3 Trees and not quite to SoqHole

Launched at SC harbor this morning and went up to 3 Trees(36.55/122.04) thinking I'd troll down to Soquel Hole with the wind and swell at my back - not meant to be - at 36.53/122.00 it wasn't looking practical so I grunted my way back in to avoid landing at Moss.

Farmed one nice plug between those #'s and landed a shortie, both over 150' of water and then nothing to show after that but a good appetite.

It was pretty much a rodeo up there, only saw Wild Wave and commercials working hard for their money. I know boats did well at SoqHole but I turned in a mile or so short of it.

People at the harbor said it'd been pretty nice offshore the past few days - I'm going to guess that conditions are probably better down Moss way right now in case you're thinking about hitting the hot SC bite. Fish are there but it was a lot of work getting to and staying over the 150' line and then a lot more getting in.

naptime

Paul,
I don't know how you do it.  That is a HELL of a long way!!!!!

I was pretty tired from the Pajaro paddle.  Now, I'm no longer tired, just  soar behind my shoulder blades.

3-3.5 miles one way is my max.  I figure what we did round trip is about equal to hitting the edge of Soquel Hole.

Stuart

Stuart

If I was out there today I'd skip the run up to 3trees to shorten things up and just make a straight shot out to the hole. Very do-able as long as there isn't a strong wind out of the n or e in which case you wouldn't be there anyway.

I thought with nw wind I'd blow right down the 150-180' line to SoqHole which proved to be the case only it was looking like I was going to land at Moss. I actually turned toward SC when I was still above the point and luckily things eased up the further south I got.

About the hot bite there are definitely a lot of fish off of SC right now but it's mostly 70-120' deep over 150-180' of water. I got that from a guy who fishes SC 6 days of the week and is known for being a hot stick. Maybe things will move in closer but sounds like you guys did well down at Moss.

I wanted to figure out how accessible SoqHole is and I want to know how much these sit-on-tops are good for. Funny thing is I'm starting to realize my old fiberglass lay-on-top yak actually performs better in wind - not as comfortable though. Be nice if you could recline the backrest so you could take a nap.

Good luck nice fish you guys had the other day

Paul,
I don't know how you do it.  That is a HELL of a long way!!!!!

I was pretty tired from the Pajaro paddle.  Now, I'm no longer tired, just  soar behind my shoulder blades.

3-3.5 miles one way is my max.  I figure what we did round trip is about equal to hitting the edge of Soquel Hole.

Stuart

p.s. You've got to be in better shape than me I'm 50 years old and have a fractured vertebra and one shot lung. You're probably putting in more mileage than you think especially when you're trolling - if you do the arithmetic you're doing about 3+ mph x how ever many hrs = ?  I'm an old distance cyclist so yesterday seems like pretty short mileage.

When I switched over mainly to trolling I had vague sense of the distances and then my wife bought me one of those little gps units. A typical day trolling Muir-Dux is upwards of 25-30 miles in good conditions. Even that isn't so far if you think about it and it's a good slow steady workout as long as you've got plenty of pbj's + H2O. On the other hand nasty seas can wear you out pretty fast.

Q:

I've figured out that the difference between 2 and 2 1/2 lbs really adds up over the day. I'm trying to figure out how to lighten up the gear more but it's eluding me.

Maybe you have some ideas. I tried the deep six kind of thing and I agree with you about landing fish with too much tackle in between. And minimum 2 lbs is the only way to get consistent depth but maybe I'll give 24 oz a try again.

There's some new invention in the making. I never liked the idea of dropping all that lead in the ocean either - seems almost sacrilegious.

Speaking of Dux it sounds like they did pretty well up there yesterday. Looks like things are finally breaking open for the inshore.

Paul,
I've trolled 2lb balls (kayak) and hate it.  Its a lot of work to go straight w/o a rudder (rod holder on the rt side behind the seat), plus I can't see the tip of my rod.  

If you want to go down, I think spectra is the way to go.  In the PB day's, we'd use wire line (seven strand) with a 3lb ball, but you had to use a rod with roller guides.  This setup would go DEEP.  I recall letting line out and hitting bottom in 180 feet.  The reels were Penn 4/0 and 6/0 with a huge power handle.  Because it was wire (0 stretch) you'd feel every headshake and twitch.  Not very sporting, but it got fish.

In the kayak, I've been trolling 1lb balls with spectra, but I know it doesn't go that deep, judging by the angle.  

My method is to paddle out, then troll when I'm deep enough with my mooching rod ready.  When I hit bait, I stop and mooch.  I do this alternating type of fishing until I reach where I want to fish and then just mooch exclusively.

I know my mileage is light compared to your trips, because most of my fishing time is mooching.  I don't think I could last if I trolled exclusively.

You've got a few years on me but that doesn't mean squat.  Judging by the location we ran into you at HMB (us in a boat, you in the yak)  and the fact you kept on going when we quit, you are a Kayak Marathoner!!!

Stuart

I'm 50 years old and have a fractured vertebra and one shot lung

Paul - you da man!

Jeff W. is another guy who can paddle the distance....and maybe Chris / CPYAK....this guy also carries a keg on his yak  

Paul,
Also, if the fish are that deep, I'd reccomend mooching.  For us kayakers, it would be too tough to get down there.
We were fishing 90 feet down.  On the troll, PB's would have to let out a lot of line to fish their bait in the 90ft zone.

Stuart

Stu got me convinced with the 20 # power pro braided line with about 10 to 15 feet of mono leader. I actually switched my leader to seaguar (15#)floroucarbon line recently instead of mono - for the abrasion factor. I use the same set up for Salmon and rock fish.