If it weren't for the fact that you had witnesses we'd think that this is a photo from your trip to Alaska...LOL.

On the other hand the butts just want you to keep shaving...Outstanding, the smile says it all!

In reality, you're thinking, "take the picture, this monster isn't light you know".   

Always good to see NCKA folks, their families and potential members.  It was cold and windy but the company and the excellent grub made up for any minor discomforts.  Great to meet and greet NCKA folks that we only knew from their posts and to shake their hands and share their company.

The park and facilities were EXCELLENT.  The rangers (all of them) were so accommodating it was like we were guests in their house and we were the favorite cousins.  The scenery, fishing grounds, picnic area, parking lot and launch were awesome.

Adam, thanks for putting this together and spreading the madness...

Fishy details: only 3 butts caught and one C&R'd striper BUT the butts  were BIG.  ChuckE decided to give the rest of us a chance and showed up late but at the end of the day he had the big un'.   Here's a pic of Scott's (GB2) catch and can you believe it...that's the smallest one.

Gary

Wow...Steve (SAL) u been busy.  Those tubes come in real handy when you're digging for the big ones that are 3+ feet down.  I borrowed one from Steve for my one and only rookie trip.  I agree with yakaroo that a post hole digger would work very well and wished that I had one.  However, the shells are relatively thin on the gaper clams and you can possibly break them with your fingers.  So instead of slamming a post hole digger down, a gentle probing dig is warranted when you get close to the clam.  A 5 gallon bucket with the bottom cut out would probably work for most of the time but not for the really big ones.  The deepest I dug down was about 4 feet but that was my biggest one.  Phil and yakaroo got some mongo sized ones when they went down deep and dirty.

Allan (Hightide) the pismo clams have much much thicker shells than the gaper clams and as Craig has said, the limit is ten clams.  The gaper clams burrow much deeper too.  Keep in mind if you break a clam's shell you're supposed to keep it and it counts against your limit.  Watch out for the seagulls they will pounce on your clams if you leave them unattended.

Yep, Craig is right...clams are everywhere and if you find a virgin spot you'll feel like you're in a water park where there's spouts shooting up all around you.  However, the prime spots are loaded with people and they're like vacuum cleaners.   So my recommendations, watch Craig (ravensblack), Sonny (Sailfish), Steve (SAL), yakaroo or anyone that's been before and study their technique for reading the mud, holes and digging technique.  Then set out on your own, find a good spot, look for big holes and have a good time.  Unfortunately for me the mother load (it was awesome!) was way far away from the masses so I had to dig fast an furious (smaller clams) because the rest of the group had limited out already.

Bring a burlap bag or bucket to carry them back to the car and then put them on ice or cold water for the trip home.  Follow the many directions that are available on the web for flushing them and cleaning them.  I think Phil (Nothern Boy) posted a link from our last trip.

For clamming clothes I wore waders and they kept the mud off of me, a wet suit will do as well but most people just wear regular clothes and change when they're finished.  The mud is really sandy so it doesn't cake on like silty mud.  It does smell so rinse off as soon as you can or seal up your funky clothes in a plastic bag for the ride home.

Sorry I can't join you folks, we have relatives coming over for the long weekend and they're not the clamming type.  Have fun, it was a blast and ideal for a family adventure.

Gary

Yet another epic Big Sur trip for many reasons.

The weather report was ominous but the Big Sur veterans were not to be denied.  It's opening day, we took time off of work and we all were suffering from the rock fish fever.  Taking into consideration all the times we've blown off the water, smashed by waves, having our yaks sucked back into the surf, we checked and double checked all the conditions, which kept changing and we had many bail out options  Throw into the mix the closure of Limekiln and the minimal launch sites.  When we got there all the conditions lined up, no wind, no rain, no swell, no waves, low tide so we had a lot of beach to work with and wide open fishing for QUALITY RF.  The guys that showed all knew that we were handed a gift from mother nature.

I didn't limit out but I did bag 6 big RF and threw back many so they'll be ready for us next year.  In case you haven't obtained a descender device to bring the bloated fish back to their homes you should get one or make one.  I'm proud to say that it's important to me that I didn't leave any floaters to die.

I did make a franken lure using my company's medical device that caught a couple of huge vermilion and the folks at work got a big kick out of it.  No pictures will be provided until the FDA grants us licensure.

One thing I did notice was that I saw a pack of baby seals and normally I see individual big seals.  At least all they do is pop up, take a look and then take off.  

On our drive back Scott and I noticed that there were a few party boats and private boats working the area north of where we were.  So if you have yak challenged friends they can pony up some $$ and bag some Big Sur RF.

Thanks to all the input from the guys and help getting all our gear to the launch site.  Scott had to make 5 trips because in addition to his gear, he was helping me carry my stuff back to the car.  The path to the launch site destroyed my PVC wheels so I did a lot of dragging instead of wheeling.  

Thanks to all the guys for planning and pulling off this adventure.  I can't think of a better way to start off the season and I'm sure there will be additional epic days to follow.

Gary

Craig,

Great idea...so will the carabiner be hooked up to a tether when you harpoon the butt?

Gary

Nate (Bungle), you'll find the hali's soon enough...you usually do.

Phil (NB), scooping hali's with a net is an adventure, gaffing them = dinner.

Thanks for the report!

Gary

Awesome Sonny...that sturgeon was almost as big as your yak!  

I almost didn't recognize your Hobie because you had a real paddle strapped on as opposed to a shovel.  

So was your secret bait the blood worm we dredged up yesterday or did Allen take it home for a pet?  
Good news Bro, that must have been a fun ride.

Craig, I take back what I said about sturgeon fishing being boring.

Gary

Let's not forget Mill Creek.  Yet another day of miles of paddling in the fog, through thick kelp, following Eric's GPS like ducklings to a wash rock out in the middle of now where.  Then having the fishing go from nothing to wide out non-stop action until the game clips were full.  Paddling all the way back, landing, then having the surf suck out both GB2's and my kayak while we were unloading.  Man dogs, good food, drinks and hanging with the Bro's afterwards thanks to Scott and the crew, good times...