Dana Pt, 12-26-11 - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Amish Ed · 12-26-2011, 01:56 PM

Got to the launch at around 5:30 and it was COLD. I sat in my truck and finished my coffee. After a while I realized nobody else was there and decided to give myself a Christmas present. I went and launched from the boat ramp. I wish I could afford it every week, so much better with the shorter paddle.

Anyways, got on the water at 6:30 and the offshore wind was howling pretty good. Tucked around the long jetty and fished it real tight to stay out of the wind. Gotta nice calico on the first cast and another on the fourth cast. But, that was it for an hour plus. Decided to deal with the cold wind and headed for the pipe. Got out there and started fishing in about 50'. The wind made it really hard to keep the bait on the bottom, about 9:30 the offshore stopped, had half hour of calm and then the wind came around out of the west. Typical Dana Pt winter morning. Water was 57.3-57.8º and clear.

The fishing was slowish, but for late December I won't complain. 9 bass and a Tree fish for the day. There was 4 baits today that worked... 6" MC dropshot bait in lime green (not key lime) clear belly and 5" baby bass Zoom Swimming Super Fluke both rigged on an Owner Sled Head. The other 2 were 4" Edge Flurry's in redfish and gold chovy rigged on a 1oz Hammerhead. Line weight didn't seem to matter today as they ate both the 8lb and the 17lb. About 11:00am I decided I'd had enough (no bites the last 45min) and made the short paddle back in. Fun day.

On a side note, my Sideboards did not want to go into the rails on my T140. It took a lot of work to get them in, anybody else have that issue when it's cold out?

mtnbykr2 · 12-26-2011, 02:35 PM

slow but fun...I love DP...just nice...thanks for the report

coxtanker421 · 12-26-2011, 02:47 PM

Thanks for report. I do not want to thread jack , but I was wondering,what is your opinion of mad frog? I bought one from southwind . Installed it. Used it once, so far. Some negatives I have heard about it are, picking up grass or weeds. The transducer I am using is a side imaging from hummingbird . I mounted it on a hobie revolution, well in front of blades of hobie drive to prevent interference. Needless to say , transducer in water is far superior. Picking up grass is inevitable . But with the stock transducer , wet mount was not an option, if at all. Side of transducer need to be clear. So far I am a happy customer. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

Amish Ed · 12-27-2011, 10:16 AM

I love the TDA. The difference between shooting through the hull and just water is pretty amazing. Plus you get the true water temp. It can collect grass a bit, but doesn't affect performance any. The only time I don't like it is in thick kelp. Then I just flip it out of the water. But, if I'm in the thick stuff I'm not looking at my FF anyways.

12-26-2011, 01:56 PM	#1
Amish Ed Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Grants Pass, OR Posts: 1,903	Dana Pt, 12-26-11 Got to the launch at around 5:30 and it was COLD. I sat in my truck and finished my coffee. After a while I realized nobody else was there and decided to give myself a Christmas present. I went and launched from the boat ramp. I wish I could afford it every week, so much better with the shorter paddle. Anyways, got on the water at 6:30 and the offshore wind was howling pretty good. Tucked around the long jetty and fished it real tight to stay out of the wind. Gotta nice calico on the first cast and another on the fourth cast. But, that was it for an hour plus. Decided to deal with the cold wind and headed for the pipe. Got out there and started fishing in about 50'. The wind made it really hard to keep the bait on the bottom, about 9:30 the offshore stopped, had half hour of calm and then the wind came around out of the west. Typical Dana Pt winter morning. Water was 57.3-57.8º and clear. The fishing was slowish, but for late December I won't complain. 9 bass and a Tree fish for the day. There was 4 baits today that worked... 6" MC dropshot bait in lime green (not key lime) clear belly and 5" baby bass Zoom Swimming Super Fluke both rigged on an Owner Sled Head. The other 2 were 4" Edge Flurry's in redfish and gold chovy rigged on a 1oz Hammerhead. Line weight didn't seem to matter today as they ate both the 8lb and the 17lb. About 11:00am I decided I'd had enough (no bites the last 45min) and made the short paddle back in. Fun day. On a side note, my Sideboards did not want to go into the rails on my T140. It took a lot of work to get them in, anybody else have that issue when it's cold out? __________________ Amish Ed You can't catch it again if it's dead! Last edited by Amish Ed; 12-26-2011 at 02:00 PM. Reason: Added a question.

12-26-2011, 02:35 PM	#2
mtnbykr2 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: newbury park ca Posts: 2,323	slow but fun...I love DP...just nice...thanks for the report __________________

12-26-2011, 02:47 PM	#3
coxtanker421 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 270	Great report Thanks for report. I do not want to thread jack , but I was wondering,what is your opinion of mad frog? I bought one from southwind . Installed it. Used it once, so far. Some negatives I have heard about it are, picking up grass or weeds. The transducer I am using is a side imaging from hummingbird . I mounted it on a hobie revolution, well in front of blades of hobie drive to prevent interference. Needless to say , transducer in water is far superior. Picking up grass is inevitable . But with the stock transducer , wet mount was not an option, if at all. Side of transducer need to be clear. So far I am a happy customer. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

12-27-2011, 10:16 AM	#4
Amish Ed Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Grants Pass, OR Posts: 1,903	I love the TDA. The difference between shooting through the hull and just water is pretty amazing. Plus you get the true water temp. It can collect grass a bit, but doesn't affect performance any. The only time I don't like it is in thick kelp. Then I just flip it out of the water. But, if I'm in the thick stuff I'm not looking at my FF anyways. __________________ Amish Ed You can't catch it again if it's dead!