Yes Matanaska, I pretty much fish exclusively in a kayak. We finally got a flat day so we paddled four miles out. We couldn't find them at 170 or 210, but around 190' it was pretty consistent. It feels really good to paddle off the deep water with a kayak full of fish. KPD, I actually caught my first sanddabs off of the HMB area years ago. One meal of those and I was hooked on flatfish. Seabird, we started out back then with small sabikis and then worked our way up to a size 4 or 2 hook and typically get sanddabs 10-11.5 inches on the bigger sabikis. One major trick I seem to catch more fish on than my neighboring boats is using Smelly Jelly's Crawfish or Procure's Flounder Pounder. In our area, sanddabs pick up at 150' and seem to be really good at around 180'. Cooked whole the sanddabs make a killer meal, pretty similar to the petrale. Any advice on finding rock or rex sole, matanaska? None of my buddies have landed them in a kayak (or even on a boat). Cen Coast, you have any advice on catching flounder?

Blue Whale spouting off Trinidad.

I forgot to mention surfing as another toning option. Back when I had time to surf I was in killer shape. Too many responsibilities to hit the waves much these days. I have to say I'm really glad I was in good shape both times I pulled off harrowing kayak rescues and helped a mom pull two drowning girls out of the Mad River!

I've attached a photo of the skate. Didn't get photos of the bloody mess due to 1st aid distractions. You can't see the wicked claws or claw vents in the photo; only when you look close at the beast in real life can you see what looks like little gill vents...don't get your flesh close to those!

This'll make me sound dumb, but I was young at the time. Pulled a massive quillback up on my poke pole and took several spines all the way through my hand. It curled up in a red hot ball and was paralyzed and inflamed until the next day and ached for a while. That was miserable. I've had a few rough days on kelp and grass rockfish off of Santa Barbara, as well.  I have a great fish grabber and have relied on nets, gaffs and harpoons since those times.

For some of you young'uns and kayakers with the liberty to hit the water often, this may not be such a big deal, but I haven't seen a lot of discussion on this topic. One of the near death rescues I pulled off years ago involved a guy who went kayaking when he was sick. He wasn't on his game, mentally or physically. While boating a fish he leaned over too far, capsized with his spray skirt off and one hatch open (and had peeled his wetsuit down to his waist due to warm weather!), and submerged both himself and his kayak. Sometime I'll try to post the whole story, but the point here is that he wasn't mentally or physically fit to be on the water that day, and I had to save his bacon. So to the point...I'm mid 40's, raising kids, career going nuts, high stress, no time for exercise. In my experience and knowledge, the ocean can eat you on a good day. On a bad day things can go full nightmare quickly. So you have to be on your game, or stay home and save it for another day. I'm sure there are a lot of suggestions out there, hence my starting this chat, but I figured I'd share a solution I came up with for my current life status. Last year I started working out at Paul Gale's Chinese Martial Arts Association in Arcata, doing Kung Fu. It's a lot better than jogging, treadmill or lifting weights, because it not only works your cardio, but works your muscles from head to foot with a ton of exercises that translate directly to paddling, peddling and fighting big fish. It's an internal martial art focusing on balance, posture and coordination as opposed to techniques and fighting. If you live in the area, drop by for a free month or even single workout to check it out. If you're out of the area and find yourself in my shoes, I can attest that a couple nights a week has helped me stay in good enough shape that I'll be able to jump back in the water if the wind ever dies down. Additional training that I've found very helpful is an occasional frolic in the surf with a sit-on-top kayak like and ocean kayak mailibu. Catch some waves, wipe out on a few, climb back on while getting tossed around, etc. You gotta plan for the unexpected headwind you'll sometime have to paddle against, or towing a crippled kayaker back to shore. Towing a disabled kayak was part of my second rescue on the ocean. Being in good enough shape to make it through rough water and help the guy back in his boat and then tow him in was critical. Hope this sparks some thought for those who are a bit out of shape like I was getting last year.

Thanks for the warm welcome. Yeah KPD, depending on your coast, a couple miles out the flatfish are just waiting. I'm looking forward to scanning the website to see what other flatfish wisdom is around, and raising the bar this year with the petrale sole reg changes. So far we've boated Pacific halibut, California halibut, petrale sole, butter sole, sand sole and tons of sanddabs. My paddling crew is looking forward to figuring out how to catch petrale sole and starry flounder on a consistent basis. Now if this wind would just stop and work would slow down...