I launched around 8:00 am and picked up bait from Jeff on the receiver. Anchovies with a couple sardines, so I took a short load. That was a mistake as the bait was in very poor condition. It must have been a busy weekend because this bait needed to cure.
I headed out of the harbor in cloudy, misty 60-degree weather. The water temp was 66 degrees with big rollers coming from the southwest and loaded with wind chop. Do I want to get beat up or have fun? Boats that were fishing outside were coming back in to fish the harbor – humm – I think I’ll fish the harbor. Good decision. I later heard that Jack went all the way to Salt Creek this morning for zilch!
I fished my 6 sardines and all the anchovies (that survived) drifting outside of the Wind and Sea. Around 10 am (right before slack tide), the fish woke up and nailed my baits with every pass. Most were short bites – just enough to maul my baits. As it turned out, the halibut were as happy with a dead, mauled sardine as a fresh live bait. I caught one short halibut that went 18-20 inches, a nice yellowfin croaker and a baby sculpin that tried to eat a sardine longer than it was.
As soon as I pulled the kayak on dock (around 1:30 pm.), the sun came out. That’s fishing.
I slept in a bit today then hurried to the harbor getting on the water around 8 a.m. this morning. With weather forecast to be in the 80’s at the beach, it seemed a good place to spend the day.
First stop the bait receiver. This was Jeff’s day off so I got to meet Joe. These young men that work 12 hour shifts (4 days on, 4 days off) are good natured and seem happy to share what they know. Joe said a couple legal halibut were caught the day before in the harbor and another outside the harbor. It pays to know these guys. Today’s $5 bait fill was mostly anchovies with only a dozen or so sardines.
Today the water temp was 63.4 degrees in the harbor (a little warmer close to shore) and flat calm.
It was a pleasure to just be on the water today which was good because the fish weren’t in a biting mood. There was very little tidal movement today and no current so I trolled a sardine along the bottom at about 0.5 to 1.0 mph. I fished along the beach then out to the red buoy (harbor entrance) and back in the harbor all for one nice sandbass.
I can’t wait for the day when the weather is good and the fish bite again.
May 8th - Each adventure is different and weather is a defining factor. Thursday we were on the water by 6:30 a.m. Jack couldn’t make it but John joined us instead. Tim and John stopped at the bait receiver on the way out. Tim was trying out the new Hobie Bait Tank that sits behind the seat. He had been using an in-deck bait tank and wasn’t sure he would like the weight above the waterline or having to reach behind for the bait. By day’s end he gave a “thumbs-up” to the bait tank.
Hobie Bait Tank
The waters were calm and up a degree from the week before. It was cool at first but when the sun came up we warmed up. We headed out to Doheny beach to fish the surf line in 7 to 10 feet of water.
When we arrived in our fishing area, I accepted a gift of a few baits from Tim to put in my drag along bait holder. Good quality baits – a mix of anchovies and sardines.
Tim caught a legal halibut plus several shorts. I caught 4 short halibut, 2 surfperch, and 2 sand bass. John was skunked but enjoyed the day on the water anyway, especially when he and Tim drifted together on the calm waters and smoked their cigars. The only things spoiling the ambience were the piercing squeals of kids on the beach.
At day’s end, my bait was suffering. It took a beating dragging along behind me but it was better than nothing. I bagged my leftover bait to use for chum my next trip. Tim’s bait was still kicking and looked great. I was sold on the bait tank. I went back the next day and bought my own Hobie Bait Tank.
May 12th – We were back on the water by 6:30 a.m. and were greeted with dark, low clouds, a heavy mist and cold air but I had my new bait tank and couldn’t wait. Plus we had a tip on finding big halibut. We headed to the bait receiver and filled up with nice anchovies and sardines. I bought the kayak special for $5. I never realized how expensive bait is for the Sportfishing boats until I received my receipt.
Bait Receipt
We headed north towards the kelp beds off the point around San Juan Rocks. The water was rough and we were headed into swell which slowed the trip out. When we arrived there was very little current and it was heading northeast – completely opposite from the last time we were out here. I had chopped up my leftover bait to use as chum and brought it along. I tied up to a stringer of kelp and started a chum line. I fished through a hole in the kelp while I tried to keep warm. Tim was tied up to a kelp stringer just a short distance from me and he was keeping busy catching mackerel and jacksmelt on his sabiki rig while his halibut rig bounced in the rod holder.
Tied to a Kelp Stringer
I was sitting in the middle of bait jumping all around me. They would swim through then come back. Suddenly I got bit – something big started a run then wrapped itself in the kelp. A sea lion raced over and dove the check out the scene. Even though I had spectra line, my 5 foot fluorocarbon leader was enough to wrap on the kelp where I couldn’t pull it out. The short time it was on the line, it felt like a halibut. No meal for this sea lion to steal!
We stayed out longer than usual hoping the fish would turn on, but it was no use. We saw a whale blow a short distance out from us and watched the sportboats moving from spot to spot looking for the bonito that bit the day before. I caught one sandbass and had two more baits raked by halibut. Tim landed one calico and had short bites too plus he filled his bait tank with mackerel to freeze for lobster season. My bait tank worked flawlessly even in the less than ideal water conditions. I only lost two anchovies. I bagged the leftover bait to use as chum at a later date.
When we returned, Tim’s Fishfinder/GPS indicated we had traveled 9 miles. I hadn’t set mine to calculate our distance. It’s set now. I also learned that even though family members are used to me being out fishing for days at a time, they can be worried sick when you return 2 hours later than they assume you will. At 2:30 Mike phoned the kayak shop trying to locate me (I don’t carry my cell phone on the kayak). He was convinced that the Great White Shark that killed the swimmer south of here had found me. Mike assumed I would always be off the water at the same time – around 12:30. He really was worried – a first for him. We worked out a way to ease his concerns in the future. I will carry a cell phone with me now and let him know if I’ll be returning after 4 p.m.
Sunday, May 5th, was our last LARRC charter on the Pacific Dawn to the Channel Islands for this spring. I carpooled to Ventura with Rick and Jim. We arrived early enough for a pizza dinner at Milano's before the boat retuned from the day's fishing.
Pat Cavanaugh and Dustin were our captains for this trip. On deck were Mad Dog Mike and Opie. Jimmy was master of the galley again. The crew on this boat is top notch. We boarded around 7:30 p.m., checked-in and headed to bed early. We departed at 9:30 p.m. with hopes of making squid before fishing. I awoke when the engines turned down. We started snagging squid around 5 a.m. Shortly thereafter the squid decided to float. What a sight - squid floating under the lights. The crew pulled out the crowder and scooped enough squid to fill one of the bait tanks.
Squid Floating under the Lights
We began our fishing at Eagles Rock. At sunrise, we noticed what looked like a foamer coming towards the boat. On closer look, it was a pod of over a hundred baby seals. Other than one bat ray and a baby seal, nothing was biting. Pat moved the boat and took a drive by Beechers but kept going. The current was so strong that Pat decided to fish the front side of the island in deeper water. Dropper loops with 2 Kenji Flies and 12 ounces of weight was the recommendation. Add squid strips or red gulp to the hooks was all we needed.
We fished in 240 to 300 feet of water most the day. We had limits of reds by 11:30 a.m. Jim and I fished the bow along with the crew. At one point, Pat was fishing with two rods and both got bit at the same time. It was fun watching Pat reel in fish on both rods at the same time.
Pat reeling fish in on two rods
Jim was headed for another jackpot win with a 6 1/2 pound red caught on a 16 ounce Braid Slammer jig.
Opie holding Jim's 6.5 lb. Red on Braid Slammer Jig
With limits of rockfish, Pat decided to make a move to Santa Cruz Island to fish for sheepshead and calicos in shallow water with the boat nudged close to the island. On the way to Santa Cruz, Jimmy fed us fish enchiladas, rice and beans. His food just gets better each time we fish on the Dawn.
We fished dropper loops with #2 hooks and a strip of squid or a leadhead and squid. Blue bass bit the dropper loops well, however, we never saw a sheepshead or calico. The water was quite cool. Just before Pat called it a trip, Joel ended up stealing the jackpot from Jim with a cabazon just slightly larger than Jim's red. Such is fishing.
Fishing Santa Cruz Island in Shallow Water
Another great trip with delicious fish to take home. We all have our favorite recipes for rock fish and freely share with all. I usually make Mike's favorite my first night home - Red sashimi and steamed red. Here's my Steamed Red Snapper recipe:
Steamed Red Snapper
Incredients: 1 whole, fresh 6 lb. red snapper or rock cod, gill, gutted and scaled 3-4 oz. fresh ginger root 1 bottle cooking sake 3 bunches green onions, chopped in 1/8 inch pieces 3/4 cup soy sauce 3/4 cup peanut oil
Preparation: Peel ginger root and thinly slice. I use the potato peeler as a slicer to cut thin ginger slices. Be sure fish is clean and patted dry. Place whole fish in plate with high sides. Make 3 slits in side of fish parallel with the gills. Insert ginger slices in slits. Turn fish over and repeat on other side. Put remaining ginger slices inside belly cavity of fish.
Put fish (plate and all) in top of steamer. Place sake in bottom of steamer. Steam fish until fish is cooked and coming off the bones (approximately 20 minutes) on medium high.
Remove plate of fish from steamer. Do not drain fish juices from plate. These will combine with the oil and soy sauce for your sauce.
Heat peanut oil until boiling. Pour half of peanut oil over fish. Place green onions over the entire side of the fish. Pour soy sauce over green onions. Pour remaining peanut oil over green onions.
Serving Suggestion: Place portions of fish on plates. Spoon generous portions of green onions and sauce over fish. Service with white rice.
976-KayakJan - Tim Boyer, owner of Dana Point Jet Ski and Kayaks (http://www.danapointjetski.com/), finished installing my Eagle Cuda 250 s/Map Fish Finder and GPS on Wednesday. Thursday morning Tim, Jack and I were on the water by 6:30 a.m. heading north towards Salt Creek. I made it as far as the San Juan Rocks but both Tim and Jack went all the way to Salt Creek. Jack had a good day trolling a small Rapala managing 10 barracuda in his catch. Tim did well too with barracuda in his catch as well.
Tim out on his Kayak
I, on the other hand, lost a couple jerk shads to short bites and learned that paddling out of kelp isn’t fun. I spent most of my time playing with my fish finder and new VHF Radio. I have much to learn about kayak fishing.
My new Fish Finder
The weather was calm, less than 10 knots of wind with a water temperature of 59 degrees in the morning and heating up to 64 degrees by noon. Pedaling out I noticed I was traveling at a little over 4 mph but returning I was only going 3 mph going against the current.
AFTCO - Saturday morning, May 3rd, found the fishing community listening to Let’s Talk Hook-Up while waiting in line for the annual AFTCO Parking Lot sale to open at 9 a.m. Cal and Nancy Sheets were there as was Tom Raftican, UASC, Doug Kern, Fisherman’s Landing, Patrick Gee and, of course, the AFTCO folks. There were great buys on AFTCO clothing and fishing tackle; however, meeting fishing friends is always the highlight of these events.
Rod Building Expo – The first Rod Building Expo was held at the Orange County Fair Grounds on the same day as the AFTCO parking lot sale. It was a short drive from AFTCO to the Expo. The entry fee was $8 but parking was free. Inside booths were set up displaying rods, rod wrapping parts and equipment.
Doc Ski was in a booth but mostly out of the booth talking to folks. Tim Campbell, Swifty, had a booth where his wife and young daughter were demonstrating marbling. Marbling is a process of adding colors to the finish either on the wraps or in lieu of decorative wraps at the base of the rod. Another booth was demonstrating decorative wrapping with threads. I learned enough at this booth to make the entire Expo worth the time for me.
A small seminar area was provided at one end of the building with seats for about 50 people. I attended the first three seminars that covered:
1. Rod Building Basics - 10AMCovers spine alignment, guide placement/wrapping, and Tools Instructor: Terri Cheatum - Kel's Rod & Reel Service
3. Finish - 11:30AMCovers Epoxy Finish tips & techniques Instructor: Terri Cheatum - Kel's Rod & Reel Service
The seminars were good and included actual demonstrations of splining, measuring and installing grips and reel seats, and finishing the guides. For the first Rod Building Expo, it was a good start. I am sure future Expos will be even better.
