Lessons I learned on my kayak today!

1. It’s best to turn the fish finder on before launching the kayak.

2. Get bait before 6 a.m. or after 6:30 a.m.

3. Turn on bait tank before getting to the receiver.

4. Don’t use short topshots when using the Ahi Sabiki rod.

5. If you need to be off the water early, the fish will be biting.

Thursday I launched my kayak at 6 a.m. and tried to turn on my fish finder. Nothing. Tim said one of the cables to the battery must have loosened. Fortunately Tim hadn’t launched yet so he reached inside the front hatch of my kayak and reattached the red wire to the battery. Lesson 1 learned!

We reached the bait receiver just before three sport boats. The sport boats depart at 6:00 a.m. and their first stop is the receiver. It takes about 30 minutes for them to load bait and depart. With three boats loading bait and the Cougar (bait seining boat) tied up to the receiver, there’s no room for kayaks. Lesson 2 learned!

Joe was on the receiver today and he said if we hurried he could load our tanks before the sport boats. I reached around to open my tank and there was no water in it. I realized I hadn’t turned it on and I have to peddle forward to prime the pump. I made a quick circle then noticed Tim was doing the same while poor Joe was wondering what we were doing. Lesson 3 learned!

No sardines just anchovies today so bait making was first on our agenda again. As we left the harbor I notice a marked change in the water from a few days ago. The water was clean with a surface temperature up to 67 degrees.

As we trolled towards the headlands, we saw many birds working an area about a half mile off shore.


Birds working off shore.

As we raced to the area, so did more birds from all directions. Tim reached the area before me and he started catching bait immediately. When I got to the area Tim said they were big mackerel – too big for the Sabikis. I used a leadhead and curly tail plastic and caught a few big mackerel then the small ones arrived.

I pulled out my new Ahi Sabiki rod that has the line and hooks run inside the rod. We were sitting in a little over 50 feet of water. As I dropped my Sabiki down, the line hung up before it reached the bottom. I had used a bimini to Albright knot to connect the mono to the spectra. The knot was too large to fit through the guide leading inside the rod. I cut the knot out and retied with a back to back uni knot. It was a much smaller knot but still a little large to go through smoothly. With a little juggling, it would slide in. I’ll use a reel with all mono in the future. Lesson 4 learned!

Bait making was fun. Sitting out on the water watching the sport boats checking out their spots trying to chum up the fish. I watched a school of bait skip across the water just in front of me traveling very fast. They were gone before I could even grab a rod to try to catch whatever was chasing them. Once we had our bait, we worked our way to the kelps off Strands trolling a live mackerel. On the way a pod of dolphin played in front of me as if leading the way.

I tied off to a kelp strand and dropped down a mackerel. As soon as the mack hit the water it raced to the kelp and wrapped itself up. This was repeated over and over again. Finally I decided to try anchovies instead. I cut up the dead chovies and chummed the waters. The first through fourth anchovies were picked off. The fifth brought up a legal calico that swallowed the hook. It was bleeding to much to release so I gave it to Tim. I hooked another fish that came up with kelp wrapped around it. It was a very large and fat calico that spit the hook when I tried to remove the kelp. I would have released it anyway and I did get a good look at it.

A baby seal bobbed around between Tim and me for a while. Once he left the area, the fish started to bite again.


Tim tied to a kelp.



I caught a couple short halibuts then I had to head back to the harbor. I had a doctor appointment that required me to cut my time on the water short. Tim said he had lots of work to do so he was heading in too. When we reached the red buoy off the headlands, birds were working the area and we hit a school of barracuda.


Birds working a school of barracuda.

After five fish, I had to pull my jig in and pedal fast to get in soon enough.


One of my barracuda which were released.

When I looked back, Tim was still back by the red buoy. I guess he won't make it in early today after all. The fish must be biting.

I called Tim in the evening to get a report. He said the calicos moved in after the barracuda. He caught at least ten calicos but only kept four for dinner. Then the mackerel came back. He said he caught more than 60 fish after I left. Lesson 5 learned!

It was a wonderful day on the water and the ocean was alive everywhere I looked. Later in the afternoon, the whale watching boats watched a pod of five killer whales frolicking on their way north. It’s always exciting on the water especially in a kayak.


Areas Fished Today!