Took the day off work and went to opening day the Sportsman's Expo. Just not enough time to take it all in.
I was a little disappointed at the kayak booths. None had the new Hobie Adventure on display.
I did see a Prowler 16 like mine standing on it's nose on display with a reduced price tag of $1800! That's right, one thousand eight hundred dollars.
Little high on the mark-up don't ya think?
Then the salesman pointed towards the very top of the kayak.
What's wrong with this picture???



The one in the middle is the same as my Prowler..well..except for the MOTOR!!!!!
Big battery in the front hatch. The smaller looking hatch in the tank well is the quick connect for the power supply to the motor. There is an on off switch and speed control knob where a center hatch would go. The salesman sounded a bit excited when he pointed out it had a motor. It made me a bit ill.
A guide I know said that today crowd was already better than  San Mateos best day. I spent 5 1/2 hours there and didn't come close to taking it all in. The presentation on sturgeon fishing was a bit hard to hear, but the one on fishing the Trinity River was excellent! I even took notes.
I would love to go back for a FULL day but I can't even imagine how big the crowds will be this Saturday.
I did see something that I had no idea what it was. It looked like a poor attampt at a fish club and new fangled gaff. Turned out to be a squid jig. Check it out.



I was like a kid in a candy store and I want MORE!!!!

I got the 10 AA battery holder with the 2 posts that look like a 9V battery on it. I was soldering the wires to the posts and it melted the plastic around the posts and they fell through the plastic. Hopefully the JB Quick ( weld ) will fix it in a pinch.
My question is how do you solder the wires without heating up the plastic?

A while back there was a thread on different ways to fish. There were a few things posted I had never heard about, but what I found last weekend was pretty wild.
The GF wanted to hit Sunrise Mall Friday night while I was a passenger in her vehicle. That sucked BIG TIME until I was able to reach an agreement with her. She drops me off at Borders book store while she shops..Cool!
I found a book there titled "100 Weird Ways To Catch Fish". I pretty much read the whole thing while she was fighting the crowds.
If you ever get the chance to thumb through this book I highly recommend it. Guarenteed to make you laugh and raise an eyebrow.
Can't remember the last time I saw anyone using an Ox to haul in their sturgeon. The slingshot fishing and the helium baloon fishing were pretty cool to read too.

Launched from Buck's launching with Bill, Joel, John, and Eric around 8:20.
Zero wind and flat water with tons of sunshine.
Paddled what looked to be a little more than half way to the pumphouse where we all anchored and wet our lines.
I was lucky to get the 1st fish. A small leopard shark.
Joel hooked a nice leopard that he boated.
Wind came in light, but the waves were decent size so most of us headed in towards shallower water. Things were calmer so we all anchored and started fishing again.
Joel hooks into a toad..all I can say is I think he was warned to use heavier leader...enuf said there..I am sure others will chime in.
Eric paddled back out and got bit by a hog. I would post a pic but I can't figure it out on the new page yet.
All in all I boated 3 leopards and 1 kingfish..Not bad for my 1st time on San Pablo.
Great company. I can't wait to do it again.
The only bummer was getting 2 tickets on my way home. 70 with a trailer and in the wrong lane. ( Whatever ) MERRY Xmas!

This is a pretty good look at what you see when shooting a fish.
I think this was done in Canada as you cannot shoot stripers in California.
Sure looks like the water on the north coast tho.
Enjoy

Got a little later start on the water than I would have liked due to GF priorities. Was still on the water by about 930 or so. Launched out of Ocean Cove because of the easy easy launch.


Water was gin clear and I wanted to take advantage of it by ab diving first.
As I was putting my fins on the GF's pole goes bendo. Not sure what is it from the distance. She yells it is a ling and asks what the size limit is.
22" I yell, so it goes back, just shy.
I make my 1st dive down and see a lot of fish so I am thinking fishing is gonna be red hot. I pop 3 quick abs and get back on my yak. GF's pole goes bendo again..another short ling...so I thought.
I start fishing and hook into a cab about 18". Was my 1st fish and I thought I could do better. Just wanted to weigh him but he flops out of my hand and into the deep blue.
My GF comments I couldn't keep it anyway, it was too short.
Cabs need only be 15" to be legal.
Well it turns out the 2 she caught earlier were both cabs, not lings,  but shy of the 22" she thought they had to be..dohhhhh
Fishing got pretty slow in a hurry with the exception of making bait.
Took less than 30 seconds every time. I did have 2 real nice hook-ups on what I think were lings, but I was unable to boat either. I was able to bring up just the lips of my live bait on one of the hook-ups, and the other time it was so mangled I could barely tell what it used to be.
All in all it was a great day to be on the water.

Went out at the crack of dawn Sunday at Disco Park. Lots of boaters.        I drifted repeatedly down the color line with no luck at all...Wait, I take that back, I did manage to nail 2 small clams, but they didn't put up any fight at all.
One boat caught 3 fish all within 10 minutes; 10-12 lbs, and the guy next to them got about a 25 lb. All caught jigging a Gibbs Minnow or similar. Other than that it was very slow. Left at 10am and never saw another fish caught.

Just wondering if anyone else is as absent minded as me at times. It seems I am always forgetting something, even when it is foremost on my mind.
This last trip to the ocean I stopped by Broadway Bait on the way and picked up some 'lunker lights' knowing the water was going to be dirty and thinking this might make a difference. Of course I left them in my truck and realized it when I was all the way out.
Next day I was out there ab diving when I reached back for my anchor...left it in the truck..Doohhhh!
Fortunately I had a pair of Brush Grippers from Bass Pro Shops that I use to clip off to kelp.
It seems there is always so much gear and it is always changing depending on what I am targeting, I always end up forgetting something. And yes, I even have a checklist.
What's the worst thing you forgot to bring on a trip?