My first post…

…and no, it’s not this one, it’s this one: http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=7924.msg69246#msg69246

It’s a long one folks…

When I first joined NCKA, it actually happened to be right before a pivotal point in my life, by which I mean my divorce.  We had been together for over 10 years, and only married a little longer than 2 years, but it was obvious we were not getting along, and eventually she left me, and I was faced with a loss that I couldn’t bear.  It was like my whole identity, friends, and even her family were being ripped from my life, and I really didn’t know what to do.  Starting over isn’t easy…. No one will tell you that it is either, because life only seems to get tougher the older you get.  The one thing that I had going for me at the time was my new found interest in Kayak Fishing, and NCKA.  I had only been out a handful of times, renting a Hobie Outback from Mel Cottons and taking it to local lakes.  But when I joined NCKA, I immediately got caught up in ‘the madness’ as they say, and I went to a meetup at a Fishermans Warehouse in San Jose where Mooch was putting on a meet and greet questions and answers thing.  Meeting him and other NCKA’ers at this gathering was plenty enough to convince me that I needed to spend as much time on NCKA, and learn from these guys as much as possible to become a real Kayak Fisherman.  This gave me the much needed hope to get out there and live life, and do things that are fun and exciting, and that I needed to get over that whole emotional trauma of my divorce.  That first post was the best thing I had done for myself in a while, but I didn't know it at the time...

After joining in April, I attended my first tournament, the 3rd Annual NCKA HMB Kayak Co. Fishing Derby in June: http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=7754.0 after convincing a friend to go out with me, and had the most incredible time launching out of a HMB for the first time with a ton of seasoned kayak fisherman.  I didn’t get a bite at all, and almost died floating too close to Mavericks not knowing wtf I was doing    The time afterwards meeting other kayak fisherman, especially the already OG’s of the group, I felt honored to have just been out there with them, hear all the stories of things that happened on the water, and stories of past tournaments.  I was hooked for sure and couldn’t believe how warm and welcoming the entire group was.  And how much fun it seemed to be for everyone there to do the same.  This is when I started to realize that NCKA was exactly what I needed and I was so happy that I had found something that was so exciting and fun to do again in life.  I signed up for pretty much every tournament from then on and used it as a reason to ask questions, learn techniques, study new areas, plan trips, and get the funk out there and do something fun.  I caught my first halibut out of Santa Cruz after reading Bushy’s article http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?page=9 a 20lb beast!  Thankfully, after I almost lost it, a fellow kayaker saw my distress (E2G) and was there to help subdue that beast with some good ol’ wood shampooing!  It was the biggest fish I’ve ever caught and I’d never even filled anything but trout before, and had no idea what I was doing, but man, oh man, did I ever enjoy that fish. I gave a copy of the picture E2G took of me to Mel Cottons, and was proud every time I walked into the shop to see my fish pic up there.

I spent most of my time the rest of that first year fishing SC getting more comfortable in the ocean, finding ways to overcome my seasickness and generally not catching anything that good :laughing: and when winter came I went back to trout fishing and started learning to troll for trout with Mooch’s article: http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?page=32 and really enjoyed trying new techniques each time, and caught some monster stocker trout at Shadow Cliffs.  By the time the the rockfish season was getting close there was a lot of posts in anticipation of the opener, and I joined in a hookup that Monster Guppy and FishMaster1 posted, and I got geared up and ready for it.  When I arrived the group of folks were so welcoming and helpful, someone helped me carry my yak down to the beach, and once we all got setup we all launched together, and me being in the only Hobie at the time, I got caught up in some kelp, and the group was heading straight out the launch headed for the Carmel trench.  I was sitting in my yak not knowing what I should do, I wasn’t catching up to them at all with the kelp, and then I saw another kayaker launch and come up near me.  It was SinCoast, and he was like “Where are those guys going?  The good fishing is over this way”  so I followed Pat, and went out with him near the point, but only got an underling, didn’t catch anything else tossing my root-beer scampi. Got a bit seasick, but had such a good time on the water I didn’t care, but eventually went back to the beach since the wind and swell kicked up.  Pat showed up with two huge lingcod, and apparently it was his PB at the time, I was in awe and wanted to catch a hog like that (still have never caught an over 30” ling : ).  The rest of the crew came back in and Andy pulled out a BBQ pit, and tossed a big vermilion on the grill and some other stuff, handed out beers, and insisted we hang out and eat. Eating that fish was INCREDIBLE, it tasted so good, and for a guy that has had little exposure to eating fish at the time, I was “hooked”      Man, it was the *BEST* time I’ve had in many years, and I knew instantly I’d be friends with these guys for a long time….  And glad to say we still are to this day.


Why am I posting this?  Well, because I needed to remember why NCKA was so important to me.  I’ve been away for a while, as I made a decision a few years ago to focus on my career and make sure I had a stable future, which has been very successful, but very time consuming.  I still was going to tournaments, but mostly just to hang out with people and have a good time.  But I stopped really participating in NCKA, and I didn’t realize how much I had missed it until recently with the pandemic.  I’m still into fishing, although a lot of it has been from shore these days since it takes so little time and effort to plan, but what I really found out recently is that I miss ‘the madness’ the most. 

When If first joined I felt like I didn’t have much to contribute, and was taking in all this knowledge and advice from seasoned veterans, but didn’t know how to give back.  Then it dawned on me one day, that posting about your experiences was plenty to contribute to the group. So I always brought a camera with me, and always gave as detailed a report as I could each time.  And when I built something I posted about it, and loved teaching others how they could do the same.  Giving back in the way of knowledge and experience is how I repay NCKA for all it has done for me, and I really miss doing it.  I can’t believe it’s been 15 years now, just seems so crazy… But hopefully, I’m back again for good and will be looking forward to seeing all the old friends again and meeting new people along the way…. In other words, it’s time for me to live life again, as the immortal Mooch always said:

“-Success is living the life you want-
Joel”

Cheers!

Excellent write up Al. I enjoyed reading it and all of the history you shared.

Thanks for sharing your story. 
Al

That was a nice read Al, and a lot of it I never even knew!
You know,  in one of the bleaker periods in my own life, after losing my sibling and then my best NCKA friend both within 6 months, both to tragic circumstances, I went to a meetup at Del Monte beach about as down as I've ever been.

You and Sarah were the first people I ran into, you remembered me and that made all the difference to the day. That moment still reminds me how a kind word can go a long way, because you never know what the other person might be going through.

Glad you are back into it. Let's get Pat to drive up here to SC and do some fishing

Beautiful retrospective of the NCKA experience. Hope to see ya soon!

Great writeup, Alain. I may have been at the same meet'n'greet with Mooch in 2007, when Angel (Pacifico) introduced me to him. Joel immediately offered a kayak for me to use. I was at Fishermans Warehouse to look for long range fishing tackle for my annual therapy trips since suffering an eye injury in 1999. I had already experienced unfriendly fishing clubs before that time.

In reality, although I have owned kayaks over the years since, I have rarely ever been on the water. My primary contribution to the group was to photograph many of the major events and compile the pictures into photo albums, which I bet some members were wondering if I was asking where they caught fish so as to jump the spot.

I have been fortunate to dozens of friends due to NCKA.

BTW, remember not to sit too close to the fire pit when Andy (Fishmaster) tosses tumbleweed into the fire.

Howard

Great stuff, Alain.  I couldn't agree more about the value of this community.  I've never made so many great friends in any other groups in my life.  The Madness is real.   

WOW! Great read Al! I agree, the camaraderie in this community is top-notch. I still remember my first halibut setup is from Ravensblack at Paradise. First Ocean Trip with Don D at Bean Hollow. I never look back. I consider this community as my extended family.

That was an awesome and heartfelt read Alain. Thanks for the post. See ya on the water.

Thanks you for part of your story.  So much to life and living well.  Hope to meetcha and fish our faces off!

…because life only seems to get tougher the older you get...

Amen to that!

When I was a new NCKAer, I remember seeing Al coming into the SC harbor at 8:00 or 9:00am with a couple of halibut, as I was just getting ready to launch. I was amazed, as I couldn’t catch a halibut to save my life back then. Another time, I was probably 3+ miles offshore in my Hobie Adventure/Revo 16 (no Island yet), and thick fog rolled in. I only had a compass (no GPS) and like an idiot (some things never change...), I ended up at Natural Bridges, just as the weather became foul. I remember Al waiting at the harbor and calling out on the radio about every 15 minutes to see if I was still alive. I was impressed that anyone would do that.

Anyways, great re-introduction post, and hope to see you on the water soon.

Da.n glad to hear from you Al 

Da.n glad to hear from you Al 

+1

Great Reporting as always, even when you're checking in 

Don't even like you.

Almost made a brotha cry.