Golden Gate Ft Baker Oct 29

That water under there is about as jekyll and hyde as it gets  My buddy was on a small commie(20+whaler) that was endoed coming in on the Marin side If I was taking a rookie under there he'd be sporting some serious flotation and a helmet

There's some kind of surfski race that goes out the gate to the buoys and back I'd like to do some time. I think the conditions are the equalizer there, dont have to be an olympian to win, just have the moxy and endurance

I was hoping for sunny and 70 but as I drove up from the peninsula I saw the fog line and knew it was going to be cold.  Easy Launch but as we rounded the corner to pass under the gate, the wind hit us strong.  I waited with Ben and Gary and after about an hour, the wind some what let up.  Ben and I paddled under the North Tower and the current was strong, once we passed it, we hugged the shoreline and it wasn't as bad.  I caught two UnderSize Lings and one small Black.  Drift was fast with the wind so gave up the idea of trolling for salmon.  Here's a couple pics

John

Anybody recommend a good glue for repairing my swim bait?

Superglue works just fine.

-Allen

Did anyone else check out those blow-holes in the rocks facing the waves?  Pretty intense energy going on in those things.
Id like to bring my little digital recorder and catch some of that. With flange...

Did anyone else check out those blow-holes in the rocks facing the waves?  Pretty intense energy going on in those things.
Id like to bring my little digital recorder and catch some of that. With flange...

Yeah, I saw a couple of those.  Pretty intense!

The trick with the golden gate is timing it right with the tide.  Go when the bottom of the tide is about noon and the water will suck you out the gate (sea anchor helps) then with the water going one way and the wind another you can more or less hold position.  When the tide flips and the wind kicks up later both will take you home in an impressive hurry.  There's a couple small beaches you can land on just outside the gate to rest and eat lunch.

Going the other way from fort baker you'll find yellow cliffs facing angel island.  This is THE spot to catch large sevengill (like 100lbers) but you need to go on a day when the tide is relatively slack because it rips through there.  Fish in ~100ft using heavy spectra, big circle hooks with wire leaders and decent sized sharky baits - and be prepared to break off a few rigs since you'll be dragging over rocks.  Spring and fall are the best times of year to try this.  I'd think a 100lb sevengill would 'one-up' those socal guys pretty well, and the odds of picking one up are perhaps better than catching a T-shark at la jolla.  They can and will try to bite to defend themselves and their chompers are second to GWS in the carnage they can wreak (worse than mako) so a bit of caution is called for.  Sevengill is supposed to be similar to sturgeon in taste/texture and need to be bled out immediately.  Soupfin and >1000lb sixgill sharks are also caught there, but more rarely.  I believe they like that spot because it's the closest to the GG where there are rock shelves where they can hang out in eddies and wait for carcasses and other food to wash out of the bay into the sea.  The bottom drops off quick then levels off around 100-140' (<100 yards offshore), and that crease is the strike zone.

Hello all

Paul and I had a great time fishing in Bonlta Cove Sunday .We put in some major hours  not returning untill 5 p.m. We caught a total of (6) lings with Paul having the only 2 keepers a 27" and 30"Lings.Both fish were caught later in the day on our way back to the truck.Paul caught the bigger lings between the two rocks to the right of the fishing peir where we launched.Also caught a couple of keeper rock fish but didnt feel like cleaning them so I let them go. Found the gate crossing "effort-less"with the peddles. We were up at Bonita Cove under the light house when I saw what I thought were (3) Kayak fisherman approaching. It turned out to be a guide with 2 clients. He mentioned that he may post an article on Kayak Fishing for a magazine he writes for. We managed to visit 4 beaches along the way to Bonita Cove. The protected coves were wind free and great places to sit and admire the unbelievable views. We fished with swim baits and halibut rigs with dead chovies.What a great adventure! I hope to do it again with the group. I will post pictures later.

Donald and Paul
(Orange Hobies)

Well I had a good time at the gate with all the good company it was a real
Nice turnout to bad the weather did not cooperate. The fishing was not that
Great but who cares this is a awesome place to fish real exciting and challenging.
We must do this again on the next small tide and I mean small tide this is no place
To go on a big out going tide I think it would be a bad day if you did even with
No wind.

As for my catch I got one fat rock ‘some brown thing’ the reason it was so fat
Is because it was full of eggs it had two big yellow sacks in “its” belly should have put this one back I will remember this next time. I did throw back about 6 to 7 small rocks
& one small blue ling.


One thing I will tell you is that when I made the drift back in the gate I took it
Wide almost out in the channel, as I made my way in my fish finder was full
Arches in the middle of the water column the water was 145 ft deep I counted
40 to 50 fish these must have been salmon but with the current going out I could not
Get my line to go strait down even with 8oz on should have had some 16 oz or heaver 
And a heaver rod next time I will bring two rods one for mooching and one for live bait.


Well guys I think that was it for the summer trips the rain will be here this week
So it is time to gear up for sturgeon cant wait this year I plan to get one or I am
Going to tie my anchor line around my neck and throw my self overboard 

Peace out Duane   

 Carefull what you wish for dude, with the anchor! To killer whith the bait supply Its so funny you got those by the Kaiser building where my dad was head of security and I worked in High school. That high dollar FF paid off I too think those were salmon that I will catch at woodsen bridge in around ten days. Good seein ya and thanks again for giving Ty some of that bait. Randall

I had to keep reminding myself that this was not Bean Hollow and there's always a learning curve when you fish new places.

Or maybe it just isn't a place fish hang out. Sorry to inject some discussion into this posting, but I have to wonder if the fishing is _ever_ good there as it is in so many other places. Fish are sensitive to currents and tidal flows--they seek out places where they can benefit from the tide and current bringing them nutrients without expending energy staying in them--they are a lot like trout in a stream or river in that manner. In fact tides and currents are the rivers in the oceans and fish concentrate in reaction to those influences. The only difference is rivers mostly change flows with the seasons or man's water policies, while the ocean's rivers change twice a day and fish move in reaction. Seems to me the GG is not a place fish would hang out much. It's a big Venturi for the tidal flow and so I think the fish are much farther inside or outside along the coast where they escape the brunt of the flow but benefit from its upwelling of food.

So I am not convinced the fishing there has potential and you folks confirmed it--so far anyway. Sure the views are fantastic and I know lot's of sea kayakers who do it for the views and tidal races--ans they are stellar no doubt. But fishing? While the fish don't care about the difficulty of our launch and landing (which is why Bean Hollow is good--nothng to do with the launch but rather its far from most boat harbors), they do share the current out there with us and they try to conserve energy just like we do.  I don't expect to find trout in the rapids and seldom do. The money is on the places where they can hide out and feast with minimal effort. I believe it is so with all fish.

Amendment: salmon as Guitarzan say, are different--they use the GG as their migration highway. But if I were to target Salmon, I'd go farther up stream in the Bay where the conditions are more likley not to knock me off the water and yet the Salmon still have to pass by me.

I've caught bigger Rockfish in Monterey Bay on a bad day one hand behind my back. Don't mean offense here, but what makes you guys so sure the fishing there is so good? And the wind howls through there even if the tides are right. Okay maybe its the challenge of a new place. Great then. Have at it and have fun. Me? I'll pass for better fishing grounds. We have a very large and long coast line to fish and the GG is one of the last places I'd think of trying. Good luck.

Im willing to bet those arches were salmon, Id like to target them real soon, I live 20 min away also... It aint like bean hollow or the north coast but all it would take is a 35 lber to make it one of my favorite spots. All the salmon in the sac go past the gate. I want just one!

I don't care where we fish as long as it is with the NCKA guys
I will fish in hell if that is where everyone is going

I don't care where we fish as long as it is with the NCKA guys
I will fish in hell if that is where everyone is going

That's cool Duane. It was fun fishin' with you at BAM2 and I look forward to fishin' with you again. But it won't be at the GG si all I am saying--for me personally.
We all fish for different reasons. Me? I'd rather fish alone on the Forebay (whcih I mostly do and have great fun) than go with the crowd and get nada. It is nice to have company on the ocean though--safety is a serious concern expecially on in GG.

I wish you all luck and hope you prove me wrong--wouldn't be the first time nor the last.

Surfing Marmot, 3 million people live next to that hole and beat it to death. I always see buckets and buckets of different spiecies taken away. I myself have caught large specimens of Halibut,ling,perch, Batrays.and couple huge I don't knows that broke off 90# wire leaders. I believe as kayakers we have a bette shot at getting where most others can't and with the right methods can make great catches there. Im other words the fish are there just have to figure them out.  Randall

Here are some more photos.