new to open water kayking.....tuna anyone?
 

im new to kayaking outside any breakwall and all of the local tuna talk has me wanting to go and try it. as a newbie i would like to tag-along with some one kind enough to have me along. i have never lounched a yak from the surf but have seen plenty of u-tube videos. im usually open to fish on weekends....week days are harder to get but not impossilbe.

I would say if you havent left the harbor, give it a little more time before you go 5-10 miles offshore.

Yeah, dude, you'll understand why when you go out on even a moderate weather day. The tuna is a long shot for even the most experienced anyway.

I agree, I've never been seasick in my life but the first time out on open water in a weird chop and swell and my stomach started telling me to go in. I may have been okay eventually but I didn't want to wait and find out. Open water is totally different than the bays. If you want to find out go to Mission Bay and paddle out to the mouth of the bay. Get the feel for the swell coming in and the chop from the boats. I did that a few times before I went out and I still had a problem.

i have gone outside the dana point harbor while hope netting in the dark. i can say that the total darkness and the lack in abilty to anticipate the larger swells and wind is a bet intemidating.

But at night you are usually facing calmer seas, try paddling out of the harbor past the oceanside Jetty during high tide, facing large swells and surf ;)

Considering you have never left the harbor brother, your best bet would be to do a dry launch like most of us do @ the surfline our first times out. but you would DO your normal launch out of the harbor, with no extra gear weighing you down and just take an excursion out of the harbor mouth and if you have a Fish Finder with GPS, just go ahead and see how far out 5 miles west really is.. Then if you have any type of swell, making it back to the launch point in a straight shotwhen 5 miles out is practically not possible unless you are a beast who can paddle sideways through the swells setting, yes setting swells ha and forget about white caps......

Not trying to knock you whatsoever, but just chillen in calm water is completely different from when you hit the washing machine swells throwing water over all sides of your kayak.... out of the 20-30 times i have been out so far this year, i think we had glassy lake like conditions at most 5 of those times... Gotta be prepared...

Probably a no brainer but make sure you got gear for a tuna. Assuming you don't have a boat like most kayakers and only fish bays buying gear for tuna can get pricey. I also agree with waiting till next year if you start going in the ocean now. Try paddling in/ out of SD bay from SI peir to beyond the mouth. If you can do that 3 times on a bad current day without getting exhausted you know your ready!

I respect your Stoke n ambition but , IMO and experience, yakking involves a learning curve to master. Move step by step to longer trips, bigger fish, and more demanding surf launch/landings. You can skip ahead and often be fine but you can also find yourself out if your depth and in trouble fast.

Going out with a more experienced yakker is a good idea but you can't expect that person to guide you. Mike