Lost Coast - 8/13/23

A few days ago it was announced that the nearshore, boat-based rockfishing season is closing in a week in the Northern Management Area that includes Crescent City, Trinidad, Humboldt Bay and jetties, and the Cape Mendocino area.  This sudden closure is unexpected and a surprise to most, including myself.  With this closure in mind, I figured to get out and fish one of my favorite remote spots as soon as possible.  The forecast wasn't ideal, but it looked good enough to give it a go, so I called up my good friend and most faithful client, David, and we made a plan to get on it. 

Up early to meet David in Loleta where we'd head over the Wildcat together in my truck, I checked the buoy report, and the Cape Mendocino numbers were horrible - 9 feet at 9 seconds!  I clicked on all my forecast pages, and it still looked feasible to fish, but that buoy reading almost had me pulling the plug.  David arrived right on time, we loaded his kayak and gear on my truck, and we were on the road for the Cape.  I took my time over the hills, and when we couldn't see the mouth of Bear River as we descended into Capetown, I figured the fog would also be thick along the coast where we planned to fish.  Sure enough, 10 minutes later we were coming down the Wall into pea soup - the breakers weren't even visible from the road...

No worries - this is what navigation tools are for, and my years of crawling around the rocks, diving the nearshore and kayak fishing offshore along this stretch of coastline have me very confident in my ability to safely guide my guests to and from the fishing grounds.  The key determinations now were about which launch to use and whether a sloppy sea surface might prevent safe boating.  With a Hazardous Seas Warning to the north of the Cape and a Small Craft Advisory to the south, I definitely had thoughts about my assessment of the forecasts and the practicality of fishing on this day.

We would have time to further observe the ocean while unloading, transporting and setting up our boats down by the water, and if things didn't look good, we'd bring it all back up the trail.  With our gear ready and the shoreline still looking fine, we launched onto the foggy ocean around 9AM.  Right away it was apparent that the inshore area was heavily affected by confused chop coming in from the outer waters.  With not much swell at all, the boats were performing fine and not taking water over the bow - always something to watch out for and to avoid.  I confirmed that David was comfortable in the rodeo-like slop, and we pushed out into the fog.  If things were worse out there our day was going to be over, but instead we found that the sea state improved a bit offshore, and there was still no wind.

With the help of electronic navigation tools that are always backed up with redundant compasses, we made our way to the fishing grounds but stayed a bit further inshore than usual.  With our offerings only getting pecked at a couple of times on the way out, the fishing started slow.  Soon though we were both enjoying a steady bite from the black rockfish, and within an hour or so we had several species up.  As was part of the forecast, the ocean mellowed a bit, and the breeze stayed down for us, which is absolutely crucial out there at one of the windiest spots along the coast of California.

For the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon, David and I had a ball catching about an average number of average sized fish.  The trophies that used to regularly come out of the Lost Coast nearshore waters are fewer than they used to be - such is fishing, and any sportsman should hope to 'graduate' from the big fish obsession at some point!  Believe me, wanting a bigger fish is one of the strongest instincts that any man has.  We tried to focus on how happy we were to get on this remote water before the closure kicks in, so how many fish we caught or how big they were weren't our priorities this day.  It feels good to really put effort into appreciating the trip for way more than the fishing, and spending the day with David always provides me with inspiration to look beyond the basics of timing, duration of trip and special targets.  Our big goal of spending more time at this special place before it's deemed off-limits had been accomplished, and the challenges associated with the fog and the less than perfect ocean made the entire day feel successful.  Ironically, the slowish bite added to the overall feeling of challenge, and our deliberately selected harvest had value that goes far beyond the poundage of protein obtained. 

We wrapped up our mission before mid afternoon, and getting back on the beach after being in the thick fog for hours provided its own 'we survived' exhilaration that, along with not getting tossed by a little swell on the beach landing, set the mood at "giddy" for the chores of packing the gear back up the hill and onto the truck.

With the hard work done, we moved down the road to my preferred Tailgate Fillet Station location where the traditional Stringer Display Photo was executed, a bucket of cold seawater was obtained, and for an hour or so I got to enjoy what is always a favorite part of the trip.  Cutting the fish with care and packing away the freshest fillets on ice while enjoying a cold beer is all the better because it's the culmination of a plan that came together on short notice and a day that worked out for us to accomplish what wasn't easy.  The fact that David has obvious and heartfelt recognition of and esteem for the very type of experience that I've described, made him the perfect person to be on this trip with me.

Thank you, my friend, for going on another solid adventure with me.  The day was one of the very best, without a doubt.

**************************************************************

Met DaveTheSynthGuy through NCKA in 2011.

...

Thanks for another great report and pictures Eric.

Great detailed report Eric. I went out at Pigeon Pt last Saturday and experienced pretty much the same fishing and weather conditions. Feels great when that cool sea breeze hits your face.

Gorgeous verms!

Right on Eric.  Way to get out there before the unexpected closure.

Nice report. Sounds like a great day.
That’s unfortunate and seems unfair about the super short RF season up there, which sounds like it could expand southward. Why they create theses restrictions without requiring descenders (Oregon and Washington do) or reduced limits is beyond me. But when the management council is dominated by commercial interests, I guess that is what we get.
Paul and a few of us are working up a petition to expand the non-motorized season.

Thanks for the nice replies, fellas.   

Paul and a few of us are working up a petition to expand the non-motorized season.

Thank you for your efforts.   

---Nice post,  Loleta Eric.

Thanks for the report. That launch sure looks a bit rocky to me.

What an awesome report  . You guys slayed some nice fish at a favorite hard to reach spot.  Great stuff  . Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the report. That launch sure looks a bit rocky to me.

Nice work D & E! Yep, it’s rocky 

Always appreciate your reports and your approach to fishing, sportsmanship, and nature. Thanks!

It was a GREAT trip.   They always are.   Thanks again, Eric.    I'm going to make a "sequel" post with my photos and write up so for now I'll just re-post a reprise of some music I created with video and images from three previous Cape trips with Eric.

I love kayak fishing at the Cape.



I'm not sure if that YouTube link is working.  It's not showing up in my various browsers.  "".

So awesome.  Thanks for sharing Eric and Dave!