msyamagata
Anchovy




   
Location: Bay Area
Date Registered: Oct 2013
Posts: 1
December 22, 2013, 10:45:01 PM
Hi Kayak Brothers,

I am new to the site and although I signed up a few months ago, I haven't used it much. My name is Michael Yamagata and I grew up on the Big Island of Hawaii in the country on the North Hamakua Coast and I am 4th generation Japanese from Hawaii. I grew up swimming in the rivers and climbing mango and guava trees as a kid. Our Dad was in the 442nd and 100th Battalion Regiments in WW11. I and my brothers and sisters are lucky to be here as our Dad came home alive and many others in the 442nd and 100th never made it home. I now live in Oakland with my wife Janice and my 2 sons Gabe-23 and Jonah-33 are away right now.

Anyway, I have been kayak fishing for about 3-4 months and I originally bought my Hobie Mirage Oasis Tandem to explore the East Bay estuaries with my wife and friends. After spending time out in the ocean, I tried fishing and got totally hooked. In the beginning, I was mostly going out in West Alameda at the Encinal Boat Launch (Rock Pile) area and was catching Bat Rays and Leopard sharks. Those Bat Rays are super strong and till this day pound for pound, it's the strongest ocean creature that I have hooked up with. In the last couple of months, I have been going out in Half Moon Bay and met NCKA members Herb NG and Brutus Lo by coincidence as I was coming in and had caught a good sized Lingcod that day. Herb has been a great friend and we went out together a few months ago with Alvin (Vin) Rodrigues from Fremont outside Santa Cruz Harbor. No fish, but a heck of a lot of seals. I also met Joey Arlett Machado from Half Moon Bay and have only talked to him by phone and email and I was planning to Hook Up with Joey and some other kayakers, but couldn't make it in the end. We have tried to Hook Up, but our times haven't worked out yet. Hey Joey, we will connect sometime.

I have mostly been fishing for Rockfish and Lingcod out HMB. I tried crabbing with a collapsible Danielson-type trap, but only caught some Rock Crabs. I stopped because I don't have a fish and depth finder and I think that the Dungeness are in sandy areas? It also seems that the commercial crab boats have swept through and there is not that much crab left, unless you go way out. Has anyone had any success trapping Dungeness with a kayak lately?
The Rockfish season is almost ending and it seems that you can only catch sandabs and crab with a boat or kayak.
Is there anything else we can fish for?

I have grown to really like my Hobie Mirage Oasis as there is a lot of room in the front to put a lot of stuff and the boat is very long 14'6" and is very stable out in the open ocean when there might be big swells. It is a very heavy kayak and when I received the boat, I thought how the hell am I going to load this on my car by myself. Having a will and wanting to find a way, I can load in on my Yakima Racks w/ Hully Rollers and front saddles by myself without too much trouble. I originally had a fishing buddy, but he had a very serious injury and so I have been mostly going out by myself I just fell in love being out by myself in the open ocean, at peace and feeling awed by nature and feeling totally present and alive!!!Catching fish is only one part of the experience for me.

A good friend of mine who cuts my hair in SF told me that a kayaker was recently attacked by a Great White out in HMB and was luckily plucked out of the water by other kayakers unharmed. Has anyone heard about this story as I would like to find out what happened as I do go pretty far out in HMB?

Since kayak fishing, I have become much more aware of the ocean and tides incoming high and outgoing low and always check the tide charts before I go out on a chosen day. I have made the mistake of coming in when the outgoing low tide is peaked out and it's like going upstream in a river. I have a lot more respect for the Bay. Before I thought that it was just like a big calm lake.

I want to change my online name (msyamagata) as I did not give it much thought when I first signed up with NCKA. Since I grew up in Hawaii, I would like to change it to the DA BRUDDAH. Does anyone know how I can do that without signing up again with a different online name?

Look forward to meeting more of you as time goes by. I know that fishing after the first of the year until May or June is going to be a lot slower. I will still go out when the weather is good for kayaking, even if I don't fish. I have become addicted to being out there and feeling so alive and free!!!

I have attached some pictures of me and my sons, the one with my youngest son Gabe was taken a few years ago in Whitefish, Montana. The rest are all pretty recent

Looks like the only pic that came through is me and my son Jonah out in the Oakland Esturary by the Martin Luther King Jr. Boat Launch of Doolitle Drive a few months ago.
Have a great Holiday and great New Year 2014.

Aloha,

Michael (msyamagata)-DA BRUDDAH
email: msyamagata@comcast.net
cell: 510-282-4831

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------