I haven't posted here in a while. We need more reports on this board.

I was able to duck out of work a little early last night (10 pm) so when I got home I gathered my surf gear together and put it by the door. I set my alarm for 5:50 am and after a little Letterman went to bed. I woke up 5 minutes before my alarm went off, put on all my under-wader layers and bolted for Coronado.

The morning was windless to start and the surf was medium to small with long flat-water intervals. The sky over Point Loma and out to sea was mixed clouds and blue sky. Eventually the rain clouds began to move towards the beach.

I was suited up by 6:30, but the sun was already rising. I'd fudged my sunrise time. I wanted to be casting in the dark to start. There are some rocks in front the Hotel Del Coronado that provide for some structure and wierd hydralics. It took some time for me to land my first perch, and I'd lost a couple a before landing one. It was a while between my first and second perch too. I decided to get away from the rocks, as the ricocheting waves were wrapping my line around my feet. I moved south down the beach. Along the way I tied on one of my rusty squirrel variations, and it didn't take long to pick up a few more perch. Two in two casts at one point. Eventually I ended with 6 small perch, lost 3 or 4. Off the water by 9am. Nice start to what's turning out to be a very long day.

Happy to see your post. Thinking about going there on the morning of the 26th if the polution allows. Did you get down to the life guard tower, or past it?

I worked from the rocks in front of the Del south about halfway to Lifeguard Tower 2. I haven't been mobile enough since I ditched my stripping basket. Gotta work on that.

I get Earth911 beach reports by email, and usually after a rain, the worst spots are from the border to North Island.

My homeboy, Scott, and I might try Mission Beach, in front of the rollercoaster or Torrey if the weather behaves. I'll try to post on here and/or sdfish.com.

Would you mind sharing why you ditched your stripping basket? Would you also mention something about any problems you are having with your line management?

Thanks for everything and have an eventful day

Paul

When I was in Baja a few weeks ago, I was getting a lot of knotted line in my basket, which would hit the first stripping guide and everything would stop. This led to a lot of time dealing with tangles and not fishing. My partners were getting many more fish than I, and getting a lot more casts. They were letting their line drift with the surf. They explained the nuances of casting that way, I gave it a try, it worked, and finally in our last session of the trip, I landed the most fish. The only line control problem I have now is if the surf isn't consistent in its drift direction and doubles my line back around my feet, like what was happening in Coronado. I think it's minor compared to the issues I was having with a basket.