Fort Ross 10/18 or 10/19

Staying the night at Timber Cove then heading over to Fort Ross just before grey light.  My preference is Sunday, based on the weather report, but Saturday doesn't look too bad either.  I want to venture south to Sunken Reef, or at the very least the structure just south of Fort Ross Reef.  Both spots look steep, rocky, and perfect for Lingcod. 

let me know,

Andrew
http://magicseaweed.com/Secrets-Surf-Report/305/

Why stay at TC if your not planning on fishing it?  Ocean Cove is just a few more mins down the road and a lot cheaper.  I also saw that Reef campground was open last time I went up to TC, and we drove down to check it out.  Pretty cool spot, although pricey, and I heard that if you stay there you get a free pass for Fort Ross.  Something to check out!

Ive only ever camped at TC and I like the spot. But for a savings of $10 you're right, I should at least check out OC. Thanks for the suggestion.

I was going to do TC on Sunday based on the current forecast.  However, Fort Ross will work for me as well.


Michael

Do you wanna try fishing the southern side of Fort Ross Reef? 

Sure, I'm open to any location.  I don't fish up that way very often so I wanted to give it a try in the brief window available.


Michael

We fish Ft Ross alot and u may consider the wind that day . If u have a strong NW wind , going north will make it easier to get in.  The south is great but We've caught alot of lings on what I call Link Lane, past the cove ,along the kelp north. Current is also part of the equation.
Good Luck ...You'll get em!

Thanks for the advice.  The almighty Magic Seaweed is predicting very light wind from the SW on that particular day.  I don't know anything about the near-shore currents in that area.  Do you have a link to any near-shore current information/forecasts?

Fort ross Harvest Fest is Sat. entrance is $20 per car it will be crowded. You might call ahead to see if you can drive down

Fort ross Harvest Fest is Sat. entrance is $20 per car it will be crowded. You might call ahead to see if you can drive down

Thanks for the heads up!  It looks like the festival is only on Saturday, so hopefully we'll be okay since we'll be going out on Sunday morning.


Michael

I met Andrew (andrewmvb) at 7:00 AM down by the entrance to the short trail out to the Fort Ross launch.  We are greeted by light winds, and slightly overcast skies.  There is a bit of a west swell coming in with a small shore break to contend with, but nothing problematical.


We unload our yaks and fishing gear and then drive our cars back up to the parking lot.  I have only launched once before out of Fort Ross and I forgot the from and to the parking lot . 


We both launch successfully and paddle out and south of the launch.  I was looking forward to this trip, because it was my first chance to try out my new fish finder.  You can see it in some of the photos.  We round the corner and after a short paddle begin fishing. 


I score the first fish of the day on nearly my first drop of the day, a nice fat legal ling, probably about 27" or 28" long.  Unfortunately, that fish was not an indicator of the day to come.  The rest of the day, for me, at least, was steady but not necessarily spectacular.  I used a mix of Big Hammer swim baits (toast, green pearl white) all on 2 oz kalin jig heads (white and red).  I also used some purple MC swim baits as well.  I caught about a fish every half hour.  I ended the day with 5 legal lings (the biggest was probably 32 inches), two big china rockfish, an 18" cabezon, and a couple of small (11 to 12") blacks.  All of the fish were released.


Andrew's day was slower than mine, he got a 22" ling, and a whole bunch of small (like 3 to 4 inches) rockfish.  I also ended up snagging 3 or 4 small black rockfish and one 5" greenling.  Never seen that many small fish accidentally snagged during a day (we were both fishing big swimbaits).


While we were fishing we met three other folks on the water.  One of them is a new member going by the handle yakfisher.  The other two, were not NCKA folks but said that they would be joining soon.


At 2:00 PM I decided to call it a day due to the long ride home ahead of me.  Despite the 'slowish' fishing, I had a great day.  It was nice meeting Andrew and great fishing out there with him.  I Wish we could've gotten him on more fish during the day.  Toward the middle of the day, the sky was only slightly overcast with a lot of blue peaking through the clouds.  There was a pretty big medium period swell, but nothing dangerous and just a light wind through most of the day.  Really had a great time out there.




Michael

I see you have a Raymarine Dragonfly.  I love mine!  Last time we were in the area the Lings were thick and RF scattered. 

Seems like a pretty good day to me!   Thanks for the report! 

Still had a great time.

Nice ling... Thanks for the report..