Labor Day at MBK

Made the drive from Oakland to Monterey, parked at about 8:30 and headed out into 1' surf, the biggest I've ever seen at this launch. There was a light breeze in my face and a decent swell on the water once i cleared the jetty. Paddled out to the yellow buoy and began dropping the shrimp flies. Had lots of bites, but only had a little rock fish stick, so began moving west toward the red buoy. I kept trying at various places between the buoys, kept getting little bites, and landed several mackerel and some sand dabs. One good thing about catching sand dabs on shrimp flies is you generally get bigger sand dabs. From the red buoy I worked back in towards the kelp. i wasn't getting any action on the shrimp flies so I swapped one for a white and chartreuse swim bait and got a nice brown rock fish on the first drop. The wind had picked up by now so I drifted along the outside of the kelp. I got a couple of smallish blacks that way. Twice I hooked something that I first thought was a snag but it moved when I tried to break the leader. I spent a lot of time trying to get whatever it was up off the bottom and never could. Both times I ended up getting my rig back unbroken. I still don't know if I was snagged twice or twice hooked a big one that was too smart to get pulled out of the kelp. Finished up with three rock fish and three fairly large sand dabs, they made a fine dinner for two.

Bummer about the "snag." Those are the ones that we think about.

mike
smoked mackrel is EXCELLENT. they have to be bled immediately.

Man, we must have barely missed you Mike. Me and LaMosca fished MBK on Labor Day too. We launched around 8:45 and paddled straight to the yellow can. The one about a mile north of MBK. The plan was to finally catch a halibut. Unfortunately, that plan didn’t work out. I caught a bunch of rockies in the immediate area but most were small to medium sized. Just the standard blues, gophers, and olives. Met and fished with Mark (I think he said he posts as Hoppy here). Great to meet you Mark!

Thought I had a halibut on for sure. Just by the way it ‘fought’ it got my adrenaline going, and I had my gaff ready. After working it to the surface, I was surprised to see that I was snagged on some rope. So, it turns out I was fighting an anchor the whole time! D’OH!

LaMosca headed out towards the kelp beds off Cannery Row because it is more protected. The swell was larger than expected. As evidenced by the occasional 3-foot breakers on the beach there; probably the shore break I’ve encountered at MBK.
The wind picked up big time around noon and was blowing onshore hard. So, with halibut still on my mind, I let it blow me into shallower water by the condos. The whole time drifting for ‘buts. That yielded a few more rockies. Then I hit the spot we discovered during the MBK Tourney on the 17th. It produced a few browns before I decided to slow-troll my way back along the beach. Reluctant to concede, I fished next to the trash barge and among the moored boats. This was my last ocean fishing trip until September 27 at the soonest, so I did not want to go home but-less again. Because it will only get more difficult to catch one come October.

On the bright side, this was the first time I paddled my Prowler Big Game since installing a fishfinder. And it worked great! I was very satisfied with its performance. And now my friends can’t use the “I don’t have a fishfinder” excuse when I outfish them LOL.

Best lure of the day was bait. I went old school and used whole squid on a sliding-sinker rig with double-hooks. The night-before, I finally learned how to tie the snelled double-hook rig, and made a few to bring w/me. Tied w/25lb Maxima Ultragreen and 4/0 octopus hooks. About a 2-foot leader behind a 3oz torpedo sinker (attached to one of those plastic slider dealies) with a whole squid. I intended to target halibut with this rig but it got a lot of action from rockies. I also got some fish with a fishtrap and with a magabait iron too.   
Sorry, no pictures this time. I didn’t really catch anything worthy of a picture. And I was too focused on catching a halibut to mess with a camera.

While unpacking and cleaning gear, my wife announced she wanted to take our son to the Boardwalk. So I decided to go hit one of the local disc golf courses. It’s a great way to stretch out your arms after a long day of paddling. I joined a random couple from SF who didn’t know the course and they shared some Bass ale w/me. By the time I got home, I was beat. My arms are still sore! But it was worth it.

Well, sorry I missed you guys, I would have liked some company. That's the second time I've been out to the yellow 1 mile buoy, and I have yet to locate any decent sized rock fish in that area. I guess maybe I need to meet up with some of you local guys to learn the spots. My plans were arranged at the last minute this week so I didn't post a hook up but next time I'll be sure to post in advance.

Doesn't sound like a bad trip, but those mystery bites will leave you thinking about it every night while you fall asleep for a few months or so!   

If you capture it on video and share it the pain doesn't seem as bad!