8/7 Bean Hollow or Pigeon Point

Hi,

After being skunked at Capitola 2 times (well, not exactly, caught some kingfish, perch and anchovies, but nothing decent like halibut or rockfish), I've decided to try someplace that's not been fished out, i.e. pressured from the tens of rental skiffs that are found at Capitola.

I've been looking at some Bean Hollow and Pigeon Point reports, and they seem to be doing pretty well, for what it's worth. However, I've never actually launched from a beach site before and was wondering which place is easier to launch. And...I've looked up the swell forecast from stormsurf.com and NOAA - 4-6 feet swell on Saturday. Not sure if these are the conditions for launching, but I think that the smaller summer swells are as a good a time as any to learn.

If it's too difficult to launch at the center, I might just head to the edge of Bean Hollow where the waves are considerably smaller. Might have to carry/take the kayak a further distance though.

Just a suggestion. If you haven't taken a safety class on self rescue stay away from the Bean and launch at the cove near the lighthouse. The Bean is not Capitola.

+1
A good alternative would be to launch from the SC harbor & fish the shallows, either Blacks Point or paddle up past Seal Rock. Contrary to common belief, there are decent fish in there & you don't have to deal with swell so much. It's a longer paddle, but not much longer than paddling to new brighton from Cap.

4-6ft swell is not great for the PP/bean area. The real concern up there is the wind. Even if it is a small swell day, if the wind & fog come on you can be hosed quickly. Bring all safety stuff & go with a partner if you paddle off the San Mateo coast.

As Frank said, Bean is not the place for your first surf launch. And I also agree that classes on self rescue and surf launches and landings are essential. Contact Aaron at MBK, he offers those classes.

You can launch in the cove at the Lighthouse. Its well protected and you can get to the fishy areas pretty quickle, but do NOT launch alone. Find a buddy to join you..

Stay safe.

no solo...for PP you will want a buddy to help with the yak down the stairs. Or more likely back up when you are tired.

Yep, I should have stated that I wasn't going solo. I have two other friends on their tandem kayak along with me and another person on my kayak.

I think I'll stay away from Bean from a while and go with an easier launch at Pigeon Point. From the looks of it, I found the stairs on the southeastern side of pigeon point. How do the swells compare to Albion? (It must have been 6-8 feet at least) I've fished there before and it was pretty rough, but then again, Albion was a much easier launch.

How do the swells compare to Albion?

All depends on the day/hour.  But for the most part our swells come from the northwest and PP itself protects the cove from the worst of it.

How do the swells compare to Albion?

All depends on the day/hour.  But for the most part our swells come from the northwest and PP itself protects the cove from the worst of it.

It's a mixed swell so things will be confused OTW. Launch at PP may have some small waves but the fishing may not be that good.

Saturday: W wind 5 to 10 kt. Patchy fog before 11am. Mixed swell...WNW 4 to 5 ft and SSW 2 to 3 ft. Wind waves around 1 ft.

What conditions do you look for when fishing? Is it because of a mixed swell that causes fish to stop biting or moving away from the shore?

Also, where to fish? After launching, do you head out northwest or more inward southeast where it's more protected? Or does this again depend on the conditions?

no solo...for PP you will want a buddy to help with the yak down the stairs. Or more likely back up when you are tired.

How bout a buddy in case of the landlord showing up...

Once you go out a time or two the answers you seek will be self evident.

yeah make sure you have a friend with you. those stairs are a pain solo. i did it last time going up and it was not so fun even with good technique.  but since i have a crappy technique it was even worse.

bean would not be a good idea for you this weekend, it does look pretty sloppy with the cross swells and wind

I usually launch at the cove south of the lighthouse. It is very calm most of the time. You will feel the swell once you pass the rock on the left hand. I will then paddle 0.6-0.7mi south and fish at around 50-65 feet deep. This is a big reef area. I have been hitting the limit with mix of gopher, verm, and ling most of the time.

will you guys be there tomorrow?