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.       

Well my fears of catching a fish on a handline have been calmed. Trolled anchovies the whole morning and at one point I was pretty sure I had a bite so I stopped paddling, and let out some line and waited, then waited a little more. I yanked the line and the started pulling in line.

I only felt the weight at first then more weight. I worked it up to where I could see it was a keeper halibut. Got the gaff ready, and lifted it up but my arm isn’t as long as a pole so I had to pull up line well into the leader before I could get a shot. Perfect gaff and onto the clip. 1 Bite 1 fish for me today. Thank you Glen for putting this on, and serving lunch today.

I don’t know if it is official but I believe the final results were:

1. Keil 37” 19lbs
2. Sonny 30.25
3. Keil 27”
4. MarkL 25 1/4”

what kind of fish is that?

He says it’s a salmon shark

It was live on F&S Facebook, can’t link the drawing but the winners were: Julie Perry,  Pheng Vang, and John Meteyer

This is from late July last year at Shelter Cove.

We had gone out the day before with Eric Stockwell, and loaded up on rockfish. So today we would slow troll swim baits for halibut on the way to the reef. No bites by the time we arrived.

Once at the reef we started drifting large swim baits on the hopes of catching some lings. After about 15min we were drifting more toward shore so we went back out a couple hundred yards.

I dropped down and got hammered hard by something big. Felt like a monster ling, and I couldn’t get it up more than 10’ and it would dive back down. I worried  that it might snag in the rocks so I added a little more drag. Now I could got it up to 30’ before it would dive down over and over.

I had the rod braced under my arm, and resting on my knee. I was getting beat pretty bad, and decided it was time to have confidence in my leader, and knot tying. I tightened the drag to max which I think is about 22lbs on the Takota 500A.

Now I was starting to make some headway but it would still pull line like there was no drag. Finally it starts to tire out just before I do. I see my leader come into view. I peek over the side and Holy Shit it’s a Pacific Halibut.

Now what? Gaff, or net? Eric always warns people to have a big net when fishing at Shelter Cove, and my son had given me one for birthday. It is embarrassingly big at 36”x36” semi square, and 36” deep with a flat bottom.

I decided to go for it with the net, and from experience with CA halibut I knew it had to go in head first or it would escape for sure. I placed the net in the water, and it took off on another run. Trying to hold the net under my arm while I reeled it in. As it came up I put the net in position and glided it in head first.

Total mayhem as it takes a run while in the net, and I try to hold on, and lift as much as I can. After a while it calmed down. I had it securely wedged in the net so it couldn’t escape. Out of safety concerns I had my son hold the other side of the net while I bleed it, stabbed it in the brain about twenty times, and put it on the clip.

Quite an experience I will remember forever. 44” 38lbs