Worth trolling a plug through Elkhorn Slough?

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post a question -- it always seems like the most active area of the board.

But do stripers or anything go up into Elkhorn Slough?  I'll be staying down in Moss Landing a night or two over Christmas and may end up doing a paddle up there. 

Or is there good kayakfishing to be done for other species (lings? rockfish?) in that area?  If the conditions are very very nice I might head out to sea. 

Any suggestions will be very much appreciated 

paddle out until it's a few hundred feet deep and fish on the bottom for sand dabs.  That's the only action I know of, but considering folks were pulling them up on 5/0 circle hooks in salmon season, I think you could catch alot of dabs using appropriate gear.

I haven't yet fished the slough myself, though it's on my list for this winter.  I understand that sharks are a good bet, and I seem to recall reading somewhere that  Starry Flounder enter the slough in winter.  I think it's mentioned in "Fishing in Northern California."  Can't lay my hands on a copy at the moment.  Perhaps someone else can help.  By the way, Rockfish are ok through December, but Lings are out of season. 

Randy

Elkhorn is definitely worth a paddle, even without wetting a line. Lots of life there - otters, sea lions, great bird area.

Last time I fished out of Moss Landing, I met a guy who was heading into the slough to fish.  He said he was after bat rays, just for fun, and said they get pretty big in there.  I think he was using squid, but not too sure about that.  I've got Stienstra's "California Fishing", and it says good numbers of shark in the fall, but go there for the horseneck & Washington clams, not the fishing.

On that same trip, I headed out to the north, and at 60 feet, was catching unlimited sand dabs using squid.

-- Dave

Thanks guys, it definitely sounds worthwhile to take along the fishing rod.  I'm a bit like the bat ray guy who would be glad to catch anything -- though I've had sand dabs before and they were very very tasty. 

Do you keep the bait right on the bottom for those guys?  For sharks, would you tip a plug or jig with bait?  Would pieces of an old smelt I have in the freezer work as well as squid? 

Truly, I am clueless, coming out of trout fishing to new territory.  I've had my kayak for a little over a year now and the only saltwater fish I've caught in CA is stripers.  Gotta look up those books! 

You can get sand dabs on squid tipped sabiki sets or even rock cod rigs.....they are greedy little guys.
Pat

Make sure you check out page 44 of the Ocean Sport  Fishing Regs before attempting to take any fish in Elkhorn Slough.  At a glance, it looks like no species is legal to take, so I don't know how you could legally fish there.

Good call, it's always a good idea to check the regs in new water.  "All" prohibited and "none" allowed as the regs state is pretty clear.  But the book I checked last night definitely called out the flounder, sharks and bat rays in there.  Plus there's this from the DFG web site:

"The recreational fisheries for sanddabs, butter sole, curlfin sole, flathead sole, rex sole, rock sole, sand sole, and starry flounder, using gear specified for sanddabs in federal and state regulations, are exempt from fishery restrictions that pertain to other federally managed groundfish.

The recreational fishery for leopard shark inside Elkhorn Slough is exempt from fishery restrictions that pertain to other federally managed groundfish. "

Maybe that's what allows the fishing we're hearing about?  I'll make sure to ask at a bait shop at Moss Landing or at the park/preserve HQ.

    Sometimes I think F&G thinks we like to sit around the campfire and discuss competing regs, so they oblige us.  I'm sure they are more underfunded than the DMV and are lucky to print a book at all, but in "a more perfect union" there would be one-page graphics showing where, what and how you could angle.
Coastside's "Ask the Warden" forum illustrates the general level of confusion, and that's among the anglers who care and have tried to read the regs.
    In my opinion,for the 2 cents it's worth, the exception to groundfish rules for taking some species with sanddab gear is a "method" and "season" exception, not a "where" exception.
  Would you be willing to rely on that to fish for sanddabs(or those other species mentioned) in the Hopkins Reserve right in front of Monterey Bay Aquariuum ?
     The other provision about leopard sharks seems to specifically exempt a place ("where"), so it at tells you what to answer if you're casually asked by a warden what you're fishing Elkhorn Slough for, at least until you have some other species in the yak.
   If you get a credible source(maybe "Ask a Warden") to give you an answer you like to the question of fishing Elkhorn, please post it, because it would be a nice option to big winter swells on the Bay.

Fishing is allowed in Elkhorn slough for a mile upriver from highway 1. I asked a Fish and Game surveyor about what to fish there. Aside from sharks and rays, there are spots with lots of rockfish and flatfish.

Here is a map of the protected areas in Elkhorn:
https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=117403&inline

14 year old post response..... 

Elkhorn slough=good halibut fishing. I take the yak in there when the ocean is too rough. I haven't had a great day on halibut but I usually find a keeper or two during the summer months. I do NOT use dead bait due to the number of leopards and Rays in there. Lures and livebait only if u want to avoid the turd fish.