Bean a.k.a Happy Hollow Sun. 9/10

Well...  It was a fun or at least interesting day at the hollow - great group as always...  Chuck, JTF, Ben, Ark, Freddie, Henry, and (almost) Gary and Bob, and Rich diving, Gordon in his trusty WM inflatable, and a few other guys whose names escape me (sorry bros).

The surf was periodically pretty big, and pretty small.  I made it out early, on a quick judgment call and high hopes.  Whew.  no probs.

Others weren't so lucky...  They can tell their stories (since I just heard it secondhand, and I'm sure the firsthand accounts would be better).

Fishing was on and off slow but still decent.  We went out to JTF's far reef and got good action.  I tried to stay away from the smaller fish this time.  Used a 7" plastic river anchovy - liked the results quite a bit.  Got a couple decent size RF (they were light brown/gold, about 14", maybe coppers or kelp).  Then I hooked what Ben and I orignally thought was a huge cab, but the markings and brown color lead me to think it was a decent size ling.  However, it shook off 2 feet below the surface.

About 10 minutes later, I hooked into a fish which didn't quite feel as big, but this time I got it up and into the net - 27" ling.  Happy me!  Beat the crap out of it, took it out of the net and laid it down to measure.  No probs.  Then  needed to shimmy up and get out the clip.  Picked up the ling - which was decidedly done moving - and held it out of the way with my gaff, which then proceeded to quickly slice through the ling's mouth and <plop> back into the water.  Sad me.  Thing sank motionless, like a brick.   

JTF never had so much fun saying "nooooobieeee!"  Well, probably not in the past month anyway.    Of course, I totally deserved it too.

Like I later said, if you hook up a big fish, don't do what I did - land it, kill it, and throw it overboard.   Bad technique!

There were a few nice lings, cabs and RF caught, tho' not as big as recent trips. Most of us left with good fish.  Chuck had a nice halibut up to the surface but my gaff was tied to my boat and before i could get the net out, it shook off his line.  Sad us. 

I would be interested to know, Rich did you find any good diving?  I hooked a 3rd ling, big and blue, in about 30 FOW just offshore.  It (or something else) shook off just below the surface, but the ling lunged, straight out of the water lure in mouth, charged my boat and then fell off again when it got underneath.  Gah!  0 for 3.   

Landing was pretty interesting.  JTF has photos, if he can post some.   It was either coast in, or be shoved in bigtime.

Apart from 4 decent rockfish and a small cab, I did manage to catch a Wolf Eel.  Man, I think they based that creature from the movie Alien on a Wolf Eel.  How ugly is that thing!?  I think Chuck has a photo.

Henry and Gordon said it's edible ("sure, yeah, asian people eat them").  Hmmm...  Okay, I'll keep it then.  Maybe I'll invite a hot asian chick for an eel dinner.

Then at the mexican place in HMB afterwards, JTF tells me that Stuart says they are not good table food.   Okay, so I will not be asking Stuart to hook me up with a date, for sure.

Mooch joined us there on his way home with tales from Moss tourney and there was much rejoicing.

Good times!  Hope others chime in - I wanna know what else i missed... yeah, besides lings.

ah yes craig, even though you noobed your first 2 fish you managed to redeem yourself and catch some nice table fare, I'm only worried that you took satan home with you careful that thing doesn't come to life.. you cut the head off right???

I had good time out there fishing with all the bros, we covered some water, I heard chuck's fish was a sand dab that got off the hook.. as for the pics, I'm workin on those, wipe out of the day went to Ark, man, if we would of started paddling a minute early like i had done to begin with you would of made it.  That was definately you paying your newbie surf landing dues all at one time.  8' close outs are no joke.  lucky there was water when you went over the falls to cushin you crash.  I kept lookin for another wave to show you to compare the crash but that was a freak wave.  Same thing happened to Henry(aka Dolphin).  Henry, I was waving at you to come in for like 10 minutes and it was a bathtub landing the whole time.    weird how you guys got those freak waves???  big props to both of you guys for shakin it off.  thats what its all about.   JTF..

Something to be said about blind luck or fast kayaks.  I paddled out without problems and surfed a wave in.  I was cruising in during a lull when a wave picked me up near the shore.  Then I was looking straight down at the sand while getting pushed by a wave.  It wasn't the most comforting thing but it wasn't like I had a choice.  Then it broke and it was all foam for a bit.  I was all smiles until some fellow yakkers started pointing behind me (yet another wave?).  No chance to get out of the way so I took the hit at a 45 degree angle like my BASK friends had told me.  Jumped out on the ocean side in knee deep water and let the wave take my yak to the shore.  I would like to say it was planned but what was I saying about blind luck...

My friend Bob wasn't as lucky...his first attempt at conquering the surf was humbling to put it mildly.  After I came in to get him I realized that going out was one thing but coming in would be even tougher when you're tired and the surf was looking like it was getting bigger.

Good thing that HMB was just up the road.  We loaded up and launched about an hour later.  Paddled out to the first green buoy and it was really slow.  Bob jigged a mega bait and then a green swim bait and I paraded my smelt across the bottom.  I caught a couple of kingfish and then I had a good pull down in 60 FOW.  It shook for a bit and I started pulling it to the surface.  I cranked in about 20' of line and it felt like hoisting up a barn door (sound familiar).  Then it started shaking good and taking line...then pop, severed the line above the hook.  Oh well, didn't want to tie another live bait hook so I jigged a purple swim bait for a bit for nada.  I think Ken caught most of the fish and didn't leave any for us or the PBs that were fishing the same area.  Maybe after the full moon goes away we'll do better.

Called it a day and had lunch at Barbara's Fish Trap...sorry that we couldn't have dined at the Ono.

BTW did any of you guys hear me trying to radio from HMB?  If not then I hope when I need to call the coast guard I'm closer than 20 miles.  Maybe I should read the fine print...what is the range for the handheld units?

Gary

Met up with Craig and made him give me the long version of how to do Bean. Met JTF and Guitarzan for the first time; they are da kine bros. JTF, when you told me I'm crazier than you for diving Bean, I considered that a compliment!
Diving pretty much sucked; I first anchored in about 50' of  water; oops. FF told me the top of the pinnacle was 40'; guess it's kind of hard to set an anchor on top of a pinnacle. My ear was not letting me reach the bottom, so I tried to pull anchor; no dice. Spent the next half hour trying to free the anchor. Pulled every which way and tried to dive down to it. When I finally reached a few feet from it, the bottom was virtually a black-out. Spooked a huge cab that must have been investigating all the anchor yanking. Didn't even have my gun at that point; didn't have time for a shot anyway. Decided that shallow water blackout wasn't on the menu for the day and cut the anchor line at about 35'. Paddled north and near shore to 25-30' terrain. Got a rock for an anchor and tried more diving. Viz was horrible and surge was wild. Got in to about 20'; I was like a leaf blowin' in the wind. Stopped a few places on the way back; the only "decent" viz was right out front of the beach beyond the break. Checked the sand there at 25-30'; nobody home but no surprise because the surge would have lifted any flatties off the bottom. 
Talked to Gordon for a few minutes then finally got up the nerve to try landing. Couldn't really see what the sets were doing so I finally went for it. No waves all the way to the beach, then I got lifted from behind right at the beach, but just got pushed up and not endoed. Phew! Right after I landed, a couple of humungous waves broke right on the beach. I was way lucky to have beat them.
All in all, a wash for me. never saw a fish; well maybe a couple of greenlings and a small blue. However... I think I will return on a dead calm day. My impression is that it's a very fishy place, though they may be mostly deep.

It was great meeting all the guys from the board out there.
I have to hand it to JTF. The guy was one of the last people to arrive and one of the first ones on the water. Rides his yak like a hog too. 
I was seasick from the start. I had not had enough sleep the night before and I had not eaten much at all which brought on the nauseatic surges. I waited for a while and along with Henry paddled out between the freaky huge sets. One word of advice, stay away from the right side of the beach when paddling out. There are a number of submerged reefs that make the water a whirlpool there. I almost got tossed out of the FnD just when a huge swell hit my boat right near the submerged rocks. Heading out, I dared not to point the yak towards the middle since I really didnt want the water to catch me on the side. But I made it out to the bumpy open water (which were more like speedbumps).
I took my time pulling the rod out of the hatch since I wasn't feeling too good with the bumpy seas. Used a Harry Boos purple and black iron jig to haul up a nice sized cab. I just played around with the jig to catch a few good sized chinas. Met ChuckE and Freddie on the water. I was gaping at Freddie's fishing clip that was strung with nice sized fish.
I felt sick on and off during the time on the water. Put my rod and all the stuff in the boat to get ready to head back at around noon. I paddled in with JTF and Ben onto the beginning of the cove and paddled furiously when we thought the water was a bit calmer. JTF and Ben made it okay to the beach and I looked over my shoulder and a monster swell was coming right behind me. I braced myself and kept paddling straight but the wave behind me lifted me up tossed me out of the yak and soon I was underwater. Its hard to determine which way is up when you're knocked over and submerged. I had just lifted my head when the second wave hit me hard and then a third but by that time I was crawling my way up the fishbowl. Thanks to JTF and Ben to salvaging my yak, paddle and other stuff.
JTF told me to go and practice a few more landings since I was already wet but I said no thanks. Maybe on a calmer day. Mixed swell days suck.

The Wolf eel that Craig caught was really formidable and big. Hope you make good use of it. The beachgoers and kayakers alike were all impressed.

About 10 minutes later, I hooked into a fish which didn't quite feel as big, but this time I got it up and into the net - 27" ling.  Happy me!  Beat the crap out of it, took it out of the net and laid it down to measure.  No probs.  Then  needed to shimmy up and get out the clip.  Picked up the ling - which was decidedly done moving - and held it out of the way with my gaff, which then proceeded to quickly slice through the ling's mouth and <plop> back into the water.  Sad me.  Thing sank motionless, like a brick.   

CRAIG - the fish was beat dead or semi-dead. It sank like brick, would it survive in water? If survived, it would not be as smart as used to be (brain damaged). 

Well guys,

There was a nice sized group out there on Sunday. Let's see... there was Granite diving out there, Craig, Henry, Ben Guitarzan, JTF, Chuck, two other guys on new Adventureres (Sorry, I never got your names), Ark, Sandman, his buddy Bob and Gordon on an inflatable, I think that I may have forgotten someone... Anyways, the fishing was so so at best. I managed to hook into a few lings and some decent sized rockies. My big ling went 35" and my rockies were all over 20". More white meat... I was actually fishing for a but and I ended up catching everything else but a but. Go figure... Chuck and I made it out and back pretty much okay... Some weren't so lucky. As Chuck and I arrived at the hollow, I notice two guys looking at the surf. I unloaded my yak and dropped on the shoreline and those same two guys were still staring at the surf. Turns out those guys were Sandman and his buddy Bob. I went back to the truck and got the rest of my gear. When I returned, Gary was out on the water and Bob was contemplating the launch. I rigged up and then it happened... Bob launched into the Machine. Bad timing... He was on his way too... He only had to get through one breaker and he was home free. Not to be. That breaker broke and took Bob out. Unfortunately, Bob hung onto the wrong side of his yak. He was there floating with his yak in the surf, holding onto the bow... A big set came through and a wave practically impailed Bob with his own yak. (Bob, next time you get dumped, don't hang onto the front of your yak. Hang onto the backside of it and you'll be a lot safer. You took way more punishment than you needed to.) I hope that Gary at least bought you a drink for dragging you to the hollow.  I'm sure it looked worse than it actually was... but, it looked pretty bad from where I was standing. Anyways, I gathered up Bob's yak and he floated in without anymore beatings. I would put an emocon here to depict the look on Bob's face afterwards but, there isn't one. Wholly $hit... I'm just glad that he made it out okay. The hollow is the only place that kicked my ass... literally. What happened to Bob and Ark and Henry was only a small sample of what the hollow can do to you. Gary, next time you want to take a newbie out... take him anywhere other than the hollow. That place is dangerous. I didn't see Ark's crash landing first hand but, I JTF painted a pretty good picture of it. Hey Ark, I hope that you got all of the sand out of your ears by now. Been there, done that... it sucks. I did see Henry crash and burn. He also had it... until he got sideways. He didn't get punished too bad though. He just rolled in the surf and had his yak roll over him a bit. Funny thing, just as Henry crashed, the surf died down. Craig and two other guys on Adventurers just cruised right in like nothing. Some people are just lucky like that I guess. JTF was ready with the camera just int case there was going to be some more carnage... not to be. Anyways, That was pretty much it for the excitement. Afterwards, Chuck, JTF, Ark, Craig and I headed to grab some grub and BS somemore. It was fun hanging out with you guys. Mooch stopped by and gave us the news about the derby... All in all... it was a decent day. Anybody else want to add anything to the story...

Tight lines,

Freddie

Sounds like a great time.  Rich I was hoping you would have some interesting views to describe to us.  Oh well maybe next time.  I wish I had the nerve to dive.

jason

Here's a couple of pics I took of Craigs Wolf eel .......

I'm still coughing out all the salt water I inhaled.    Lessons learned:

1. Tighten down PFD, it doesn't do much when it's around your ears and your in the water holding your boat.
2.  Blunt force trauma from your Kayak is not fun-stay behind your boat if swimming in.

Thanks for the help guys, I'll see you out there again.  This weekend I'm giving  Sand Harbour on Tahoe  in a used Fish & Dive I bought , wish me luck.
Bob

What a weird animal.

Yeah, Fishmore.  One of the things I look for in a PFD is a good bottom strap and having had the experience of a PFD over my face instead of my chest I am usually good at remembering to buckle that clip...............

Bob - right on, nice attitude.  I am still enjoying some (apparently) newbie luck but i will complete my 3 month kayak fishing probationary period in 2 weeks, so I will be happy to pass that torch to you then.  Let us know how it goes in tahoe!

Eric - I am sure the ling was not that smart to begin with, since it after all got hooked by me.  But it was definitely everything-dead.  I swiped at it with my gaff, but only had time for a couple hurried flails before it was 6 feet under.  I am sure it dropped conveniently in a furbag's mouth (saw one right near me just afterward).

Looking at my clip full of 5 fat rockfish, I realized that adding a halibut or a big ling to it would be a chore, at best.  I realize I need a second clip, 18" for larger fish.   The 14" now will work for a 8-10 medium-large RF but not much more.

JTF, funny, I did try to cut off the head, using a scimitar I got for steaking salmon.  I was convinced that knife could cut through anything...  But not the eel!  It was undecapitatable.  If that is a word.  Plus it had this incredibly awful stench...  Hmm, maybe you are right... But the meat looks lovely.

Thanks for the eel/satan photos Mooch!  It was 5 feet long and I did get nice looking soft white filets out of it.  I will be hot smoking it and will put up a food/recipie report or will at least let you know if it kills me.

I didn't hold the eel very well for Mooch's photo.  Here's another photo of the eel, just underwater.  Not mine, but a Wolf Eel.
http://www.aquariumofthebay.com/fish.asp?fishid=10

They may mate for life?  Is that unique in the marine fishes?

Great reports, fellas.
The wolf eels, are pretty good eating, way better than monkey face eels and unagi.

You should preserve the head somehow, just salted and boiled and put in an empty paint can for a year. It would be... beautiful.
It remindes me of a narley old nutcracker my grampa had when I was a kid.
Cant wait to hit that place again, fish and chips.