Muir beach / Rocky Point it's that time of year

Hi,

I'm a newbie on a kayak but am a seasoned salmon fisherman and it looks like Muir Beach/ Rocky Point is beginning to load up with bait.  This time of year the Salmon will begin to kiss the shores chasing the bait in preparation for their spawn.  The area from Muir beach to Rocky Point +/- 1 to 5 miles from shore should have salmon lurking about.  You must have a fishfinder to see the bait balls.  Once you discover them, you can try and mooch for them but if that does not work, try trolling around the bait (outer area of bait ball).  Having multiple boats out in the area scanning for bait will prove more productive than one person.  A radio will be required to relay the information about the bait between the kayaks.  I would love to hookup with some of you guys for an expedition trip in this area.  If there is enough interest, I will provide a summary of the tackle necessary to mooch (easy) and troll for the salmon.  Due to the speeds maintainable on a kayak we may have to setup a hybrid mooch/trolling rig.  As in all things fishing, my tackle ideas are just concepts because what works on a boat may not work on a kayak.

Luis

Hey Luis... you're right... the Coastside reports have been pretty good in the Muir area this past week.  Once the weather lays down a bit I'm game to hit that area again.  Hit it a few times last year with only a couple hookups and lost fish.  The techniques you describe are right on target.  You can troll just fine with either a diver or lead ball/release and a RSK, Apex, or FBR, etc.  Also, the Pro-Troll version of the Apex has good action at lower speeds than a real Apex.

Search the archives and you'll find lots of descriptions of the tackle and techniques that have proven successful for kayak salmon fishing.  I believe Stuart even wrote an article last year that should be accessible from the main website page. 

You're hybrid mooch/trolling rig was affectionately coined the "trooching" rig and is the method of choice for some of the guys.  Basically a real slow troll with a mooching rig and J-hook rather than Circle hook (since technically you are trolling).

Welcome to the board.  Looking forward to seeing how you adapt your boat salmon skills to the yak. 

Erik

Glad to see there is interest in Salmon fishing on a kayak.  With the gas prices and cost of owning a boat, the cost of kayak fishing is a no brainer.  I think it just needs to be proven.  The boats have the advantage of power and being able to search multiple locations much faster but if it is coordinated correctly, several kayaks can work in unison to scan an area quickly.  There are some areas between rocky point and Muir where the salmon have come in so close that the depths are less then 20 feet.  Imagine a huge party boat in 20 feet or less catching salmon!  I have been on the Wacky Jacky out of SF on such a trip.  Here is a secret that I am willing to share with this forum.  When the salmon are close to shore, I have noticed the bite is a very late afternoon bite.  Much later than most boat fisherman are willing to wait.  I have fished these shores so late that the El Dorado with Robert Galia would see me catch fish and sometimes hang out with me near shore.  During the peak season, back in the day, the Berkeley boats ran afternoon trips.  I think this is the only opportunity for the kayak fisherman to hit salmon in numbers.  The window will be less than 3 weeks during July and once the big schools have finished their pre spawn near shore run, the following schools will run through other paths that are much further from shore (middle grounds and channel buoys).  These runs will not be accessible for the kayak.  There is always salmon flowing through the "secret highway" (Duxbury to Rocky Point) but that is a long run for a kayak.  Good luck to all and with the commercial fisherman out of the game the Salmon numbers should be higher this year for the recreational fisherman.