LJ 3/26 (Late Report)

[fresh to salt]

After not feeling well for a few days before the weekend I was not 100% sure if I was going to make the drive from Menifee to the water but after my 5am alarm went off I decided it was time to nut up or shut up. Got in my car, gassed it up, and made it down to LJ around 645. Met a few dudes about to launch their PAs and chatted with them about the conditions before launching solo. Nice easy launch with one big wave at the end of the set and then it was nice and calm water out through the MLPA zone. Bait was easy to make and it was all nice, thick, healthy greenbacks. Took two drops of the sabiki rig to make enough bait for the day and headed off. Once I made it past the corner I tried to find my own space to fish away from the 8 or so PBs and the dozens of kayaks I could see. Everyone was pretty spread out which was nice and made it easy to maneuver through. I threw back a nice lively greenback and slow trolled him around for a while while looking for marks on my ff. There were a TON of sea lions out there but surprisingly (and thankfully) none went for my bait. They all were interested in me but just sank away when I passed them. I finally saw a couple of nice fish towards the bottom in about 80 feet of water so I dropped the iron... No dice. Scooted around that area for about 5 minutes and finally found them again. This time I tried a dropper looped mac and watched my bait go down right in the middle of the grouping. While fully expecting my rod to get slammed, my flylined mac rod just starts singing! Honestly I expected it to be a sea lion with how many I had seen out there so I just put my down rod in the front rod holder and grabbed my flyline rod to have it almost ripped out of my hands in this things first run! As soon as I put the power to him and felt those head shakes I knew it was the right kind. Stupid me forgot to wind in my down rod so Im trying to hold my hooked up rod in my right hand and wind in my down rod with my left hand... After a failed few minutes, I decided to just leave it down there and focus on the fish. 15 minutes of fun and a glorious sleigh ride later I got it to color. First gaff attempt goes right off the collar plate and he goes for another short run. Luckily I was able to use my short baby sized gaff and sink it in the right spot. Bled him right there and good god... Ive never seen a fish bleed this much! Both of my legs, my seat, and the left side of my kayak were covered! As I had some quick errands to run in SD and wanting to make sure this fish is in pristine condition, I decided to head in (while slow trolling a mac just in case of a blind strike) and get it on ice as soon as possible.

On the paddle back in I watched a couple of other guys on kayaks hooked up and one of the guys CnR a nice yellow right in the kelp! Props to those guys! I actually got some OTW pics of that guy and will post them below.

I need to thank whoever was chumming the water with half macs because this thing had 1 whole mac, two whole macs that had been cut in half, 2 mackeral spines mostly digested, and 1 red crab in its belly! My mac wasn't in there as the whole mac in there had to have been 10 inches long! I don't know how this thing was hungry but I'm glad he was! Tight lines!

[Pagzzz]

Right on! Good write up.

I wonder if the Sea Lions were so placated because of all the bait in the area.

[Wanderingincircles]

That last pic just made me hungry


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[fishpewrepeat]

Good job and nice report! I live in Murrieta let me know next time your heading out if you wanna meet up. Tight lines.


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[DanaPT]

Fast food kills. That thing was an eating machine... nice fish.

[Geno Machino]

Nice work!

Eats look off the hook!!!

Geno

[blitzburgh]

Way to go!

[TobyB]

Beautiful fish.

[tstephens3232]

Saw fresh to salt at the landing. We both had similiar stories. Hot bite for about 45 minutes then crickets. I went 1 for 2 on yellows and watched another guy get 3!

[fresh to salt]

Originally Posted by tstephens3232

Saw fresh to salt at the landing. We both had similiar stories. Hot bite for about 45 minutes then crickets. I went 1 for 2 on yellows and watched another guy get 3!

Sweet shot! I need to mount my gopro to my kayak to get better OTW shots and some video! Nice meeting you the other day!

[Btmfeder]

Great day and excellent write-up, congrats! Question, though: that appears to be an older Outback. What are you doing for a bait tank? I've yet to use a bait tank in my old Outback and I understand that none of the Hobie units fit right. Thanks in advance, and again, congrats!

[Druko]

great report! looks delicious!!

[Murray]

Originally Posted by Btmfeder

Great day and excellent write-up, congrats! Question, though: that appears to be an older Outback. What are you doing for a bait tank? I've yet to use a bait tank in my old Outback and I understand that none of the Hobie units fit right. Thanks in advance, and again, congrats!

I have a very original outback. Go to walmart and check out the tupperware dept. I pick one that fits and drill holes around the top for water to exit and one larger hole for pump hose to fit. Works like a charm for 8-12 macs depending on size.

[fresh to salt]

Originally Posted by Btmfeder

Great day and excellent write-up, congrats! Question, though: that appears to be an older Outback. What are you doing for a bait tank? I've yet to use a bait tank in my old Outback and I understand that none of the Hobie units fit right. Thanks in advance, and again, congrats!

I actually use a KFS Ultimate Bait Tank System that I place on the back deck of my kayak. I sandwich my cooler/lunch box in between the back rest of my seat and the bait tank in the rectangular recessed area just behind the seat with the two scupper holes. The overflow just hits the back deck and gets directed to the recessed area (where my cooler is) and out the two scupper holes. I just use the bungee cords on the back deck to loop over the rod holders on either end and use two smaller bungee cords with hooks on the end to connect to an eyelet on either side. It works great and I have never had a problem with it moving on me or anything like that. Plus its the perfect distance behind me where I can just bend my arm behind me and place a mac or a squid in the tank without looking or pivoting on the seat and kicking my legs over the side. Let me know if you want any pictures and id be more than happy to share.

[Btmfeder]

If it's not too much trouble, I would love to see a quick picture next time you're rigged-up. Everything I research is for either the newer Outbacks, Revolutions or Pro Anglers. My 10 y.o. Outback still floats so I'm sticking with it!