Catalina Kayak Fish Odyssey 100 - Now Accepting Applications

[Apex Predator]

Originally Posted by Semper Fi-shing

Might consider taking my tandem oasis out for this trip if i go and just use the front area for cargo and add a sail.

One question i have, and just theoretically speaking, if one has to drop a "deuce" on the water, would it be considered bad manners to have the brown guys float away and possibly hit the yak of the guys behind that person? Being out on the water for so long with so many people, just thought i throw that out there.

Just saying.

I've heard of leaving breadcrumbs but....BUTT Crumbs,.. not so much.

I bet those outriggers make it a lot easier easier to poop off your kayak though.

as to the kayak selection:
I think you are fine with either of those choices, but I like a solution that allows the vast majority of my non-fishing gear to be stored out of the way so that I can fish without obstruction.

[Mootaineer]

Always wanted to kayak there, about to hit 50, and considering to check this one off.
Still recruiting and, if so, how many committed at this point? When do you need a final answer? Do we have to pack food for entire trip or can supplies be delivered with water and wood to one or more of campsites? Are there grills at campsites or will we need to bring one (my Adventure is a lousy pack mule with bait tank; second mirage drive will need to go up front)? Do you know if there is electricity at campsites to recharge fish finders? Love endurance, but fishing more: echoing other poster, how do you see incorporating fishing? Kayaking and then stopping at predetermined fishing spots or trolling as we move and stopping when something looks promising? Thanks in advance.



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[Apex Predator]

Originally Posted by Mootaineer

Always wanted to kayak there, about to hit 50, and considering to check this one off.
Still recruiting and, if so, how many committed at this point? When do you need a final answer?

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Yes there is still room on the trip because:,
1. I want to have the chance to go as a group for a day or two offshore with everyone to see if this trip would be safe for everyone who wants to go.

and 2. Though I have many "maybes" I have no actual "FOR SURE'S" yet on the Trip to Catalina this year. Many folks are in the same boat as you.

I guess the latest you could RSVP is late September at our last OFFShore training day, but that is assuming I haven't received 5 "For Sure's" yet.

[Apex Predator]

Originally Posted by Mootaineer

Do we have to pack food for entire trip or can supplies be delivered with water and wood to one or more of campsites? Are there grills at campsites or will we need to bring one (my Adventure is a lousy pack mule with bait tank; second mirage drive will need to go up front)?

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Great Question! For a trip like this, all the same principles of backpacking apply, I.E.: Pack Smart. I have a Revo 13 which doesn't have very much room either like your island. But when you utilize your rear cargo hatch(Behind your Bait Tank)properly, you can put all of your clothes, camping items and your food for the trip in there(Everything that wont be in use while underway). I use small and medium sized dry bags that i can only fit a few items in, so that they fit easily into the hatch.

There are stores in Avalon(Our Halfway Point) and there is a Bar&Grill at Two Harbors, other than that we are on our own for food. Only water and fire wood will be delivered. So that means we will need 3 days of food at the beginning of the trip(Minus the protein we will harvest from the ocean.) with the ability to resupply in Avalon at the end of day 3 and the beginning of day 4. The only perishable food I bring is:,PB&J sandwiches, Cheese, Tortillas, garlic, olive oil, and soy sauce. To save on weight and bulk, I use freeze dried backpacking food(like: Mountain House) that just requires boiling water to prepare which I use a Jet Boil Backpacking Stove. All of the campsites have grill grates on the fire pits, a roll of aluminum foil and you are good to go.

You asked a very good question about the Batteries too! Battery Power for FF's, Navigation, Lights, radio's and smart phones I will talk about that very important subject when I get back from work tonight so stay tuned......

[Chet]

Originally Posted by Apex Predator

Great Question! For a trip like this, all the same principles of backpacking apply, I.E.: Pack Smart. I have a Revo 13 which doesn't have very much room either like your island. But when you utilize your rear cargo hatch(Behind your Bait Tank)properly, you can put all of your clothes, camping items and your food for the trip in there(Everything that wont be in use while underway). I use small and medium sized dry bags that i can only fit a few items in, so that they fit easily into the hatch.

There are stores in Avalon(Our Halfway Point) and there is a Bar&Grill at Two Harbors, other than that we are on our own for food. Only water and fire wood will be delivered. So that means we will need 3 days of food at the beginning of the trip(Minus the protein we will harvest from the ocean.) with the ability to resupply in Avalon at the end of day 3 and the beginning of day 4. The only perishable food I bring is:,PB&J sandwiches, Cheese, Tortillas, garlic, olive oil, and soy sauce. To save on weight and bulk, I use freeze dried backpacking food(like: Mountain House) that just requires boiling water to prepare which I use a Jet Boil Backpacking Stove. All of the campsites have grill grates on the fire pits, a roll of aluminum foil and you are good to go.

You asked a very good question about the Batteries too! Battery Power for FF's, Navigation, Lights, radio's and smart phones I will talk about that very important subject when I get back from work tonight so stay tuned......

When I did the crossing with my buddy there, I charged my electronics at the restroom at Two harbor.

[Apex Predator]

Originally Posted by Mootaineer

Do you know if there is electricity at campsites to recharge fish finders? Thanks in advance.



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When I do a trip like this, I don't like to have to skimp on fishing gear, I bring 4 rods, a Gaff, Fish Finder, tackle and of course a bait tank. I am sure you could just use bait when you roll up on it, but you never know how consistent that will be especially in October. I didn't bring a bait tank on my last crossing to Catalina because I didn't have a good solution at the time to have enough juice for 3 days of GPS, Phone, radio, FF and Bait tank. Parsons Landing(where I camped) is primitive camping with no power sources. This time however I have a solution.

In a 10 hour day of Kayak Fishing, the average person would use no more than 6Ah(Amp Hours) of energy to power a 12vFish finder/GPS and 6v Hobie Live Well. Despite using less Voltage your bait tank consumes more than Twice the power of your GPS/FF. Also our first two days, our campsites won't have power. It will not be until the end of day 3 when we arrive in Avalon that we will have access to electricity to recharge our batteries. in Addition to the 18Ah of power we would need for FF,GPS and Bait Tank; we also need to have and Additional 4Ah of Power to Charge Your Phone and Radios. This means you will need a minimum of 22Ah of electricity if you want your to be able to use that bait tank you are planning on bringing.

22Ah in a Lead batteries would be way too heavy, who wants to lug an anchor like that across the pacific?!, not me. The lightest batteries are Lithium Polymer, but if you have ever seen a "hover board" or a "Samsung galaxy 7" burst into flames, you realize really quickly why that might not be such a good idea for open water kayaking. That leaves Lithium Ion, Still light enough, but without the risk of a burning/sinking kayak in the middle of the ocean. Lithium Ion batteries are expensive, and if you ask me, too expensive if their only purpose is for your kayak.

I have a lot of 18v Ryobi Power tools that I use all the time on all sorts of things, they have 4Ah and now 6Ah Batteries that are much more dependable then anything else I've used, plus you can buy/return them at any Home depot. After a bit of tinkering, I made a waterproof box for them that runs them in Parallel and steps down the Voltage to 12V for my GPS/FF/Lights and 6v for my bait tank. My Ryobi Charger charges 6 of them a once in about 30 minutes.

Normally for a long day of fishing I bring one 6Ah battery to Power everything from the same source, but when you go in the deep water, and "lose sight of shore", you want to have a separate power supply for your GPS/FF so just in case your Bait Tank sucks up sea weed and zaps all of its power supply, you will still have your primary Navigation equipment working.

So this is what I will be using:

GPS/FF - a small water proof box(Walmart) and a 6Ah Ryobi Battery
(3 days of Power)

Bait Tank - A larger water proof box(Harbor Freight) with 2 x 6Ah Ryobi
Batteries run in Parallel (3 days of Power)

Radio/Phone Charger - a small Waterproof Box(Walmart) with a 4Ah Ryobi
battery(3 days of power)

Spare- I will bring along 1-2 additional 4Ah Ryobi Batteries in a small
waterproof box(Walmart) in case of an emergency.

Total 5-6 batteries with 26-30Ah of power that can be recharged in 30 min while we are chilling in Avalon.

I can show you my box and how to make one if you are planning on making the Trip.

Hope this helps.
Mike

[Apex Predator]

Originally Posted by Mootaineer

Love endurance, but fishing more: echoing other poster, how do you see incorporating fishing? Kayaking and then stopping at predetermined fishing spots or trolling as we move and stopping when something looks promising? Thanks in advance.



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The only part of the kayaking where we might possibly not fish, is on the Crossing over because we may decide its best just to get there before the afternoon winds pick up,.. possibly. The rest of our days will start after we eat breakfast and pack up camp(with the exception of our Day 5 Rest). All of our campsites that I have chosen have reliable bait sources nearby, this allows us to bait up in the morning and take our time fishing and trolling at whatever pace we decide, until we reach our next campsite. Once there you can Cook, Sleep, snorkel, spearfish or go right back out on the water if you like. All I know is that there will be plenty of fishing.

[Mootaineer]

Guess you held your “deuce” all the way there rather than creating debris field for kayakers behind. Initially thought question would be whether 100% compliance with “pack in/pack out” principle. Question concedes non-compliance. Bravo for candor!


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[Mootaineer]

Also, Semper “Deuce” Fi-Fishing may be on to something. Going over and camping first night with you and then staying another night (after you leave to round the island) and returning day 3 might be more feasible for subgroup. You would be solo or smaller group for rounding and returning home.


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[YakDout]

Anyone looking for an adventure on a kayak?

Read this story. Pretty incredible.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...gtype=Homepage

If that doesn’t make you want to paddle to Catalina nothing will.

[Apex Predator]

Originally Posted by YakDout

Anyone looking for an adventure on a kayak?

Read this story. Pretty incredible.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...gtype=Homepage

If that doesn’t make you want to paddle to Catalina nothing will.

Wow, that is Inspiring! I feel lazy for only wanting to do 100 miles after reading that.

[Mootaineer]

Thanks for your detailed answers. Relative to ferry letting you bring a kayak back, I thought the opposite was true— how sure are you about this?


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[Apex Predator]

Originally Posted by Mootaineer

Thanks for your detailed answers. Relative to ferry letting you bring a kayak back, I thought the opposite was true— how sure are you about this?


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According to their website you are correct, the way it was explained to me is that they don't like folks bringing stuff to the island that would interfere with the rental business. I am pretty confident though that in the off season(After Labor Day), a phone call, a Fee and a good explanation would get you an exemption.

[Mahigeer]

Originally Posted by Apex Predator

According to their website you are correct, the way it was explained to me is that they don't like folks bringing stuff to the island that would interfere with the rental business. I am pretty confident though that in the off season (After Labor Day), a phone call, a Fee and a good explanation would get you an exemption.

There are two ways to get a kayak to Catalina without crossing the channel with it, and specifically Avalon. Believe you me, I have done my homework.

One is on a barge which then requires a way to get the kayak from the landing to the city. Or put it on the water and go on water to where you want.

The other is to have an inflatable kayak (like I do) that fits in a carry case.

The Catalina Express has a tight schedule for boarding and de-boarding. They take bikes with additional fee, but handling a kayak is awkward. It will cause delays. The only phone number that I know of is for the ticket sales office, which most likely is off-site.


As to -----“they don't like folks bringing stuff to the island that would interfere with the rental business.”
I don’t buy it.
What about fishing gear, bait or food? There are also rental boats, but you can take your own boat there.

What about cruise ships that stop there, don’t they cut in the restaurant and hotel business?

[Biggameaddict]

Apex can u show us your battery setup?

[Apex Predator]

Originally Posted by Biggameaddict

Apex can u show us your battery setup?

Sure thing., I made a couple versions of these battery boxes for different length Trips. When I made the first one, it was just supposed to be a replacement for the lead brick's for my bait tank and GPS/FF.

Version 1.0 Holds either a 1.5Ah, 3Ah, 4Ah, or the new 6Ah Ryobi Lithium Ion Batteries. I used a "Large" Watertight 1.5L poly-carbonate Outdoor Research box from wallmart, It holds one Battery, and with the 6Ah battery it can power every electronic on your kayak the same time, for about 10-12 Hours.

I started by Drilling two small holes just big enough for the 14ga wire that I had, and sealed the wire and holes by putting a dab of epoxy on it. Then I made two waterproof connections on either side of the wire(Male+Female). I had a Ryobi radio, that I destroyed to get the piece of the radio, that fits to the Ryobi Battery. I then soldered wires on it, and connected it to a waterproof "Step-Down Transformer" I found on Amazon that takes the Voltage from 18 Volts to 12 Volts. The Step Down Transformer then conects to the wires that leave your box. I also made a Y-Splitter that lets me connect both my GPS/FF and Bait Tank to that same battery.

Now my Bait tank uses 6Volts not 12 so I permenently attached a 12Volt to 6V step down transformer on my Livewell, so that the 12v coming to it, would be converted to 6v. you can also refer two my previous posts for some other pictures.

I will show you version 2.0 a little later...

[Apex Predator]

Originally Posted by Mahigeer

There are two ways to get a kayak to Catalina without crossing the channel with it, and specifically Avalon. Believe you me, I have done my homework.

One is on a barge which then requires a way to get the kayak from the landing to the city. Or put it on the water and go on water to where you want.

The other is to have an inflatable kayak (like I do) that fits in a carry case.

The Catalina Express has a tight schedule for boarding and de-boarding. They take bikes with additional fee, but handling a kayak is awkward. It will cause delays. The only phone number that I know of is for the ticket sales office, which most likely is off-site.


As to -----“they don't like folks bringing stuff to the island that would interfere with the rental business.”
I don’t buy it.
What about fishing gear, bait or food? There are also rental boats, but you can take your own boat there.

What about cruise ships that stop there, don’t they cut in the restaurant and hotel business?

Yeah now that I think about it, that was a long time ago and my grandfather knew someone that worked for the ferry, so they let me do it.

no one can prevent you bringing your own stuff,..... it's still America.

The cruise ships don't cut into Catalina's, they ARE Catalina's business.

[bertha]

This Is Amazing.

[Apex Predator]

Originally Posted by Semper Fi-shing

Any plans to include a group with a shorter turnaround for people that dont want or have enough time to do the full week? Maybe have a group that will return after the 3rd full day?

If you wanted to only do 1/2 the way around Catalina, and catch the ferry when we get to Avalon and take that back to Long Beach, that would be fine with me so long that those who want to, will handle the Logistics for the way back. I know the ferry can take kayaks.