outing to start posting.
It was a very successful gathering with everybody catching fish ... I was a little worried because the fishing has been slow for the past week but I guess the coming rains made a difference. In addition to the usual rockfish (and several were quite large) we landed quite a few perch, cabezon (4) and 2 small shovelnose plus a beautiful purple starfish.
I couldn't keep track of all the catches because we were spread out over the pier and I spent more time than usual just socializing. Much of the morning was spent getting to know Ranger Dave and picking up tidbits from him about the pier's history. He has been with the county Parks Department for 22+ years and he told me that when he retires he has been promised a bronze plaque at the foot of the pier in honor of his years of service - sure beats the proverbial gold watch! He mentioned another local, Pete Langlo, who has an extensive collection of historical pier photos and maintains a small 'museum' in his backyard filled with the photos and items he has salvaged over the years from the pier. I'm hoping to build another page just to feature his collection ... the more I get into this pier the more interesting people I discover. I guess that I'm not the only one who sees it as a special place :)
I also checked out the possibility of using one of the group picnic areas as a staging ground for a larger gathering in the spring since it has its own restrooms, kid's playground and large bar-b-que. That way we can accommodate the shoreliners, float tubers and pier anglers all in the same place as well as their families. The only catch is that the group areas close at dusk but Dave said he didn't see a problem with us staying after hours ... I guess everyone made a good impression on him!
One of the regular pier visitors, the Romero family (Mom and daughter) surprised me with an early Christmas gift - 6 home-made chicken tamales and their own special salsa. Needless to say I was overwhelmed but it didn't stop me from wolfing down several even before I got home. Now if I could just get more people to 'adopt' me I might never have to cook again!
I could go on and on but I won't abuse my senior member privileges ...
I just want to thank everybody who turned out and made this such a
special day. I've included more pictures in part 2
- enjoy! See you all again in the spring if not before!
Pierhead
~ Part Two ~
 |
 |