In order to keep fish as fresh as possible my normal routine was to keep fish live on the clip, bleed them when heading in, and right onto ice after landing.

Since I was flipped out of my kayak last week at Shelter Cove ( https://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=101746.225 ) when a sea lion grabbed my fish I have decided to change my method. The only place for a kill bag is in the back, and that means that I have to give up on carrying a crate. Not having the crate eliminates 4 rod holders which is another issue.

The recommended kill bags in this thread are no longer available so looking for current recommendations. My kayak is an Eddyline Caribbean 14. 

Sonny must be driving back from Shelter Cove.

Plenty of them return to the hatchery.

Every year the Coastside Fishing Club builds a net pen to acclimate salmon smolts prior to releasing them into Half Moon Bay. The sudden shock of being dumped into salt water makes them easy prey so the acclimation increases the survival rate substantially. The smolts are from the Mokelumne Hatchery, and their returns have been fantastic in spite of all the water issues.

The club needs help with the build so if you have time Saturday May 18 it would be greatly appreciated. The serve a light breakfast, and a full BBQ lunch after the build. With a lot of hands it goes easy and fast. The build is at the HMB boat ramp. I’ve been helping out for about 5 years now, and it’s a fun event.

From Coastside:

“May 18th Pen Build, 8 am for Food, 9am for work . Pillar Point Harbor, need 30 able bodies and the usual tools 3/4 inch wrenches and sockets spud wrench, sun protection, eye protection, knee pads, gloves etc. “

I don’t do to much fishing in the rain but I spend a tremendous amount of time in the rain mushroom hunting. I spend my money on the jacket, and not so much on the pants. I have one of the Simms Pro Gortex jackets, and it’s fantastic. Totally waterproof including all of the pockets.

Since I stoop down on my knees a lot I just look for pants that are water proof, are large enough in the ankle area to get over my boots, and can be tightened around the boots. My rain pants get a lot of abuse, and don’t last long so I’m not going to spend a bunch on them.

I have Simms waders that have been holding up well with only use in the salt. I highly recommend the brand.

I tried but failed to add the 20 fathom line to my Hook2. For my Raymarine I took a no longer used memory card and deleted the files that were on it. Then I downloaded the 20 fathom line to it. This is what I tried to use to update the Hook2. I took out the Navionics card, and put in the card with the 20 fathom line, and then tried to transfer the files to the Hook2’s memory. I received a message that there wasn’t enough storage space. I deleted all of the waypoints, and tracks then tried again but still got the same message.

So then I took the Navionics card and put it in my computer. Once it was installed, the Garmin website opened up, and it wanted me to purchase an update for my expired card for around $75.00. I was able to open the files section of the card so I dropped the 20 fathom line in. Once I reinstalled it into the Hook2 I was not able to find it in the file. Not sure if it would help to purchase an update.

And since I was thinking about updates I called a Navionics tech support and explained why they should add the 20 & 50 fathom lines to their charts. The tech person explained that they typically only ad items to the charts that are permanent, and he felt the lines I was asking for are seasonal, and could go away or change.

He did say I could make the suggestion, and maybe if enough of us make a request it could happen. It would make it super simple. Here is the link to make a request: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/forms/ideas/

My Raymarine is a great chart plotter/FF but the transducer is very large, and creates a lot of drag when paddling. So I typically only use it if I have the motor on which hasn’t happened much in the past two years. I think the last time was at Bodga Bay when I hooked something really big that I lost after about a 20 minute battle. Scotty keep an eye on me the whole time.

Looks like the selection committee has picked the team members. From California we have: Allen Sansano, Annie Nagel, and Elsa Flores. Looking forward to these 3 taking the top spots for Team USA. Full Team USA here:

https://usangling.org/kayak-saltwater-pan-am-2024/

Awesome info guys.  Thanks.  I def did not see anything like that.  That Garmin looks nice.
Mark, what brand did you switch to if you don't mind me asking?

For ocean use I switched to the Raymarine Element 9.
 https://www.raymarine.com/en-us/our-products/fishfinders-sonar-modules/element/element-hv?    I wanted the 7 but the 9 was on sale for substantially less than the 7. I was drawn to the Raymarine because of the fast processor speed, and the Hypervision 1.2 megahertz sonar. One item that I didn't think about but turned out to be the best feature is the ability to use the Navionics Platinum plus card. The shaded relief is a real game changer for rock fishing. Customer service is really good with tech support actually answering calls, and being able to resolve issues I was having.

The drawbacks are the large transducer that creates a fair amount of drag. My hook transducer is permanently glued in hull. Another issue is that there are not many of them sold so there isn't much information about them available on Youtube, or any other social media sites.

I think the higher end Garmin, and Lowrance units have comparable features.