My First Bug! - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

hiramehunter · 10-09-2012, 03:41 PM

I finally got a chance to go buggin! Between adopting a girl, full time job, 3 kids and an awesome wife, it's been hard to find time to go yaking let alone bug hunting! But after researching and strategizing, I finally got an opening to go! Both boys were going to a sleep over and grandma(my wife's mom) was here to spend time with the girls!
I quickly went to the store and did some last minute shopping to make it work and I just went for it! No clue really on where to go but I was familar with the Redondo marina so that was an easy decision.

Loaded everything up on my tarpon 140 and was on the water by 6:30pm last Friday(10/12).
I only took 2 promar ambush nets with me since I didn't want to have too much gear for my first time.

I knew I couldn't just drop my gear anywhere so I looked around for other hoop net buoys and dropped my gear near them(but being careful not to overlap). But even after a 30 minute soak, i had nothing! I'm thinking "here we go!" I felt like a total noob! going to get skunked! steep learning curve! etc...I repositioned them and met another kayaker in the marina. He was killing time in the marina and after a 20 minute conversation we both realized that we should check the nets. He took off outside of the marina and I never saw him again but I knew that's where I had to set them. I pulled my nets and to my surpise there was about 6 shorts! I was stoked but I also was bummed that I had to throw them back! The other net had another 4 or 5! All shorts!!! I knew then that I had to get out of the marina to find the keepers.

So I pulled my empty nets and paddled out into the darkness. It was pretty intimidating at first but I noticed a lot of blinking lights in the distance. I also started to see a bunch of kayakers and I knew I was in the right place now. I dropped my nets down and after soaking them for 15-20 minutes I pulled about 10 more bugs with 1 keeper!!!!

By this time, I was stoked but getting a bit seasick(forgot about the dramamine) and headed back! I'm looking forward to going out again hopefully this friday night!

Conditions:
Low going to High tide
Slight breeze maybe 3-4 knots
Small S/SW swell but water conditions were really choppy.
Time: 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Bait: Salmon heads and left over perch.
Depth: 30-40'

10-09-2012, 03:41 PM	#1
hiramehunter Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Near Palos Verdes Posts: 198	My First Bug! I finally got a chance to go buggin! Between adopting a girl, full time job, 3 kids and an awesome wife, it's been hard to find time to go yaking let alone bug hunting! But after researching and strategizing, I finally got an opening to go! Both boys were going to a sleep over and grandma(my wife's mom) was here to spend time with the girls! I quickly went to the store and did some last minute shopping to make it work and I just went for it! No clue really on where to go but I was familar with the Redondo marina so that was an easy decision. Loaded everything up on my tarpon 140 and was on the water by 6:30pm last Friday(10/12). I only took 2 promar ambush nets with me since I didn't want to have too much gear for my first time. I knew I couldn't just drop my gear anywhere so I looked around for other hoop net buoys and dropped my gear near them(but being careful not to overlap). But even after a 30 minute soak, i had nothing! I'm thinking "here we go!" I felt like a total noob! going to get skunked! steep learning curve! etc...I repositioned them and met another kayaker in the marina. He was killing time in the marina and after a 20 minute conversation we both realized that we should check the nets. He took off outside of the marina and I never saw him again but I knew that's where I had to set them. I pulled my nets and to my surpise there was about 6 shorts! I was stoked but I also was bummed that I had to throw them back! The other net had another 4 or 5! All shorts!!! I knew then that I had to get out of the marina to find the keepers. So I pulled my empty nets and paddled out into the darkness. It was pretty intimidating at first but I noticed a lot of blinking lights in the distance. I also started to see a bunch of kayakers and I knew I was in the right place now. I dropped my nets down and after soaking them for 15-20 minutes I pulled about 10 more bugs with 1 keeper!!!! By this time, I was stoked but getting a bit seasick(forgot about the dramamine) and headed back! I'm looking forward to going out again hopefully this friday night! Conditions: Low going to High tide Slight breeze maybe 3-4 knots Small S/SW swell but water conditions were really choppy. Time: 6:30pm - 9:30pm Bait: Salmon heads and left over perch. Depth: 30-40'