1/22 San Pablo Bay Report

I got to Buck's a little after 9am. Joel and Ken(Loomy) we already there when Dave and I pulled up. It was really cold and the wind was howling after a short trip to pickup bait we all got ready to launch.



I think the final count was around 12 or so kayaks. Ken, Ken, Chuck and Joel launched first with Dave, Josh, Elric, Chris, Art, John, myself and one other person that I didn't catch launched next. I was the first of this group out by everyone caught up and passed me at some point. I had not paddled in conditions like that since the Davenport derby. I took several waves over the bow and my cockpit filled up pretty well.

After what seemed like a one hour paddle we arrived at the spot. My FF is on the fritz so I have no idea why this was the spot. I anchored using my new anchor rig and began to fish.

The wind and the current where canceling each other out so I ended up perpendicular to the wind and waves. This made for a wet day of fishing as I took numerous waves over the side of my yak.

I cast out a few ghost shrimp that where quickly devoured by the bait stealers. Keeping in contact with our bait was nearly impossible with the swells.  I had a 6 oz pyramid on but with the up and down of the yak keeping it still was tough.

I switched to grass shrimp and cast back out. After a few minutes I pull a tell-tale pump and a rear back and set the hook. Fish on! At this point I am pretty concerned because I have no real good way to land a sturgeon. I see it hit the surface and it does not appear to be a giant sturgeon. I fight it for about 15 minutes, it takes a couple of nice runs but nothing to major. I could feel it scutes rubbing against the line a couple of times. I get it along the side of the yak and realize it might be close to legal but I didn't really want to haul it on board to find out. I snapped a few pics instead.







I would estimate 36". It was a brutal day on the water and I am super sore this morning but a little sturgy makes it all worthwhile.

 

Bill

Good Job on the sturgeon!  Ya it was a rough and cold day out there.  We started paddling in around 3:00pm and hit bucks around 4.  We all loaded up the kayaks and then headed into buck's bar for a warm fire and cold beers.  We must have stayed there for about three hours BSing about Fishing stories and stuff.  The owner of buck's and his son were great hosts and had good stories to tell about the history and fishing spots out there!

After this trip though, I'm dreaming of Blue Water, small swell, no wind and women in bikinis.

Thinking of taking a road trip to LaJolla next weekend for some Yellow Tail.
They are really hammering them right now!

John

I woke up with a hangover   this morning after drinking one too many beers with the guys.

The bar at Buck's just became my favorite apre-kayak fishing hangout.  I agree with John, the owner and his son Will were cool.  They even invited our group to use their BBQ pit anytime we want.

The woodburning furnace in the bar was great after being out in the f@#king cold.

Bill... excellent C/R job on that shaker.  Thanks for providing photo proof.  Seeing is believing.

Well, as Erik predicted the bay was pretty nasty, in fact probably the most nasty I've ever seen, especially that early in the morning.   The wind and waves were fighting us on the way out, and it took over an hour for bill and I, trailing behind, to reach the fishing grounds.  Powering straight into the 1-2ft wind waves, and occasional whitecap was pretty rough buisness, one especially large wave filled my cockpit halfway in one hit.  Needless to say I had to bail it out fairly often to stay light and warm.  Anchored with our tails to the surf was a little better, I think the wave would fill the tankwell and drain there, rather than continue to the cockpit - but I still had to bail occasionally.  

I brought a very stout rod with my 112 penn, and figured out really quick that this was a mistake, I couldn't maintain propper tension to my rig to feel any fish hit.  If it was tight, a wave would cause it to pull the sinker my way and then go slack afterwards.  Amazingly, I was only about 30 yards from bill and never heard a thing when he caught the sturgeon, it could be I thought I was hearing his radio and didn't pay attention.  But after I heard he caught one I switched rods to my spinning reel and the ugly stick I got from joel.  That was able to cast alot farther too, so I was able to keep good contact with my rig 80% of the time rather than 10%.  I set the hook on a few odd twitches I felt, but none of them yielded anything.  My feet were painfully cold when bill said he was taking off around 1:45, so I joined him in the paddle back.  We hardly had to work at all as the wind and surf pushed us most of the way there.

At bucks landing we packed up and presented the bar with the photo and had a few beers.  They put it under the clock.  That's the coolest drinking establishment I think I've ever been to, filled with photos of saltwater fish, a wood stove and reasonably priced beer.  I'll make sure to swing through there on every trip now.

Very lumpy as predicted with large swells that would wash over your yak broadside w/ enough force to keep you looking over your shoulder for that "sneaker" wave.  At one point, so much water entered through my rudder line holes that my back end was almost submerged - literally had that "sinking feeling" - LOL.

Couldn't feel a pump w/ such waves though I did feel a twitch on my line that I swung on and buried my sturgeon rig into a 20" Striper. After that, headed in for a couple of beers.

Nice fishing w/ ya'all once again. BTW, 3 dino's hooked, 2 lost, don't know about the 3rd at McNears Pier.

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Chuck I am shocked I have to provide photo proof!!      

I was actually relieved it was not legal I didn't have a snare and I was still sore from all the paddling.

According to my GPS I was going about 2 mph on the way in, without even paddling!

Hi Guys,

Great fishing and hanging out at the bar.  I just wish I had stopped by the ATM before getting to Buck's.  Next time I will buy you guys a couple of rounds.  Sorry.

I think there were 3 founders caught.  Had mine tonight and it was good.

I think if we all get a thick ribbon tape.  Something you get in a women's craft store.  Fix it up on a little mono and tie it to the Yak.  Then guide the fish next to it.  You could get a idea if it is a keeper or not.

Maybe used red for the 46" and then sew on a green to the end of the red.
Have that measure out the the 72".  Got the idea from Josh.

The problem with Sturgoen is that they do not float.  So, the tail is always hanging down.  But, this should get you in the ball park.

Make sure the fish is dead tried or under control before measuring.  Keith Frazier uses a pvc pipe to measure them from a boat

I have a big tape measure that you can lock the tape where you want.  To used it I think I would have to grab hold of the leader before measuring this way.

Ken

Sorry to hear you guys didn't get any legals.  I was bummed I couldn't go, but I will be back next time!

Bill-congrats on the catch!

Also, Ken is "Loomy" not mississippi red.

Bucks Landing Bar reminds me of Cheers....where every one knows your name!

It seemed like more of an ironman competition than a fishing trip but I had a great time.  Started the day off with a warm greeting from Joel, be careful around this guy, he says hi by swabbing your yak with a bad luck bannana.  After the marathon paddle I set anchor and spent the entire day sitting parallel in the troughs and took several white caps over the rail like everyone else.  Like a dummy I had my semi-dry jacket stored in the hull and couldn't get to it so I froze my @ss off.  I made a rookie mistake by trying to paddle in following the gps track we went out on till Joel told me about the channel.   Final score for the day was one shaker striper and a starry flounder.  The highlight of the day was warming up inside the bar and BSing with the boys.

Bill I owe you for the bait and stamp.

Art

No worries Art we can settle up this week after the snare parts get in.

I am bummed I missed the BS at the bar but my wife would have killed me if I had been any later.

Kickfish Ken, you gave me an idea about how to measure a sturgeon while it's still in the water.  It's the same basic idea as using a measuring stick or tape.  The less you have to have to remember to bring -- the better.



I just used a red Sharpie to mark the cable at 46" on the side that doesn't slide.  Note...  I used white plastic coated cable for better visibility and added the pipe insulation for floation.  Plus, I used the thinner 3/4" PVC so it'll fit in my rod holders.  Now, I'll have to field test it to see if works.

Another good suggestion I heard from another kayaker ( I can't remember who) is to mark the slot limits on your paddle with tape.

Hey Chuck... that's some good thinking.  

As for me, I have two ways to measure a sturgeon.  One is with hash marks written on my kayak with a sharpie marker.  With the open bow on my Malibu II, I can slide a large fish up between my legs, kick the tail up toward the bow, and quickly tell if it is legal by the hash marks on the side of my yak.  For a fish near the lower end of the slot limit, you can usually grab their tail and hold it at the "zero" mark, and use the rod to hold the head up against the side of the kayak to see if it passes the 46 inch mark.

Also, I put tape on my rod to mark the 46 and 72 inch lines.  Tape on the paddle would be a good idea too.

After catching a number of dinos, you get a feel as to whether or not a fish is legal when you see it.  It's those borderline fish that really need careful measurement.  

Way to tough it out this weekend, I'm glad you guys had a little action anyway...

Erik

Another good suggestion I heard from another kayaker ( I can't remember who) is to mark the slot limits on your paddle with tape.

I have measurements for stripers,salmon, halibut and sturgeon on my paddle and my fishing rods as well.

Despite the cold and rough conditions, I was able to score one starry flounder - I was surprised - never knew they were in the Bay  


I think Ken (Loomy) found heaven on earth when he entered the Bucks Landing Bar    I think we'll be seeing him there more often  
I'm surprised Cpyak / Chris did not stop by the bar.


Ken / Loomy - good to see you again - you are a very entertaining fisherman ....especially when there's beer around  

I think CPYak was the smartest of the bunch, he turned around and headed in after about 30 minutes of fishing. I would have followed but since I struggled to get out there I thought I should hang out for a while.