ARW 5/28

Arrived at the rockwall this morning around 6:30 or so and was in the water ten minutes before 7.  Paddled out to the gap in the wall via the naval side before shooting out into the bay and paddling a bit further along the next wall (the pelican and seal reserve).  About to the third concrete post in the top of the wall (300 ft out, of course ). 

After no more than two minutes of fishing I catch my first fish from a kayak, a 24" halli.  I think that was the fastest I've ever hooked up on a fish!  Re-baited, and again within minutes I bring up a TINY halibut, like 6-7". 

After that, I realized the rest of the small smelt I had in my bait tube took advantage of the largish holes I drilled all over the damn thing and split.  So with no more bait I paddled back in and called it a day.  Saw Ariel and his cousin fishing straight out from the boat launch as I was packing up.  Have any luck fellas??

About to the third concrete post in the top of the wall 

That's where we would always start our drifts

where u get your bait
nice catch

YEAH Nate!  WTG on the hali.   

where u get your bait
nice catch

I made bait over at San Antonio Pier.  Its the pier thats practically across the street from Outdoor Pro Shop (Oakland).

Nate, looking good...sounds like the smelt had vacation plans for the holiday though, LOL.  I suspect that you might have had bragging rights for the first hali limit for the season at the rate you were going.

I stopped by on my way to softball practice (8:30) and didn't see anyone.  I did see your car underneath the trees and a truck with kayak saddles in the parking lot so I figured you folks were out on the water somewhere.  I didn't think to look to the right of the launch because the wind never let us get out that far on Sat. 

The tide was really low today and those kayak tracks in the mud must have been yours and Ariel's.  Some guys were sitting on their boats at the launch waiting for the tide to come in.  I didn't have my camera but it would have been a NCKA poster moment with the caption: "Another reason to get a kayak".

If you don't me asking, what kind of net did you use to make bait and where did you buy it from?  I need to add that to my shopping list because it would take all day to make bait at the ARW.

Thanks for the tip on finding smelt the San Antonio Pier.  I'd like to find some small shiners too because the ones we bought at the OP bait shop lasted all day and still had a lot of energy when we released them.

See you on the water and hopefully I'll be supplying bait for everyone the next time out.

Gary

congrats. 

Jason

I'd like to find some small shiners too because the ones we bought at the OP bait shop lasted all day

I used to fish the rockwall a lot if you make a left after you launch you will see a small channel with a tire breakwater. We used to catch shiners there and if you go a little further there is a bridge did well under there.http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Alameda,+CA&t=k&om=1&ll=37.769078,-122.288378&spn=0.0062,0.013561
Used pileworms on a small carlisle hook

I'd like to find some small shiners too because the ones we bought at the OP bait shop lasted all day

I used to fish the rockwall a lot if you make a left after you launch you will see a small channel with a tire breakwater. We used to catch shiners there and if you go a little further there is a bridge did well under there.http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Alameda,+CA&t=k&om=1&ll=37.769078,-122.288378&spn=0.0062,0.013561
Used pileworms on a small carlisle hook

In addition to the spots you mentioned, if you go further out from the launch and then go left along the shoreline, following it around to the marina area you will find a concrete wall that used to hold shiners.  20 years ago it did, anyways.  Also possibly a good spot for shiners in Alameda is the Grand St. boat launch area.


Gary, I got the cast net I'm using now (the box is labeled "super spreader") from Cabelas because I had trouble finding one locally that was made with a 1/4" mesh.  Outdoor Pro Shop has them, but chances are they'll be the 3/8" mesh that tends to catch the gills of smelt and anchovy.  I just checked Cabelas so I could provide a link for you, but it doesn't look like they carry it anymore.

Sounds like I'm going full circle...when I was a little kid growing up in SF my first fishing adventure was using drop lines to catch shiners/perch next to the piers along the Embarcadero.  Thanks for all the "spots" for making bait.

We passed through the tire breakwater a number of times on Sat and it was our signal to paddle like crazy before the wind pushed us into the rocks.  I'd never seen anything like that before so when I first paddled up to it I thought that it was a bad tire sculpture or something.  One more way to recycle our tires.

Very good info on the mesh size...no sense shredding the gills of our bait.  I'll poke around and will post the info on where to buy a net when I find it.

Thanks NCKA Bro's!

WAY TO GO NATE 

WTG Nate! Looks like the RW is the spot so far this year. I keep waiting for OP to turn on but it seems like it is going to be very late or never happen this year.

When making bait at these locations are you using sabiki's or cast nets?

Hey what's up guys. My cousin and I did'nt catch anything. We launched to very very low tides but it wasn't a problem at all at 8pm. Thought it would be very muddy launch but the ground was very firm. A nice guy hunting ghost shrimp had a bucket full and gave us a handfull of nice size ones. We weren't able to make bait that morning cuz we woke up late. Tried making bait the night before at the Berkley Pier but no luck. My cousin and I both didn't know where to go to make bait. All in all it was a beautiful day at ARW. Wasn't very windy. Off the water by 12pm. Picked up my girlfriend and went to the Berkley pier so she could go fishing. It was fun watching her catch perch and bullheads.

Bungle:  that was a very nice Hali. I counldn't believe how fat that thing was being only 24"-25". Good thing I had to hit the restroom or else I wouldn't have met you and seen that nice hali. Hope to fish with you nexttime.

Sandman:  Sorry we couldn't meet was looking forward to it.  Maybe next time. I will be finding myself in the bay 2 weekends per month. Hopefully you, my cousin, & I can fish together.

Congrats on the first hali of the year, Nate. Makes up for that lost on Saturday.

When making bait at these locations are you using sabiki's or cast nets?

Cast net all the time.  But I bet either would work.  While making bait this past weekend I figured out how the guys over at OP throw their nets all stealth-like.  If you do it right, it'll put the net directly beneath the pier in a perfect circle.  It didn't net me any bait, but it looks cool.