calm ocean

looking for a calm place to launch my kayak, preferably near monterey, santa cruz, pismo areams. im looking to catch pretty much anything, rockfish, shark, anything. this will be my first launch in the ocean so im really looking for something flatter. will be out with a buddy of mine who normally just kayaks without fishing so im trying to get him into some fish.  All fishing tips would be more then welcome, as in what do i do?!

thanks,
mike

Usually the Coast Guard pier or Montery Bay Kayak area is very calm!

Check this post out for more info.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,19066.0/topicseen.html

Capitola on most days would be good.  Kind of a pain in the ass to park, but usually a pretty easy launch.  Fish the reef, or find some sand and try for halibut.  Thresher shark and striper are a possibility as well.

You could try the harbor in SC. Pretty mellow way to get wet. The others that ppl suggested are good options as well

so i decided im going to monterey bay, so should i use there? live bait (what type)  or what lures?

so i decided im going to monterey bay, so should i use there? live bait (what type)  or what lures?

Keep it simple re: lures in your first time out at Mbay.  two types of rigs: plastic or iron. 

Plastic - leadhead jig with swimbait, or scampi tipped with squid.

Iron - 2 to 4 oz iron jig (megabait/crippled herring/ krock, etc) tipped with squid strip.

There's a quite a bit of live bait still in the bay so that's worth a shot also.  You'll have no problem running into jumbo smelts and anchovies.  use the board's search function for live bait rig.  I'm not a fan of the three-way rig but a lot of people are.  I prefer the sliding sinker type rig.

good luck and be safe

What Yakuza said. I would just add that adding a loop about 1'-2' above your iron/swim bait with a shrimp fly will allow you to pick up rock fish while you're jigging for ling & hali's.

For your first trip you might just launch from the Coast Guard boat ramp, hang a left and head for the kelp for rockies. For that, pre-made rigs with two shrimp flies (tipping with with squid is an option) are cheap and the rockies will keep you busy.

Ben

or you could do like yakuza and troll a plug around and snag other peoples lines all day 

futhel, this weekend has a south swell predicted and that can make the mouth of the SC harbor and capitola rougher than normal.  the coast guard pier, MBK are sheltered from that so definitely the right choice for a maiden salt trip.

I'll be fishing Monterey tomorrow maybe with Superfin19 and will keep an eye out for you guys

ill be at monterey during labor day weekend

You got some good advice here, futhel, and you should remember to consider tossing a fly out there too.  I do believe that's within your usual skillset, and it's not uncommon to see black and blue rockfish busting the surface out there on a nice day.  Have fun.   

hey futhel,

you can also launch from the Santa Cruz pier (next to the boardwalk), over by the boat rental.  Downside is that there are stairs to get your yak down, and parking will cost you some.  The upside is that it makes for a shorter paddle to the area between the lighthouse and natural bridges.

--Lars

Futhel,
So, how did you do on your Monterey trip? I got my yak just about the same time you're planning to go and had gone twice since then. I usually fish Lover's Point and Otter Cove in Monterey and have been fairly productive. Beginning to know the area so will be better productive in future trips. Have also been watching the Hookups section and scheduling the Carmel Stillwater Cove with the regulars.
Hope to fish with you sometime.
Danny