Hey Eric! I understand not posting the roster. What size group are we looking at?

About the same as last year, Kendall.  Might hit 80.

Surf fishing is a blast - when they run!   

I got my first exposure to it at a young age down near Half Moon Bay.  We'd cruised up the beach to where my dad and the other men saw the birds working, and while the guys set up their nets my sister and I were catching them by hand in gentle surf - two at a time!  Early 1970's...

In the late 80's early 90's I started frequenting Centerville Beach - it's 10 minutes past Ferndale at the south edge of the Eel River Valley.  I put in lots of time watching birds that would work but never seemed to move in to shore.  I was targeting the hours before and after a high tide, and it was the summer months - "Fair Time" in August comes to mind.

One day at Centerville the stars aligned.  I saw birds doing their usual thing up the beach a ways, so I hoofed it up there and by the time I got there it was a frenzy!  I got fish on my first dip, dumped them on the beach and went back for more.  Came out with a second dip of fish and my first catches were gone - the birds found working the sand way easier than working the waves!     I learned that a bucket is indispensable in surf fishing.

I haven't surf fished since, but I miss it, and smelt make great bait that's hardy like a herring and can be re-frozen.

My tips and places:

- bird activity is crucial;
- tide factors in, but it's not always a high tide gig;
- keep talking to locals so you can get word on some spots;  and...
- bring a bucket, young man!

- Centerville was close to Loleta but not the best spot ever;
- Orick is known for surf fish - it's where the commercial guys usually are;
- Luffenholtz has been known for surf fish and has especially had a reputation for night fish, but watch your car there - sketchy at times.

Best of luck, and please text me or drop an email with some nuggets that you attain on this challenging fishery.   

Loleta Eric may chime in and remind us that having redundant radios and navigation instruments is a good practice as well.

 

I think having a whistle or other noisemaking device is a USCG regulation, isn't it?

Where’s da list? I sent my registration/waiver/TPS report last week…hoping it arrives in time.

You're in, buddy!  I emailed you - did you get it?

Everyone who has signed up should've received my email.

I will not be posting a roster list anymore - too risky in today's nasty world...

Not sure how it all started, but 69 is the "kayaker channel" just about everywhere that I've kayaked on the ocean.  Using 69 can be useful, but I have always encouraged kayakers to have a solid commitment to monitoring the local channel for the port they're boating out of.  At Eureka and Shelter Cove that channel is 68, and at Trinidad it's 78.

When you are on the ocean and you follow the very common advice to only monitor channel 69 because you're a kayaker, you are potentially jeopardizing yourself as well as possibly missing out on important information about the fishing!  When you don't monitor the local channel, you may miss it when powerboaters are speaking to you, about you, about the bite, about the weather or current hazards, about a shark...etc. 

I'm fortunate because I live in an area of limited population, so monitoring the local channel has always been a no-brainer.  I started out as the only kayak on the water much of the time at Shelter Cove, off of Humboldt Bay and at Trinidad, so of course I've always been on the local channels for those areas. 

There are exceptions to what I'm saying.  At Gimme Shelter it becomes a hassle for dozens/scores/a couple hundred kayakers to be on the local channel, so the use of 69 is convenient and appropriate at that time.  At all other times while on the water at Shelter Cove, I am on 68, and I have a good rapport with the charter captains and other locals.  The main point of being on that channel though, as I said, is safety and remaining informed of local issues and conditions.

I've never monitored multiple channels on one radio - I've been too lazy to use that function.  When I want to monitor multiple channels I turn on multiple radios - it doesn't happen often.  This is another topic, but it's worth bringing up here - I have long recommended having redundancy in VHF radios - that is, have more than one.  I usually carry three, and I currently own 5.

On the Cobra topic:  plenty of people have bagged on them in the past - probably because they're cheap.  Back in the day, you could get two of the smallest ones in a two-pack for $89!  They worked great, until they didn't!  That was a good way to get into the mode of always owning and carrying multiple radios.

It is a fact that many - if not most - of the best kayakers on this site have experienced a dead battery in their VHF.  When you're offshore and something goes wrong, having a dead battery would be a tragic reason to fail to hail assistance.

VHF redundancy and navigation tool (GPS and compass) redundancy are super high on my list of priorities for kayaking on the ocean - right up with dressing for immersion.

May I request a text summary of the event?

"Hey, Guys!  Welcome to MooMoo Outdoooooors."   

Moo launches on nice conditions at ARW and goes through a thoughtful run-down of the regulations regarding hook limits (3) and active rod limits (1) for SF Bay.  He explains that he'll be targeting halibut using sex herring caught earlier this year but will try to land a live bait fish - preferably jacksmelt, since they're so hardy - and that he'll be pulling up his trolled herring to drop his homemade sabiki when he does see marks on the sonar.  Moo tells of 3 earlier trips to the ocean in search of a larger 'but this year, but he professes that he's been skunked on each of those trips and is looking to re-establish his confidence on this trip.

After a strike and a scratched bait or two as well as a short striper that spits the hook boatside, Moo briefly meets up with James, who gifts him a live jacksmelt from his homemade bait holder.  It isn't long before Moo hooks up on the live bait, and thinking it's a small fish at first he's pleasantly surprised to see an obvious keeper halibut come up after a spirited run where it peeled some drag.  Moo efficiently gaffs his fish and lifts it in triumph, and his joy is gloriously displayed in a manner that we all know and appreciate to be a hallmark of his style.  After a few seconds of flapping on the gaff that had Moo and the viewers a bit nervous, he gets his prize on the stringer, bleeds it, bonks it and explains how his wife doesn't like it when he includes the death-beating on the video, but he assures the viewers that this is the more humane way to dispatch the fish, rather than letting it linger and suffer in the tankwell (like Loleta Eric does  ). 

Moo's catch tapes out at a respectable 30".

After sharing his triumph with James on the radio, Moo goes on to land and release a little shaker the size of a sanddab before calling it a day as the wind came up to a steady 10 MPH.  On the way in, he explains how his buddy Nando calls Bay halibut "radioactive" due to concerns regarding pollution, but he states that his own belief is that you'll be fine if you follow the recommended guidelines.  Moo gives more helpful info about the wind direction and the current before coasting back into the launch, closing his session out with his usual sign-off and ever-present demeanor of coolness.

Welcome to the community.   

Pac halibut opens in three weeks along with rockfish and lingcod.  Let's go!