Weather permitting, my buddy has agreed to meet up with me at Bean Hollow for a lesson in surf launching, around 8AM.  Accuweather shows a bright sunny day for Sun, but im not sure about the marine forecast.  This would be my first time, his 4th I think.  Would love company if anyone is interested in teaching a newbie.  Not really planning on fishing, but will likely bring tackle (it generally never leaves my car anyway).

Alain-

Loch Lomond, my first trip out:

I have been to just about every tackle store I could reach on lunch breaks around san jose this last few weeks looking for equipment, but never really found a gaff that I liked.  So I went to FW and got a gaff hook, and found a rattan escrima stick I had from when I used to practice the martial art.  Brought these over to my friends house where he actually took the project on himself, with a couple of beers as payment, and using his skill saw we hollowed out a grove to fit the gaff hook into.  Using a wood chisel we finished the groove off, drilled a hole for the tang to fit in, and pressed it into place.  The gaff hook felt fairly secure in the groove we made, so I didn't feel the need to finish it off with glue, just wrapped it up in electrical tape.  My buddy then had the idea to take double thick electrical tape to use for the handle to give it some grip. 

We then finished it off with some 3/16 tubing to make a safety cover for the hook, zip-tied on.  In the end, i'm fairly happy with it, fell like its a little shorter than normal, but from a kayak it seems to be about right to me.  I should create a loop to help keep it from falling overboard, which another friend suggested using a thin strip of leather that could probably break away should I hook into something that is going to pull me overboard.  We lifted 40# weights with no flexing issues or anything.  For the hook, it was 5$, and my friend's electrical tape cost me 3 bucks to replace.  But I did have the rattan already.  So for 8$ here is my new gaff.

Here is some of the stuff I picked up for rock fishing while at fisherman's warehouse last Friday.  I didn't want to buy too much without giving a small selection a try, so I went with some suggestions of people that were there, and what others have suggested on here.  What else do you guys think I should add to my box?

Btw, it was cool meeting some of you guys for the first time!  Mooch, I didn't recognize you until I saw your pics you had out there. 

I booked for the May 11th trip to Limekiln, and am really excited for my first trip out.  I wonder if anyone would be willing to take me under their wing for my first launch.  Sacyack, you going to be out there?

Oh, and I forget her name, but the lady with the cool telescoping net I wanted to ask who made that net and where she got it.  It seems like it would be perfect for my needs. 

might make it out in the afternoon, if I can get my new kayak rack mounted in time

Hey AI!  When/Where do you plan to launch your first time on the ocean?  Been looking myself, still really haven't gotten a good idea as to where to go   This Saturday I am thinking of hitting a South Bay lake like lexington to practice.  Something I just want to try is flipping over the boat while close to shore to see how hard it is to get back in.  Even thought that maybe I should see what its like if yack is filling up with water, and open a hatch and flood it to see if it sinks.  But dont really want to spend the time cleaning it afterwards lol! 

I too need to get just about everything I will need for salt water fishing.  Have cheap rods I used to pier fish with, but think I wanna see what a mooching rod would be like to fish with.  Got some good ideas on tackle from the posts in this thread and others, but I still have no real clue what I am going to get.  Hope to get a small assortment to try out basically. 

Hope to see you out there!

Thanks Kickfish!  This is awesome information for a beginner, and I greatly appreciate it. I may not have a FF by the time of the derby, but I can study the charts, maps, google earth, etc to have a good idea of the area's to fish.  (Chart: http://www.boatharbors.com/chart_half_moon_bay_18682.htm)  Hope the seas are calm come 6/10 though

Some (really) green questions I still have:

I do plan on getting a VHF, looks like the floating ICOM is a good deal, found it fairly cheap on Froogle:  http://dogbytecomputer.com/xcart/catalog/product_11937_Icom_M34_01_Handheld_VHF_Marine_Transceiver.html?MMCF_Froogle

I haven't used one before, do you need a license to generally use the device?  Is there a specific channel NCKA folks tune into when on the water? 

What is the green can?  I know what channel markers look like, but is this a real green can or something to indicate the reef is close?

Any recommendations for Santa Cruz fishing?  I don't see many reports, or hookup threads with regards to SC fishing.  Am I better off going farther south like NBSB, Capitola, or Moss Landing?  Hear the otters are everywhere down in moss landing right now, would be fun to see them anyways.


Once again, thanks for all the kind advice guys!

Hey everyone!  This is my first time posting, but I have enjoyed reading the many threads on this board and finally decided to register.  I bought a Hobie Outback SUV 2007 HPE and am very excited to be hitting the water to fish.  Been fishing from the shore for years, never really had access to a boat until now.  I have been out only 4 times now (green:) at Loch Lomond (grew up a mile from there), steven's creek, and shadow cliffs. 

I'm getting excited about the HMB Fishing Derby, and have been  trying to get prepared for what it will be like when I finally hit the ocean.  For my first time out in the sea I was looking for some advice as to where I should first launch.  Thinking I should stick to a harbor before attempting a surf launch so I was thinking of maybe going to Santa Cruz and try launching out the harbor over there. 

I'm also tempted to goto HMB harbor, where I have been out crabbing, and kind of know the coast line, though not as well as SC.  May try some sort of fishing as well, but I mostly just want to get comfortable being in the ocean with my yak.  Any recommendations ?  Thanks!