Family friendly kayak location

I want to take my family out on Nov. 11 kayaking/fishing.  It will be their first time in the ocean. I have a Malibu two sit on top and will be renting yaks for my wife and teenage sons. Would it be better to go out of Santa Cruz or the rental place in Monterey?   Also, where are the places to fish close to these two rental/launch sites.

thanks,  

Jody

Jody - I just came back from Stillwater / Monterey today (for the first time) and it was BEAUTIFUL. IMO:This would be a perfect place to take the family out on a kayak expedition. They do have retals there - I just don't have the contact info. Pat / seabreeze and her partner in crime = Randy know the area pretty well. Randy was telling me that on a sunny day, you can actually see tons of marine life just by paddling along rocky shoreline. I'll definitely be visiting this area more often - the fishing is also top shelf  

Jody,

Joel is right:  It's hard to beat Stillwater Cove, but I'm not sure you can rent kayaks there for fishing.  The rental yaks belong to a company that offers sightseeing tours of the area. They don't have an office there, and  I've never seen the fellow who runs it show up before noon or so.  If you're interested, let me know and I'll try to come up with a name and phone number for you.

The other "problem"  might be that if your family doesn't want to spend the entire day in a boat, there's not much else to do there.  The beach is narrow, and at high tide, it can be a little tight even to hang out on a blanket.

Another possibility is the State Beach next to Monterey Bay Kayaks.  In the past, MBK wouldn't rent kayaks for fishing.  I'm not sure whether that's changed since Alan started running kayak fishing trips under their auspices.  You should call MBK and check in advance.  Worse comes to worst, I suppose you could rent a kayak for a day from Kayak Connection in Moss Landing, drive it to State Beach (Or Stillwater, for that matter) and fish from there.

The beach there is beautiful, change/restrooms/outdoor showers are available at MBK, and Fisherman's wharf is right next door.  Lots of  places to eat, shop, etc.

The launch is gentle and the fishing is pretty good there as well.  Take the family straight out to 100' of water, and they can knock themselves out catching Sand dabs.  Or, take a right to the kelp beds and go after rocks and lings.

Either way, I hope you and the family have a wonderful day.  Let me know if I can help with any more specific information.

Randy

For family kayaking, I'd avoid the Del Monte beach launch for MB Kayaks -- however small the surf is in their protected location, it's still launching into waves and last time I was there I saw several families capsize.

I'd suggest SCruz for its harbor-launch.  Although the fishing pressure is pretty high, the family can practice paddling in the harbor before going out into the Pacific.   Also, there's a kayak pad for launching to reduce the probability of getting wet before you go out.

Also, although you can't fish for them, there's been sightings of salmon in the harbor under the bridge...   probably returning fish from when hatchlings were released in the upper harbor.

No kidding Big Red?  In the decade and a half that I have been launching from Del Monte beach (in front of MBK) I have never seen a rental capsize.  

Just my observation..........

Pat

Ah, that would be my cue to be fire marshall bill:

At a fundamental level, the nor-cal pacific ocean is not disneyland, no matter how cute  those plastic kayaks look.

It's not always dangerous, but it's never completely safe either.

You really do need to know what you are doing.

It's easy to see the pretty pictures of great fish and smiling people and not realize that folks like Seabreeze and Mooch are highly trained fish assassins.    

It's really just not a family activity like going to disneyland, kids like jelly notwithstanding.

-john

I've only been to Del Monte that once (when I met you, Pat!).  Everyone said the surf was pretty high (around 8 inches) but it seem relatively light to me.

That being said, the group that was going out as I came in rolled 4 or 5 kayaks in the moderate swell.  If it'd been me, I would have been able to recover all my stuff in the minor turbulence...  but if I'm taking the family out I might consider a different place.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh  Yep, that was an unusual day.  Bad me, I was oblivious to anyone but our crew......

For sure, jmairey, the pacific ain't no lake and that is what is nice about the rental places in Santa Cruz, Moss Landing and Monterey (Del Monte) they are each located in very sheltered parts of bays.  I take guests out from MBK and don't think twice..........and I'm not nearly as    as bluekayak............

Since I am not the wise guide like scAlan, I won't take newbie kayakers fishing............I'll loan them a boat to play with and keep track of them while keeping my fishing muscles warmed up.......

Everyone needs to have their first time in a kayak and I am good with all three of the rental places down here..........and I don't have one cent invested in any of them.......

Pat