PWC Jetski angling

Im interested to learn more about fishing from a PWC.  Seems like Seadoo hav the Angler series w entry model fully kitted out for anything that i might try in a yak.

Downsides is its a regulated vessel that needs a tow, cant portage, need boat launch.
Bennies r the massive range extension and survivability from shark attack

U toob vids show plenty of fun action

I am watching this as well lol

Several of the NWKA folks have added a jet ski to their fleet.  I’m tempted.

Not sure if Kiel owns s fishing jet ski set up or borrowed one but believe he has fished on one before. Hopefully he will chime in.

Not sure if Kiel owns s fishing jet ski set up or borrowed one but believe he has fished on one before. Hopefully he will chime in.

I still have my jet ski.

-Kiel

The Seadoo Angler looks pretty sweet, BUT I had to help a guy out in Bodega Bay he had sucked up sea grass and was getting rolled in the surf. Helped cleared the intake and sent him back on his way. Would be huge concern to suck up grass on open water and have to dive under to free the debris!

As I have said so often:

Get a Skiff!

Bushy

The Seadoo Angler looks pretty sweet, BUT I had to help a guy out in Bodega Bay he had sucked up sea grass and was getting rolled in the surf. Helped cleared the intake and sent him back on his way. Would be huge concern to suck up grass on open water and have to dive under to free the debris!

OMG, that sux.  considering we fish in weedy and kelpy areas w potentially lots of debris, that'd be much worse than busting a hobie mirage fin 

I still have my jet ski.

-Kiel

If you have much mileage on it, how about a review pros/cons of using it as a fishing platform?

As I have said so often:

Get a Skiff!

On a PWC the neighbors won't be begging you to take em fishing 

This thread is kind of good timing.  I just put down a deposit on a 2022 Sea Doo Fish Pro.   Sadly, I have to wait until March to pick it up.   So, I’m just spending the next 7 months reading up as much as I can and dreaming about all the extended range. 

Regarding sucking up grass, Sea Doo has the iDf system that allows you to spin the impeller backward and spit out most of the stuff you sucked into your intake. 

Right now, I’m dreaming of slaying salmon next year without being limited to just paddling out to the area around the green buoy at HMB.   

The ultimate dream is to go down to SoCal, launch from Long Beach, and head out to Catalina with my rods and free diving gear. 

Im interested to learn more about fishing from a PWC.  Seems like Seadoo hav the Angler series w entry model fully kitted out for anything that i might try in a yak.

Downsides is its a regulated vessel that needs a tow, cant portage, need boat launch.
Bennies r the massive range extension and survivability from shark attack

U toob vids show plenty of fun action

Another downside that I just found out about today is that there are a bunch of PWC restrictions in the SF Bay from the late 90’s when a lot of jet skis were two strokes.   I’m not 100% sure, but it appears that a lot of the water in Marin County forbids jet skis, and you’re not allowed to ride within 1,200 yards from shore around San Francisco, Alcatraz, and Angel Island.   It’s an old law, so I’m not sure about the enforcement these days.  And, I’m not sure if they treat chill jet ski fishermen drifting for halibut or stripers the same as they would normal jet ski guys who are just running their motors full throttle and annoying everyone. 

Im interested to learn more about fishing from a PWC.  Seems like Seadoo hav the Angler series w entry model fully kitted out for anything that i might try in a yak.

Downsides is its a regulated vessel that needs a tow, cant portage, need boat launch.
Bennies r the massive range extension and survivability from shark attack

U toob vids show plenty of fun action

Another downside that I just found out about today is that there are a bunch of PWC restrictions in the SF Bay from the late 90’s when a lot of jet skis were two strokes.   I’m not 100% sure, but it appears that a lot of the water in Marin County forbids jet skis, and you’re not allowed to ride within 1,200 yards from shore around San Francisco, Alcatraz, and Angel Island.   It’s an old law, so I’m not sure about the enforcement these days.  And, I’m not sure if they treat chill jet ski fishermen drifting for halibut or stripers the same as they would normal jet ski guys who are just running their motors full throttle and annoying everyone.

I have watched quite a few videos about the Seadoo, and others. They look like a lot of fun. Here is the full list of California locations that have restrictions in place, click on the PDF:

 https://dbw.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=29175

Might be worth looking at the specifics of each of the laws to see if they are just banning 2-strokes.

Im interested to learn more about fishing from a PWC.  Seems like Seadoo hav the Angler series w entry model fully kitted out for anything that i might try in a yak.

Downsides is its a regulated vessel that needs a tow, cant portage, need boat launch.
Bennies r the massive range extension and survivability from shark attack

U toob vids show plenty of fun action

Another downside that I just found out about today is that there are a bunch of PWC restrictions in the SF Bay from the late 90’s when a lot of jet skis were two strokes.   I’m not 100% sure, but it appears that a lot of the water in Marin County forbids jet skis, and you’re not allowed to ride within 1,200 yards from shore around San Francisco, Alcatraz, and Angel Island.   It’s an old law, so I’m not sure about the enforcement these days.  And, I’m not sure if they treat chill jet ski fishermen drifting for halibut or stripers the same as they would normal jet ski guys who are just running their motors full throttle and annoying everyone.

Similar issues out of HMB and Monterey Bay, too:




That applies to the entire Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary which runs from 7 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge all the way down to Cambria and out to 30 NM off shore. 

There's a decent FAQ here: https://montereybay.noaa.gov/resourcepro/resmanissues/mpwc/faq.html#mpwc_faq06

I guess a big advantage of a PWC is that if you get rolled by a breaker you can just get back on. All the closures make it a nonstarter for me though. If you had $10k - $20k to spend on a vessel that has to be launched from a ramp, it seems like a no-frills center console with positive buoyancy and big scuppers would be a better fishing platform.

Im interested to learn more about fishing from a PWC.  Seems like Seadoo hav the Angler series w entry model fully kitted out for anything that i might try in a yak.

Downsides is its a regulated vessel that needs a tow, cant portage, need boat launch.
Bennies r the massive range extension and survivability from shark attack

U toob vids show plenty of fun action

Another downside that I just found out about today is that there are a bunch of PWC restrictions in the SF Bay from the late 90’s when a lot of jet skis were two strokes.   I’m not 100% sure, but it appears that a lot of the water in Marin County forbids jet skis, and you’re not allowed to ride within 1,200 yards from shore around San Francisco, Alcatraz, and Angel Island.   It’s an old law, so I’m not sure about the enforcement these days.  And, I’m not sure if they treat chill jet ski fishermen drifting for halibut or stripers the same as they would normal jet ski guys who are just running their motors full throttle and annoying everyone.

Similar issues out of HMB and Monterey Bay, too:




That applies to the entire Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary which runs from 7 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge all the way down to Cambria and out to 30 NM off shore. 

There's a decent FAQ here: https://montereybay.noaa.gov/resourcepro/resmanissues/mpwc/faq.html#mpwc_faq06

OK.  That is such the bummer.  I need to do some more research.   That totally kills it if I’m not allowed to go outside the operating zones.   

Im interested to learn more about fishing from a PWC.  Seems like Seadoo hav the Angler series w entry model fully kitted out for anything that i might try in a yak.

Downsides is its a regulated vessel that needs a tow, cant portage, need boat launch.
Bennies r the massive range extension and survivability from shark attack

U toob vids show plenty of fun action

Another downside that I just found out about today is that there are a bunch of PWC restrictions in the SF Bay from the late 90’s when a lot of jet skis were two strokes.   I’m not 100% sure, but it appears that a lot of the water in Marin County forbids jet skis, and you’re not allowed to ride within 1,200 yards from shore around San Francisco, Alcatraz, and Angel Island.   It’s an old law, so I’m not sure about the enforcement these days.  And, I’m not sure if they treat chill jet ski fishermen drifting for halibut or stripers the same as they would normal jet ski guys who are just running their motors full throttle and annoying everyone.

Similar issues out of HMB and Monterey Bay, too:




That applies to the entire Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary which runs from 7 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge all the way down to Cambria and out to 30 NM off shore. 

There's a decent FAQ here: https://montereybay.noaa.gov/resourcepro/resmanissues/mpwc/faq.html#mpwc_faq06

OK.  That is such the bummer.  I need to do some more research.   That totally kills it if I’m not allowed to go outside the operating zones.

I wanted to keep my last post to pure facts... but I'll opine here.  I have never even heard of this being enforced outside another boater reporting one of the more splashy/speedy type of PWC operators.  In my years as LEO on the water, I never once heard of targeted operations towards PWC use.  The purpose of the PWC ban is to protect habitat in the sanctuary.  I seriously doubt you'll have a problem with enforcement.  That said, it only takes one officer who has a hair on their ass for PWC fisherpeople to ruin your year.  The first fine is reduced, but then they start to ramp up for "repeat offenders."  Just wanted to clear up the spirit versus letter parts from my experiences so it didn't seem alarmist.