Topics

1

Saltwater Personal Craft Fishing Reports / 9/11 - Newport Canyon's Edge

« on: September 20, 2016, 10:57:29 AM »

Hey dudes,

Launched from NPH at 0640 on 9/11, with my oldest son, with rockfish in mind. I left all the bass gear at home as I have found that I simply carry too much stuff.

About a 30 minute paddle out to 180' of water. Water temp holding about 164.9F and not a whole lot of structure on the sonar, so we just started blind dropping to get an idea of what might be around.



So, two small rockfish. Evan's was able to swim down on it's own, but mine needed the assistance of a descender. I decided to move as I didn't want to put anymore little rockfish at risk.

I found a big cloud on the sonar at the bottom around 170' so I had Evan make a drop just to see what the fuss was about:





Got my answer with a double-Mack-attack. I should have sent one back out on a hook, but I really wasn't prepared and I didn't bring my bait tube. We released them both.

Drifted into about 165' and Evan caught two Sand Dabs and a Lizardfish:





Evan decided to keep the larger sand dab for dinner, so on the clip it went. Sun started to peak through around 10:00:



I got seasick on the first drop, so I was really just sticking it out for my son. I was starting to feel the breeze starting up, so I decided it was a good time to head in at around 10:30. Gave a quick holla to some BigWatersEdge dudes over the VHF and fought the tide back in.

Quick glimpse of Pirate's Cove:



Seemed only appropriate to get a shot of my boy with his catch at the launch to finish up the day:



Despite the vomiting it was a great time playing guide for my son. Next time I'll do some trolling, so I can fish while still navigating the kayak.

Best regards,

Dave

2

Saltwater Personal Craft Fishing Reports / Kayaking Dana Point - 12/4

« on: December 05, 2015, 10:26:58 PM »

Sup all,

A couple weeks ago I get a text from SCSF's own Reiner inviting me to come kayaking with he and his friend Steve. Having only had my kayak for a few months, and having not yet done any real fishing from it, I was eager for a chance to get some experience. Up until this point I had only been out a handful of time and it was mostly just to get comfortable on a new battlefield.

There was a bit of swell on the forecast and this was going to be my first time really getting outside of the harbor and onto the big water. Some of you may recall that I suffer from seasickness in a violent fashion, but I wasn't going to let this get in the way of trying to get back out on the water. What gave me pause is when I learned we'd be meeting at 0600... :lol:

The day came and when we got out beyond the wall the conditions weren't as bad as I had expected, but the swell was present and difficult for me to ignore. I was chewing on crystalized ginger and tried to focus on "driving" myself to our destination. We were headed out to the kelp near the point and the paddle out, albeit intimidating to a rookie, was quite nice. We stopped out at spot that had some lobster trap buoys indicating structure and did a little fishing.

I began casting a 5" Mutant M5 Swimbait (in Black/Purple) and got a little short bite on the first cast. I was totally taken by surprise, because I rarely get action so quickly. Two casts later I get hit hard and bring my very first kayak-caught fish aboard:





I return my catch to the water, exchange a couple words with Reiner, and start heaving! Oh well. I stuck around long enough to make a few more half hearted casts, and watch Reiner catch a calico, then split apart from the guys to make the long paddle back to the safe haven of the harbor while I was still able-bodied; It took 40 minutes, but I got back safely. I dropped anchor near the jetty and had a light snack while watching the Garibaldi defend their hideouts. After about half an hour I had overcome the seasickness and was ready to fool around in the harbor. That is when I saw Reiner and Steve come back to the harbor mouth and realize they weren't bobbing up and down. The swell had subsided, so I paddled out to join them for one more round.


Reiner in the foreground with Steve in the background

Glad I did, because I managed to catch another calico. This time I used a dropper and squid strip:



Reiner caught a mackerel, a pretty big sandbass, and another calico to finish off his day; 4 fish on 3 different lures if I remember correctly. Off the water by 1300. It was a great day! Big thanks to Reiner and Steve for inviting me to join.

Best regards,

Dave

3

Fishing Talk / I bought a kayak... And kinda hate it!

« on: August 15, 2015, 06:34:48 PM »

Hey dudes,

After many years of consideration, and a year of very serious consideration, I purchased my first kayak. I then proceeded to possibly do some structural damage to my trucks roof rack tracks, drop it on my wife's head (she's OK), and underestimate how much room it would hog up at my house...

Does anyone have any advice for loading/unloading or transporting that might help a new guy? The guy I bought it from tossed in some Thule kayak saddles to make transporting easier. Loading isn't too bad, but unloading has been outright dangerous. The manufacture claims the bare hull weight is 57#, but it feels a hundred pounds heavier. Forgot to mention I'm roof topping on a Land Rover LR3, not in a truck bed.



Best regards,

Dave

4

Fishing Talk / Rocky Shoreline & Swimbaits in NCSD?

« on: May 14, 2015, 11:38:26 AM »

Hey dudes,

I'm gonna be floating around NCSD in a couple weeks for a long weekend visiting my parents and taking my kids to Legoland and stuff. I'm addicted to fishing with 5"+ swimbaits right now and was wondering if anyone would be willing to suggest a general area where I can take my kids to tool around in some tidepools and lob some big baits around some rocks? I still have some of the fever left over from a recent central coast trip, haha!

Best regards,

Dave

5

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Antisocial - 2/13

« on: February 14, 2015, 09:06:47 AM »

Hey dudes,

Last night the LA SNBF Team assembled somewhere along our northern boundary to test the waters. I was kindly invited, and had even agreed to partake, but something was weighing heavy on my mind. Our usual bay spot was a major flop last year and we're looking down the barrel of a repeat. I checked out a spot last week at low tide and, despite the weak tidal showing on the forecast, decided I needed to put that intel to use. I needed to know...

The spot is dead. Only three ghostly runs by bait thieves too small to even successfully steal the bait. At least now I've got my answer.

Best regards,

Dave