distance

[umtduckhead]

whats the furthest anyone takes a kayak out? anyone trolling 5-6 miles out ever? would it be worth it if the water warms up during the summer?

[Jimmyz123]

It seems to be a long paddle but I wouldn't surprised if some do it. One thing you may want to think about is if you have a buddy that has a boat, maybe he can take you out to cut the paddling down.

I'm interested to see what others say.

[umtduckhead]

yeah i really wanna know if poeple are trolling for tuna... heck people run ultra marathons iron mans climb everest etc... why not paddle a few miles off and battle a 200lb tuna.. alot of fun for an easy days work.. hah just a thought..

[-scallywag-]

there are so many variables when talking distance on a kayak, a few major ones being, the kayak, the paddler or peddler, current, wind, surface conditions, exc.....it is best to practice and awnser the question yourself.

That said, I know of a few peddle excusions to the 9mile bank from shelter island and mission bay.....those trips ended up being something like 14+hrs and 35+ miles, one guy claimed to have hooked up on a YFT, but I never saw the pics....I have done the LJ to tourmo trip, numerous times, and if you hit the outside NW corner rockpile and the 3mile bank rockpile you can easily do 15-20+mi on that trip, but most of that is down current.

I definently have plans to ditch my current revo and get a factory fresh one for this summer when the tuna (hopefully) come within range....how many miles can you put on a hobie hull before they crack???... not a question I want to answer 10miles offshore.

I'm pretty sure that the 9mile bank is out of range for most guys with SOT paddle kayaks, 13miles each way, without fishing!!!! I know I 'm pretty tired when I put in 25-30 mile days, and thats with peddles.

[umtduckhead]

nice scallywag.. sounds good... keep me posted.. this sounds like a blast..

[dgax65]

YFT on the Nine Mile Bank! This would be the year for that sort of thing. Not the type of adventure to enter into lightly. Maybe a group effort or with a support boat.

With the MLPA closures all of us will need to become long range experts.

[umtduckhead]

how far to the dorado come in? ive grown up fishing in charleston for sails woos dorado marlin etc but heck you had to run out 40 miles at the closest to even have a shot at them... so being here now im feeling kinda spoiled to have a new target species and much closer grounds.. 9miles aight shheeeeeet... as far as being a newbie all beta much appreciated.... id really like to see if we can get this tuna thing going sounds like a blast..

dgax65... are the MLPA closures still in debate or are they a go? sorry to be a FNG..

[dgax65]

Originally Posted by umtduckhead

how far to the dorado come in? ive grown up fishing in charleston for sails woos dorado marlin etc but heck you had to run out 40 miles at the closest to even have a shot at them... so being here now im feeling kinda spoiled to have a new target species and much closer grounds.. 9miles aight shheeeeeet... as far as being a newbie all beta much appreciated.... id really like to see if we can get this tuna thing going sounds like a blast..

dgax65... are the MLPA closures still in debate or are they a go? sorry to be a FNG..

Here is the link to the BRTF Integrated Preferred Alternative plan: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/pdfs/scsr_submaps_ipa.pdf

[stairman]

Originally Posted by umtduckhead

how far to the dorado come in? ive grown up fishing in charleston for sails woos dorado marlin etc but heck you had to run out 40 miles at the closest to even have a shot at them... so being here now im feeling kinda spoiled to have a new target species and much closer grounds.. 9miles aight shheeeeeet... as far as being a newbie all beta much appreciated.... id really like to see if we can get this tuna thing going sounds like a blast..

dgax65... are the MLPA closures still in debate or are they a go? sorry to be a FNG..

I caught a dorado at the la jolla kelp(there was almost none that year)in 97 on a slow trolled mack.I was fishing the sw drop off in 150 Feet of water...it was a dink of about 5# and i had to let it eat the mack for two minutes to hook it! Before that it bit the mack three or four times and I set the hook fast for nothing.Dorado are very voracious fish...they have to be they grow at astounding rates and have a short life.
getting out to the nine in a kayak.....get real and get a boat with a motor!
you might be able to do it ,but you can kill your self many other much more pleasurable ways!
that being said you don't always have to go that far for either tuna or marlin.....but then someone wins the lotto every few weeks too!

[Whizz Bang]

Originally Posted by umtduckhead

yeah i really wanna know if poeple are trolling for tuna... heck people run ultra marathons iron mans climb everest etc... why not paddle a few miles off and battle a 200lb tuna.. alot of fun for an easy days work.. hah just a thought..

I have been having an internal debate on whether I even bother chiming in on this one. The side that drools on the pillow won.

I have ran ultra marathons and the great thing about them is that they have an aid station every 8 miles or so. And guys do indeed climb everest...incrementally over time. Could you train for long paddles, of course. Have I thought about long excursions, yes. Will I eventually head way way way out there, you bet. But it will be more of a lark, a crap shoot, an adventure. Less about the fish and more about the long paddle. I will not undertake it without significant preparation, with a heavy focus on safety. But if you are looking for big fish...why go at all?

I have realized after fishing La Jolla HARD for the last year, that there are big fish there, they can be fished with relatively consistent success, and that it may take me many years to know La Jolla the way I want to know her. To begin to understand what really goes on down there in that blue water, to begin to understand the constantly changing patterns, and what they mean and how to best exploit them to feed my family, well friend, that is gonna take some time. A whole lot of time. With the MLPA monster rearing its ugly head, you cant help but wonder if those long range trips will be all we have left. My advice, fish LJ while you can, learn it while you can. She is a patient teacher, and I have yet to come back from her without having learned something new. You want to pull on a species not found there, mothership it. Less paddling, more fishing, and more in line with your examples. Plus you wont have to hear about it from the safety nazis.

Tight lines....

Eric

[Jimmyz123]

Originally Posted by umtduckhead

how far to the dorado come in? ive grown up fishing in charleston for sails woos dorado marlin etc but heck you had to run out 40 miles at the closest to even have a shot at them... so being here now im feeling kinda spoiled to have a new target species and much closer grounds.. 9miles aight shheeeeeet... as far as being a newbie all beta much appreciated.... id really like to see if we can get this tuna thing going sounds like a blast..

dgax65... are the MLPA closures still in debate or are they a go? sorry to be a FNG..

Two years ago the Dodos were being caught from the 182 as far west as the La Jolla Kelp. A buddy and caught 3 within 10 miles of Point Loma due west.

Unless you are trained up enough I would recommend having a buddy or setting up a guide to drive you most of the way out and back. Almost like a mother ship trip. Maybe if the fish are close enough we can get some 3/4 mother ship trips chartered. I'd pay for a spot on that boat.

[bigbarrels]

or you can save the energy, live on the edge (F'n cartels), and caravan down to the East Cape with me on October 1st on a two week excursion in pursuit of Dorado which are a couple hundred yards off shore and YFT within a mile of shore....One truck going so far with a kayak and a skiff and no MLPA BS to worry about

[Jimmyz123]

Originally Posted by bigbarrels

or you can save the energy, live on the edge (F'n cartels), and caravan down to the East Cape with me on October 1st on a two week excursion in pursuit of Dorado which are a couple hundred yards off shore and YFT within a mile of shore....One truck going so far with a kayak and a skiff and no MLPA BS to worry about

Now that sounds like fun.

[Anthony179]

Originally Posted by bigbarrels

or you can save the energy, live on the edge (F'n cartels), and caravan down to the East Cape with me on October 1st on a two week excursion in pursuit of Dorado which are a couple hundred yards off shore and YFT within a mile of shore....One truck going so far with a kayak and a skiff and no MLPA BS to worry about

How much money do you need for a trip like that?

[Ohana]

Originally Posted by umtduckhead

how far to the dorado come in? ive grown up fishing in charleston for sails woos dorado marlin etc but heck you had to run out 40 miles at the closest to even have a shot at them... so being here now im feeling kinda spoiled to have a new target species and much closer grounds.. 9miles aight shheeeeeet... as far as being a newbie all beta much appreciated.... id really like to see if we can get this tuna thing going sounds like a blast..

dgax65... are the MLPA closures still in debate or are they a go? sorry to be a FNG..

I think if you want something strong to pull on, besides the aforementioned seabass and yellowtail, thresher's are much closer to shore then YFT and dorados and during certain times of the year much easier to find and hook. Due to the nature of the currents off our coast the layer of warm water in late summer/fall is relatively shallow and the result is the Dorado and YFT are sporadic visitors; sometimes they only show up for one week and when they do they have lockjaw not biting anything. Then you get an offshore wind, the water temp drops due to upwelling, and the YFT/dorado disappear.

Having fished for YFT and dorado's out of Dana Point on my boat, I would definitely be very cautious about going for them on a kayak off our coast. For one, you need to cover a lot of water to find them; not all kelp paddies have the dorado and you can spend a whole day looking for kelp paddies which from a kayak are very hard to see. In the case of YFT, you spend a lot of time chasing the dolphins (mammal) and getting in the right spot to bait the tuna. When this is happening, there are a lot of other power-boaters out there doing the same, so is does get crowded and for a kayaker, dangerous. The size of the YFT are not in the 200 lb range; more in the 15 to 30 lb range.

The other problem is you can be 5 - 6 miles offshore and the fog rolls in around you. Then just getting back to shore may be the primary concern.

I am not saying it cannot be done, but off the Southern California coast you are not likely to find a 200 lb tuna, the season is unpredictable, you need to pay attention to the SST charts, plan to paddle out at least 5 miles from shore before you start looking, and you will more often then not need to cover a lot of water over a lot of days just to get the chance to hook either fish.

Kevin

[bigbarrels]

Originally Posted by Anthony179

How much money do you need for a trip like that?

We are planning on camping at this point while we are down there to keep the cost down and I would expect to be spending somewhere around 600.00 (gas, mexican insurance, fishing license, food, beers, ice). However, there are some cool places you can rent down there that are not too expensive and close to some unbelievable fishing

[old_rookie]

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/...rathon+paddle/

[yaky yak]

The year before last darodos and tuna were being spotted with-in several miles out off the our coast.. A friend and I made several off shore trips out of Dana on our yaks. We paddled out 7 or 8 miles in search of tuna. We didn't find any. I am a strong paddler(I climb trees every day)and think I could easily do double that if I thought Ied get into some tuna on my yak.
Dark Horse made several runs to the 9 mile bank that I know of on his Hobie so its doable.
I thought about getting a sail on my prowler, that way you could really cover some ground. That far out I doubt our little VHF's would be able to reach the coast guard and if you did get into trouble out there you'd be on your own. Its a big ocean and a little o'l kayak is a speck on the water. The times we went out there was beautiful conditions, but add off shore wind or a strong current and you could get wore out quick. I've been at La Jolla when I paddled and paddled and the current wouldn't let me get any head way. I'ed hate for that to happen 15 miles out.
That being said, I'm ready to go at the first hint of tuna 12 miles or less.