Who is going out for Salmon opening day April 1st?

I am but not on a kayak since my friend who is visiting from the valley will be with me. We are renting a boat.

I might mothership a couple of friends though, still waiting for them to reply.

John

I think there's gonna be too much boat traffic - not a good idea to be kayak in all that traffic. I think it's better to wait a few days and gather some intel from those who went out - then go out during the week 

mooch, i completely agree with you and would definitely do that but i have to make good on a promise to my friend who is visiting. otherwise i would have at least waited til sunday...... i'll definitely post pics and a report if we have some luck. think its too early for halibut yet? if there is bait i hope we can maybe fight a flattie that day.

john

Good luck John - looking forward to your report.

Why not try for Halibut - especially if the salmon are no where to be seen. Do it 

"fishing is like a box of choc-lates...you neva know whut yur goin ta git" 

PS - it would be good to have a VHF handy  = to scan and hear of any reports from the fleet 

hey mooch, not a bad idea. i have a confession to make. i really enjoy fighting bat rays when i am out halibut fishing and happen to hook a ray. those things fight like crazy and i enjoy it. i always let em go too but sure is exciting when you have something on that hook.

i cant really say i am out halibut fishing because i just kind of catcth whatever takes my bait.

i'll post after this weekend too, im goingto go spear in monterey again on saturday with fish"n"dive and our buddy ron. want to come along?

john

want to come along

as soon as get my wetsuit = I'll be there 

mooch, is the crowd problem out in the bay or is it the harbour or what?

probably be an extra circus this year if people think they only have one shot.

How about launching further south, like in big sur or something? away from powerboats?

want to come along

as soon as get my wetsuit = I'll be there 

we'll either be launching from otter cove or breakwater launch ramp depending on conditions. if you need some gear let me know. i have extra gear you can use. i have....

weight belt with 19lbs
dive knife on wt belt
 (my waist is like a 34 w/suit on)

extra speargun, sporasub euro guns

we usually meet aorund 830 or so and launch out to some reefs we are familiar with.

maybe get some calicos and definitely rockfish , cabezon and maybe se some beautiful lings laying out.

let me or fish"n"dive know!

john

mooch, is the crowd problem out in the bay or is it the harbour or what?

probably be an extra circus this year if people think they only have one shot.

How about launching further south, like in big sur or something? away from powerboats?

boats will be flying everywhere - in and out of the harbor, even in the middle of the ocean - especially at Moss. It get's really ugly out there. Last year, I went out with Stuart at Moss...we paddled out at 4:30AM and trolled around till we saw bait - and then mooched. And as soon as Stuart hooked up on a fish, several boats trolled right next to us....one boat came too close and snagged my mooching gear with his down-rigger as I was taking a picture of Stuart with his salmon on board I've also seen the cattle boats get rushed by all the other boats in the area. As soon as they start their drift over the bait balls, all the rest of the trolling fleet just do "drive bys" 20  to 30 feet away from the bow and stern of the Party boats = no respect at all

I've never tried launching from Big Sur for Salmon - I bet it's worth a shot - as long as the conditions permit.

mooch, is the crowd problem out in the bay or is it the harbour or what?

probably be an extra circus this year if people think they only have one shot.

How about launching further south, like in big sur or something? away from powerboats?

boats will be flying everywhere - in and out of the harbor, even in the middle of the ocean - especially at Moss. It get's really ugly out t....................

man that is pretty crazy how boats feel as though they should not have to be more careful around kayaks. up north out of fort ross my wife and i were fishing with fish n dive and as soon as we hooked up on a good reef about 100 feet deep the boats started swarming. one boat was like 50 feet away and just kind of parked there next to us. my thought was that the ocean is a big place and they could have hooked up anywhere in that area. no biggie but when the party boat came over i was kind of surprised. it looked absolutely huge when you are sitting in a kayak. the side of the boat are super tall and makes you feel pretty vulnerable.

all was ok though, just kind of crowded, and that was for rockfish, i cant imagine what the salmon opener will look like, i'll have to bring a camera and get some shots.

let me or fish"n"dive know!

john

I defintely will! Can't wait to join you guys! I'll pass on the gun for now - but thanks for the offer...I'd like to start out by hanging around and watching you guys do your stuff + this will be all new to me so I'd like to get comfortable with my breath holds before I do anything else. I'll be visiting the swimming pool after work starting next week - gotta make sure I'm in shape, I'd hate to cramp while I'm in the ocean.

their is always launching from the monterey side everyone probably be at moss
chef

Hmm.  1 in 20 chance at a salmon or 3 out of 3 chance for abalone.  Hard call. 

Monterey bay
Sat
W to NW winds increasing to 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. W swell 5 to 10 ft. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms.

Looks kinda crappy out there for this weekend.

mooch you got your hooks all sharpened up? I might take along a charter special and do a little mooching myself, do it the lazy way

I'm all set to go

Here's my question to you: How do you know where to mooch if you don't have a FF? Besides watching the feeding birds.....are there other ways of telling where there's a good spot to mooch? I'm guessing since you've fished for salmon for a long time now, you've got your productive spots mapped out already.

Also, how do you determine your depth (how many pulls) when your mooching? Do you just send it to the very bottom and slowly reel the bait up and down till you get it topside?

blue, I can probably beach launch it with you if you will be down here. 

if you can get to mountain view I can give you a lift the next 80 miles.

I'm pretty much 2 minutes off 101 and 85.