Looking for Hookup at Limekiln 11th,12th or 13th

I am relatively new at Ocean kayak fishing and would like to find somone to hook up with for fishing while I am camping at Limekiln. I live in laughlin Nevada and would be willing to comp a room in the Hotel where I am a director for anybody that I could fish with at Limekiln. The Striper fishing should be getting pretty hot soon here. I have rigged my kayak minimally with a couple rod holders and fish finder but have not been able to afford a hand held marine radio as of yet, another reason I would like to accompany somone on this trip. The last time I was on the ocean was at Port Orford Oregon and got swept down the coast for a couple miles from my launch site, a rather unnerving adventure.

Karl I can't fish LK with but I have a question as I have always wanted to get down there for the Stripers when does the season start/end, what size are the fish?

The stripers move up from Havasu in the largest numbers from July thru September/October. The majority of the fish are schoolies running in the 1,1/2 lb range. There are fish that are caught in smaller numbers in the 5-10 lb range. Then several times a year people hook up with 25 lb fish and larger. I have caught 1 large fish weighing probably 15 lbs however that was several years ago but there are some real monsters in there. I think however if you live in the northern California area you are blessed with a little reservoir called San Luis, I think that produces more big fish then the Colorado does. What is challenging here is that you are dealing with moving water so that means you have one shot of going over most areas. There are a few good areas that I have managed to paddle back up to because the current wasn't that severe, that have produced for me. I hope this answers your major questions.

Thanks Karl

I may be able to go but, as it stands right now HWY 1 is closed from around Pt. Sur to around Limekiln due to the fire.  I'm pretty sure Limekiln may be inaccessible.  You should call the rangers or Hwy Patrol.

Also, in my humble opinion, if you're not experienced in the ocean, Limekiln is a definite no go alone.  I've been in the ocean for 20+ years & I would balk @ going out there alone.

PJ

Thank you for the advice and I will take it. If there is nobody to go out with, I will not go. I had a rather harrowing experience up in Oregon that gave me a little sense about going it alone in tricky places. I am assuming that Limekiln is open though as they alowed me to book a camping space for that weekend and further down the coast they had a notification that it would be closed at that particular camping spot. I am going to be in Santa Cruz from Tuesday July 8th and then back again after my weekend at Limekiln until the 18th or 19th. I would like to find somone to hook up with anywhere around Santa Cruz. Again I would be most willing to reciprocate by putting them up in the Hotel if they ever get out this way and want to do some Striper or Large mouth fishing on both the Colorado and lake Mojave. I used to do fairly well for large mouth on the Lake a few years ago before I got my yak. Back then I fished out of a float tube and flies only because I had this kinda dumb notion about being a purist, boy am I glad I got out of that. I think it was the 90 lb Dorado on a conventional rod and reel in front of a pyramid in Playa Del Carmen. I still do some fly fishing though and if anybody wants to do some surf casting down in the Watsonville area, Id really be up to that.

Karl, If for some reason the fire's still going at that time, you may want to come in through the south end of HWY 1 from Cambria.  Might want to have a backup plan for camping just in case they are closed down. Hopefully not necessary, but that's a long trip to have to turn around and have to find a place later.
        good luck    CoS

If Hwy 1 is open and the conditions are OK, I would be up for fishing LK on 7/13. Will be coming home from san diego and would like to break the drive up with some fishin and surfin. 

Scott

radio just gave an alert saying Highway 1 closed from around Andrew Molera to south of Limkiln.  So double double check.  Remember the reservation person is probably in an AC office in LA  

Scott, my name is Karl Rinehart, the rangers apparently assign the camp spaces once you arrive but I will be registered either under my name or my wifes which is Annette Rinehart. Let me know what time your coming and I will have coffee if its AM and breakfast depending on what time your planning on arriving. I will be driving a Red Ford Explorer and have an orange Malibu 2 XL. There will be a couple of 13 year old punks with mohawks sitting around the campsite but they will definitely not be fishing or Kayaking. The current situation as it stands right now is that it is supposed to reopen on the 11th, this is probably why they let me make the reservation. Anybody have any suggestions of where to camp if they extend the closure? I normally go all the way up to Oregon where getting a space is easy but Santa Cruz looks pretty tough as far as state campgrounds go anyway. I wanted to avoid staying in a motel on the weekend when rates go up and rather prefer camping anyway so I can cook my own food and sleep better.

If ocean conditions allow, I might fish there. And that also depends on road closures now, too. Here's a link to recent news on the Big Sur fire: http://www.ksbw.com/news/16758789/detail.html
Good luck, hope you get to go fishing!
PK

Scott, my name is Karl Rinehart, the rangers apparently assign the camp spaces once you arrive but I will be registered either under my name or my wifes which is Annette Rinehart. Let me know what time your coming and I will have coffee if its AM and breakfast depending on what time your planning on arriving. I will be driving a Red Ford Explorer and have an orange Malibu 2 XL. There will be a couple of 13 year old punks with mohawks sitting around the campsite but they will definitely not be fishing or Kayaking. The current situation as it stands right now is that it is supposed to reopen on the 11th, this is probably why they let me make the reservation. Anybody have any suggestions of where to camp if they extend the closure? I normally go all the way up to Oregon where getting a space is easy but Santa Cruz looks pretty tough as far as state campgrounds go anyway. I wanted to avoid staying in a motel on the weekend when rates go up and rather prefer camping anyway so I can cook my own food and sleep better.

Karl -

Hopefully the fire and surf will allow us to fish the cap du nord. Will let you know my plans next Wednesday when the weather and fire intel is available. If Hwy 1 is closed or if the conditions are marginal, I will probably fish Cambria and pick up some chicken pot pies instead.  If things are a go, I will meet you on the beach at 6-7AM. You may have read previous posts, but there is always a possibility you will do some swimming at LK so as the saying goes, dress to swim and rig to flip. I also wear a helmet in the surf zone because the beach has a few rocks. Bring some heavy terminal gear (4-8oz) fishing depth is 90-120FOW.

Scott

I will do all of the things you have suggested including getting a helmet, in case i meet the rocks. On tying down my equipment,I have access to milk crates obviously being a food director and a chef in a Hotel and that is what i have used in the past here on the river. Are there other suggestions that you have along these terms? I of course have rod holders but should I otherwise try and lash my rods to the deck while getting out past the surf? I will be arriving in Santa Cruz on Tuesday and probably, weather permitting, will begin doing some fishing on Wednesday. i will try and locate a cyber cafe somewhere in Santa Cruz as I currently do not own a laptop. This way I will be able to comunicate. I will bring a cell phone and it may or may not be working but here is my number in case. 7027567510

i will try and locate a cyber cafe somewhere in Santa Cruz as I currently do not own a laptop. This way I will be able to comunicate.

BadAss Coffee Co. on Pacific.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?searchtype=address&country=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=home&formtype=address&popflag=0&latitude=&longitude=&name=&phone=&level=&cat=&address=1207+Pacific+Avenue&city=Santa+Cruz&state=CA&zipcode=

On tying down my equipment,I have access to milk crates obviously being a food director and a chef in a Hotel and that is what i have used in the past here on the river. Are there other suggestions that you have along these terms? I of course have rod holders but should I otherwise try and lash my rods to the deck while getting out past the surf?

Karl -

You definitely want to lash your rods flush to the deck. Bungees can be used to secure a crate, but if there is any significant weight in the crate, the bungees may fail in a rollover. I used to own a Malibu 2XL and used to rig as follows:
Rod lashed flush to deck with a bungee paddle keeper. Reel, jigs, bait, food, water, first aid kit, sunscreen, lip gripper in a dry bag behind my seat attached to the rear seat strap. Gaff lashed flush to the deck with point covered. Game clip attached to front seat strap on a 4ft rope. I only used a crate in freshwater but not saltwater. I only carry one rod and reel at LK. My personal approach is keep it simple, use bungees only to secure light items, bring the minimum amount of gear and expect/plan to swim. When fishing Big Sur I also carry a VHF, flares, flare gun, and EPIRB but if you are in a group, someone will probably have these safety items. I now paddle a P15 and rig it as shown -
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,13096.0.html

Scott