Kayak guide for Saltwater intro

Hello,

Does anyone have any recommendations for kayak guides who I can hire for some basic saltwater fishing? I'm looking mostly to understand swells/waves, surf launching/landing, and general safety. I've fished from my Hobie Outback in local lakes for the past 7 months but I would love to have someone more seasoned to show me the ropes so I don't end up a statistic.

Thanks in advance.

For guide wise I can recommend Loleta Eric. However he live further north. I know we have some but no sure if they are still actively guiding. If its for general knowledge feel free to reach. I pm you my number.

For mostly to understand swells/waves, surf launching/landing, and general safety I would recommend taking sea kayaking 1 & 2 at one of the local kayak shops. You can add a surf zone class as well.

agree take the class
First outing go out of Half moon bay. If find to rough then can get back in to calm water quick

A couple of ideas, look at the site www.bask.org, they are more for kayak, but have a nice site and they have a great trip planner to look at where put ins are and discuss them. This group is great to ask questions and a hook up with someone with more sea skills. I believe one of the moderators who works with Monterey Bay Kayaks in Monterey leads fishing tours, so when you feel comfortable in open ocean, book a trip with him. I was actually thinking of booking a trip with him, so you are welcome to join me if you like. Another option is to first go out in bay water and get used to gear and handling it so when you are out in the open ocean you are familiar with it. You are welcome to send me a PM and maybe we can set up an outing in Monterey with the guide. I believe he is ADAM HELM 67, Good luck, Ron.

Hello All,
I took the surf dynamics class @ Half Moon Bay Kayak after 3 trips to Bolinas and 3 yard sales.... one of which got me a big bump on the head and got tangled in my way too big even for most salmon net.... lost a downrigger weight and my new phone (even in its waterproof case).

The instructor (Chris) was very helpfull and by the end of the class I felt confortable launching and landing in 4 foot waves.  Landing is the hard part.... but with knowing how to use braces etc I was able to land every time at the class (except the first) which was before any instruction so Chris could see what are issues were.... of course I rolled it and then the training began.

Unfortunately I have not really tested it yet (over a year ago) in surf over 2 feet but at least I know what I can do to keep from rolling.   Weather I am able to do it will be another question.

For the $150 it was worth it just to learn the braces.

Troy

Lots of very experienced anglers and kayakers on this site. Keep a lookout for coastal hookup’s. You can PM the poster or any of the respondents and see if you are welcome to join. Disclose your experience level and what you hope to learn, and you may get invited to join and learn a few things.

Stay away from advanced surf launches for now, and target easier locations like Pacifica, fort Ross, and Monterrey bay near MB kayaks.

I think you can learn a lot about swells from searching and reading on Google/past posts here. I stay away from beach launches when the swell is greater than 2’ unless I know there is a protected section of beach that allows for a mellower launch and landing. It’s a conservative approach, and you can certainly launch and land in larger swells, but I look for other options in most cases when I see bigger sweeps and or short periods. The general rule of thumb is to be cautious of swells with a short period between sets. For example; swell height of 6’ with a period of 3 seconds or less between sets, (swell being “X” and the period being 0.5X or less).

I always think of the sage words from our late Brother Joel "Mooch":

"we are kayakers first, and fishermen second"

a surf zone class from either Half Moon bay or Monterey Bay kayak should serve you well, both are good places to get the basics down.

The general rule of thumb is to be cautious of swells with a short period between sets. For example; swell height of 6’ with a period of 3 seconds or less between sets, (swell being “X” and the period being 0.5X or less).

Not sure you got that ratio right, so I'm gonna check this as it feels like dangerous info to me.  6' at 3 seconds is extremely steep and dangerous.  I don't think you see this steep very often.  I don't think I've ever seen 2:1 ratio.  I find 6' at 6 seconds to also be steep and uncomfortable but doable depending on my mood and the wind and windchop.  1:1.5 (6' at 9s) is ok.  1:2 (6' at 12s) is good on the water, but start minding the surf break as these are starting to be long period swells.  1:3 (6' at 18s) is going to be booming surf and you'd probably barely notice it on the water.  All at 6', so scale a bit for smaller or larger waves.

-Allen

FWIW

A good rule of thumb taught to me by some OG`s  when I first started  (ravensblack ,RockRoach , O2B , Bowdun ....)  BITD ....;  the interval between swells should be at least twice the swell height.

Of course that changes with time (experience) and skill set ( again experience )

BWTFDIK LOL

This is a great basic rule that has always worked for me. Someone, I think it was crash, posted a go/nogo flowchart which I believe included a formula which incorporated wind speed, but for me the fun factor decreases precipitously above 7 or 8 kts, regardless of the swell.

FWIW

A good rule of thumb taught to me by some OG`s  when I first started  (ravensblack ,RockRoach , O2B , Bowdun ....)  BITD ....;  the interval between swells should be at least twice the swell height.

Of course that changes with time (experience) and skill set ( again experience )

BWTFDIK LOL

This is what I was trying to say.