Califronia Fishing?

[GearJunky]

Hi all,
I am planning on heading to California/Arizona/Vegas for 2 Weeks in September and I will have a free day while in California which I would love to spend fishing. Anyone have any suggestions on where to go/whats good to fish for out that way?

I will be staying near Big Sur.

Thanks!

[MuskieBait]

Big Sur area is a very rough coast and pretty dangerous place to fish if you are not local. The tides come in quick and flat dry ground is limited. Fishing around on your own without knowing safe exit routes or tide tables can lead to drowning. Last year, there was a forum member who is local to Central California and he drowned while fishing in the area.

My suggestion would be to drive north to Monterey and fish off the Coast Guard Jetty. It is very safe and there are all kinds of cool species to catch. You can use 15lb mono to tie a high-low rig using #8 baitholder hook, and use fresh shrimp or squid for bait. You'll be able to catch some surfperch species, rockfish species and Kelp Bass. There may be Lingcod and California Halibut around also.

I caught 59 species from California over 27 days of fishing. It's a pretty fishy place to fish if you spend the time to learn how to fish there and know where to go to catch particular species.