Six of us made it to the Malachite parking lot by noon. Preparation for going down the beach took a few minutes, assembling rods, selecting flies, putting on wading boots, etc. And of course all the “visiting” going on as friends excitedly talked about the day’s adventure ahead.

We traveled all the way to the jetties the first day. We kept looking for birds, and action in the surf. Nothing was seen, so we kept moving. Fishing was slow. No birds were working. No fish were biting.

We made camp early and spent the night at the jetties. Once the sun went down we fishing the pocket in the dark, landing a few large ladyfish.

There were tar-balls scattered all over the place. They would get stuck on boots, and vehicles.

When fish were caught, it seems like Cecconi‘s platinum Pilchard was the fly.

Beach driving conditions were excellent. We were able to travel easily all the way to the jetties, and back with little trouble. I don’t think we actually used 4X4 but a few miles.

The temperature was comfortable, with a light breeze keeping the vampires down.

The water temperature was extremely high. It felt like bathwater while we were wading. This probably kept the baitfish, and gamefish in the deeper, cooler, water

Very few fish came to hand. Some of the larger fish with a Ladyfish at the jetties the night of the camp. A decent trout and a nice Redfish came directly out of the surf

A few lessons learned: We need to communicate, who is bringing white, as every single one of us brought a coffee pot, and a burner on this trip. Also, what is the best way to get rid of tar-balls? FRC radios came in handy traveling to the jetties, but we didn’t charge them overnight, rendering them useless the next day.