My friend had a private pond on their cabin property up in northern Arizona. One day he brought over a big bag of Purina "Trout Chow". It looked just like the dry dog food bag. He grabbed a fist full of the little brown pellets and threw them into the water. A boil of trout appeared to gobble them up. He said he was told that the Trout Chow was what they used at the hatchery to fatten them up. Maybe that's what you're referring to as "rabbit pellets"?

NO! do NOT do it with a pike. it will shred your thumb and it will bleed badly, dyeing all your line red. it's called "Pike thumb". I will never do it again.

if you're bait is too close to the bottom, it's possible that the hits are from crawfish or even turtles. to prevent the false hits, try a slip bobber set up. you can pre-set the depth of your bait below the bobber, to keep it off the bottom. blue gill are not bottom feeders, to my knowledge. taught my kids to fish by catching unlimited blue gill from the shore on almost every cast, using small bugs we caught under the rocks, on a tiny hook, with a tiny bobber. no need to cast very far, and two pound line is all you need. weight of hook and bug was enough to cause it to sink slowly. no need for added weight.

What bait/lures did you use?

what body of water are you on? what lures/bait did you use?

thanks. that's the kind of stuff this site is all about. BTW-I like sugar bear, but it's actually "saguarobear". My son went to Saguaro high school in Scottsdale, and then played FB for the Cal Bears, so my first username was a combination of the two: saguarobear. I've stuck with it for the last 20 years or so.

what body of water produced such beauties?

Manresa beach, about 30 minutes east/south of SCruz is known for big stripers and sea bass, but's the surf is pretty aggressive and you'll need a long pole to get the bait out just beyond the waves.

for a friendlier locations, try the jetty at Moss Landing, or any of the several beaches between SCruz and Pescadero.

I'm sure you will easily find the spots on the piers where fishing is allowed. you should see the other fisherpersons all over the area.

FYI-there's a point that looks like an excellent spot to fish not too far from the piers, and possibly less crowded and easier to get to. it's at the jetty next to 628 Ocean View Blvd., Pacific grove, CA 93950. The Google aerial shows what looks like a fishing dock just off the jetty. if you check it out let us know.

lso there is a nice lake just north of Monterey in El Estero park. I didnt get a chance to wet a line there but it sure looked inviting.

Last summer I cruised from SCruz to Half Moon bay, checking out potential fishing spots. There area about 10 easy to reach surfishing beaches between SCruz and Pescadero. Look for shoreline next to natural points/jetties and fish the turbulence behind the breaking waves. if there are sandfleas in the area, it's a sure bet to catch the perch and whatever else might be in the shallow water. ditto with all the other local baits.

There are also a couple bridges along the way where small creeks drain into the ocean. from the estuary inland, they can be great spots to see if anything is coming from or going back to the ocean. I've always like a slip bobber set up for that kind of water, but anything that will float or drift in the current should be good. If nothing else, it's a much calmer fishing environment and can be available when the beaches are crowded.

I dont recommend fishing from the rocks since the ocean can produce "rogue" waves that are very dangerous. That said, fishing near structure can be productive.

Another tip that might be helpful-if you can take a Sabiki rig to the middle of the pier at SCruz, you will catch many "shiners" (anchovies?) that can be good bait, cut or whole, if they dont degrade too much after capture.

Boat, kayak, tube or shore?

Wherever you end up fishing, get the longest pole you can. mine is 15' (three five foot sections). most of the shore line around there is fairly steep, with waves that crash straight down, so it's necessary to be able to cast as far as possible to get over the tops of the waves and survive the blast from the crashing waves, and the swirling behind them. in the natural course of things, the fish eat whatever is churned up by the waves (like sand crabs/fleas). swarms of anchovies are constanty cruising by, usually followed by pelicans or gulls, so that's a cue to launch something shiny as far as you can and bounce it back.

Some of the people use a heavy ball or pyramid weight with a 3-4 foot leader double hooked and wait for something to come along. they use squid, mussels, shrimp, anchovy, oysters, and especially sand crabs if they are captured at the fishing spot. There used to be sand crabs everywhere in the beaches between the boardwalk and the marina, but lately I haven't seen any. not sure what the deal is but if you find them, they are definitely the favorite food for the perch and other shore line feeders.

As I drove north from Santa Cruz to Pescadero last summer, I saw at least 20 good spots to surf fish where the walk to the launching spot is reasonably negotiable. This year I am going to hit as many of them as possible and will report back to this forum accordingly.

As you drive south from Santa Cruz, the same is true all the way to Moss Landing, including the jetty at the entrance to the marina there. as a bonus, there is an awesome Mexican food place ("The Whole Enchilada") at the entrance to the marina, and locally famous Phil's Fish Market right down the road.

Another spot I found was on the Elkhorn Slough, which is a large protected inland waterway by Moss Landing. there is actually a dock with a paved parking lot (Kirby Park) about 50' from the banks. very easy to fish there, and a beautiful drive circumnavigates the whole area. lots of kayaking there as well as the Moss Landing marina.

There is excellent surf fishing for stripers at Manresa Beach, about halfway between Moss Landing and Santa Cruz. Two hours before and after high tide is good default plan.

There is a jetty at the entrance to the Santa Cruz Marina. on the Crow's Nest side, at the end of the jetty, you can toss cream colored chubs with a weighted jig head hook into the backwash of the crashing waves and catch flounder/halibut.

Both the Capitola pier and Santa Cruz pier are good for using a Sabiki set up to catch "shiners" (anchovies?) to use as bait for bigger fish.

I just ordered four types of floating hooks from a walleye fishing website. cant wait to see if they are able to float stuff off the bottom with live bait (worms, minnows, anchovies, shrimp, squid, mussels, etc.) attached. stay tuned.

thanks. nice to know that power bait will bring in the big ones like that. I assume you fished it off the bottom by 12-18 inches?

Beautiful fish. Can you reveal the details? Shore or boat? Lure, live bait, power bait, fly? Time of day? Location on lake?