Morro Bay?

Newbie here with my first post. I've been stalking for a while and finally decided to dive into this pool of madness.

I live in Visalia & have been fishing/trolling in the high Sierra lakes above Fresno for about 5 years now. Unfortunately I'm in a sink for now but I will be aboard a Tarpon in the near future. (Just have to pull the trigger) The sink works great on flat water above 7000 ft., in the frosty conditions, but I'm bored & need to get on the Salt water, or wherever the bigger fish are located.

But for now, I'm considering trying Morro Bay. Any suggestions on gear, bait, do's & don'ts, or any other words of wisdom - would be greatly appreciated.

I'll post some pictures of my yak, complete with downrigger & accessories soon. Even my old man said I did a good job.  I'll let you experts critique it.

Thanks, Eric

I heard the bluefin are schooling offshore from Morro bay

Welcome aboard and to the madness Eric 

I'm in Bakersfield not to far from you. Morro bay isn't the best fishing.  You'll want to fish cambria. Its a easy launch with good rock fish and halibut. As for gear I like using swimbait 2-4 oz jig heads and irorns. 

WTTM

I heard the bluefin are schooling offshore from Morro bay

As a salt water newbie, do not go offshore. Go with a partner, and stay inshore until your'e comfortable on the BIG blue.

TONS of good fishing along the central coast. In the spring/summer, you can catch halibut inside Morro Bay harbor. Also, there is excellent rockfishing around Montana de Oro, Shell Beach, cayucos, cambria, etc. The open ocean spots are not for the newby (unless you are with someone more experienced). Fog and wind can roll in QUICK.

Thanks for the responses. I guess I should have been more clear. I have no intentions of being on open water until I have a SOT, & someone to show me the ropes.  Absolutely- safety first - I get it.
My thinking was to stay in the harbor & see what happens.  Would I be wasting my time? Do I subscribe to the theory of "go big or go home" & just wait for the SOT & some company to go offshore?

On another note-The central coast kayak anglers were having a tourney from Cambria last month & I stopped by to poke around & ask a few questions. I noticed most were on 12ft-ish yaks & shorter. The guy said that was just the way they rolled over there w/o really knowing why. The launch at Leffingwell looked to be a great place to start

From south to north: Avila, Morro, Cayucos, Cambria (Leffingewll), San Simeon, Piedras Blancas.

Avila, Morro and Leffingwell are the most protected
Leffingwell and Piedras Blancas are the most sharky

Hook up with Rhyak's crew. Great bunch of guys. It's largely a shallow water fishery so light tackle works 90% of the time. 2-3 oz lead heads with 5" and 6" big hammers black/blue/white, halloween, red back with red flake, black and purple have been the most productive for me in that area. Use procure gel, inshore, squid or sardine. Try both horizontal and verticle presentation.

There are fish to catch inside the harbor too. Drift whole squid/sardine/mac for halibut/sharks/rays or try for rockfish towards the jetty.

I used to fish Morro Bay quite a bit when I was going to SLO.  Lots of rays and skates (Occasional halibut)...lots of fun to catch and hard fighters.  Make sure you are geared up accordingly.  We used whole anchovies and squid.