Short version:
Went to La Jolla for the Baytubers Tourney Sunday. Kayak and gear performed flawlessly. I can't say the same for myself. Slow day for me, though some fish were caught..... All and all it's all good still had a great time on the water.
Long version:
Wasn't really planning to fish this last weekend with the iffy weather, but had still been keeping my eye on the Baytubers tourney set for Sunday. Since I was invited to a "must attend" Valentines Day party and I am currently single, I figured I was going to make the party, and not going to make it to the tourney, but you never know, or at least I never know when it comes to these things.
At any rate about about midnight after four or five cocktails (who counts) some dancer/belly dancer/burlesque-entertainer/likely-moreofastripper coquettishly asked me "what I do for fun" and I told her I kayaked. Well one thing lead to another, and pretty soon we ended up online looking a kayak stuff (only in LA) By the time she asked me if Kayaks was all "I liked to paddle" I was already ready to go...
......fishing that is.
So I bowed out of my various responsibilities and attachments on my arm and headed to the shop to load my gear. I was plenty sober enough to drive and sober enough to fish by the time I hit La Jolla at 6:15. Most of the guys were already on the water but Kiyo signed me up without fan fair and then took off himself.
I figure I was the last guy to launch.
Just for fun I made a video of my launch with my new little Olympus 770sw attached to my vest.
No big deal: just my launch with a little live Nirvana (the original sound came out garbled) and some Hemingway quotes at the end. Nothing spectacular but it all fits together, and it's just artsy enough to show the next stripper that attaches herself to my arm.
Worked my way out to the reserve edge then started working the edges of the kelp with sabiki's to try and catch some mackerel for bait. No go... even though I was just reading a ton of stuff everywhere...... Which turned out to be an issue..... In the past with my little Garmin 120's I had to run the gain way up in the high 90%'s just to get the proper marks. Now with my new below the hull transducer set up and my new more powerful 398 I was over reading and getting too much clutter. You know the drill your reading bait five feet under the yak that you can see is not there.
Since I did not have enough time to calibrate it I just switched to autogain (which in hindsight turned out to be a big mistake) but at the time that gave me a more realistic reading and I figured I was on track. So no bait for me I finally worked out off the point and drifted outside the kelp in the 100 to 120 range working Iron and plastics.. I kept seeing these wonderful marks that looked like fish off the bottom but about every third drop I'd hang up. It was pretty frustrating. I'd lost my four favorite Irons in about three hours this way before I figured it out. The ripping current out of the North was pushing the kelp flat on the bottom, my meter set on auto was overcompensating the other way and marking the kelp as fish, so about every third time I drop to the bottom I'd hang in the kelp.
So I took some time out and calibrated my meter, and then started thinking about my options. It was getting late and no-one I had talked to had even been bit much less hooked a fish.
I was honestly pretty frustrated, and since no-one seemed to be getting any yellow action outside anyway, I decided to paddle all the way in across the canyon and hit the beach North of Scripps. I think it was something like three miles on the plotter when I set up the course. I figured I could get there in about an hour, and get a hour of fishing in before the weigh in. Since the rules stated only butts, seabass, and yellows could be weighed in. With the slow fishing I figured one butt could do it.
So now the current that had been pushing me on was against me, and paddling as hard as I could I could only do 3 knots against it. I stuck with it though, trolling a rapala, and only stopping on a couple of good marks on the way.
Crossing the canyon I watched the meter go all the way down to 700 ft set on the "wide" transducer setting which is pretty unbelievable. I decided to take some pictures of it but by the time I got the camera out I was already back up to 537 feet.
Here some pics: sorry about the quality as the the flash was on and the finder is drenched from me paddling hard.
In this closeup you can see the hint of a 100 ft tall mark at 550ft but it's washed out by the glare of the flash.
If I had more time I would of changed the traducer settings to see what it's capable of but it's not like I could fish those fish anyway.
Here's a split view a few minutes later with no flash but it's still washed out by water and glare on the finder.
In this one you can see its' reading well at 400+ , my position in relation to the canyon, and the course I'd been following to get there.
Marked a ton off fish between there and the word "Kelp" in the upper right hand corner, but they were all too deep to fish with the rockfish closure. When I finally got in to 60ft I saw a good bait mark right off: dropped the sabiki and instantly I got three greenbacks about four inches long. Fired up the bait tank which worked great with the new battery, and I loaded a few more greenies.
I'm thinking: Alright this is going to be it, this is about to pay off. All that paddling was worth it..... Well.... it was not meant to be.
I drifted a number of drifts between 100ft and 35ft for nothing. could not get a bite. Finally just skipped the weigh in and tried some other marks I saw out a little deeper at 120ft. No go just nothing going for me.
I'm not all that sure what time I went in, but all the guys were still at the trucks eating when I passed the parking lot. I usually stow my gear but it was so flat and I came up on a lull so I just paddled in. Literally surfed a one ft wave in YeeeeHaw :lol:
A warden checked my gear and lack of fish, and he then told me the news that three other guys came though with yellows. Later I heard they got them outside about thirty minutes after I left.
Should of could of...
Oh well you know what they say you can't win them all, and there is always next time. The Kayak and new gear worked great, now I just got to get my head in the game.
All and all a great day one the water, and I did have a great time talking a number of Guys like Iceman, yakrider, Pating, and others.
I just can't wait for the next one.
Jim