Russian Gulch State Park

has anyone fished in this area before? my family is planning on going there this summer for our annual family camping trip and now that i have a kayak i am wondering if it any good for beginners to go get wet over there. any feedback would be appreciated.
I am also curious to know what kinds of fish are up that way as well relatively close to shore as i wont be venturing out too far but i do want to be able to go fishing and at least surprise some people with a bounty of "something".

Close to shore is sometimes worse than further out. Lings, cabs, rockfish. The usual suspects. Take a radio if you are by yourself.  Know how to self rescue or don't go.  Learn to self rescue with the same gear on your body and yak if possible.

yeah i need to try the self rescue part of it. that will definitely be on the to do list.

how far out are those species? i dont have a fishfinder so i would have to just go off of what i can see or just drop down some squid to the bottom at where i think there might be some rocks n what not...

They are from shore to as deep as legally fishable. I believe 120' in that area is as deep as legal. I have the plan to take my dad and buddy to the coast as you know this week. We are going to practice self rescue this weekend at Kelsey. If they can't get back on the yaks we are NOT going to the ocean. No matter how much they whine about it. If you can't get back on your kayak fully suited, do not go alone. Even if you go with others and can't self rescue, it puts everybody in danger.

russian gulch is a very protected launch, but as you exit the cove to open water it can get a little tricky depending on swell direction, there are two good size boilers to navigate out and around and if it is a mixed swell it gets very washing machine esque, but a lot of good structure to the north and south, but if you cant get out, the cove holds fish and ranges 25-30ft, also great camping here, well protected from wind, and shady, there is a good hike up to a waterfall, cameron

what about if i just wanted to stay in the cove, because o am so new to it all i dont want to venture that far anywhere. is there still decent fish to be caught in there jigging? or with squid?

yeah there are fish in the cove, mako1 just posted a report of catching blues, blacks and lings in the cove last week, the pics are two different days the first was really calm on the out side the second was a real nasty day on the outside but as you can see the cove is still doable, cameron

aawesome. that is a pretty cool picture. yeah i will have to practice my self rescue before i can get too excited. but you all telling me there there is some fish in there gives me hope. lol

My family camped there every year since the 1950s. It is one of the most beautiful state parks in the system. There are fish in the cove but the fishing in the cove is not as good as out further and around the corner north. As said by others if you do not have experience in self rescue and especially if alone venturing out of the cove could be unwise. Spend some time with others practicing self rescue and partner rescue at the very least before hitting the big blue.

When are you planning the trip up to Russian Gulch.  Have been wanting to explore that area.

i believe my family and i are going to go camping there late august. i will probably be posting questions and what not and im sure there will be a date or two put up about when i will be there. yeah feel free to meet up, i wouldnt mind company. i will probably be staying relatively close to shore and fish that bay more than going out into open ocean just because i am so new and need to get a feel for boing out a bit moe before i go out into "salmon water" but feel free to pm me and i will get back to you about the dates. cheers.

yeah there are fish in the cove, mako1 just posted a report of catching blues, blacks and lings in the cove last week, the pics are two different days the first was really calm on the out side the second was a real nasty day on the outside but as you can see the cove is still doable, cameron

 I fished with Juan (Mako1) on Sunday last weekend at Van Damme, it was FAC like a lake with no PB's. Juan fished out of RG the day before, it was also flat and fish were active and willing. He could have limited on Saturday at RG, but was holding out for the second half of a limit for Sunday.

BTW, there is lots of intel on RG in the threads, happy searching!