It was 1972, I lived in Huntington--it had a lot of fields back then. There was no pay parking, nary a t-shirt shop, the girls were blond, Laguna still had cliff houses, the Wedge was open, the sky and water were blue. We caught bonita, cuda, smelt and pompano from the pier--before the typhoon broke it. The kelp beds a short distance from Art's Landing (then the big competitor for Davey's Locker) were packed with bonita and cuda, and it was rare to have room in a burlap bag after a half-day trip. The Seal Beach Jetty was my favorite--one bonita after another on a Mepps Black Widow, every cast. Once practicing casting my diamond jig--trying to snag my favorite splasher which had broken off--I tied into something that dragged me out as far as I was willing to walk, before sppoling me. The stopped traffic and huge crown on PCH told me I had snagge a manta--I had no idea, never saw it, wanted my jig back! Losing a splasher and a jig the same day!! At night, off the HB pier, the regulars would converge, and between 10PM and 1 AM, we would average 7 shark/ray apiece.

I got sucked into Chicago for school, became a scientist, and stayed in the lab for 90 hours a week (except for the three years I lived in the lab), for three decades. I always lamented missing my beloved fishing... It took a giant heart attack to make me reappriase myself, my life. With help from Matt and Beth, and after tons of reading (a year, as I worked out in cardiac rehab), I made my first 10-day trip last year, and caught about a ton of fish (harvested 369 pounds--just enough to last the family a year), and inside that was the off-shore grand slam. My next 10-day is in 3 months, and I am planning a 16 day nirvana...

Moral: While you have the chance to fish, take the chance--never assume that fishing is always there. To go now costs me dearly--a grand each time just to ship my gear out and back.

With fondest wishes for tight lines and screaming drags!

Well Planet, you qualify! Welcome to Charkbait!!! Nice to hear from the genuine article. Enjoy your fishing, talk to you again,
Danny.

That was a very eloquent insight, one hopes the hours in the lab were not spent in vain.
As for the fishing part, I could not agree more.
Folks like you are the ones I always hope to encounter on these trips, (along with big fish)

Regards,
Michael