A Near Perfect Day!

Jim, Kenji and I carpooled to Ventura with Jim driving. We arrived around 5:30 p.m. and were able to load our gear on the boat early and go to dinner. Our Captain, Pat Cavanaugh joined us (as my guest). We opted for fish from one of the great restaurants lining the harbor.

This was our second charter this year on the Pacific Dawn with Pat Cavanaugh at the helm. Dustin was our second Captain, Jimmy Colborn was master of the galley, and Opie and Mike ruled the deck. Pat decided on a late departure in order to let the winds and seas die down before making the run across the channel to Santa Rosa Island. Jim handed everyone a package of Kenji Flies to use in the morning then we all hit the bunks.

Calm seas greeted us Friday morning as we stumbled on deck. Snagging squid was our first priority. Al Scow was the king of squid snagging that morning. He was on fire. As the sun came up we were dropping our squid down hoping the white seabass would come through chasing the squid. Our hopes were unfulfilled but I did get to tug on a 50 pound bat ray (successfully released) for a little exercise.



Pat moved the boat out to the rockfish grounds. This time we were fishing in 300 feet of water unlike our last trip when we fished 100 foot depths. Click on the following link to see where we were fishing:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=33.9326,-119.9984&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Heavier weights or jigs were needed to get down to the bottom. Al was still on fire and taught us all how to catch reds one and two at a time. I fished a jig and single Kenji Fly and by days end I had picked off a limit of reds and Johnnie Bass, one ling cod and a sole which I ate for lunch. Jim started slowly catching undesirable fish but caught up quickly catching lots of reds and aced Al out of jackpot with his 4.5 lb. red. Kenji silently filled his bag with more reds than he could keep but the other passengers were happy to have his extras.

After the boat limited on rockfish, Pat took us around the island to a place called Beechers to try for white seabass since someone caught one there earlier in the day. The wind had come up and the drift was fast. We gave it a good try but the fish were still a no-show. Pat called it a day. As we left for home Jimmy was still serving his pulled pork sandwiches, burgers or fish burgers (my choice). They were great!

Beechers

Crew filleted our fish while we napped on the way back to dock. Around 7:30 p.m. we all headed for home with ice chests filled with delicious fillets. Jim took the coastal route through Malibu again. Traffic wasn’t too bad and I was home by 10 p.m.

It was a near perfect day. What would make it perfect? Perhaps weather that permits fishing the shallow waters off San Miguel or a limit of white seabass to go with the rock fish. Perhaps we are just getting spoiled and it really was a perfect day!

976-KayakJan Reports April 15, 17, & 18

The title of my kayak reports was coined by fellow kayaker Jim Carlisle when he received my daily email reports. It seemed appropriate.

April 15, 2008: Kayaking inside Dana Point Harbor began around 8:30 a.m. with 10 knot winds. The fish were not biting well (just one spotted bay bass) so I took a tour of the harbor from bait receiver to baby beach and coming back along the inside of the breakwater. It was a good trial of pedaling the kayak into 1 foot wind waves at 5 second intervals. It also helped me keep warm. I pulled the kayak out of the water early.


Baby Beach

Harbor Entrance

April 17, 2008: I met Tim Boyer and his friend, Jack, at the harbor at 6:00 a.m. We had the kayaks in the water and heading out of the harbor by 6:30. This was my first voyage outside of the harbor kayak fishing. It was 48 degrees when we arrived but quickly warmed up as the sun got higher in the sky. Jack fished close to shore and Tim and I fished the buoys and surf line first.

Jack caught a 5 foot leopard shark that hauled him around a bit. Tim tried to get a photo but the shark broke off just before he got the photo. Tim caught and kept a sandbass for his dinner. I caught and released 1 nice sandbass, 2 short sandbass and one short halibut. I also hooked into what felt like a good sized halibut but it quickly bit through my 10 pound line.



I followed Tim around as I don’t have my fishfinder yet. We pedaled out (in flat calm water) along the sewer line that runs off the coast. It was quite an adventure for me to be that far outside of the harbor. Unfortunately, Tim said the kelp that normally grows along the pipeline wasn’t there nor were the calicos that reside therein. We fished for 6 hours before calling it a day. What a perfect day of kayaking.


Tim Boyer in his kayak

April 18, 2008: Jim Carlisle and I put the kayak in the water and headed out of the harbor at 9:00 a.m. in flat calm weather. Shorts and tank tops were appropriate even at that early hour. We checked out the buoys and got a few short bites then tried the surf line. It was an incoming tide so the surf line required careful attention while fishing. We also had a strong southward drift. Within an hour, we felt the wind come up and watched a fog bank roll in over Dana Point.


Jim took this photo of me in my kayak before the fog rolled in

We felt it prudent to return to the harbor to fish inside. A cold wind was blowing and the fog had rolled in thick enough for the fog horn to blow periodically announcing the entrance to the harbor. We had a couple short bites inside the harbor but never hooked nor landed a fish. Jim talked me into making one last run along the boat docks before calling it a day. The wind and drift were so strong, it was nearly impossible to fish. My guess is that we were traveling at 5 knots inside the harbor without pedaling. We gave up around 11:30 and spent the afternoon watching fishing videos instead.

A Perfect Day!

Jim Carlisle and I arrived at Ventura Harbor Village late Friday afternoon April 11 for our first LARRC charter on the Pacific Dawn. Light Santa Ana winds were blowing across the harbor and the boat was still out. We met up with fellow club members Al Scow and Tom Carlisle for a fresh fish dinner at one of the many restaurants lining the harbor. The boat’s new location is great because of the convenience of many shops and restaurants. There isn’t a landing office so passengers just check in on the boat now instead of a landing office.

We boarded the boat and handed out goody bags of Berkley Gulp and Berkley Visors (courtesy of Berkley). The boat departed around 10 p.m. Since the weather was greasy calm, Pat made the decision to make the long run to San Miguel Island. Everyone appreciated the extra effort to burn the extra fuel necessary to get there even with the ever increasing fuel costs. Thanks Pat! The over night trip out to the island was so calm it felt like we were still in the harbor when we awoke the next morning.

I got up at 5:30 a.m. along with a handful of other anglers and began fishing. Standing on the bow watching the sun come up over the mainland and glisten across flat calm seas was a beautiful start to a great day of fishing.

Captain Pat Cavanaugh set us up in a drift where the water was only 100 feet deep. The drift was quite slow as there was no wind and very little current. Pat instructed us to be selective since we were shallow enough to successfully release any rockfish we didn’t want to keep. He said to fish like were fishing sand bass, cast out and work your lure back across the bottom – so we did. Out came the jigs and leadheads with plastics, while the gangions were put away for the most part. These fish really wanted the plastics.

It was obvious early on that the lingcod were on the chew. Al Scow quickly took the lead on lings and let us know it. We caught up with him even though he claims he caught more counting his releases. The lingcod fishing was so much fun even the Captain felt compelled to cast out a line from the wheelhouse window and catch one. Boat limits on lings came quickly. Jim Carlisle had the biggest lingcod weighing in at 19 lbs.

The reds were biting as well as the lings and so were the chuckleheads making easy rock fish limits for the boat. Some other interesting critters were in the catch as well. Several whitefish, sheepshead and giant cabazon were caught (I had 2 of the cabazon and 1 sheepshead). The Carlisle brothers each caught a starfish and Jim’s guest, Bill Haub took jackpot with a 22 lb. sheepshead. I fished the entire day using a 3 ounce leadhead and the Berkley 6 inch Gulp Grub. No bait needed, the Gulp was a killer. I went through 3 bags of Gulp Grubs but they were worth it.

By noon we had full limits of lingcod in the fish hold and our sacks were full of rockfish and it was time to put away the gear and relax.

A few quick group photos were taken then we sat down to rockfish enchiladas, beans and rice.

After lunch it was nap time. While we slept the crew processed our fish and handed us bags of beautiful fillets when we returned to dock.

It was a perfect day!

Captain Pat Cavanaugh is also running Open Party trips for those interested. Just book through his website http://www.pacificdawn.com/ or call him at (800) 708-8523. You won’t be sorry.

Kayak Fishing Day Three!

This is fun! Today I put the kayak in the water at 9:30 a.m., thirty minutes after low tide. This was my third day fishing on my new kayak. The weather was beautiful with sunny skies and calm winds. I ditched the jacket immediately. Today I brought my Lip Grip Scale (so I can hold and weigh fish) and my new Promar collapsible, floating net. It just came in the mail yesterday.

Kayak Launch Ramp

I tied on the Braid Powerplay Jighead and threaded a Berkley Gulp Jerk Shad on and cast it out. No nibbles today for the first half hour then a thud. Heavy fish but didn’t fight. It just came to the surface. Oh my, another nice halibut. I grabbed my net and reached to net the fish. Whoops, she saw the net and dove. I patiently brought her to the surface and tried netting her from the tail. She dove again. It was on my fourth try that I managed to net the fish. I grabbed my measuring tool and she was 24 inches long! Another legal halibut.

I pedaled over to the bait receiver and asked Jeff to take a photo for me.

After taking the photos, Jeff reminded me not to put the fish on a stringer because of the sea lions so I pedaled back over to my favorite halibut refrigerator – the one in Tim Boyer’s Kayak shop.

At the Launch Ramp - Photo taken by Tim Boyer

I went back out to my spot and continued to fish. There were two other kayaks and a skiff fishing with live bait in the same area. I only saw them catch one fish – a nice sand bass.

I had a couple short bites and connected with one more fish. It fought differently than a halibut or spottie and when it came up, I could see why. It was a white seabass. I didn’t even need to measure the fish to know it was short so I netted the fish, took a photo, carefully removed the jig and released the fish. By 11:30 the wind had come up blowing about 10 knots and was cool. The wind was opposite current. Even with and incoming tide, the drift was too fast to effectively fish the jerk shad. I fished until 12:30 p.m. and headed in.

White Seabass

Dana Point Jet Ski and Kayak Shop from launch ramp

Tim located a lower rack space for me to store my kayak. This location is perfect for me as I don’t have to stand on a stool and lift my kayak up to its rack now. I washed down everything, put gear in the truck and stowed the kayak. Time to fillet that fish. Tim set up a table and I got out my fillet equipment. After I cleaned the fish, bagged the fillets, and disposed of the carcass, I had two bags of fresh fillets and I still had halibut fillets at home from Tuesday. Time to share.

I asked Tim if he would like some fillets and he seemed pleased that I asked. I gave Tim all the fillets so there would be enough for him and his family. There is just my hubby and me at home and we still have enough halibut for another meal. Besides, I plan to bring home some fresh rockfish this weekend from a trip to the Channel Islands on the Pacific Dawn out of Ventura Harbor.

Kayak Fishing Dana Point Harbor

Now that I had a brand new kayak, I wanted to get out fishing as quickly as possible but I needed to get the kayak outfitted first. I also needed to build a rack to store my kayak on its side and find a way to lock it down outside. A quick trip to Home Depot and I came home with wood, screws, locks, cable, tarp etc. A day in the garage with my new cordless drill (a gift from hubby) and the rack was ready. I moved it to the side yard and found the perfect anchor – the gas meter. I cabled my kayak to the meter and covered it with a tarp. As Jim commented, thieves will end up blowing up the house stealing my kayak.

I pulled out a milk crate I had here at home then cut up and zip tied some PVC pipe into the corners for rod holders. The next morning (April 7th) I put my rods and tackle in the crate, loaded the kayak on my truck and went back down to the kayak shop in Dana Point. I bought a PFD, leashes for rods, a kayak cover and signed a contract for storage of my kayak. There was nothing else to do but go fishing.

I put the kayak on the kayak dock then launched it in the water and pedaled out towards Wind and Sea Restaurant. I fished plastics on a lead head on light spinning gear. I had my Berkley Gulp red worm bit in half 3 times but no hook ups. After a couple hours drifting, casting, retrieving and talking with Jeff who works the bait receiver, it was time to return home. I stopped at Hogan’s Bait and Tackle to buy a floating gaff and some Berkley Gulp Jerk Shad, the bait Bob Hoose told me was working well on the halibut. I introduced myself to Bill Hogan (the owner) and his daughter, Stephanie. I'm sure I'll shop there frequently as they had everythng a kayaker might need.

The next day (April 8th) I was back in the harbor fishing by 9:50 a.m. Within 45 minutes I had landed 3 spotted bay bass and 1 sculpin. I missed several other bites as well. I was fishing the Gulp Jerk Shad on a Braid Power Play Jig head on 8 pound Berkley mono spooled on a Shimano spinning outfit. It was a dynamite combo. Cast out and let the shad hit bottom then take 3 quick winds and let the jig drop again. My next hookup began to tow me. A couple of young kids in a skiff next to me opined that it was a barracuda. I told them it felt like a halibut. They repeated “barracuda”! I asked if they had caught a barracuda today and they said they had. I said it still felt like a halibut. When my fish surfaced and turned out to be a 23 inch halibut, the kids went silent. I sure was glad I picked up that gaff at Hogan’s the day before.

Now that I had the halibut on a gaff, I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t planning on catching dinner and I sure wasn’t going to release this tasty critter. I pedaled back to the Kayak Shack carrying my gaffed fish out of the water hoping the local sea lion would stay at the bait receiver and not follow. Tim Boyer (Kayak shop owner) was kind enough to bag my fish and put it in his refrigerator so I could continue fishing. I caught 2 more short halibuts and another spottie before the tide went slack and fish quit biting.

What a fabulous day on the water plus I came home with a fresh halibut to make a delicious dinner!

December to March!

What do anglers do during the cool winter months in California while dreaming of spring fishing and the Long Beach Fred Hall Show? Holiday celebrations with family and friends to be sure, but after the Christmas Tree is down and the decorations are stored, what then? Reorganizing tackle would be good but the cold rainy weather just doesn’t inspire one to play with tackle. Besides it will be months before one can use it again.

As for me, cooking is always part of winter (actually all seasons) and I returned to my embroidery machine and the embroidery software. I decided it was time to learn how to digitize. It wasn’t enough for me to buy fishing designs, cut and paste them together (by computer) then stitch them out on my machine. I wanted to create new designs which meant I had to learn how to digitize. What is machine digitizing? Machine embroidery digitizing is an art form. An embroidery digitizer transforms an image or art work to stitches (using digitizing software) and creates an image in a file format an embroidery machine can read.

I decided to tackle digitizing a boat first – the Excel. I spent forty hours glued to a digitizing manual and the computer. The first 10 hours were spent cleaning up my hand drawn outline of the Excel using the module of the digitizing software that works similar to Paint or Photoshop. Then I decided on the order of stitching, selected stitch types and color and started adding stitches to the sections of my boat drawing. Lastly I added the outline and details of the boat. Finally I produced a design and stitched it out. Next I tackled digitizing the tuna lined stern of the Excel and finally a yellowtail. Armed with new fishing designs, I spent hours embroidering designs on sweatshirts, jeans, vests, a jean jacket, patches, basically anything I could get my hands on.

Around the end of February the sun finally came out and I caught spring fever. I was off to Home Depot and within days weeds were pulled, plants pruned, tomatoes and flowers were planted, the fruit trees were fertilized and then it was time for the Long Beach Fred Hall Tackle Show. http://www.fredhall.com/

The Long Beach Tackle Show is a great time to start gearing up for the year’s fishing season. It’s a big reunion for fishing friends and a great place to learn what’s new. I worked the Braid booth where we previewed the new Sea Fox and Thumper Squid jigs and the Power Play Jig Heads. http://www.braidproducts.com/newproducts/

Pete Haynes and the Knotty Ladies (Jenny Armstrong, Kathy Rounds and I) were back doing Knot Tying Seminars for Shimano. Berkley had their big saltwater tank right across from the Braid booth providing us a great view of the bass chasing bait and gulp. It was the kayak booth that got to me again this year. I’ve been considering buying a kayak for a couple years now but was afraid that I couldn’t lift it upon my truck by myself. I also had to decide where to store it. I mentally decided on the Hobie Sport Fish weighing only 48 pounds but I still hadn’t answered the key questions of transport and storage of a kayak. I took the Hobie Catalog from Dana Point Jet Ski and Kayak Center and decide to visit their shop later.

Our L. A. Rod and Reel Club (LARRC) Pacific Dawn trip out of Ventura on March 15th got blown out so we had to reschedule. Winter weather continued. The next weekend was Easter with more family celebrations and the following week we had the Del Mar show.

Jim Carlisle and I went down to the Del Mar Fred Hall Tackle Show on Saturday and visited the kayak booth again. I was expecting to see Tim Boyer owner of the Dana Point shop but he wasn’t there. Another vendor represented Hobie Kayaks. I was able to test drive the Hobie Sport Fish Kayak in a pool at the show. It definitely was the kayak I wanted but I still needed to figure a way to transport the kayak and store it. I was offered a very good show special on the kayak I wanted but felt I owed it to my local dealer to buy from him especially since I had been talking to him at the Long Beach Show for the last two years.

The next day I ran down to the Dana Point Kayak shop and talked to Tim Boyer. He showed me how I could put the kayak on my truck by myself by installing the Thuele rack that pulls out to assist loading. He also has kayak storage facilities available that provide a convenient launch ramp close to the mouth of the harbor all for a reasonable price. Now my questions had been answered favorably. Tim even offered to honor his tackle show price. Needless to say I bought a Hobie Sport Fish Kayak in Ivory Dune color from Tim.
http://www.hobiecat.com/kayaking/models_sport.html I was anxious to test drive my kayak but the weather turned cool again so I just dropped it in the pool for a christening.

April 4th found the LARRC hosting handicapped kids to a day of fishing at Hansen Dam in Lakeview Terrace. What a great day for everyone. These young kids actually were better at catching fish than the helpers like me.

Now that’s how I spent my winter months waiting for spring fishing.