I am not using my cherished and fully rigged AI and have decided to sell.  I am the 1st owner and have installed numerous custom items and upgrades too many to list all but I will try.  This boat is turn-key, tricked out, and ready to fish today.

Adventure Island, mirage dive, sail, paddle, outriggers, seat, dagger board, etc.

Lowrance Elite 5 Chirp Fishfinder/Chart Plotter with custom shield and RAM mount and internal transducer, waterproof power supply with wet mate connectors
Custom Trampolines with rod holders, net holder, and pocket, easy on and off
Custom Rod holders to extend built in rod holders
Lots of Scotty mounts, Scotty Rocket Launchers
Scotty Downrigger with reinforced mount
Down rigger weight
Out hauls
Compass
tiller extension
Game clips
RAM mounts
spare parts for Mirage Drive

$3,000, please contact by PM to see it





 

I am trying to clear space and WAF to buy 1/2 of a commercial salmon skiff.

Awesome sailing and fast but needs some TLC new sails, repairs etc. to be prime.

Classy Classified on Latitude 38

$4500 obo.

This is my Force 10 West Marine Scotty Pat R Sackyak Hybrid-Mount Gas Barbeque.

FTWMSPRSHMGB.......Any better ideas for a name?

I know I kind of went overboard but I had all the parts and it think it will be awesome on my AI on a calm day.  I have enough mounts for it even seabass fishing.......

I have found a spot that makes 5-15 lbs every other day.  This beast came on my lunch break today.  Life is good.  Add crab or fish for a feast!

Off the hook for reds and lings.  More to come! 

I hit the water about 5:30 and my wife and daughter launched shortly after that.  They paddled and played on the beach and I fished.  The fishing was slow but the wind was light and warm although there were a few big swells especially over the pinnacles and edges of the kelp beds but very few breakers.  I got one ~13 inch kelp rf that I planned to keep for tacos but ended up giving to a shore fisherman who had been there all day and not caught anything.  It is still in the 70s outside in Monterey as I write this.  Beautiful evening.  Sorry Abking no photos. Family time and sprint fishing only.  My first evening out fishing this year without a fat skunk.

A couple of funny things happended.  I had kelp tied using my floating lip gripper while waiting for the family and paddled away without unhooking it when they came.  By the time I noticed I was way east so I finally went back to look for it toward the end of my paddle.  I was giving up and heading in when I spotted it.  I dropped a few more lours thinking my luck had changed but although I got back my lip gripper I did not catch any more fish.

Driving back along the shore I noticed a 40-foot Coast Guard boat heading out fast with flashing lights.  Earlier I had noticed a row boat tied in the kelp east of Lovers Pt inside the MPA.  This time there was an inflatable just inside the point.  I could not see if they were fishing but we clearly saw the coasties head straight for them, slowdown and circle the inflatable before we could no longer see.  After dinner the coasties were outside the harbor when we drove by.  I wonder what that was all about. 

Numerical Summary:

2,613 miles
9 tanks of gas
5 states
3 days of snow/rain and cold wether
3 National Parks (also went to Craters of the Moon)
1 Visit with Siter in-law and family (brought lingcod)
2 Kayak Fishing Trout : PRICELESS 

We had to squeeze in a short family vacation between school and drama camp so we went to Yellowstone via my sister inlaw who lives in Haily Id.  This early season trip was supposed to beat the crowds though we knew the weather could throw anything at us.  We delivered two sides of lingcod and some fresh Ca. cherries to my wife's sister's family and ate two thirds of it that night and had a fun reunion.  After a few Geo Caches (www.geocaching.com) in andaround Haily, we headed to West Yellowstone via Craters of the Moon.  A cool place with great volcanic geology and lava tube caves you can go in.  The people we met along the way comented that they had just had snow in Yellowstone.

After a night in a hotel outside the park we headed in and immediately saw buffalo, eagles and great fishing streams everywhere.  From the car it was beautiful but outside it was in the 30s and wind of 20-30 with snow flurries and showers.  We toughed out camping for one night but the family was not totally prepared for three nights of winter conditions and a vote lead us to a hotel and cabing the following nights.  I think the photo of my yak and bikes on the van show why we were not too excited about the weather conditions relative to our planned activies.  We ended up touring mostly by car in Yellowstone but probably got to see more of the "sights" than we would have had the weather allowed other (more active) activities.  We made the best of the bad weather and I even wet a line in the Madison river using a bobber/fly technique I had been shown when I was a kid in Colorado but the 30 mph wind made it a silly folly.

We rolled south into Grand Titon Na. Pk. a little discouraged by our bad luck but as the storm broke things began to look up.  The wind died down and I tossed a few lours in Jackson lake during our only comfortable outside dinner of the trip.  I saw a kid land a small trout and after staying in a nearby cabin, Friday morning I hit the lake at 6AM.  This place is beautiful my photos do not do it justice.  The whole time I was hypnotized like when watching a fire by the contantly changing views of the peaks and clouds and water.  I tried with the photos but....oh my.  This is a hikers/climbers/skiers/fishing/outdoor pardise.  Except no ocean.

About the fishing:

After pulling an 11 year old in and out of the van and snowy and frigid conditions in order to share a pleasant family experience, I was getting a chance to use my kayak.  My wife offered to help out while our daughter slept.  She brewed a good French Press pot of Peets while I rigged up and I launched at 6AM on Jackson Lake to a beautful clear still morning with magical looking mist and clouds over the mountians and water.  The frost on the bottom of the yak allowed it to slide effortlessly over the rocky beach when my wife dropped her end  .  It also caused what I later realized was a false reading of 34 degree water before it thawed out to show a steady 42.  . 

Having a fishfinder in the clear cold apline water was cool as I could see all of the subsurface structure and since I am really a freshwater nuby I really needed all the help I could get.  I trolled a rappela for a while in both deep and shallow water while mesmeried by the views and fog and when I got no hits, I switched to a #1 Mepps.  I saw a few fish jump and paddeded over each spot. did a few circles over big drop offs near the middle and then headed into a cove that looked like mouth of a small creek.  Though there was no creek I planned to paddle straight into the beach to a depth of 10 fow and then parrallel to the shore around the small bay.  I accelerated as I made the turn to keep the lour moving and the freshwater spinning rigs my 85 year old neighber Mr. Yamomoto gave me as a thank you for the rockfish I had given him started bouncing.  I missed that one but continued with my plan.  The next hit stuck and I had a 13-14 inch lake trout? on my stringer.  After a few more circles around the cove with several hits and misses along the way but learing the whole time, I got another 13-14 inch thit time a cutthrought to add to my stringer.  This vacation was turning out great.  It only took three and a half hours kayak fishign in a beautiful place to make all the driving worth while.  We had trout, sausage and eggs outside for a true camping breakfast and then I did dishes and organized and loaded gear while my wife took the opportunity for a short bike ride and my daugher read her book.

In the end we did have a great time though not the time we had planned.  We spent more time in the car than any of us would have liked.  If you go in the early or late season or anytime for that matter be ready for potential cold weather in order to not let it potentially spoil your time. Though I really did not get much chance to fish Yellowstone because of the weather it looked like it would be great under the right conditions especially if you are a fly fisherman.  In any case the geothermal and volcanic features are awesome as well as the mountains, wildlife and scenery in general.  Grand Titon and Jackson Lake were the highlights for me and there are more very beautiful lakes in this area, many which were not accessable to us because of snow in which you could launch a kayak.  Hope you like the photos.

We had tentative plans for a rope down the cliff type of launch at Garrapata but then Eric and Pat could not go leaving just Scott and I and then porceline god got the best of Scott so at 5:30 AM, coffee and oatmeal in hand, all loaded and ready to go, I guess I will be fishing alone or join one of the groups I know will be an the usual spots.  I left the house thinking I was gong to follow through with the rope drop when I realized there was no way I was going to do that alone.  I saw the small waves as Seaside St. Beach and figured I could launch anywhere I wanted in these conditions.  I was looking for something more adventurous than Stillwater but did not want to drive to LK.  I decided to try for one of the beaches along 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach.

The excitement built as I passed the turn for Stillwater and it seemed for ever until the road got back to the coast.  My hart dropped when saw the fences blocking off the beach for seal pupping then past the end of the fence a turn off with steps and a pond easy launch.  The first two photos.  I made it out without even getting water over my booties.  I should point out that this beach can be very rought in a swell and there are many huge shallow rocks on the way out that will make boils and breakers in bigger conditions.  There also seems to be more current here than I am used to feeling in the ocean.  I think that there are several places along this strech that are good potential launches in the right conditions which do not happen often.  Please make sure you know what you are getting into if you decide to launch around here.  Stillwater is almost always a safe backup plan if you an not sure  .

There was structure everywhere on the way out but it was mostly shallow (now I know why it breaks here like it can) mostly no fish though.  I tried several different lours and moved around a lot trying different areas as I watched the bottom up to 30 feet below.  I wondered if it was still brown and murky at MBK like it was last Tuesday evening.  The sandy areas where covered in broken up kelp and while it did not cause snaggs, it did foul the offerings.  I followed a line of kelp to deeper water fished a few boils and around some rocks, into a small cove and then out past the point toward the bouy.  By this time I had fished 10-15 spots for 5-10 minutes each and just had a few rockfish, one brown, and one gopher kept and a small blue and a kelp released.  Fairly slow with lots of snags and some  lost tackle but I was finding my way.  I had one huge take down that bent open my snap swivel after furious head shakes and not mcuh headway realling it in.  I should have taken a photo of the swivel  .

Outside, I found an area where there was a point at 70 feet surrounded by about 100 foot water.  Swim baits were gonig down too slow, so I tried a knife jig with two stinger hooks, and no sqid teaser.  I got a just legal ling really well hooked in the corner of his mouth.  I needed a good measurement because this one was close so I got the lip grippers on him to get him unhooked and he went totally ballistic.  He broke his jaw in two places as he thrashed around before I could get the hook out and measure him.  Nore more than 1/8 to 1/4 over 24 but leagal and he would not have had much of a life with a 3-piece lower jaw.  I strung him up.  Things were getting interesting.  I drifted that area but could not find  the spot again so I went in to fish the kelp between Cypress Pt and Sunset Pt.  I had fairly steady and successful C&R of gophers and chinas and kept one decent kelp RF.  By the time my fishfinder battery went dead (third trip without recharge) I decided to head back around the point and in.

As I passed about the same place I caught my ling, I saw a fish jump say 20 yards from my kayak.  White color and definately fish shaped, I have no idea what it was.  That was too much to stand.  I had a 6-oz mega bait on on rod and I casted it just past the spot as I drifted toward it.  I think I drifted to vertical and jigged for a while thinking it was interesting that my line counter showing flutuating bottom depths from 80-100 feet.  I got a hit and it seemed to come off as I reeled in and tried for a hook set.  I dropped back down jigged some more and felt a good strong tug.  Not much shaking and heavy, this was not a gopher or china.  As I saw color the big ling took a 50 foot run until thumb pressure could slow him down.  Back at the surface the second time and the Kuntz gaff found its mark right in the lower jaw.  I am starting to like gafffing big fish. 

So I headed strainght in and took out the bigger ling of the stringer to measure it and it came out one or two inches longer than the tape on my paddle which is 28-inch.  Since it was not bigger than Pat's last one.  I did not bother for a better measurement.  I left the fish in my boat while I hauled rods and stuff up to the van.  While there I heard a commotion and when I came back the big ling was in the sand a few feet from the kayak.  I rinsed him off and took both lings up to the car and put them in the cooler in the van and closed the lid and went back to the kayak for more gear.  When I returned to the van, the big ling was on the ground next to the van.  After a second rinse on the beach, I covered the fish with ice and while I heard some more thrashing, there where no more escape attempts.

I had my wife snap a shot of the two lings.  I also ended up with three RF and released up to 10 others.  This was a cool place to fish. away from the crowds at SW though there did seem to be more power boats.  There are more areas left to explore to the north next time we have a clam period.  Hope you feel better soon Scott.