Report from Baytubers.com:
Left 4:20am and was on the water by 6:50am. First time launching in the surf... kinda scary trying to get over the waves. They look tall when yer trying to shoot through 'em. Paddled out past the bouys and started jigging. Caught a couple dink rockfish. Lost my Curado from backlash while casting out an iron. The handle allowed it to float for a bit, and then it started going down. Learned my lesson. Met a couple kayakers Gary and James who allowed me to follow them around. Real helpful guys. I tried trolling with a Rapala for nada. Tons of macs, sounded like rain as they were chased out of the water. Switched back to jigging and caught a sandie. After that I got what felt like my umpteenth mac. The familiar zig zag was there, then all of a sudden my rod doubles over. I tighten the drag as it's starting to take line real fast, alternating between holding and losing line, then the leader breaks off. A couple seconds later a sea lion surfaces with the mac and butterfly jig in it's mouth. Rerigged and did some more fishing outside the kelp line. Called it a day around 11:30am. Landing was pretty scary, too. Tried to recall what I knew about landings... stay behind the waves, if you fall off then fall towards the ocean, etc. I watched the sets and started paddling after a wave. But I couldn't paddle fast enough and absorbed a couple waves, then saw a big one coming at me. It started to crest and was crashing down/pushing me. Got soaked but stayed upright, sliding sideways. Jumped off and pulled kayak as fast as I could onto beach. Quite the experience--turned out to be more fun than I imagined. Unfortunately, the center hatch leaked and my phone got jacked up.
So final count... a couple dink rockfish, a sandie, and macs galore. I don't think the other guys fared any better. Not such a good day especially since I was all hyped up about it, but oh well. I'm looking forward to next time!
La Jolla
Sandie
Dink starry
and report from Pierfishing.com:
Got to the pier around 4:30pm and setup in the middle. Sabiki'd for 2 measly baitfish. Had a smelt out for a good long time but there were no takers. I could see lots of corbina zipping around. Saw a couple small rays brought up and a short calico (released after some persuasion from another angler). Walked to the end of the pier and counted at least 47 hoop nets.
Oh, and what's this little guy, a queenfish? I didn't even realize he was on my sabiki because he was so small. He was already a goner when I brought him up.
Queenfish?
