Topics

211

Fishing Talk / DMV Blues

« on: October 26, 2020, 12:09:44 PM »

I'm having a hell of a time getting my boat registered. I mailed in what should have been the necessary paperwork to Sacramento DMV HQ and didn't hear anything from them for 7 weeks. Nothing in the mail, let alone the cashed check for the fee.
So I went to the DMV last week to just do it in person, or at least get the feedback if I'm doing something wrong. Also figured I'd get my Real ID update while I was there.
Clerk tells me that my "Statement of Origin" paper is not the Manufacturer's original copy, so she can't do anything with it. So she put in all the other information and took my money to get the claim started anyways. Then she said that if the tax wasn't paid on the boat then I'm gonna have to pay that up, too...

So you can imagine how sad I look in my new license photo that I just got in the mail today!!!

I emailed the boat manufacturer telling them what the clerk told me and they mailed out the Statement of Origin document along with the other stuff. The clerk told me to just mail it in to Sacramento, but that worked out so well the first time....

Can't wait for this registration garbage to be done so I can go f##k up some bass.

212

Saltwater Boat Fishing Reports / Mosquito: Maiden Voyage

« on: October 03, 2020, 12:53:49 AM »

I decided I don't like kayak fishing very much. Too much work! So I got a 15' Saturn Heavy Duty Kaboat. I spent the last month or two working out the configuration of it, ie. storage, outboard size, rod holders, all the other accessories.

Registration has been too long of a process. I mailed in my documents for registering the boat almost a month ago and they still haven't even cashed the check, so I'm being tortured by the DMV (as usual), and can't legally get out with the boat yet. I'm not sure what the turn around time should be, but it's driving me nuts.

I risked it with a friend and did a test launch with it last weekend to see how much trouble it is assembling, launching, landing, and packing it away. Not as bad as I thought! It's a process, but nothing overly cumbersome.

I dub thee, the Mosquito. I heard somebody calling the small boat/skiff flotillas the "mosquito fleet" so I thought I'd embrace it.



We ended up testing our luck and leaving the harbor. We went up the coast, found tons of bait, caught countless smelt and a few mackerel. I even saw a keeper white seabass in a kelp bed, lurking under the smelt we were targeting with sabikis.

30 minutes into being part of the boating world, a 50ft hatteras was cruising at 20kts, headed straight for the kelp bed we were on. They made a hard pivot at the last second, which pushed quite the wake our way. They blissfully waved at us as they made their arc around the kelp. I forgot to turn on my VHF at the time, but I would have nominated him for D!pS#!t of the year if he had made it into the kelp. Instead he will settle for the weekly honor.

Awesome little boat. Easy planing, stable platform for its width, and overall a thrill to ride around in. WOT with the 6hp Mercury outboard, with 2 guys and another 70 pounds of gear (100lb boat hull), was about 13-15mph. I was very impressed by that. Glassy ocean helped a little bit.



Fuel consumption was not as impressive as I thought it would be. I think it was around 13mpg, which is certainly better than most of my fiberglass counterparts. Half the 3 gallon tank burned with a 22-25 mile trip. I thought I would be getting 20mpg minimum, though. I'll get a better idea with more trips. Fish finder was dead so I didn't have the exact route logged, instead I guesstimated on google earth after the fact.

Really itching to go out on it again, but I don't wanna risk any tickets. I even feel a little weird writing a report about the trip, not that I expect to be ratted on or anything like that, but I don't wanna condone it either. I just wanted to complain about the DMV and rave about my new sled is all. So I'll be twiddling my thumbs on shore for who knows how much longer. I wanna take it out of San Diego this fall, and hit the Sacramento River in November with it, among other trips like for local rockfish, bass, and mackerel frenzies. Crossing my fingers!

Jeremy

213

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Huh? Me? I wasn't gone, I was uhhhh...Here's a Tutorial!

« on: October 03, 2020, 12:38:56 AM »

I haven't gotten out fishing much this summer. I snuck in some perch fishing on a handful of beach trips with pals. I've probably only soaked once or twice all summer. I got a little gun shy when they closed LA county parking and most of VC, then I was slow to the holster when they opened.

I'll tell ya though, I've been working, and not paying rent, so I might have doubled my rod arsenal. Oops. And I got an inflatable boat with a 6hp Mercury 4 stroke. Double oops. Then I quit that dang job that was keeping me off the water! Not an oops! Now I have some free time for some species hunts. Soupfin, and believe it or not, corbina, are my current high priority tasks.

Anywho, I'm posting because I went with my dad up the coast to break in his new rod, and then I realized I could break in one of my new setups. His Penn Squall 15 and a Shimano Compre 8' H Musky stick. My Okuma Komodo 364 and Graphtech 8' 15-30. Critter fishing wasn't exactly the idea behind these setups, but they have clickers and they can toss more than a couple ounces, so why not?

Got to the beach at 1900, last light. I was trying a c-rig with a sputnik and a 4/0 octopus, 15# leader cuz I haven't finessed any critters in a while. My dad had a Dropper looped 7/0 circle with a sputnik.

Didn't take long for me to get on the board with a classic clicker screaming bat. This was about 22" so I decided to keep him for bait. Stunned him with the bolt cutters to the head.

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30 minutes go by and then I get another bat. This one was a little bigger, closer to 28", released. I have a tiny cooler and honestly the 24" should last me several 7gill runs when it comes time in the winter.

Shortly after the 28"er I get another, and this one is dogging me a lot more, but it's the size of the first one.

Then my dad gets on the board with a lil shovel to break in his new setup.



Funny thing with this shovel. My dad was talking to this dude who was on a different wavelength, for lack of a better term. He was asking my dad questions that were from left field. I go to unhook the shovel, and the guy goes, "Can I smell it?" I say of course you can, dude. He got his face within half an inch of the shovel, took a whiff, and then backed off. I'm very glad the shovel didn't slap him in the face.

I landed a good size thornback that swallowed the hook right after, and then my dad was ready to call it a night.


There was some demand to show how I cut my rays when I take them for bait, so this time I was able to remember in time and broke it down a little bit for ya'll. It's going to be different styles of cuts for different size ranges of bats, but this has been my preferred size to harvest (22"-28").

I cut the wings, dispose of the torso first.



I'm putting these on a 10/0 octopus hook and casting them, so keep that in mind. When I initially cut up the wings for storage, I want each chunk to be worth 2-3 pieces of bait, which I think is good for a 1 man trip. You're gonna strike out more often than not while 7gill fishing so I try to thaw out as little bait as possible so I don't waste much.

I prefer about 1-1.5" average thickness for a bait. Obviously the wing tips don't make that, but I try to keep the wing tips in mind for a bigger profile and keeping each chunk castable at around 4-6oz.



Each section here is worth about 2-3 baits. The wider triangular part doesn't have the thickness that I like, but I don't have the data to confirm or deny its value as bait.





Vacuum packing is nice and tidy, but I think this is a hardier bait for freezing than mackerel.





Viola, "scallops" for days!

Jeremy

214

Saltwater Personal Craft Fishing Reports / More Whitefish

« on: March 23, 2020, 10:31:23 PM »

A few days late. What's it matter anyway, it's still a data point. If you're into that sort of thing.

__Saturday__

9am high tide, so that's when I launched. In my most limited experience, I think I want current when bottom fishing in 100 feet of water, so that's how I planned it. Arrived at Santa Barbara Harbor at about 8:30am to set up. A guy in a Hobie pedal yak was launching at the same time as I and said "oh look a friend!" upon my appearance, which is among the better things I've heard upon arrival to a scene.

I took a dramamine before leaving Newbury Park, but if I had gotten sick this day I would not have a bright future in kayaking. A little ripple in the water on the way out is all I can describe, because the ocean was featureless that day, my friends.



My first goal this day was to catch a limit of whitefish to feed a few friends affected by the current job market, then afterward see if I can find the rockfish to double my bag.

Now, I have not found a ton of descriptors on the internet on what to look for on your fish finder, so I will be perhaps the first to tell you that whitefish schools come in many forms: hugging the bottom; dense from the bottom to the middle of the water column; spaced out but still bottom to the middle of the water column; single, decent sized mark, a few feet off the bottom? Might be a whitefish!

On my way out, I found a small school hugging the bottom. I dropped a yo-yo tipped with squid and quickly hooked up. Curious on the way up if I found something different, I realized upon color that I did not. Dinky white, back it went. Continued onward I did.

Make no mistake. As mentioned before, I wanted a limit of whitefish. Once I started metering better schools, I dropped my 15# setup on them with dropper looped squid and started hooking up quick. Whitefish are a blast on a light rod! I found myself drifting NW, and being that my destination was almost directly SW, I quickly found that I could simply paddle past the school, pitch my bait off the bow, and hook up 30 seconds later. These 12-14" fish were almost pulling the rod out of my hands on the hook set. Lots of fun.

I found multiple schools during my journey. I didn't need to be too picky about my positioning. I found my first keeper around 0915 and got my limit about 1115.



After hitting my limit, it was time to hunt down another species: rockfish, maybe deep water bass.

I still hadn't hit my destination rock pile, so I made a B line for it.

Now, I don't know what etiquette is for boating, particularly for kayaks, but when I made it to my Final Destination, a private boater rolled up with a family of 3 rolled up to me well within casting range. Papa Bear of the boat nodded to me and I nodded back, giving general consent to the spacing. It's obviously a straight-down fishing spot, so I'm not about to launch a Tady over their hull, but it was tighter than I've personally ever seen in open water.

Then, another private boat comes from further offshore and settles within the same range to complete a triangle. 3 30 yr olds getting their fix. I'm yo-yoing the iron tipped with squid, holding my breath for a not-whitefish.

I hear someone on the Trophy go, "I'm BIT!! bro mark the waypoint!"

20 seconds later,

"aw, it's just a whitefish, never mind..."

I laughed from that and I'm certain they could hear me.

After about 30 minutes of drifting with The Gang, I split back toward the harbor about 1215, because it was obvious I wasn't gonna find anything else to fill out my 20 fish bag, at least in the area, and with my physical stamina.

Arrived at the harbor before 1300, still no wind to speak of. Really satisfying day on the water.

215

Saltwater Personal Craft Fishing Reports / paddle outta santa bawbra hawba

« on: March 13, 2020, 04:21:48 PM »

This is a report that's a bit of a read, mostly because I'm putting together a lot of information I've gathered, and finally trialing an "offshore" pursuit on my kayak. I've avoided open water on a kayak because I can't seem to handle more than a 1ft swell without getting woozy, I figure from being so low to the water. But I finally pushed myself, and found the right time and place to try.

I wanted to test a couple things.
A: my sea legs
B: my fish finder
C: my ability to successfully drift fish

I've had a fish finder for about 6 months and I've only used it on rental boats in lakes, particularly for stripers. Recently I found a set of rock piles on google earth 2 miles out of SB harbor to survey as a Plan A, and if I got woozy, I could stay in the harbor for halibut. 0.5 foot swell, 5mph wind, and a decent tide swing had me feeling like it would be a good a time as any to trial this. A little mist to the morning but manageable.

So I got to the harbor at 7:30, launched by 8. Almost no swell but a bumpy little wind chop  the first mile. Then I got out of the protection of the point and a 1-2ft swell came from the west, which made for some confused swell at times.

Arrived at my spot at 9. Well, I fell about 100 yards short of my waypoint, but for good reason. I was metering a few small schools on the way over along the bottom that seemed worth dropping for, but I told myself I could go back later if I wanted, and Plan A should be at least as good.

And that was the mantra, until I came up on a school that was 50 feet off the bottom and all the way down, and thick. Immediately decided this would be Baby's 1st Waypoint on-the-water. Judging by my experience on cattle boats, blue rockfish and whitefish tend to stack high like that, or so the captain would say. As soon as I hit the bottom with the dropper loop, I was bit. Sure enough, pull it up and it's a whitefish. Then another. Reset the drift, another and another. 10-16" or so. 1 drift was enough for 2 drops, sometimes 3. I figure I was drifting 3/4mph west, which was counter-intuitive, considering the wind came from the south and the primary swell was coming from the west. Still figuring this all out.

Anywho, I must have caught a dozen whitefish in an hour before I felt my wooziness coming on. Having my head down constantly unhooking fish (good problem to have) and checking the fish finder/GPS got to me. I kept 2 fish for lunch and started back. 1/2 mile outside the harbor there was another decent school on the bottom in 50ft, so I dropped down and nabbed a nice mackerel that will be shark bait. Lost track of that school so headed the rest of the way in. Off the water by 11:30.

Being that my goal was to drift fish and use the fish finder to catch fish, and I did that, I'm content with the day. I want to improve my sea legs, so doing this more often will be key for that. A bigger boat would also help, maybe something I could actually stand in and have my head a little higher relative to the swells. A motor would be nice too, 5 miles later and the lactic acid is burning me up 6 hours after! Still, the kayak is, by a landslide, the most affordable way to become more proficient in captaining fish boats, me thinks.

I could do another session or two of drifting SB piles for rockfish and new misc species, but eventually I hope to transfer the skills over to other species and places.

216

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Ray Recon VC 2-17

« on: February 17, 2020, 08:56:36 PM »

Got off work much earlier than expected so I spent the afternoon looking to harvest some rays and recon for SNBF.

Spot #1 I haven’t been to in like 15 years but the water looked good when I arrived st 2pm. Bottom of the tide when I arrived but started getting short bit soon after. No ray bites so I left at 4pm.

Spot #2 didn’t have enough sand so I went to

Spot #3 where there was enough sand. More short bites until sunset when the steady zzzzzzzzzz came through. I’ve got 2 rods out at this point, and I’m failing miserably at clearing the other line while the ray takes its first run. Finally give up and try to look composed for the attractive females whose view of the sunset I’m blocking. 3 minutes in, the hook just unbuttons. Swear words unravel like an entryway rug but I keep my body language composed to say “I know what I’m doing ladies.”

Left at the top of the tide with no wings in the bucket or new contacts in the phone. I’ll probably try again tomorrow.

Jeremy

217

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / All Quiet on the VC Front

« on: November 25, 2019, 03:22:28 AM »

Fished yesterday and today(11/23, 11/24) for nada.

Day 1 was kelpy in two spots 5 miles apart. However it was a warm evening.

Not so much kelp day 2 but a much cooler evening which I was not prepared for. Suffered with just a rain jacket til 8:30pm.

No bites on ray either day.

Might load up on mackerel this week if they’re around.

218

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / How to Catch Trophy Perch, Vol. 1

« on: November 13, 2019, 12:59:51 AM »

Today we are going over revolutionary techniques to achieving greatness in the surf perch fisherman's community.

Everything starts with the rig! I like an Avet MXJ filled with 60# braid with 25 feet of 80# Ande mono topshot. We apply the reel to something with length and backbone, such as a Penn Carnage ii 12' XH rod, capable of casting up to 12oz and handling 30-80# braid.

On the end of the line, we have a 10/0 octopus hook with a 3' section of 135# nylon coated 7 strand wire attached. We don't want that once-in-a-lifetime toad perch to chew through, now do we?

We use a 3 way swivel on the opposite end of the wire, then attach a 7oz sputnik sinker to a length of 80# mono similar to that of the wire on the other side of the swivel.



Now it's time to head to your favorite spot! Preferably somewhere in Ventura County, because you can't catch big perch elsewhere. Sorry San Diegans! Stay classy!

Do you have some fresh mackerel handy? Good! Cut the bugger in half. Big baits = big perch!

Cast your line past the breakers. Now, watch and wait patiently. The strike is sudden and the quick reaction is your gateway to success!

There it is, set the hook!

Keep the line tight. Reel, reel!

Use the waves to beach him!

You got 'em!



Congratulations! Remember to release your trophy to support the positive characteristics of this fish in the gene pool!

Unfortunately, you may run into grubby, time wasting rays and sharks whilst on the hunt for those Trophy Perch.



End result for the night:

1 BSP
1 Thornback
2 Sevengills (52", 55")

Based on a true story,
Jeremy

219

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Testing Ventura Waters 11/8

« on: November 08, 2019, 09:57:38 PM »

Fished 2pm-8pm, 2 beaches. Even split of time between the two. Both were light on the weeds. 10 knot wind died at sunset.

Guy walking by me told me there was somebody dropping baits last week at the same spot with a drone. Started figuring that kind of thing into my 10 year plan.

Arrived at spot A, was getting prominent pecks and nibbles on mack chunks, couldn't get them to go.

On one retrieve I snagged this tiny little feller.



I know what you're thinking, I thought it too, but it fell off the hook trying to cast it out...girl with dyed hair with hands on her hips watching me try to wade out and cast it, don't wanna judge too hard but I felt like I was in for an ear full when I got back to the hard pack. She walked away when she saw the ray slip off the hook.

Moved up coast at sunset. Wind died nicely.

A couple missed hook sets here before I finally laid into something and it took off. Fiercest run I've ever had, dragged buttoned down on the Avet and still heading to Santa Cruz. I feel head shakes so I'm trying to keep my sh!t together cuz this would be a submarine of a shark, it's pushing me much harder than an 8' 7 did.

15 minutes in, I finally see the little rat tail sticking out of the wash...

45"



Lost my favorite pliers during the release in the wash, kinda bummed about that.

More sore than I care to admit from that slime ball. Second time at this beach I've been duped by a bat ray that fights like something else.

Maybe try again tomorrow.

220

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Malibu Exploring 11/6, Bird Sitting

« on: November 07, 2019, 06:09:13 PM »

Made a solo trip last night from about 6pm-midnight.

Tried the usual first spot, lake like conditions and no salad, but felt pretty dead. Packed it up after about 2 hours and headed south.

Spot #2 I've wanted to try for years but whenever I drive by it looks weedier than Willie's bus. This night there were almost no weeds. Small boulders in the sand kept me on my toes but it felt fishy.

Sure enough, 9pm rolls by and I get a good first hit. 47" leo on the tail half of a mackerel.



A few casts later I got another about 3', tail hooked so I didn't bother with a pic, quick release.

Rest of the night I had maybe one set off the clicker with a very short tug to find my bait mauled. Others were silent but equally thieving.

Pardon my fascination with destroyed baits.



I sent a whole mack hoping for less thievery, but it came back shredded and gutted.



I did see some lobster molts on the ground, so maybe they were having a day out there.

Also saw this seabird limping and cawing, so I walked down to inspect it. Not limping away from me so I picked it up with my hoodie and checked its feet to make sure it wasn't tangled in trash or anything. Then I bird sat for about 10 minutes before it hobbled off and into the rocks.



A western grebe, for all you nerds.

2 decent leos in 6 hours is still a slow night, but it's the best I've done in a bit. Solo nights on the beach are my happy place regardless of fish, but I'm hoping it breaks open with the exotics real soon.

221

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / VC 10/28

« on: October 28, 2019, 12:49:11 AM »

1-3ft waves, 60º air, 65º water, 8kt winds at 5, calm by 10pm, high tide at 10:15pm, light to moderate kelp.



Bait stealers picking mackerel clean to the bone with the tail halves, not really touching the head halves. Smaller chunks didn't do any good. No obvious bites. Happy just to decompress for a few hours on the sand. Might try some new spots in the near future.

222

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / NVC 10/20: Still Waiting, but a PB Leo

« on: October 21, 2019, 02:13:09 AM »

6pm-11pm. Low tide at 10:15pm.

Leo bit at about 9pm. 50" boyyo (edit: judging by another pic with the tail in view it’s 52”). Caught on chunk mackerel. Was pretty feisty, coming in I thought it might be my first soupy, but I'll take a PB any day. Bait picker-atters present.

Water temp 63º. Moderate kelp. Some wind in the night but not bad. Occasional 4' outside break was pushing my rig down the beach every other cast, even with a 6oz sputnik. Probably need a refresher on advanced casting techniques to get that extra 50'. Soaked bat ray the last hour for no action.

Jeremy

223

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / NVC - 10/14

« on: October 14, 2019, 11:37:15 PM »

High tide 10:15pm, fished 7:30pm-11:15pm. 65 degree water.

Lake like conditions, no wind, no weeds. Water was so clear that while wading out to cast, with my headlamp light I could see the eyes of shovels and bats reflecting back at me in the water, along with a few small baitfish.

I was strictly using ray for bait, trying to get a pulse on if it's sevengill season yet. From my observations, it is not time. No bites for two rods soaking the whole time.