Carmel Stillwater Thur 26th or Fri?

Howdy everyone,

I have not gone kayak fishing for 3 months, and I'm ready to bring back some RF for dinner.  I was going to join Chuck tomorrow at BH, but after reading a preliminary report from Freddie, I would rather try Stillwater.  Anyone interested?

Henry

BTW, I don't have a GPS.  I usually fish just outside of the cove.  I know the pinnacle is off limit.  Any suggestions?

I can do stillwater on Friday, but wont be able to get there until around 8:30-9:00. 

Hi Rob,

I don't usually arrive before 8am anyhow.  Friday it is then.

H

Henry, if you're going out that direction (towards the pinnacles) you should study a nautical or topo map and compare it to the DFG map of the Pinnacles SMR. That might help you avoid a ticket. Also check out Fuzzy Tom's info in this post: http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,10081.0.html
The free online maps at maptech.com are good too. http://mapserver.maptech.com/homepage/index.cfm?lat=36.5548654724&lon=-121.965685593&scale=40000&zoom=100&type=0&height=498&width=498&icon=0&searchscope=dom&CFID=2260567&CFTOKEN=57504916&scriptfile=http://mapserver.maptech.com/homepage/index.cfm&bpid=MAP0060030900%2C1%2C1%2C0&latlontype=DMS

Good luck on Friday guys!
PK

Henry,

Good to see you are getting out again.  It has been a while.  I wish I could join you and had Friday open until yesterday when I scheduled two conference calls so I am booked but may try to get out later in the afternoon.

My advice is to fish the kelp along Pebble Beach and just stick close to stay out of the closure and Have fun.

Ok  sounds good I will try to get there by 8:30.  I am going to look over the DFG map of the Pinnacles SMR so i can stay clear of it and just stay inside.  See you out there

The free online maps at maptech.com are good too. http://mapserver.maptech.com/homepage/index.cfm?lat=36.5548654724&lon=-121.965685593&scale=40000&zoom=100&type=0&height=498&width=498&icon=0&searchscope=dom&CFID=2260567&CFTOKEN=57504916&scriptfile=http://mapserver.maptech.com/homepage/index.cfm&bpid=MAP0060030900%2C1%2C1%2C0&latlontype=DMS

PK,

That's a nifty site that I've managed to miss until now!  Thanks for posting it. I still need to get better at reading charts & figuring out exactly how to use my GPSMap76, but that site will certainly come in handy! 

Pete (Usagi)

PK, thanks for the tips.

Etienne, good to hear from you.  Maybe I'll see you out there.

I'm unclear though.  Can we fish in SMCA?

H

The D FG has the SMR restrictions listed by location. You need to check it.

Not all SMCAs are equal. Most allow some sort of fishing on a limited basis. But its important to check the wording of each one before attempting to fish it.

Here's the Carmel Bay SMCA:
Carmel Bay State Marine Conservation Area
Boundary: This area is bounded by the mean high tide line and straight lines connecting the following points in the order listed:
36° 33.65' N. lat. 121° 57.10' W. long.;
36° 31.70' N. lat. 121° 56.30' W. long.; and
36° 31.70' N. lat. 121° 55.55' W. long.
Permitted/Prohibited Uses: Take of all living marine resources is prohibited except:
-The recreational take of finfish is allowed.
-The commercial take of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) and bull kelp (Nereocystis spp.) by hand is allowed under the following conditions:
-Any individual kelp harvester with a valid permit issued pursuant to Section 165 may take no more than 44 tons of kelp from the portion of Administrative Kelp Bed 219 within the Carmel Bay State Marine Conservation Area in any calendar month.
-Duplicate landing records must be kept on board the harvest vessel in accordance with the requirements of Section 165.

So, yes, you can fish for "finfish" within that particular SMCA. However, you can only fish for migratory fish inside the Pt Lobos SMCA:
Point Lobos State Marine Conservation Area
Boundary: This area is bounded by straight lines connecting the following points in the order listed except where noted:
36° 31.70' N. lat. 121° 58.25' W. long.;
36° 31.70' N. lat. 122° 01.30' W. long.; thence southward along the three nautical mile offshore boundary to
36° 28.88' N. lat. 122° 00.55' W. long.;
36° 28.88' N. lat. 121° 58.25' W. long.; and
36° 31.70' N. lat. 121° 58.25' W. long.
-Permitted/Prohibited Uses: Take of all living marine resources is prohibited except the recreational and commercial take of salmon, albacore, and the commercial take of spot prawn.

This info is copy+pasted from: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/ccmpas_list.asp

Sin Coast, you beat me to it I was just copying it to post.

Yes, SinCoast has it right.  However, just to state the grossly obvious so that nobody misunderstands, he's talking about SMCA's, not the SMR's, which are "no take" anything.

 Carmel Pinnacles is an SMR(no take) although there is a Carmel Bay SMCA, and there is a both a Point Lobos SMR(no take (and a small part no vessel without permit)) and Point Lobos SMCA. I think the F&G web page does a good job explaining it, and has some good charts, complete with the GPS numbers.
   As I've said elsewhere, at SWS the main problem is avoiding the NE corner of the Carmel Pinnacles SMR that gets up into the kelp to about 70' of water just about at the Tower House.