Kayak Wednesday

This week Jim, Tim, Jack and I skipped the bait receiver preferring to make our own bait.  I managed one mackerel but Jack shared a couple with me. 

We tried the pipeline then the barber poles and Jack and I went quite a bit further to deep waters - 600 feet deep.  I had hoped there would be an up welling bringing fish from the deep.  Unfortunately that was not the case.

High tide was at 11 a.m.  Little to nothing on the meter until 11:30 then the bait showed up.  I lost my 3 mackerel to bonita quickly so I put on a Fish Trap and caught a 15 inch calico.  He bit off the tail so I pinned on a chartreuse frog.  That worked just as well but the sand bass took my plastic.  Fishing was great!  Every time the bait came through we caught a bass. 

Great Day!

Fishing With Friends!

Every month Tim Boyer, owner of Dana Point Jet Ski and Kayak Center, holds a kayak fishing tournament called Fishing with Friends.  I've had a cooking class the last 6 months so Saturday, September 12th was the first chance I've had to join the group. 

I arrived around 6:15 a.m. and there were already several people there setting up their kayaks.  I managed to get my kayak rigged and launched by 7 a.m. which gave me time to trouble shoot my bait tank problem.  The tank wouldn't fill again.  It just needed a longer intake tube to reach the water.  I guess the new kayak is just enough different that the shorter tube wouldn't work.  Now it works fine.

Jack arrived around 7 and we got in line for bait.  Only a 30 minute wait.  Unfortunately they only had anchovies.  Tim had skipped the receiver and was out making mackerel.  Thank heaven because he gave me several mackerel which lasted me all day.

The water was so calm that I could see all the kayakers no matter where they were.  The sun was behind the clouds most the day but it was quite warm anyway - in the 90's and no hint of wind.  The water temperature was 77.5 degrees.  That's the warmest I've ever seen it. 

There were 14 kayakers in the tournament.  Most of us fished the pipeline first then moved out to the barber poles. I caught a couple bonita and chased away the cormorants but failed to pick up a real fish.  At one point I saw the birds all fired up a mile away.  I peddled hard to reach them before they moved on.  What a disappointment when I arrived and found a sea lion thrashing a yellowtail with the birds picking up the scraps.

We had a strong northerly current so then I found myself pretty far north of the rest the kayakers which were still at the second barber pole.

Just then Tim radioed that the hammerhead had shown up.  He and Jack went back to the pipeline to fish.  Since I hadn't seen any bait or action by noon and I had traveled 10 miles already, I decided to go in early.  On the way back, I felt water down my back and checked the bait tank.  The anchovies had clogged the outtake tube and the tank was overflowing. I unclogged it and dumped the rest the bait.  Just as I reached dock, Tim radioed that he hooked into something that was really pulling.  Turns out it was a 10.8 pound yellowtail that took JP. 

I cleaned up my kayak and put my gear away then pulled out my pot luck contribution - smoked salmon and smoked albacore with crackers.  Jackson was busy at the BBQ grilling bacon/shrimp kabobs, ribs, and yellowtail.  There were cupcakes, potato salad, cut up fruit, etc. and drinks including beer. 

Everyone was off the water and ready to eat by 2 p.m.  Tim said JP would roll over to next month as he couldn't win his own tournament.  Charlie took second JP with a bass.  There were only 3 or 4 fish (besides bonita) caught all day. 

What a great group of people.  There were two other women fishing on their kayaks too - Melissa and Shelby.  Shelby had her tiny dog, Jackson, on her kayak fishing with her.  Very cute little dog.  She said he likes to jump in the water and bite the tail of her fish when she brings it in.  I think she should reconsider that since Mr. Hammerhead is hanging out here this year. 

Kayak Wednesday 9-9-15

Jack is the Yellowtail specialist!  He caught another 25 lb. yellowtail on a live sardine with a Mustad 92677 hook.

There were 6 to 8 kayak fishermen out on Wednesday including Jack, Jim, Tim, Mike and I.  Jack, Jim and I launched from Dana Point Jet Ski and Kayak Center around 7:30 a.m. and picked up some nice sardines from the bait receiver.  Tim and the others joined us later.  Tim received a load of small anchovies.

The water temp was still 73 to 75 degrees but this week it was very dirty.  Scraps of kelp and eel grass was everywhere.  There was very little breeze under a bright, hot sun.  Not much traffic on the water.  Such a change from Labor Day crowds.

We headed to the pipe and worked the area for an hour or so without much luck.  Much different from last week.  Then I realized we were working the tide change.  I was enjoying the day anyway as this was my first day out fishing on my new Hobie Sport Fish kayak.  It is so much more comfortable and convenient than my 2008 Sport Fish. Many improvements.  I also upgraded to a color fish finder - Lowrance Elite-4.  Sweet machine.

I guess it was the day to have issues with our bait tanks.  When I first launched, my bait tank wasn't priming even when I put water in the tank.  The pump just wasn't bringing water in.  I went back to dock and Tim started to remove the tank and it started pumping.  Not sure what was going on but when I got back, the screen was gunked up.  Jim's bait rolled right away but he wasn't sure if it was his tank or bad bait.  Tim's tank got clogged with anchovies and they all died.

Jim, Jack and I worked our way out to the barber poles while the others stayed at the pipe.  

We worked the area between the first and second pole.  I caught two cormorants and lost many baits to these nuisance birds.  They dive down 20 feet to take a bait.  I decided to move since they were on me like flies.  Jack started to bring his bait in to follow and got nailed with his yellowtail.  Needless to say the rest quickly joined us.  We continued to work the area until a little after noon but that was it for the day.

I didn't see any sharks this time but one of the new guys said he saw the hammerhead.  From the size of his eyes, I'm sure he saw something that scared him.

After we cleaned up our kayaks and gear, Jim and I spent some time going over Tim's rods and reels that he should take on the Excel 10 Day trip September 27th. It is Tim's first 10 day trip on a long range boat.  That should be a fun trip.  I'm looking forward to Tim catching his first wahoo!

Kayak Wednesday

Just Jack and I again.  Too bad no one else joined us.  It was a wonderful day on the water.  Sunny skies with air temps around 75 degrees, slight breeze and water temps at 75 too.  Only a handful of boats around and no line at the bait receiver.  Good bait again this week.  Smaller sardines with a few the size of anchovies.

We headed to the pipe trolling a sardine.  The bonita were thick as thieves.  Every bait would twitch then race down as it was chased by bonita eventually getting mashed, sliced or eaten.  I released them until Jack said he was keeping them for lobster bait (season opens October 3, 2015.) Then I kept a few larger ones.

It was great fun fishing because every bait got bit.  I hooked, landed and released two legal calico bass - one was 16 inches and the other 15 1/2 inches long.

Then I hooked something bigger that went straight to the bottom and wouldn't budge - it would just move occasionally to let me know it was there.  I was in 80 feet of water fishing 25 lb. so when I put it in low gear and really pulled on it, I pulled the hook.  It acted like a black seabass.  Fun while it lasted.

We worked our way out past the second barber pole to water that was 120 feet deep.  More bonita.  As we started to work our way back towards the pipe, the hammerhead showed up.  He circled Jack's kayak and Jack yelled to let me know he was there.  I had just dropped a bait in and it was on a fast track to the bottom being chased and chomped by another bonita when the hammerhead headed my direction.  I yanked my bait away from the bonita and wound it in fast.  Then the shark turned around and grabbed Jack's bait and got hooked.  By the time I got my camera video turned on, Jack had cut his line.  We decided it was time to come in. 

The Pilgrim was leaving the harbor as we were returning. 

We cleaned up our kayaks and gear and agreed to fish again next Wednesday.  Tim and Jim said they plan to join us. 

I decided to purchase the newer model of my kayak - the Hobie Mirage Sport from Dana Point Jet Ski and Kayak Center.  I bought my current kayak in 2008 and the improvements since then make it easier and more comfortable for me to fish.  The peddles drop in without needing to twist lock them in (which is very difficult with my arthritic hands).  The drain under the seat has a easy to pull strap instead of screwing it in (also difficult for my hands). The seat and seat back is adjustable and there are side pouches that I can put my camera in instead of my pants pocket.  If I were younger and had better hands, I would have kept my old kayak.

Here's my new kayak!  It's getting outfitted for fishing now.

Looking forward to next week.