On the water from 7:00 - 11:00 am Saturday morning. First few hours were very slow, but it seemed like someone flipped a switch around 10:00 and I ended up catching a total of 15 on a feather jig with squid. Mostly mid-sized blues, but I did get two vermilion. One of which was really good size. Biggest fish I've gotten off the yak so far! Put up an excellent fight on my lighter 6'6 UglyStick Elite Medium. Also, had a good-sized ling come up attached to a smaller blue. Hung on all the way to the boat, and didn't seem at all scared or intimidated as it got closer. If I wasn't so surprised, I probably could have netted him....kinda cheating though, huh??

Decided to opt for an evening session on Sunday. Weather conditions were excellent and was nice to not have the launch zone so crowded. I decided to try fishing deeper and using bigger tackle in hopes of getting a ling or two. No such luck! Moved around to all sorts of different zones but hardly a nibble. I got impatient and moved in closer to the kelp beds with the ole trusty feathers and ended up getting 5 blues , but not nearly as much action as the past 3 or 4 times being out. Lot of the small jellies in the water...was thinking maybe the fish were full off those? Maybe the fish were as annoyed as I was and moved way offshore due to having to listen to the announcer from the PB Concourse Event congratulate everyone on being rich and obnoxious! 

Met a really nice guy on Sat as I was getting loaded up who had his limit with lings. He gave me a bunch of helpful tips for getting my yak set up, recommended a nice looking FF, helped me lug my yak up the hill and even gave me a freshly tied swimbait rig. Didn't get a chance to catch his name or see if he was part of NCKA, but cheers to that guy! Enjoying getting to know and being a part of this community!

Armed with the advice gathered on this here thread, I gave it a second go Saturday (8/6) morning off Carmel. What a great time! I ended up catching a total of 15 (8 RF and 7 what I believe were sand dabs?). Despite a bit of wind and combo of NW windswell and S swell, drift was not an issue at all. I did have a kelp clip rigged up and ready to go, but did not need to use it. Also, I wore a 3/2 wetsuit with waterproof pants and was very warm and comfortable. More importantly, I felt much safer should I end up in the drink. I used a feather rig with squid. Constant action from about 6:00 - 10:00 am. No lings or anything or notable size, so I'm sure this is just another day in the office for you experiences guys, but I had an absolute blast! Can't wait to get back out there. Thanks again for the help!

SeaScum -- If you have old surfing wetsuits you can also consider cutting the upper half off of one to make high waist pants. I use that and a neoprene jacket -- solves the need for a relief zipper and gets more use out of an old suit retired due to a busted zipper.

Cheers,
Brad

Right on, Brad. Thanks for the tip.

This is excellent advice. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to offer up some advice.

FishingAddict and P-Sherman  - Yep, I saw you guys! Was closely watching in an effort to pick up some knowledge. As I said, you were making it look easy. Did you guys end up getting anything on Sat? I will absolutely come say hi next time.

Any recommendations on a farmer john?

Hello all. Noob from Carmel Valley. Already learned a lot from the forum and look forward to learning a bunch more. I grew up in Auburn and have called the Monterey area home for the past 12 years. Cool to see posts about waters in both areas.