Stillwater South, May 6th

Well, after too much talk and not enough action, I finally made it out for not only my first ocean kayak angling experience, but also my first two fish caught in my kayak.

I got the line in the drink around 9 am, and was promptly welcomed by this guy



Figuring this was a good sign, I kept plunking. At the end of my line was a red and yellow shrimp fly with pieces of squid. I've only fished for rockfish a couple of times, so I stuck with my usual technique of dropping down, letting it sit on the bottom for a tad, then slowly bringing it back up. I didn't yo-yo the bait. This technique didn't work, but has in the past. However, in my previous experiences I was on a party boat with experienced skippers using dialed-in electronics. Neither of these describe me at this point in time. Advice, other than, "Get a FF"?

Every now and then I would pull up the line and move along, until I paddled a little too close, saw the bottom, and simultaneously heard a wave crashing way too close to me. NooB! This was my first "Oh, shit!" moment.

Later on I saw a small group of yakkers, who turned out to be Rockfish, AuburnTroutDude, and another guy whose name I didn't catch. I decided to be social, and paddled over. Naturally, we talked about the forum, established the fact I wasn't in the AOTY contest, and fished together for a short spell. They moved away from shore, and I decided to head a little further in.

On a lark, I decided I'd keep the line in the water as I paddled back toward the kelp. After about five minutes of steady, against-the-wind paddling, I looked back to see my rod bending over deeply. As my line got close to the boat, I saw these two guys at the end



So, with two fish in the boat I decided I would try trolling, punctuated by some plunking. Another whale passed through, more wind kicked up. I saw it was time to go.

My final "Oh, shit!" moment came on shore, when I realized I had somehow lost the S hook for my front tie-down. After searching and retracing my steps between the launch and my car, I decided the only left to do was to switch the S hook to the front, drive to Home Depot, and buy a replacement and a couple of backups.

To finish this off, I enjoyed margarita fish tacos for dinner tonight!

PS - I hope I'm inserting pictures correctly, otherwise my message won't be as intended!

sounds like a nice day thanks for sharing.

Congrats on a successful day on the salt, glad that your first experience turned out to be safe. Thanks for sharing your report, and I look forward to seeing ya otw

Nice to meet you out there   Glad you did well, sorry to move out so quick, but I was feeling the need for some deeper water...
We ended the day with 6 fish for 3 guys 

Rockfish - I saw your fish. Nice stuff! That was a cab and a vermillion? And no worries on splitting. I am not interested in dragging on anyone while OTW. Besides, it was on the troll back from talking with you all that I caught last night's dinner, so I guess I've got you guys to thank for the luck!

Did you guys see that whale?

Nice catch bro. Thanks for the report and picture.

Jedmo