<center><font size="1" color="#ff0000">LAST EDITED ON May-26-00 AT 10:56 AM (PST)</font></center><p>I went down near the wharf this morning before work to do a little surf fishing with my 6 lb. spinning outfit and small plastics. Did pretty good last Thursday morning but got skunked today. On the way home from work I thought I'd check out the rocks at Goleta Beach (the tides were right). Although my equipment was a little small I gave it a shot. In the twenty minutes I was there I saw some guy in a float tube catch 10 halibut. He was measuring all the larger ones but I didn't see him keep any so I'm assuming they weren't legals. I'm pretty sure he was drifting with dead anchovies. The water in my casting range was muddy and had quite a bit of kelp (I had to clean the plastic after every cast) but where this guy was it was clearer water and he didn't seem to be having a problem with kelp. When he caught his 8th fish I was pissed to the point of exploding (why the hell was I not out there with him!) Anyway, just as I was about to give up I get slammed and wrestle in a 22.5 incher on my little rod. I almost killed myself climbing down the rocks to get closer to the water. I released the fish out of appriciation for him turning my otherwise crappy day into a pretty good one.<P>