Launched from Monterey Bay Kayaks beach at 0730 on Monday 07/20 with glassy surface, little wind, surprisingly fast drift for such a calm day, overcast skies, good visibility. Just wanted a shakedown cruise to try out my new Shimano Baitrunner spinning reel. Reports of slow to no bite at all left me with low expectations. Past the yellow buoy drifting toward the red buoy at 90 feet, I dropped a frozen squid on a circle hook with a circle stinger using a reverse dropper loop. Landed a very nice brown RF at about 0800. Quite pleased, thinking ‘Great. Takes care of Mr. Skunk and wife and I can enjoy a nice fish dinner. And BTW, love this reel; that bait runner function seems to work well.’  Drifted for about 15 minutes and had a really hard takedown but did not stick. Guessed it was a Halibut by the way it hit. Paddled back to my first drop; in about another 15 minutes felt another strong takedown followed by a hard nibble all while using the baitrunner feature. Then, fish ran, and I knew I had something. Cranked gently until the rod bent nearly double and the fight was on. Strong runner, towed my yak a ways, really hard headshakes and she pulled a lot of line while she ran. After about 10 minutes, I started gaining line slowly and steadily. Got her to the surface, let her cruise in a circle a couple of times, then gaffed her, got the game clip into her gills, through the mouth, and locked down. So happy. Did my best to dispatch her with a knife point where I thought the brain would be; she quivered a bit and had only reflex twitching, thereafter, so I think I did it right. Cut the gills and let her bleed out. Decided that was it; not a greedy kinda guy. 36-inch Halibut will feed us for several meals. Went home a happy fella.

Down-sizing to a smaller house.

Love this yak: light, fast, stable; but no room for two rides.

Yak: $750 to NCKA brothers/sisters
Assortment: 2 Scotty rod-holders, seat with cushion, AquaBound paddle, C-tug, other stuff $100 with purchase of the yak.

Let's concede now so that we don't have to waste time haggling: $800 takes it all. The Caribbean retails new for around $1300.

I'll be travelling this week, returning next Monday 07/27 to show it.

Taking grandchildren camping May 16-18 somewhere along the coast. Will pay going rate for two nights. If you have one to rent or know of someone who would rent theirs, please PM me. 19 - 21 feet would be fine, but I have a pickup that will pull much larger. Thanks.

So, bummed. Coming home from Monterey yesterday (Tuesday 07/16), had some gear: Lowrance Mark 4 FF, 3 Scotty and 1 RAM torpedos, 1 attitude adjuster (wooden), 1 lip gripper in a brown cloth sack with a draw string secured (I thought) atop my kayak, which was atop my car, and when I got home - GONE. Perhaps fell off on or near Lighthouse Ave in Pacific Grove or Monterey. Unlikely to recover it, but just in case one of you local folks happened across this valuable bundle, I would love to hear from you. The Sandabs were delicious and we are having the two Rockies tonight.

Anyone going for Rockies and Lings, somewhere along Sonoma Coast this Sat?

Leaving Vallejo around 0530 hrs. Sat. morn. 10/20 to scout the OC launch and campground for the RTM Classic the following week. Welcome company.

Hate giving them up, but I have to make room for the new ride from Headwaters. I installed two flush mount  Cannon rod holders plus two flush mount inserts in the rear. It also has the rod pod center console, the compartment for the FF, and I installed my own anchor trolley. This is a sweet ride in great shape. The trailer is a Harbor Freight 40" X 48" utility trailer that I have modified several times over numerous man-hours. I added a nine-foot tongue. It tows great, has plenty of tread on the 12" tires and I'm including the spare, I have greased the bearings several times. It will carry two kayaks side by side, and you can stack two more on them. This trailer is easily modifiable to suit your preferences (I had a Home Depot big green tool box on it for some time). Load capacity is rated at 1,000 lbs. I'll sell them individually: Special NCKA prices are OK T13  $600, trailer $350, or take them both for $850. PM me if you are interested.

See ya on The Berry tomorrow. Launching from Lupine Shores around 0730. Fish On.