Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 29, 2024, 04:14:46 AM

Login with username, password and session length

Recent Topics

[March 28, 2024, 11:47:21 PM]

[March 28, 2024, 11:34:08 PM]

[March 28, 2024, 09:44:18 PM]

[March 28, 2024, 09:12:36 PM]

[March 28, 2024, 07:11:09 PM]

[March 28, 2024, 01:13:46 PM]

[March 27, 2024, 07:25:42 PM]

[March 27, 2024, 07:05:39 PM]

[March 27, 2024, 12:35:34 PM]

[March 27, 2024, 11:18:23 AM]

[March 26, 2024, 07:45:07 PM]

[March 26, 2024, 06:19:03 PM]

[March 26, 2024, 05:47:06 PM]

Support NCKA

Support the site by making a donation.

Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Topics - SpeedyStein

Pages: [1] 2 3
1
General Fishing Tips / Freshwater Line Choice
« on: March 21, 2024, 08:07:31 PM »
Time to re-spool two of my freshwater spinning reels - both see duty as 90% trout and 10% bass in local reservoirs.   

Was thinking of going 8lb braid to about 10 ft of 6lb flouro leader.  Anyone else running similar?  Other suggestions?

Both currently have 6lb mono, which is working well enough, but I feel could be better.  The rods are bendy enough that I feel I want a little more responsiveness, and I am certainly accustomed to the strength and durability of braid. 

I am not trolling with a downrigger, mostly trolling and casting smaller crankbaits, spinners, spoons, etc.  I don't really use large/heavy bass lures - I have a handful of dedicated bass rods for bigger baits if the situation calls for it.


 

2
General Fishing Tips / Preserved baits?
« on: January 31, 2024, 12:12:26 PM »
Anyone ever use any of the commercially available preserved baits? 

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/magic-preserved-baby-shad-baits

I see stuff like this all over the place, but never see anyone using them or talking about them.  Curious if something like that can take place of frozen baits - would be nice to not need to keep it frozen.  Can they be kept after the bag is open?  Can I make something like this at home using herring?

3
General Talk / EBRPD or EBMUD Annual Pass?
« on: January 18, 2024, 12:49:46 PM »
Hey all, thought I would ask here.  Am considering an annual pass for either EBRPD or EBMUD.  Can't do both, looking for folks who've had either of these in the past for insights.  Going to up my freshwater game this year!

Thanks!

4
General Talk / Happy Halloween!
« on: October 31, 2023, 09:00:56 PM »
Hope everyone is having a fun and safe Halloween!

5
General Fishing Tips / Chum box for sabiki
« on: August 12, 2023, 04:21:40 PM »
Anyone use a chum box/tube/etc when using a sabiki?  Thinking about rockfish regs, and increasing efficiency while getting/restocking bait.  One line with only 2 hooks can make that prospect time consuming, especially when wanting to get a working line back in the water. 

Was thinking about drillng holes into a short length of pvc pipe, capping both ends, and rigging a swivel in one end to hook to the bottom of a sabiki.  Fill the pipe with cut fish or squid, in hopes of attracting more baitfish faster. 

Anyone try this before? 

6
General Fishing Tips / Keeping ice on the kayak
« on: August 05, 2023, 05:14:34 PM »
Thinking about making a more intentional effort to get fish on ice faster. From a boat, not a big deal, just bring reg cooler along. On kayak, kinda tricky because limited space, and saltwater fish add up to a large volume rather quickly. I'm thinking about DIYing some kind of bucket/cooler/bag solution. I'm not on a Hobie, otherwise I would probably go with their soft bag, but even still, those are pretty pricey.

I have a smaller soft cooler that fits in my tank well sorta-okayish but is kinda the wrong shape and not really big enough. 

Maybe just a bigger cooler bag is my best/easiest/ cheapest option? Any suggestions?

7
General Fishing Tips / Canadian hooks a GWS
« on: August 04, 2023, 04:53:54 PM »
Found this report the other day. Would be a rush to hook into the landlord!
https://www.outdoorlife.com/fishing/video-canadian-angler-great-white-shark-kayak/

9
General Fishing Tips / Anyone fish Point Arena Fishing Pier?
« on: May 31, 2023, 09:28:23 PM »
Taking a friends and family camping trip to Gualala this coming weekend - my kid's swim team does this every year and it's a really good time. Usually a dozen or so families turn up.

Anyway, hoping to get a morning to go fishing, but will be shore based. Will have a couple kids with me probably, so don't really wanna go climbing around the rocks too much.

So, I'm looking at Point Arena Pier, about 25 minutes north of the campground.

Anyone fish there?  From what I've found on the net, it looks like rockfish and cabezon are commonly caught there. I will probably try squid on a hi-low rig, but any other strategies would be appreciated.

I will probably bring a crab hoop to use as a landing net - maybe bring a couple and try to catch some crab too?

Or, other kid-friendly locations around Gualala would be appreciated too!

Thanks!

10
Fish Talk / Turtle in SF Bay?
« on: May 08, 2023, 07:41:41 PM »
Hey all, stopped at the observation pier under the bridge on YBI on my way home, and saw this little guy. Pic is kinda lousy, but I watched it swim up to the rocks and climb out. Was maybe 6" or so across the shell.

I didn't realize SF Bay had marine turtles.

11
General Talk / Paddle vs Pedal vs Sailing Fishing Tactics
« on: May 02, 2023, 06:28:59 PM »
While we are on the subject of discussing endlessly discussed subjects, I figured I might as well take the opinion poll on this too.

Seems like most people here favor pedal kayaks, for pretty well documented reasons. Easier to troll, easier to station keep, easier to do a lot of things.

A select group of other folks here prefer a paddle kayak. Many cite simplicity, speed, and deck space as primary drivers here.

An even smaller group of folks prefer sailing kayaks. Deck space, stability, and better performance in more demanding weather situations seems to be the reasons I can come up with.

My main question is, how do your fishing tactics differ? I would imagine a paddle kayak fisher would probably do a lot more drifting, while a pedal kayaker would probably troll more?

For jigging, crabbing, drifting, and soaking bait at anchor, seems like kayak type does not really matter, as long as it can safely carry you and the gear you are using to and from the fishing area.

For trolling, seems like a pedal or sail kayak makes this easier.

For longer excursions, sailing kayak all the way.

I think I've observed what most folks here use, and have noticed trends in how they tend to use their kayaks. What am I missing here? What are the main reasons y'all chose one kayak over another, and what are your primary fishing techniques?

12
Craftsmen's Corner / Fish Finder Battery Box
« on: April 07, 2023, 07:40:22 PM »
So, I took some inspiration from some posts here, and from a handful of YouTube videos, and made a box for my fish finder battery.

I have a 12AH Li battery, a cheapo from Amazon. Works well so far, only used it a handful of times.

I started with a Harbor Freight plastic ammo can - the smaller .30cal one. Fits the battery well, with enough room inside to add a distribution block and more outlets in the future. A few pipe insulation pieces ensure a tight fit and no rattling around.
https://www.harborfreight.com/030-caliber-ammo-box-63135.html

Then I got a package of "SAE sockets" from Amazon:
https://a.co/d/5a8Anb9

I drilled a hole just large enough for the socket to fit snugly, and riveted it to the can. I used aluminum rivets because I wanted something corrosion resistant, and I had some on hand. Cheaper than stainless screws too. Bonus, 3/16" rivets fit nicely in the mounting holes on the socket flange.  I then snipped the pigtail end off the socket, attached it to my fish finder power cable using butt connectors, and wrapped several times with electric tape. To the bare wires coming from the socket, I added a fuse holder, and then spade terminals to connect to the battery.

Overall, I am pretty happy with this setup - much tidier than using a dry bag like I was before. There is a folding handle on top that will make it easy to run a bungee through for securing it to the deck, and it seems like it will be pretty water tight.  My charger also has an SAE end, so I can just plug into the port for charging.




13
Craftsmen's Corner / Hull Protection
« on: March 22, 2023, 10:06:17 PM »
I recently discovered that I've been getting some wear in a few places of my hull, so I looked into protection methods.

I decided to go with kydex, a very durable yet flexible thermoplastic, often used for making small plastic sheet items like knife sheathes and holsters. I had some on hand from a different project, so seemed like a win win.

I started by cleaning the surface of the hull, and lining up the pieces of kydex I had to best fit the spots that were showing wear the most.  Then I gave it a quick light sanding to knock the high spots down.

I cut the kydex pieces to shape, and then positioned them over the intended areas. A heat gun made pretty quick and easy work to soften the kydex, and I pressed firmly with a towel to shape the kydex to the hull. I feel like I got a pretty tight fit.

I used JB Weld Clear Weld to epoxy the kydex pieces in place, and then ran a bead of silicon caulk around the edges to fully seal it.

Looking forward to trying it out, and hope that it holds on and helps protect the hull from boat ramps and rocks.




14
General Talk / Reducing cleanup and setup time
« on: March 18, 2023, 06:02:29 PM »
Hey all, just curious what tricks you have that helps reduce the cleanup time after a trip in saltwater.

I know gear depends highly on the targeted species, but I'm spending over an hour spraying all the things off when I get home - seems like there has to be a better way.

I know some folks use portable pressure washers to wash stuff on site before loading up, but I don't think that would save me any time, since so much stuff needs to get washed. Plus, that is just one more thing to remember to charge and bring with me.

I'm thinking of getting a large dry bag or box to put stuff I don't use often in, so that maybe I just spray the outside and check the contents once in a while.

Thanks for any ideas!




15
General Fishing Tips / Santa Barbara Fishing
« on: February 15, 2023, 06:25:38 PM »
I'm travelling to Santa Barbara for work next week - should I bring the kayak and go fishing?  I know rockfish is closed, are there other species in the ocean down there? Maybe CA halibut?

Or, just bring a surf rod and fish from the beach/jetty/pier? I've never fished there, so don't really know what's down there.
 
Thanks for any tips/advice!

Pages: [1] 2 3