Storm socks Pismo Beach with rain and high waves
The National Weather Service issued a Coastal Hazard Warning Wednesday night for San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties – and it brought 7-10 foot waves on the Central Coast.
The Hazard Message ended Thursday afternoon. But the impact affected those who come to spend time on or near the ocean, including fisherman Mario Gonzales.
In the morning hours, he was aware of the high waves, but still ready to get his line in the water. “Setting up, just kind of getting ready to try and catch some fish,” Gonzalez said. “I came out yesterday but the water was too dirty, I never got anything,” he added.
Mario Gonzalez drove over to the Central Coast from Bakersfield on Tuesday.
“Me and the wife come up and get away from the stress of Christmas and New Years,” he said, adding an empty fish bucket won’t ruin his trip. “Bad day out here is better than any day at work, you know, been retired for five years,” Gonzalez said. He attributes the strong waves to his lack of bites from fish.
“It helps when the water is clear, which is not right now,” Gonzalez said.
Health Advisory signs remain posted at Pismo Beach which advise people to avoid water contact activities because of an elevated level of bacteria in the water. Those signs came as a surprise to a mother and her daughter visiting from Northern California.
“That’s pretty scary because she was just in there yesterday swimming with her father so I’m a little frightened now,” Robin Glanville said.
But a family trip to the coast will still include having a good time at the beach. “It’s beautiful, we live in the mountains, so we don’t have the coast, the coast is like two hours away,” Glanville said.
Weather advisories and warnings include risks of flooding, drowning, riptide danger, and a risk for small boats that could capsize near the shoreline. So Gonzalez decided to stick to fishing from the shore while he waited for his wife to join him.
“She’s asleep and when she wakes up, she’ll make me a cup of coffee and meet me out here and we’ll go to breakfast,” Gonzalez said.
He added, if it were easy, it would be called catching – not fishing.
