Questions about Point Loma Kelp Beds
 

Hi all , I am a long time user of Big Waters Edge but this is the first post I have made . I have been fishing LJ for about two years " from the yak" and now I want to try to yak out to the point loma kelp . Can anyone tell me were the best place to launch might be , also how much harder is it to launch down that way ? Any other tips you might have will be very helpful . thanks , paul

I would suggest shelter island boat launch area, probably closest to the point. Very cool area, but watch out for big winds at times. It often gets very windy @ lighthouse. Fish the same as La Jolla.

you can launch at the old ramp at the bottom of Pescadero. Also, launching from Luscumbs (south of bird shit and no surf) is pretty straight forward when the swell is minimal....like today. The last launch might require some lugging of the yak...a bit tougher, but a cool place to fish. good luck.

I live a block from the public parking at Dog Beach and I launch from there if I want to hit up that area. It's a bit of a trip from the parking lot to the beach but if you have a set of wheels its easy. The surf at dog beach just south of the south mission bay jetty is do-able on most days if you time it. From there, it's a little over a mile before you start seeing kelp stringers the last time I was out there, maybe less than a mile now.

Hey Dan, where is Luscumbs?

The Point-
 

The quickest paddle to the kelp is from Ocean Beach. Either at Dog Beach the pier or from the foot of Pescadero St. there is the surf to contend with however it is very do-able on low to medium surf days. The kelp this year starts fairly close to the pier then gets really thick about halfway down.
Calico City on the right day and yellowtail were caught this summer fairly close to the Point Loma Kelp.
Actually there is a closer launch than Shelter Island in the Harbor-Kellog Beach at the end of Rosecrans St. is about a 10minute paddle from the bait receiver and on an outgoing tide you can easily get outside the Point Loma kelp in less than an hour. What you don't want is heavy tide coming out and wind coming out the harbor at the same time when you are trying to come in. One or the other can be tough, but both is a problem. So plan your trip out with an early AM outgoing tide and in on the mid-day incoming and it can be a fun trip. When you paddle out of the harbor and you get a good look at the lighthouse you will know if it's a wave you want to deal with or avoid by going further south and swinging around.
Another fun option is go with a buddy-two cars and leave one at Shelter Island or at Kellog-take the two yaks in the second car back to OB-launch and fish all the way back to the car you left. You definately want to do that trip in the OB then into the Harbor direction and not the oppposite. The wind usually goes in that direction and the morning launch through the surf us usually best.

Dave

If the surf is up and you don't want to chance OB, you can always put in at Mission Bay. The paddle from Mission Bay or Shelter Island is about the same distance; 6.5 miles. I usually put in at Shelter Island, as it has better access. Depending on the swell, you sometimes have to swing well south of the Point to avoid the surf. I can attest to the need to watch the wind and tide when coming back into the bay. Once, I paddled out to 1SD and back to do a little whale watching. It took me a little over an hour to get out there and over five hours to paddle back against the wind and tide. There are a couple of spots inside of the kelp in front of the SPAWAR complex that have produced a lot of calico for me. I've also seen some good size halibut along the sandy bottoms below the cliffs at SPAWAR. You just have to watch for the surf. I've seen it breaking anywhere from the base of the cliffs to the inside edge of the kelp.

'scumbs is the minipoint just south of Hill Street. On a small day, it is an easy put in with virtually no surf to contend with. That puts you in prime kelp in about 5 minutes of paddling. Just north of there is 'no surf' beach, which is a nice sandy beach just with a horrible approach. I've kayaked it a few times with no probs, but mostly just fished it from my board---calico city for sure.

Wow , thank's for all the feedback . You guy's all but put me on top of the fish . Sounds like if it is not to big Ill do a beach launch from Pescadero or Luscumbs , I like the sound of a 5 minute paddle . I will post Saturday night to let you guys know how I do . Thanks again for all the feed back and I hope to find this Calico City place . Fish on Brothers , Paul

Just heard that we should be expecting 12 to 18 foot swells this weekend . End of disscusion .

linghunter,

here are some of the launch points, I have used...

OB PIER: Very launchable, depending on swell. Warning you may launch in 1-3ft conditions, and come back to larger surf. Lots of parking in the AM, you may be landing in front of a crowd of folks on the beach.

Orchard St: During low tide this launch exposes the cobble stones at the launch. These stones can slide, and be difficult to negotiate. This launch/landing is not easy once it is high tide, and can be technical. Has an old service ramp for life guards, easy to use, no stairs, bring your wheels.

Santa Cruz St.: Steep stairs, and a lot of them. This launch can be tricky, because on the north side cove, there are a lot of rocks to paddle through, and the south cove is sand but it is very steep, making it difficult to get on your kayak to launch, as well as land because any swell pitches up into nasty shore break.

Bermuda Ave: There are some stairs, and rocks, helful if you have a friend with you. This spot also depends on swell as far as negotiating. Parking may not be a big deal heading towards Ebers st east up the hill.

Hope this helps,

Chris

Sounds like their are alot of options , I will definetly need to scope out all of theese areas . Any of you guys here about the big swell we are suppose to see this weekend ? I guess this will keep me from trying to launch any of theese Knew spots for now but as soon as it mellows out I will hit it .

surf report:

http://wavewatch.com/pages/regions.php?RegionID=8

Well, that made my decision between saturday and sunday easy. Thanks.

-Patrick

What you have Baja training, should be no problem launching anywhere now!! :twisted: The OB Pier is calling you!! :D

http://sdkayakfishing.com/chris/albu..._001.sized.jpg

I'll go to La Jolla Saturday, and save Sunday for the OB death roll....

If things don't pick up in LJ, I might make an OB run next weekend for something different.

-Patrick

http://cdip.ucsd.edu/?nav=recent&sub...m=tpo_forecast

http://cdip.ucsd.edu/?nav=recent&sub...item=sio_waves

Looks like a fun weeekend for LJ. PL will have to wait for another time.

the fishing at the pt loma kelp is not as good as la jolla. i guess there is a sewage pipe that lets out right at the pt loma kelp. just giving some input

No, it's generally not as good as La Jolla, but it's something different. If I'm not going to catch fish, I might as well do it with a slight change of scenery. It's too bad that giant sewage treatment plant is down there.

-Patrick