Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 28, 2024, 03:42:41 PM

Login with username, password and session length

Recent Topics

[Today at 02:58:59 PM]

[Today at 01:13:46 PM]

[Today at 11:50:57 AM]

[Today at 11:49:33 AM]

[Today at 11:08:39 AM]

[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.


Messages - Clayman

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 89
1
Fellas. If you really care about the well-being of a big YE or other rockfish you want to release, please pack the extra lead. I know that packing extra lead is a PITA, but you'll get used to it. It really sucks when you're trying to descend a big old rockfish and you don't have enough lead with you to do it.

I'm speaking from experience. Pulling up YEs from 100 ft. I learned this lesson the hard way, and I felt real shitty about it. Bring five pounds, and you won't have to worry about floaters. Do it for the fish, and for your fishery. If not, these nearshore rockfish seasons could be taken away again due to noncompliance with the regulations.

2
General Fishing Tips / Re: Freshwater Line Choice
« on: March 22, 2024, 04:11:48 PM »

If trolling plugs or spoons at a decent clip (over 2mph), try a topshot of 10 lb fluorocarbon. It's strong enough to withstand hard hits, and it'll get just as many bites as a lighter leader. When mooching bait or jigging soft plastics, bump it down to a 6 lb fluoro leader. Seaguar 6 lb fluoro is incredibly thin, it looks like 4 lb at first glance. An excellent option for finesse techniques.

When toplining trolling, keep your setback in mind. If the water's clear, put that plug back 100 ft behind the kayak. A setback of 30 ft vs 100 ft can be the difference between catching fish and skunking.

This is exactly what I was thinking and planning for.

How long of a top shot should I use for trolling? I was thinking about 20ft or so. I usually troll at least 100 ft behind me, but tough to be 100% with a spinning reel, haha.
Depends on the water clarity. I've done fine with a 10 ft topshot in up to 15 ft of visibility. If the water is Tahoe clear, you'll probably want to do 20 ft or more.

3
General Fishing Tips / Re: Freshwater Line Choice
« on: March 22, 2024, 08:03:08 AM »
Yep, 10 lb braid is a great main line for trout fishing. Something like Power Pro Super Slick V2 is quiet and easy to work with.

If trolling plugs or spoons at a decent clip (over 2mph), try a topshot of 10 lb fluorocarbon. It's strong enough to withstand hard hits, and it'll get just as many bites as a lighter leader. When mooching bait or jigging soft plastics, bump it down to a 6 lb fluoro leader. Seaguar 6 lb fluoro is incredibly thin, it looks like 4 lb at first glance. An excellent option for finesse techniques.

When toplining trolling, keep your setback in mind. If the water's clear, put that plug back 100 ft behind the kayak. A setback of 30 ft vs 100 ft can be the difference between catching fish and skunking.

4
Just like last year's run, the 2024 adult fish are the progeny of the punishing 3-year drought period of 2019-2022. Given the trucking of hatchery fish (higher survival but crazy-high stray rates), combined with very poor in-river natural recruitment in the 2021-2022 water year, the run forecast is not surprising.

The bulk of the 2025 run will consist of three-year-old fish that hatched during a much improved water year. Doesn't necessarily mean it'll be a robust run, but it'll likely be better than the current one. In-river natural production accounts for roughly half of the total fall-run Chinook abundance in the Central Valley rivers, with hatcheries accounting for the rest.

5
We don't fish most groundfish species nearly as hard as we used to. Browsing stock assessments for various groundfish generally shows the same trend: catches in the 1970-1990 period dwarf catches from any other time in the last century. The sheer magnitude of harvest in those years is difficult to comprehend when compared to today's harvest rates.

I searched for lingcod southern stock assessment and bocaccio stock assessment, for reference. The 1970s and 80s were a really bad time to be a lingcod or bocaccio!

6
I use really large swim baits, or slow pitch jigs so I’m hoping this type of setup will work:



I’ll carry some extra weight just in case.
That might work on really small rockfish, but any rockfish over a couple pounds will require a lot more lead to descend. I often end up descending a few rockfish when fishing in 80-120 ft. A 5 lb downrigger weight and Shelton descender gets the job done for me, even on these larger yelloweye.

It sucks when you want to descend a rockfish and don't have enough lead to do it. Trust me, I've been there. Bring five pounds of lead, or stay in <50 ft of water.

7
The most common issue with descenders is not bringing enough weight with you to descend the fish. A 16 or 24 oz ball usually isn't gonna cut it on large, bloated rockfish. Bring at least five pounds of lead with you, along with a rod or line that's capable of handling that much lead. Also have the descender readily available to use, not buried at the bottom of your bag still in the wrapper.

8
CA Regulations / Re: REPORT -2024 Nearshore Rockfish Season Survey
« on: February 03, 2024, 09:49:28 AM »
Mind = blown

9
CA Regulations / Re: REPORT -2024 Nearshore Rockfish Season Survey
« on: February 03, 2024, 08:50:24 AM »
 :happy1:

10
AOTY / Re: Electric Motors in AOTY
« on: January 26, 2024, 05:49:01 AM »
Pedal vs petal vs peddle: https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/petal-pedal-peddle-usage-difference

I think of a "peddle" kayak as a kayaker selling wares and trinkets on the water. Is this incorrect?  :smt005

11
AOTY / Re: Electric Motors in AOTY
« on: January 23, 2024, 06:12:17 PM »
Motorized kayaks are comparable to pedal drive kayaks. They both allow the user to utilize the same fishing techniques that aren't feasible from a paddle kayak. For example, you can't rip plugs from a paddle kayak, but you can totally do it via a pedal or motor-driven kayak that frees up your arms.

Traveling to fishing grounds would be easier via a motor. This could play a big role in Pacific halibut fishing. However, Pac halibut is a seldomly tapped category in AOTY.

General trolling would be significantly easier to achieve with a motor. There could be situations where hours upon hours of open-water trolling could produce large AOTY-caliber fish. Mackinaw, kokanee, Chinook salmon, even CA halibut come to mind.

Just my thoughts on it. Suggesting motors in AOTY would've brought out the pitch forks + torches not too long ago, but the scene is changing rapidly, not just in kayak fishing but in competitive fishing in general (eg, Live Scope in pro black bass fishing).

12
AOTY / Re: Ideas for AOTY
« on: January 23, 2024, 05:40:20 PM »
There are a handful of NorCal lakes that support Sac perch. Biggest I personally came across was this 16 incher, but I caught him from the shore, so no AOTY points. Some Internet sleuthing will unveil most of the places you can find them.

I've seen some pretty big redear sunfish come out of the CA Delta. Bigger than the typical bluegill sizes.

13
That's good that you know your physical limits when it comes to paddling. I'm worried about the people who don't. With the increasing popularity in motorized kayaks, new guys who jump right into a motorized kayak with no experience on a pedal or paddle kayak aren't going to be familiar with their physical limits. The motor could lull them into a false sense of security and capability. When the time comes where they've motored several miles offshore and the motor dies, I hope they can safely pedal or paddle back to shore, assuming they have a pedal drive or a paddle. If not, hopefully there's someone around to come save them, whether it's the CG or a boat.

I'll continue recommending to the new guys with motors, to be aware of their physical capabilities and be comfortable paddling--or pedaling--whatever kind of kayak they take offshore before they fire up that motor.

14
I think any kayaker can get in over their head if they don’t stay within their abilities. It’s not like there has been a shortage of kayaker’s getting into trouble before motors came on the scene. It’s possible to paddle to far and not be able to fight the wind or tide to get back. Is the rule, never motor farther from shore than you can paddle? Does that only apply to kayaks? Motorboats can breakdown too. Should they stay within paddle distance as well? Lots of things can go wrong on the ocean. I imagine a lot of people think it’s crazy for anyone to take any kayak on the ocean. We all have different abilities and different levels of risk tolerance. Motors are tools and can be used safely or not. Motors are not for everyone but I think one person’s misuse doesn’t condemn them for everyone else. Paddles, peddles or motors, whatever floats your boat.
Are you suggesting that it's reasonable to rely on a motor to go beyond your physical capabilities? If you use the motor to go three miles, but the motor dies and you can't paddle three miles back to shore, then someone's gonna have to go "rescue" you. It's like filling your car with 200 miles worth of gas when you know you're going on a 300 mile trip.

Yeah, lots of things can go wrong on the ocean. Kayaking on the ocean carries risks that we try our best to mitigate, via PFDs, immersion gear, VHF radio, etc. But this one--relying on a motor to take you beyond your physical capabilites--seems like a real easy one to control. It's one less rescue effort that can be saved for someone else, and reduces the risk of others getting into trouble from trying to rescue you from a situation you knowingly and willingly put yourself into.

15
Those ePDLs look pretty cool. Still heavy though. The specs below are for the Old Town Bigwater ePDL:

LENGTH
13’ 2” / 4 m
WIDTH
36 in / 91.4 cm
ASSEMBLED BOAT WEIGHT
143 lbs / 64.8 kg
HULL WEIGHT
95 lbs / 43.1 kg
ePDL+ DRIVE WEIGHT
32.5 lbs / 14.7 kg
INCLUDED BATTERY WEIGHT
8.5 lbs / 3.8 kg
SEAT WEIGHT
6 lbs / 2.7 kg
TOTAL WEIGHT CAPACITY
500 lbs / 226.8 kg
USABLE WEIGHT CAPACITY
357 lbs / 161.9 kg

The ePDL drive with battery clocks in at 41 pounds. For comparison, the Mirage Drive 180 is 8 pounds. Hobie Revo 13 fully-rigged weight (seat, drive) is 88 pounds. The Bigwater ePDL is 62.5% heavier than the Revo.

Gentle water with access to a boat ramp or a beach you can drive on, I can see this being a nice set-up. Is it worth $6k? I guess that's up to the individual user.

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 89
anything