One Fish on the Eastside

Dan and I were planning to launch from the wharf and paddle to the mile buoy.  Dan started to get a bit squeamish about being so far off-shore in a kayak coupled with my hangover, we decided to take it easy.  We checked out the wharf launch and discovered that it is not "all that".  Lots of stairs to a landing, steep stairs to the floating dock covered by barking sea lions.  They are easy enough to bully off for the launch, but the thought of a dozen sea dogs jumping into the water during landing sounded like too much work for my pounding head and queasy stomach.  Besides that, the public launch is pretty close to shore... Cowells Beach looks like a better option.  But even that looked like too much work.

Went out of the harbor... a first for me.   Did not dump boat and drag gear through the sand, what a surprise..  Headed left (port??) after we left the port for the nearest kelp beds.  Dan and I scoured the kelp beds for nearly nada.  I got lucky on an inside drift with what looks to be a Grass RF.  He bit and spit out the squid on the first bite.  It felt pretty heavy, thought it was maybe a Hali.  Checked the bait and back to bottom, it got nailed right away.  I let him take it for 10 seconds before tightening the drag.  He continued to fight hard for about 15 seconds and then quit.  Thought I lost him, but he was just resting.  That was the only action or hint of action for the both of us.  OTW at 0830, overcast early with the sun and wind picking up around 1000.  Back to the dock at 1130.  Saw several otters, the sea lions were playing all around the kelp and a pod (15+) of dolphins passed by toward Pleasure Point.

A good morning

Photos of the Rocky and my kayaks.  Just finished the latest mods to the milk crates... working on them 'til midnight while drinking beer was not the best pre-kayaking training.  The crates worked very well, keeping the poles and gear close to hand.  The only issue was over-doing the tethering of gear which gets tangled. 

Nice fish Howard!!

Think that one's a Brown!! 

Glad you got out there and had some fun....I have not had much luck at the first couple kelp beds to the left of the harbor, but have had some good luck at the harbor side edge of the kelp bed that makes up the north/west side of the Pleasure Point "kelp channel"...would be stoked to hook up and fish over there with you one of these days!!

Congrats again on the nice fish, and thanks for sharing!
 
Sincerely,

Jim

  I've not had much luck in that kelp except for June,some years,  when I've caught a some nice hali's there. The very east side of that kelp is often a good producer for sardines and jacksmelt.
   You should have gone out to the buoy to the south ,on a line with the mile buoy,a little over  about 1/4 mile out.  I caught about  20 brown rockfish there a couple weeks ago and also 2 hali's at 45', 1/2 mile out, and  a ling. The mile marker is actually 1 1/2 miles out from the harbor. One mile from Lighthouse point.  Anywhere around the closer inshore  buoy is a good place to fish and I've never felt as tho I were very far offshore there.
     It doesn't take that much longer to get Lighthouse Point from the harbor than from Cowells. Considering the time getting across the sand. Sand in the gear. An easier launch from the harbor. I prefer the harbor launch.
 

Howard, thanks for sharing your report with us Although it may have been slow, congrats on catching that nice RF. You are definitely coming along well as a yak fisherman my brother!!

Looking at the pic of your yak, it totally reminds me of my buddy lingking's yak lol!! He's on a serious budget, so there's only so much he can do. However, his ghetto-looking kayak (and I don't mean it as a derogatory) has performed very well. Looks can be deceiving

Continue the success!!

Hi Jim, Thanks for the tip on PP and the offer to hook up.  I will definitely take you up on that.  I have a friend who just got a nice Prowler 13 for his 16 yo fishing fool son.  We did a Westside excursion a couple weeks ago and he definitely wants to hit that PP kelp channel as it is just a couple blocks from his house.  I'll be off the water for a few weeks while we move up to Felton and rebuilding my WAF account.  If I could land a good keeper ling, my WAF account would be over-flowing!  

Casey:  Thanks for the info.  Sunday was just a "Milk Run" trip for learning and getting into better paddling shape.  Dan did catch and release a mackerel and a sardine (or perhaps a tiny jacksmelt?  I couldn't tell) from the east side of the kelp.  You are right, that Harbor launch is a breeze compared with beaches.  I love being able to hose down all the gear right at the dock rather than doing it at home.  I'm sure after a couple more trips, I can talk Dan into hitting the mile buoy.

Daniel:  Thanks!  I hope your WSB trips are safe and effective!  The ghetto-kayak is all part of paying my dues and learning about what works and what doesn't.  Since I'm a fishing novice, I have had to invest in a complete gear and tackle kit.  Thanks to NCKA, my informed choices have worked out great.  My next project is to streamline the box and gear security so I don't have a mess of cord hooking everything to the boat and tangling around me, developing a super-secure quick-connect system for attaching the box and building a wheel cart from an old hand truck.  In this way, I will find out what works for me and what is unnecessary before I drop the big bucks on a real fishing kayak.  It will also demonstrate my commitment to kayak fishing to the wife so she will want me to get a more efficient ling-killer.  

cool post Howard. You are doing it right (despite the conflict between my title note & your signature )

see you on the water!

cool post Howard. You are doing it right (despite the conflict between my title note & your signature )

see you on the water!

hahahahahaha

The first step to stop being a Kook is to admit being a Kook!

Hi Jim, Thanks for the tip on PP and the offer to hook up.  I will definitely take you up on that.  I have a friend who just got a nice Prowler 13 for his 16 yo fishing fool son.  We did a Westside excursion a couple weeks ago and he definitely wants to hit that PP kelp channel as it is just a couple blocks from his house.  I'll be off the water for a few weeks while we move up to Felton and rebuilding my WAF account.  If I could land a good keeper ling, my WAF account would be over-flowing!  
 

Send me a PM after you are settled from your move and ready to go back out...I haven't fished locally in awhile and I am ready to get back out there!!!

I have also been running along EastCliff a bunch recently and seeing those kelp beds has made me miss working them for RFs/Cabs/Lings...

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Send me a PM after you are settled from your move and ready to go back out...I haven't fished locally in awhile and I am ready to get back out there!!!

I have also been running along EastCliff a bunch recently and seeing those kelp beds has made me miss working them for RFs/Cabs/Lings...

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Will do Jim!  Thanks, looking forward to it.

cool post Howard. You are doing it right (despite the conflict between my title note & your signature )
see you on the water!

hahahahahaha
The first step to stop being a Kook is to admit being a Kook!

Dude, anybody floating around in a brightly-colored plastic kayak off the CA coast trying to catch fish is either a kook...or in denial LOL! 
Step 1 is admission. And it sounds like you are well on your way to Step 2! Welcome to da club!

... working on them 'til midnight while drinking beer was not the best pre-kayaking training. 

Dude, anybody floating around in a brightly-colored plastic kayak off the CA coast trying to catch fish is either a kook...or in denial LOL! 
Step 1 is admission. And it sounds like you are well on your way to Step 2! Welcome to da club!

... working on them 'til midnight while drinking beer was not the best pre-kayaking training. 

Step 3 is to Yak in the Yak OTW?  Not quite there yet, but was very close.  Sounds like Montana reached Step 3 at Bodega.  Does his bonus points for projectile get offset because he was not hungover?  This kayak angling is getting so complex, my head is about to 'splode.

BTW, I let my bud Dan take the yum yum yellow WS Tarpon 100.  My faded green Yahoo! rock-basher is oh so stealth (in my mind).