first time la jolla 8/27 im hooked

[aaronbowen]

well i finally made it out to la jolla for the first time with my new kayak. had a rough start when my diy pvc kayak cart busted but made it out with a succesful launch. saw a few guys way out there kayak fishing so i headed in that general direction. once out there i felt sick and began puking. haha. then made bait. was my first time using a sabiki rig and was suprised when it worked. threw a mackrel on a #2 hook and let him loose. trolled him for awhile and hooked a nice 17 inch calico. first time catching one of them too. i dont have a bait tank yet, so i put my sabiki back out for more bait, and something big bit my rig. after a nice fight the knot slipped and my one and only sabiki was lost. with no other way to make bait decided to call it day plus the swells were beginning to get larger due to the hurracaine marie down in baja. i had a great first day and learned alot from actually getting ot there on the water. first thing is i need a better kayak cart. second is i deffinetly need a seat cushion. next would be a circulating bait tank and carry extra sabiki rigs and tie better knots cause bigger fish may bite the sabiki. also i realize i need motion sickness meds and ginger. also i want to install rod holders in front of me, cause the rear flush monted rod holders are kind of a pain to keep reaching back to. im sure more will be learned with each trip out there, but im deffinetely hooked and cant wait till i can go out there again.

[Deamon]

okay...okay...if you edit, I edit.
Beautiful Calico, good job. No place better than LJ.
Jim

[aaronbowen]

haha, your right, didnt realize it till you pointed it out. thanks. deleted that pic. yeah i was thinking of doing the bait tube. ill check it out. thanks.

[skrilla]

Way to push through the sickness. Keep at it. Next thing you know you'll need a bigger cutting board and a new knife.

[tsugg]

Someone just got hooked on the ol kayak fishing thing!

[TekkaYaker]

Good to see your chumming paid off! LJ is a healthy addiction, see you out there.

[boxturtle]

http://www.animatedknots.com/palomar/index.php

palomar knot haven't failed me yet

[Cadillyak]

Sounds like a Bonita May have bit your sabiki. Nice calico. Welcome to the addiction. Regardless of what u get for your yak, u will always want more!

[YakDout]

Not sure how small those macs were, but #2 seems a little small. I would go up to at least a 1/0. I've noticed that gamakatsu hooks are sized a little differently. A lot smaller actually. So if using those hooks maybe even a 3/0 or 4/0. It will grab a little more meat on hook set. Good luck out there.


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[MarkT]

Sounds like a good first trip. A #2 hook is the standard size for Anchovy, 1/0 - 3/0 for a Sardine and a 3/0 -5/0 for macs. I've used 8/0 for Big Macs targeting big YT. Mini-macs could be sized perfectly for a 1/0 if really mini.

[aaronbowen]

thanks guys for all the input. ill start trying different hook sizes and see what happens. planning another trip in a couple weeks. gonna try to get out there earlier this time.

[alanw]

I don't use anything smaller than 1/0 even with anchovies. I go up to a 2/0 with bigger chovies and dines, and usually a 4/0 or bigger with macs. I'd like to go even bigger because everything we target has a huge mouth anyway, but sometimes a hookset becomes harder with a fatter wire hook.

[Widgeon]

Try some Bonine for the motion sickness. I had many days on the water without it and had no problems. Then, one day... .
Since then I just take a Bonine before I go out, just to be safe. Since then, I forgot it once and it was almost a tragedy, but fortunately had it on me and took it a little late.

If you have no bait tank, you can build a bait tube for about $25-30. Less if you have a friend who is a plumber. That's what I use.

[YTHunter]

Great post! Way to push through the obstacles! That's what it's all about... doing and learning and taking the good with the bad. Just wait until you hookup on your first YT... what a rush! If you don't already have a gaff, make sure you add that to your list. You're going to need it eventually, hopefully sooner than later.

[FISH11]

Congratulations on your first trip to La Jolla. Sounds like you already learned a lot on your first trip. I found that you learn something every trip and more on some. The important thing is to be safe and have fun. Welcome to the addiction. Tight Lines

[Aaron&Julie]

Nice report. Plenty to learn, but love your attitude.

[tunaseeker]

1/0 Gamagatsu, San Diego Jam Knot with 30 lb. Fluoro leader.

[yakhunter]

Rite on man. LJ is an amazing experience

[aaronbowen]

thanks everybody for the tips and encouragement. I cant wait to go out there again this month. gonna hit it earlier this time. right when the sun is rising. ill definitely try the different hook sizes and better knots. I was wondering, do you guys just cart your kayak up to the beach and then drag it once on sand, or do you cart it all the way to the water? maybe my wheels were to thin because they were bogging down into the sand. also do you guys use pvc framed carts, or metal framed? my pvc arms busted once I hit the sand. they did great on the street but once I hit the beach forget about it. maybe it was my skinny wheels. anyways, hope to see and meet some of ya'll out there.

[YakHanded]

Nice one