LJ 6/18. Skunk on YT w/ Rockfish Audible

[Gflann]

Gray light launch in pretty close to glass conditions. Magic Seaweed was spot on with the morning forecast. Supposed to be less than 10 kts all day with minimal swell.

Made a few spanish and one greenback in about 60’ of water in front of the tall condo complex. The Hump was packed with boats and kayaks so I decided to make my way over to the NW corner with a fly lined greenback. No significant marks or bait. Lots of guys complaining about not finding bait on Ch 69.

With slack tide approaching and both wind and swell being almost nill, I decided to audible to a further offshore trip to hit up some rockfish spots. I recommend getting a navionics subscription, downloading the app and using the relief shading to find some rock piles that the sport boats arent constantly slaughtering. Just mark them on the app and put the coordinates in your chart plotter before you head out.

Instead of making my own double dropper loop, I bought what I thought was a gimmicky rock cod rig. It has pink squids and some tassels w/ glow in the dark beads. I tipped it with squid strips. Not sure if it was the set up, the spots I selected or both but the Red’s were some of the biggest I have pulled up. Four over 3 pounds with the biggest at 3.8 pounds. It was pretty exhausting trying to set up perfect drifts over the spots I had marked. Lots of aborted drifts to reposition. Luckily the yields were worth it.

I usually avoid weekends, but this will probably be the last friday I launch at LJ and just stick to weekdays during the summer. Landed at high tide with almost no beach ramp left. The kayak tours took up a lot of space. I owe the guy in the green Outback and blue pull over a beer for stopping me from backing into a lady just sitting on the sand with her paddle board in the middle of what was left of the boat ramp at high tide.

Shook off the nerves from the close call and filleted up some solid filets from the tubby Red’s!

Can anyone ID the fish that found its way onto my sabiki?

[iethinker]

Nothing wrong with that trip! The congestion around the LJ boat launch both in the water and on the sand has been a problem.

[FISH11]

That little guy is a Lizard Fish they out there at or very close to the bottom. Congrats on the Reds. The landing is a cluster f... when there is no beach, but the worse is that the Lifeguards and the Kayak rental people don't tell people (who are obviously blind and don't read any of the signs posted at the end of the street and beginning of the sand) that they CAN'T lay down or swim in what is a BOAT LAUNCH.

[katchfish]

Thanks for the report, nice reds!

Wheels or a dolly can save you a lot of frustration during summer high tide situations.

[Gflann]

Thanks for the ID, Fish11. I think I parked next to you at the launch that morning. Did you end up going north?

I need to dial in my wheel set up. Unfortunately I can only use the type that the kayak sits on, not the scupper mount ones. Lots of cracked Shearwater hulls from scupper mounted and warranty prohibits it.

Additional to report...Reds were in 200’-250’ of water deep corner fwiw.

[FISH11]

Originally Posted by Gflann

Thanks for the ID, Fish11. I think I parked next to you at the launch that morning. Did you end up going north?

I need to dial in my wheel set up. Unfortunately I can only use the type that the kayak sits on, not the scupper mount ones. Lots of cracked Shearwater hulls from scupper mounted and warranty prohibits it.

Additional to report...Reds were in 200’-250’ of water deep corner fwiw.

You provably did. There were a good number of Kayaks launching for a Friday. Yes after searching a short time outside the reserve line for bait and not getting any I headed toward the Scripps buoy and nada. So I kept heading North even shallow around dNorth of Blacks Beach. Finally found great Greenback at the North end of Torrey Pines. I'm still editing a video and will post it asap. Tight Lines.

[JohnMckroidJr]

Nice report, Nice that you got some vermillions. That looks like a baby Lizardfish on the Sabiki. On the East Coast, they can make surprisingly good bait.