First Night Maneuvers.

I guess any report is better than no report.
As most of you know, I've been kayakless the last few weeks and starting to really get the bug to get out. I got a call on Wednesday from EFish that he wanted to head down to La Jolla on thursday for a night venture and would've went alone but preferred not to. He said, the extra kayak is already on the roof and he'd do all the driving. Even though I have never launched and kayaked at night, how could I say no?!.....
I'll admit, I was a little nervous launching on a kayak I have never been on, at night in a place I'm not very familiar with.
We left the valley at around 11:30 and got down to La Jolla a little after 2am. First of all it was cold and misty and the usual mushy La Jolla surf. Swell however was up much more than we expected. Took our time setting up and launched at about 3am. Tied on a few glowsticks, put on the headlamp and pushed into the dark night and water. It figured I would take the only large wave right in the face on the way out. Good way to keep the nerves awake though when you're going on no sleep.
We could see the boat lights and paddled for the deepest of the bunch. The boat lights however would disappear in the swell from time to time but the paddle wasn't bad as I managed to find my balance and center of gravity on the unfamiliar yak (Tarpon 140). We had some fresh dead squid with us and immediately dropped a line in the water. For me, even though I had a handle on the whole situation, I felt like I was just going through the motions while waiting for some light. As a lot of you know, it's a little unnerving when those dogs come up alongside your yak when you can't see a damn thing! 
At about 4am, I got picked up. Let it run a little bit with the bait. Waited a few..... then slowly put it in gear with the lever drag on my Avet MXJ. It was hooked for about 6 seconds while it ran.... and then just as quick, it was off. I paddled over to EFish to let him know what happened........ and he was taking a nap. 
I don't know if many of you guys do that out on the water but I don't think I'll ever be able to sleep in my kayak out there in a plastic bunk.
At around 5am the light started to brighten things up a bit and before I knew it, there were 35 kayaks heading right towards us from shore and all of a sudden we had all the company we could want. We tried making some bait with the squid jigs earlier and even though they were swimming around on the surface, they wanted nothing to do with our jigs. We did however have some luck with the sabiki's. Lots of Spanish Macks. The greenbacks though were king-sized! I've never seen 2 to 3 lb mackerel. THEY WERE HUGE!
After not much more action, we paddled into the kelp for a bit. Caught a few Johnny Bass and a few more of those big Macks. At around 9am I really started to feel the affect of no sleep. I told Efish that I think it was about time for me so we made our paddle back to the landing and by that time the swell had gone down considerably. Glided in for an easy landing, pulled the truck onto the sand and loaded up. Washed up a little bit and changed into some comfort clothes in the bathrooms nearby and got on the road. Stopped to eat along the way and got home by around 3pm. I remember walking up the stairs to my apartment but I think I fell asleep before I actually got to the bed. I slept from that time till around 9pm, got up for an hour and went back to sleep till 7am.
Now, I know you guys are saying, that's not much of a fish report but for me it was a productive trip just to dispel the fears and anxiety I had regarding being on a kayak, at night in the ocean.
It was a blast! Thanks E!
Now when's lobster season?! 
 

Thank you for the post.  I enjoyed reading your fishing report.  To me, it's always nice to be OTW fish or no fish. Thanks again Charlie.

That's a good report, your writing is good enough to feel like I was close if not actually there, I used to go out in Suisun bay at nite in my small boat, and that freaked me out, nighttime, in a yak in the ocean, musta been cool.....

Thanks for the report Charlie. Yeah, if I had to do the kayak thing at night, I'd
probably have at least 10 of those glow light sticks than just one. Glad you had fun on the water.

Jedmo

It's called fishing not catching...beats a good day at work though. Man that is a nice report and some adventure.I'm looking forward to trying that one day soon. I'm in agreement with Jedmo though, more chem lights. Your not trying to sail condition Zebra. BTW it says your from Queens, NY Charlie. I'm taking a stab here, Bayside, Astoria, Jamaica??? I lived there for 10 yrs b4 moving back to the bay area. I've got some great memories of the stripers and blues in Jamaica bay and LI sound around the Throgs Neck Br.
Don

  I don't know if many of you guys do that out on the water but I don't think I'll ever be able to sleep in my kayak out there in a plastic bunk.

Great report.
Some of the best naps I have ever had have been on my kayak.
Don't ever do it under a rotating swing bridge unless you want to wake up with the feeling that the whole world is coming to an end. BTDT.

Great report - an enjoyable read.  WTG on the night trip.   

Far Rockaway and Ozone Park, Don. 
I grew up in Far Rockaway and then moved to Ozone Park.
I started kayakfishing about 20 years ago in Jamaica Bay with a small sit inside. Nothing as ellaborate as the way we fish now. Used to tuck a two-piece rod in the hull and drift for fluke. I sure do miss those big Stripers in the fall. Never got a blue on a kayak though, but now I'm thinkin, wow, that would've been fun!
Where did you live?

Great report!