Alameda Rock Wall advice

I am new to kayak fishing and plan to fish the ARW Tournament. I would normally fish from my 23’ boat around Berkeley, op, Candlestick, bird cage, the rockpiles and other areas. Never really fished the ARW area. The closest I would get to there was anchoring near the yellow bouy (Oakland) and letting the kids catch sharks. I plan on getting over there to fish in a couple weeks, I’ll be by myself. When I was in my powerboat I never worried about the tidal flow direction and making it back to the dock. Any advice on this location would be greatly appreciated or if you can point me right direction to educate myself. Am I over thinking this? Ideally I would normally like to fish 2 hours before and after the tide changes.

I’ll be using a Radar 135 with a Helix Pedal drive.

Look up the tide charts for Alameda for the days that you are going. Then usually go with the tide direction - towards The bridge on outgoing or towards OAK during incoming and then back after the tide change.  But also look at Windy for wind forecast. Sometimes it really turns on in the afternoon. I would avoid over 10mph or so for now.
I had to really struggle back once in my inflatable i9 when I ignored the tide. It was brutal. But in your yak it wouldn't be as bad.

Hey, right on, and welcome to the kayak fishing madness!

Sounds like you are already pretty aware of the hazards at Alameda - the tides and winds can both get pretty crazy there.

Generally, you want to target the same types of areas you normally target for halibut.  You probably already know this, but there are several websites that let you view a bathymetric chart to help find structure/depth changes. There are lots of productive spots within a mile of the launch, and in pretty much every direction, so just look to target areas near structure and you should find fish if they are there.

If I have a plan for Alameda, I tend to watch the weather reports for a couple days ahead of my trip, to make sure that I'm not gonna have any strong winds. I've seen the wind blowing both towards the ramp and away from the ramp - good to keep an eye on that. For tides, I usually plan to fish generally with the, on the incoming or outgoing, then head back to the ramp as the tide changes direction. In other words, work with the tides. Alameda can get 3-4 knot currents, then throw in a head wind and it can be a real slog getting back. At least if you head north/towards the city there is always the bailout inside the break wall. If you head south, not so much.

I also recommend making sure you have proper safety gear: immersion protection, a VHF marine radio, PFD, etc. There are lota of threads here that discuss in great detail the best/worst/minimum safety gear - there is a sticky-ed thread that is a great read. The bay can be pretty unforgiving on a kayak, so it's best to be prepared.

All that said, Alameda is an easy launch at the ramp, has great views of the city, and can be a very productive spot for halibut, stripers, and all kinds of other stuff. Post a hook up for the day you are planning to go - that is a busy spot and most likely at least one person on the forum will be out there too.  Good luck and have fun!

Haha, also what Joe said! I don't really go out in more than 10 knot winds, and I will usually bail and head in if it starts picking up past that.

Awesome and thanks! Yes, I have all my safety gear in check. That was the first thing I did, I have 28 years experience as a firefighter/medic. I try to be as prepared as I can. I will post my dates in the hook up as they get closer and I can see the forecast. I’m currently looking at April 22 and 29. Hopefully I can run into some others out there.

Sweet, good to go!

One or both of those days might work for me too - and I need to start getting some days on the bay. Need some fish tacos! Hopefully my nebulous schedule and the weather both cooperate!

Sounds great, I’ll let you know.

Thanks for all the information imparted on this thread, I will read and follow the advice, I am planning on making ARW when it starts to heat up, thanks guys, R.

I am new to kayak fishing and plan to fish the ARW Tournament. I would normally fish from my 23’ boat around Berkeley, op, Candlestick, bird cage, the rockpiles and other areas. Never really fished the ARW area. The closest I would get to there was anchoring near the yellow bouy (Oakland) and letting the kids catch sharks. I plan on getting over there to fish in a couple weeks, I’ll be by myself. When I was in my powerboat I never worried about the tidal flow direction and making it back to the dock. Any advice on this location would be greatly appreciated or if you can point me right direction to educate myself. Am I over thinking this? Ideally I would normally like to fish 2 hours before and after the tide changes.

I’ll be using a Radar 135 with a Helix Pedal drive.

If you have problems outside the wall, and the tides get too strong, you can always duck behind the wall on the inside.
There tends to be less current and wind behind the wall, and make you way back.

I normally recommend this for all new people fishing there. Remember the wind blows south so by the afternoon the wind will tend to push you back towards the ramp if you fish north.

Good luck --TLA

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If you have problems outside the wall, and the tides get too strong, you can always duck behind the wall on the inside.
There tends to be less current and wind behind the wall, and make you way back.

I normally recommend this for all new people fishing there. Remember the wind blows south so by the afternoon the wind will tend to push you back towards the ramp if you fish north.

Good luck --TLA
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Thank you for the advice.