I'm going to college at UCSB, and I am in dire need of a fishing trip since moving up here about 10 days ago from San Diego. Are there any places where I can fish and actually expect to catch some bass or something from shore that I can get to by the "MTD" (don't know what it stands for, but it's on the buses ;)). Since all my gear is at home, I'm either going to buy some new stuff or have like 1 setup sent from home. I'm kind of guessing that there will be a lot more saltwater spots to fish from than freshwater (since I won't have a boat, Cachuma doesn't look too great from shore, and I know for sure that the bus doesn't go all the way to Casitas). Since I'll probably only have 1 rod/reel and a box of plastics up here, I guess I'd also like to know if I'd be better off with a regular freshwater setup (7 foot medium rood with Chronarch) or with my plastic rod (8 foot medium heavy with whatever reel it has on it right now at home)? On the 8 foot rod I can throw anything of 1/2 an ounce or more a mile out, but if I'm fishing anything lighter than 1/2 I'd definitely be needing a lighter rod...but with the 8 foot I can go on 1/2 days on weekends when the fishing for something other than rockfish is good.

Thanks for any help anyone can give. I NEED to go fishing soon.

*edit*
I forgot to ask this...when are bass/NOT ROCKFISH biting in 1/2 day range down here? I noticed that about a week ago the bass count was good and it looks like they switched back to rockfish again, was this because the fishing slowed down for bass or was it because that was when the weather was really bad? If I wanted to eat fish Rockfish would be great, but I don't have a kitchen in my dorm, and strangely enough I don't particularly like fish even though I have fished for about 14 of my 18 years of life. Since I have no real interest in eating or keeping what I catch, it doesn't really matter to me whether it's a bass, a barracuda or anything, as long as it fights.

*edit*
I'm just full of questions that I remember after I finish the last thing I said =/ I asked all those questions about my rod/reel, but what kind of stuff works well from shore down here? I'm sort of automatically assuming that I will be using Whams if I do any half day fishing, but what color/size swimbaits work well for whatever it is I will probably end up targeting from shore? In the WON I brought with me (I guess the one from 2 weeks ago) I saw that someone picked up a nice croaker by the bait barge (and I have no idea where that is), but I'm guessing it was from a tube which I obviously don't have.

Again, any help is appreciated :)