1-11-11, Dana Point
 

Launched about 8am with a guy named Steve I met on http://www.meetup.com/Kayak-Fishing-OC/. It was pretty cold this morning with a stiff offshore to boot. Water was 56º at launch and 58º by 11am. We paddled out to look for the pipe and I stopped on a meter mark on the way. Nothing for me but Steve snagged a pup thresher (maybe 50lbs) trolling a 4" Flurry in fire avocado. He got it to the yak, but with only 15lb test it broke off before Steve could decide what to do with it. It put on a good show jumping 5 or 6 times while hooked and another 5 or 6 times after release.

Thanks to a bunch of traps, we found the pipe easy and I set up on it. Steve dragged a Rappala around the rest of the morning in the hopes of another t-shark. I fished the pipe until 12ish. Stuck to 4" Flurry's the whole morning. Used a bunch of different colors for a total of 8 legals and 5 or 6 shorts. Mix of sandies and calicoes. Biggest bass was about 3lbs, plus I got one really nice rockfish, about 3lbs too. I think it was a gopher, but my rockfish ID skills stink. I decided to finish out the day with a 3" Flurry on a Hyspin and got bumped a few times. Then bamm, I was on a sled ride. Turned out to be a big ass bat ray that kicked my butt on the 10lb line. I got him up twice and then broke him off. Off the water by 12:45, just in time for the wind which really kicked up out of the northwest.

This is one of the average ones today. Had a few bigger and quite a few smaller.
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/v...g?t=1294790399
Full bendo on a bat ray that was at least 40lbs.
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/v...g?t=1294790551

Thx for the report :cheers1:
I HATE bat rays! Get your heart pumping for a few seconds thinking you just got lucky :doh:

Yeah, bat rays suck.

bat rays....get yourself a nice little round cookie cutter, and you got yourself some scallops...:doh:

Hey Ed,

Thanks for the report. Looks like a beautiful day
on the water. Did you try lookin' for any butts
and just bass? And tell us about the "find a
fishing friend" site.

Meetup.com
 

Yani, the group that Ed mentioned is this one http://www.meetup.com/Kayak-Fishing-OC/.

:DED, you look way too relaxed out there.:D We need to see some intensity, anger and the go kick some as% look. You look like you are about to be served a cup of tea or something.

Nice photos. Thanks for the post.

I was too tired for intensity. I'm used to bass, not big ass bat rays that sit on the bottom.

Yani, the meet up group is another way for kayakers to meet and plan get togethers to fish. Mad Frog Gear is sponsoring the group now and hopefully will get it more active.

Looks like fun! Thanks for sharing. Oh, what kind of yak is that, looks sweet!:)

It's a Native Watercraft Manta Ray 14. It paddles well, tons of deck space (though small hatches for inside) and the most comfortable yak I've ever had. Almost too stable though, it could use a little less width to make it faster. I've got it pretty bare too. 2 flush mounts and my FF is on a Mad Frog Gear TDA. Over all a great set up.

Ed,

Hitting Newport tonight after work for some evening bassessess with Steve and Darin. Be somewhere around the Coast Guard around 6:30ish

Nice pics.

Hey Ed- thanks for sharing the report & pics. I was out there with the other 5 yakkers that joined you at the pipeline midmorning. I saw you being pulled around for some time late AM -it looked crazy. I saw it finally break off but didn't hear what it was- thanks for filling in the mystery. Most of our group got 6-8 small bass each- mix of calico & sandy. Got a couple 2' sharks (smooth-hound?) that thought they were little T's and went aerial multiple times. Tried Doho before doing the pipe and found no love with the hali's. That's cool that you were getting hit on the plastic- I think I'll save my $10 for bait and go plastics next time.
Wayne

Nice report
 

Enjoyed the story thanks

Andy, How was Newport?

Wayne, glad to know you guys found a few. I saw you pull in one of those jumping sharks. I wondered if you guys were all together since you all seemed to come out at once. Once that offshore stopped it was really nice out. Definitely learn to love plastics. Doubt it's cheaper than bait in the long run, but they work well. Just having different color choices can make a big difference over bait. I get most of my baits from Attackle Shack and my leadheads and Zooms from Hogan's Bait and Tackle.

Newport was fun, no monsters but we got over a dozen sandies and a spottie in about 3 hours between 3 of us with next to no tidal flow.