POLA 4-2-16; Revo saves the day
 

After monitoring the weather all week, King Saba and I decided the wind conditions weren't too bad for the Cabrillo area and launched from the ramp around 8ish. We headed east past the harbor lighthouse towards the kelpy areas along Navy Way. We picked up some decent calicos at a rocky wall on the west side of pier 400 along the way. Mine were on a Savage Sand Eel. Not sure what Saba got his on.

We continued on to the leeward (east side) of Pier 400 that ran north-south and had to downsize the baits as the fish were smaller. My go-to harbor/bait, the pumpkin Tiny Brush Hog worked well and a school of short barracuda even liked them.

As we made our way to the wall that ran east-west, the fish got hungrier and larger. Saba got some decent calicos and a nice sandy. All on swimbaits and Tiny Brush Hogs. I also got a nice calico at the shallow water kelp line and Saba got a nice sandy there. We knew that the winds were going to start picking up soon so we decided to head back leaving the fish still biting; we just didn't know how much they would pick up by.

When we got past the leeward side of the pier, we felt the full force of what Magic Seaweed said would be 8-10 mph winds. Fooled again by MSW! I later found out the winds were in the high teens with gusts above 20.

I was paddling for my life in my Prowler 13, but I was only inching along. I kept looking at the lighthouse for reference but it was always in the same position. Meanwhile Saba in his turbo-finned Revo was cruising along and he even stopped to fish some structure while I struggled to catch up.

He finally realized that we were going to be out there till midnight so he offered to tow me in the rest of the way. Some nice boaters spotted us and stopped to ask if we needed help, but Saba with his new Hobie invincibility complex said "No".

Even with his help, it must have taken us 2 hours to make it back. I wanted to die.

On the plus side, we had a blast. Saba caught around 20 and I caught around 10. I now know my limits a bit more and I know not to stay out longer than I should even if the fishing if good. Oh, and weather reports are just approximations based upon complex statistical calculations.

Thanks again for the tow Saba. I would have said "yes" to those boaters

I hit that paddle problem on Friday at Mission Bay, trying to fight and outgoing tide while I was trying to get back into the bay. I made it but man I was working hard, in the meantime Vito cruised by on his Hobie and didn't look like he was working to hard at it, at least he was moving a lot faster than I was.

Yeah. Those darn Hobies! I'm weird in that I really like paddling except for situations like the ones you and I were in. It's probably my ADD.

Glad you made safely. You too Harry...

Thanks.

thanks, I like paddling most of the time. I was getting worried on Friday though. The only real problem I had was I started getting cramps in my butt from being so tense. When I got to a place I could hold without getting pulled back out by the current I dropped a line overboard and put my feet over the sides. That helped with the cramps. I'm trying to figure out if I need a better paddle, mine is the cheapy I got from Bass Pros and it seems to work fine but what do I know, I've never used a better one.

I'm not an expert, but a nice light paddle like a Werner Camano will make a difference; however, no paddle will help when you lose 10 feet between strokes because of the wind and/or current. That's one of the reasons peddle yaks have a huge advantage; they don't have the dead time paddling does between strokes. You might want to visit the Iceman's store to be paired up with a paddle that fits you build, paddling style, and yak width.

Hope to see you on the water one day.

I hit OEX Mission Bay when every I get down that way and have some time. I was talking with Brent on Friday. I had to buy a new hatch for the Malibu and I was looking at better tandems, something that I won't have swamp butt on when we are fishing double. He told me native is coming out with a new peddle tandem. I need to try the prop system out and the hobie system to see what I like better.

There was a reason that back in the day before Pier 400 was built that area was called Hurricane Gulch!

I am invincible in my Revo! lol I was pushing our luck and limits that day. It was a fun and testy experience, but I think I'll accept help next time! :D

lol no kidding!