My first rockfishing attempts

I really meant to post these as individual reports...but time slipped away and now I have four reports for one post. I guess procrastination got the best of me .

Anyhow, this is my first year taking the kayak out on the saltwater. I started crabbing at Doran over the winter and wondered what all of the rockfishing hype was about. I decided that once the rockfishing season opened I would have to give it a try...and then August rolled around and I still hadn't made it out (yep, more procrastination).

So the first weekend of August I did it, I headed up to Bodega and paddled out to some rocky spots. During the first three hours I had few taps, reeled in a lovely starfish, and was harassed by sea lion...not exactly what I had in mind. Just as I was getting seasick and heading back towards the beach I got my first decent bite and reeled up a small brown rockfish. Encouraged by this, I decided to try a few more drifts, which then turned into 6 drifts b/c I kept missing some nice bites. But on the final drift I was able to set the hook on a 26" lingcod. I then happily paddled back to the beach and ended my day.

My second outting was at Ocean Cove a few weeks later. The water seemed very choppy that day and I spent my first 30 minutes on the water trying to work up the courage to grab my rod from the pole holder. I was shocked to see so many other boats, kayaks, and divers around me. I asked a few people if the conditions were bad and evidently they were "so-so". At this point I was seasick and headed back in. Eventually I made my way back out and C&R'd an undersized cabezon, but that was it. I did see some nice verms and lingcod landed that day.

By the middle of sept. I saw a window of time where the conditions were near perfect, so I decided to give ft ross a try. It was a great day, the water was like glass and the fish were biting, but I couldn't set the hook to save my life. I did C&R a little canary early and finally set the hook on a decent verm (15") around noon. As I was bringing it up I noticed some erratic behavior. One second it felt like a rockfish, the next a lingcod. When I finally got it up to the surface I saw a 30" lingcod trailing just 2' behind. It stopped at my yak as the verm dangled in front of it. I asked it to please latch onto my verm again...it laughed at me and swam away.

On friday (10/3) I went back to ft ross to track down that lingcod. The conditions were perfect again. I land several blacks over the first few hours and missed many bites, as usual. As the bite seemed to slow down I moved a bit closer to the reef and immediately hooked up with a nice ling (27") on my first drop. I contemplated calling it a day, but decided to try a few more drifts in that area. As I paddled back out I could just make out a dorsal fin in the corner of my eye. My heart was racing and when I finally got a good look again I saw 2 dorsal fins and heard a loud "pffft". Wait, sharks don't have a blow hole on the top of their head, porpoises do. Whew...I calmed down a bit and decided that the harbor porpoises wanted me to call it a day.

Below are a few terrible pics taken from my flip phone (yes, the last one in existence) from my first (bodega) and last (ft ross) outtings.

Great first outings! I too have a weak stomach when it comes to the ocean. I just go out for awhile catch some fish, come back in hang out a bit, then go back out till im sick again. LOL

Congrats on your success in checking out rockfishing.  Maybe a salmon next summer.   

Great report, now you are hooked !!! 
Jeff

Its only going to get better!  Better catches are on the way.

Thanks for the combined reports and pictures rlb123.

Thanks for the report! Where did you launch from out in Bodega? There are a few protected areas around Bodega Head, FYI.

Sounds like a couple of perfect intro days on the water!

and now you are hooked.... nice report.

Great job.

WTG on the rockfish bro. I'm sure there will be plenty more to come.

Jedmo

Thanks for all of the encouragement everyone! As several of you have noted, I'm definitely hooked.

Thanks for the report! Where did you launch from out in Bodega? There are a few protected areas around Bodega Head, FYI.

I launched at Doran and paddled across the bay towards the Esteros. Although I was aware of the Bodega Head MPAs, I appreciate the heads-up. Also, it may be helpful to others reading this topic.

Great report, way to stick with it. Your hard work is paying off.

Jeff

Nice! And thanks for the report.

Pick up a pack of seasickness pills and take one the night before. It helps a lot.