New Member Based in Oakland

Hi all! New member here.

A bit about me: My name is Isaac, I'm 25 years old, new to Oakland and to the forum but not new to the bay nor to kayak angling. I grew up fishing religiously in socal, mostly out of Dana Point where my family had a boat in a slip for fifteen years. Well, we sold the boat, I went away to college at UC Berkeley, and I bought my first kayak, a Malibu Mini-X. It's been a great little vessel. Before that yak I fished a friend's Ocean Scrambler XT that I would launch from our slip in Dana. Honestly hated that thing. Very wet and lousy storage for its size. My Mini X goes half the speed but it's twice the boat.

Most of my kayak fishing experience has been for bay bass, calicos, and halibut around Dana, hoop netting for lobsters in the same area, island fishing mothership style at Catalina and SCI, and surf launch rock cod trips in Big Sur and Santa Cruz. I absolutely love the shallow water rock cod fishing up here and it's definitely the kayak fishing style I have the most comfort and familiarity with these days. Got out at a not-so-secret spot south of Limekiln this past weekend and did very well on big swimbaits and flat falls before the wind kicked us off. Scary beach launch and recovery with a lot of swell in the water.

I'd love to meet up with more experienced members of the forum and learn about the salmon fishery up here, which is something I've always been interested in but have never tried my hand at. I think that I honestly need a more serious (probably pedal powered) yak to chase and effectively fish them. I have also been out on a few luckless Striper sessions this summer throwing mickey jigs, bucktails, and sp minnows for nada south of OB. If anyone has any advice or is looking for a buddy who can wake up early and not complain about the cold I am a captive audience and will never burn spots.

I have attempted to attach a pic of me with my all-time favorite fish to target, as well as a few pics of my sled, Sasha. She has been a good boat, but I am actually very much in the market for a replacement due to serious hull issues. I will likely make a separate post on that topic.

Eager to become a part of this community. Tight lines!

Welcome to NCKA! I'm a new member here as well, based in Berkeley. There are tons of good spots for halibut in the bay near you and I. I'm slowly building up my local knowledge, so shoot me a PM if you ever want to paddle out. Tight lines!

Welcome to NCKA! I'm a new member here as well, based in Berkeley. There are tons of good spots for halibut in the bay near you and I. I'm slowly building up my local knowledge, so shoot me a PM if you ever want to paddle out. Tight lines!

Thanks! I'll hit you up when I get a new boat up and running. I've fished the Berkeley marina a bit from shore but have been meaning to get out and run some proper hali drifts.

Welcome to NCKA and NorCal.  Sounds like you bring a lot of experience with you.

Welcome aboard and thanks for the great introduction Isaac 

Welcome to NCKA and NorCal.  Sounds like you bring a lot of experience with you.

Thanks! I have certainly farmed plenty of quality fish over the years, haha.

Welcome to NCKA DIrk.   

Welcome, Double-D.

Haha - I just left a reply on your other post about looking at other boats to move on from your mini-X.  I see now that you're not a Scrambler XT fan.   

Anyway - welcome to NCKA.   

Hi Isaac, welcome 

Haha - I just left a reply on your other post about looking at other boats to move on from your mini-X.  I see now that you're not a Scrambler XT fan.   

Anyway - welcome to NCKA.   

Ah, it's still not a bad option for the application! I was inexperienced and poor(er) when I had that boat. Looking back a couple of scupper plugs could have gone a long way. Thanks for the warm welcome!

What up Issac, welcome.