Stillwater Cove- Carmel

Here it is. A report from a saltwater kayaking newbie(my third trip).

It's sweltering here in Dublin, so I packed up the kayak and left the house at just before 4am this morning.

Location: Stillwater Cove in Carmel.
My Target: Rock cod or anything else that would give me a tug.
Totals: Several small to medium rocks (blues, blacks, coppers-I think they were coppers), two lings, one cabezon

I can't think of an easier place to launch. There were a few other kayakers, a guy in a rubber boat, and a group of 3 guys in a very small metal boat  (I felt safer in my kayak).

A short paddle away and you are into kelp. Actually you are into kelp almost from the start and have to push your way over it. It is relatively shallow until you get a little further out. I kept it simple. One rod and few different lures that I am confident in- even some homemade shrimp flies(we flyfisherman can't pay for flies). And actually I only needed one lure; an old favorite - the Zinger.

I caught several smallish rock cod within the first 20 minutes of fishing. Then the ling hit. I have caught ling on boats before, but this was my first from the kayak. Yowza! Can I say that again. Yowza! That was fun. It doubled my 7' Fenwick Pacificstick. It made several powerful runs and pulled the kayak around...mostly down. I finally got him to the surface, boga'd him, and measured him. 32+" and 11lbs worth of ling. I decided to harvest him, so I bashed him a few times and it was over.

The other kayakers went out and north, but I felt no need to follow them. I just found a nice patch of kelp and hit the edges. A little jigging and I would be into fish. The Cab was about 20" and put up a great fight - thought it was a ling.

The last ling of the day was a hitchhiker on a poor little black. The ling was a keeper, but I didn't want to keep him. I boga'd him and he went absolute ape-sh!t. He spun and spun and spun and thrashed about. I got a nice refreshing shower. He ejected the little black and I released him.

The water was very nice. There were some rollers but they were spaced far enough so as not to be an issue. The biggest waves came from the party boats blasting buy at full tilt.

All in all a great time. The fog rolled in after three hours on the water. I wanted to get the fish on ice, so I paddled back in. I will be back and next time, I bring the flyrod and give it a go.

Thanks to all for the tips and info provided on this website.

Marc Mc

Great Report!