Early Bird Catches The Worm

[jorluivil]

Not in this case.

Arrived at the launch just a few minutes after 5am and started unloading, was quickly greeted by Brett and shortly thereafter Matt shows up and starting asking us to offload his kayak and get his sh*t setup, so we did. Got the ff and threw it in the water, launched the kayak without Matt on it and threw his lines in the water, forgot the attach the rods to the leashes so they're at the bottom of the launch.........j.k. we told him to take a hike and he did.


Decided to launch solo, it was still dark when I did so I peddled out of the way of the boat traffic and alongside side the docks until I reached the bait barge, by this time it was grey light so I didn't have to worry about the boats that were doing 30knots to get to the hot sand bass bite. Got some nice sardines and off I went.




I dropped a nice sardine to the bottom and started fishing. A few minutes go by and I see Greg followed by Tim ad Eric with some others trailing back behind them. I kept dragging in about 60' of water until I got to the C marker and meet up with the fleet. Being the bad *ss that he is, Matt was hooked on something in almost no time. He handled it like a pro and bought that 9" Croaker up in no time with ease.....WAY TO GO MAT!!!!



I decide to leave the fleet and head out to a spot that has been good for Roby and I. I dragged bait in 20'-30' along the rocks, near the kelp and right by the buoy for nada, I guess the Hali's weren't hungry. Roby shows up just as I'm getting ready to leave so I decide to stick around a little longer, was hoping the two of us could temp them hali's to come out and play. I dragged the area for a good 2 hours for nothing but two sandbass and a calico. We finally decide to head back over to where the fleet was and to fish that area for the last hour or so, I ended up picking up three shorts in that area.


Roby was being followed by the Pelicans, they must have received the memo that I sent out regarding his delicious sardines sandwiches. It was pretty funny watching Roby trying to get bait in/out of the water without the pelicans chasing his bait.

High noon comes and the 'game over' whistle blows, so does the afternoon wind. Roby and I decide to stay back and continue fishing on the paddle in as the rest of the fleet heads home. I meet up with Matt and take his bait, Roby and I fish the area for a few more minutes and off we go. As we're heading in I see James, chat for a few seconds and off we went.

Roby asks if I was interested in fishing a certain area and I agreed. As we reach the new 'secret spot' I notice that the depth is quickly changing, 60', 55', 50' 40' and before it gets any shallower I stop, pin a sardine and down it goes. BUMP, BUMP-BUMP, FREE SPOOL, BUMP, LOCK THE SPOOL, SLOWLY REEL, BUMP-BUMP BAMMMMMM! HOOK UP!! I get it to the surface and its a 24" hali.

I decide to follow my same tracks, did it three times for nada. There was so much grass in this area that it kept stringing itself on my line, it would eventually sink to the bottom and wrap itself on my sinker and bait. The wind was blowing pretty good at this point so trying to avoid the grass and what other obstacles were there was quite a challenge.

I decide to pick up my line and move over about 50yards. As I'm moving I'm reading the the top and bottom, looking for an area with no grass. As I scan the surface for grass I'm watching the ff, I see structure, I see kelp and finally sand. Drop another fresh bait, all the while I'm fighting the wind and trying to avoid what obstacles I have. BUMP, BUMP-BUMP, FREE SPOOL, BUMP, LOCK THE SPOOL, SLOWLY REEL, BUMP-BUMP BAMMMMMM! MASSIVE hOOK UP!! I'm now fighting the fish, trying to control the yak with the rudder, peddling, trying to stay away from my obstacles and trying to not loose the fish.

This wasn't a fighter but it was a nice pull, I knew it would be bigger than the last one and possibly the game winner. When I get it to the surface I have no doubts that it was a keeper and could have won me the jackpot. I gaff it right at the gut and it now plays dead possum. Now comes the fun part: trying to control the yak with the rudder while peddling, trying to stay away from my obstacles and trying to not loose the fish that's already on the gaff while trying to grab my stringer which already has another hali on.

I peddle away from my obstacles and grab the stringer, open it, get it thru the hali's gills, grab the end of the stringer and no sooner does the hali go from dead possum to get me the f*ck out of this stringer!!! I loose the stringer, fish is still kicking and splashing water which in turn gets the other hali going and all the while I'm still trying to control the yak with the rudder while peddling, trying to stay away from my obstacles and trying to not loose the fish that's now on a stringer with his little sister right at his side.

FINALLY!!! All is under control, both fish are safely clipped and I now have two hali's on board, at this point we decide to call it a day and head back in. We battle fierce winds and boat traffic and finally reach the boat launch. I perform the usual feeding of the birds event with what bait I had left.


31inches and 12.00 lbs.



Roby, thanks for hanging out with me even though you felt like crap, as usual had a great time fishing with you and the boys. To bad my fish came after the games were over.

P.S.
As usual I did my routine trash pick up.

[mtnbykr2]

Winner!!

[GregAndrew]

Well done Jorge. I pulled up a couple hundred yards of mono on Sat. that some idiot from a sportfisher had likely left from respooling. Good on you for your efforts. If you keep the fish supported by the belly gaff they will usually stay calm. If you help support its weight by the game clip they can get wild.

[yakrider]

that'll work! great story!

[Aaron&Julie]

Nice hali, congrats.

[Striperman1018]

Very nice. Went out there this afternoon for a few hours and bounced fish traps around for nothing. Took my girl out, she had a great time. Only downside was the wind was rippin....

[roby]

Take a photography class.










I'm just pissed I don't have a 10lb halibut yet.....

[theluckypig]

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by roby

Take a photography class.










I'm just pissed I don't have a 10lb halibut yet.....

The lens was dirty.

And for the record.....................I'm sure you can fill in the rest.

[ericko]

The real ? is who has more points jorluivil or roby

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by ericko

The real ? is who has more points jorluivil or roby

as I slowly rise up and out of my chair

[sammysamsam]

Are those halibut safe to eat from the LA Harbor?

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by sammysamsam

Are those halibut safe to eat from the LA Harbor?

NO!!!! Its completely contaminated with mercury!! If you eat them you'll look like this.
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[jimbo]

congrats on the fish and nice trip!

i know it's none of my business, but i heard your comment about boats zipping by and i don't see a light on the yaks in your pix. if you don't have one and are in the harbor in the dark, you're taking your life in your hands. boats cannot see you in the yak. even though the harbor is flat and they don't lose you in the swell, the skippers lose their night vision in the harbors as they pass diff lights. you could be invisible to them until it's too late. i'm not saying boaters shouldn't be more careful and slow down... just saying its not worth your life.

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by jimbo

congrats on the fish and nice trip!

i know it's none of my business, but i heard your comment about boats zipping by and i don't see a light on the yaks in your pix. if you don't have one and are in the harbor in the dark, you're taking your life in your hands. boats cannot see you in the yak. even though the harbor is flat and they don't lose you in the swell, the skippers lose their night vision in the harbors as they pass diff lights. you could be invisible to them until it's too late. i'm not saying boaters shouldn't be more careful and slow down... just saying its not worth your life.

OK, lets make it your business. The reference to 'boats zipping by' was made regarding day time boaters, not at the night time boaters although on occasion you do get extremely close calls regardless of how visible you make yourself. I was a private boater for 6years and I know how tuff it can be traveling at night and how bad visibility can be. I did numerous hooping trips to Catalina, launch at 2pm, in Cat by 4pm, hoopnet all night and return -in the dark- to the launch site. If you read my post again you'll see the part that says, "Decided to launch solo, it was still dark when I did so I peddled out of the way of the boat traffic and alongside side the docks until I reached the bait barge....." I did this because I knew that boats would never get as close to the docks as I was and I knew what I was getting myself into. I did have a headlamp on and would flash it in the direction of any boat that was in my area.

Anyway, I know how important it is to make yourself extremely visible at night and even then you're still guaranteed that some *ss-hat will not be paying attention and not see you.....I can assure you that most if not all of the yakkers on this forum have had a close call when fishing at 1am, 6am or even 2 in the afternoon. With that being said I think we all take our lives into our own hands when we get in our cars, on a plane, in train or in our kayaks. I'm sure Matt, Roby can add to this, I've seen both have EXTREMELY close calls in the harbor......hell, one was in a no-wake zone.



P.S.
no offense taken

[StinkyMatt]

I think George was talking about the guys that in the middle of the day will see a couple of kayaks and boats drifting and decide to plow through the middle at high speed. These guys need a swift kick in the behind.

The night time thing you are absolutely right about, very risky. Gotta keep your head on a swivel and assume that the other guy does NOT see you.

[dorado50]

A headlamp light is totally useless in and around a harbor and/or channel at night. A good boatsman avoids all potential dangers,including boat traffic. If one is tired of sharing our waterways with other boaters,regardless of how stupid you percieve them to be,time to fish the bathtub. There are as many idiot kayakers as there are idiot boaters!

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by dorado50

A headlamp light is totally useless in and around a harbor and/or channel at night.

If a boater cannot see a 100lumen headlamp in the strobe mode maybe HE needs to fish or boat in the bathtub.

Originally Posted by dorado50

A good boatsman avoids all potential dangers,including boat traffic.

Refer to StinkyMatt's response. If a boater intentionally cuts thru kayakers what does that say of the boater?

Originally Posted by dorado50

If one is tired of sharing our waterways with other boaters,regardless of how stupid you percieve them to be,time to fish the bathtub.

No one is tired, we're just trying to be informative. Our intention is to make make others aware of potential hazards including but not limited to boaters who think they own the waterways

Originally Posted by dorado50

There are as many idiot kayakers as there are idiot boaters!

Speaking from experience, I have to disagree with you. If you don't believe me go to any boat launch the weekend after next and you'll see what I mean. When you're done there go to any place where yakkers launch and you'll see that the amount of idiot to safe boaters is far higher than the amount of idiot yakkers to safe yakkers.


Just my .02

[mtnbykr2]

Originally Posted by jorluivil

If a boater cannot see a 100lumen headlamp in the strobe mode maybe HE needs to fish or boat in the bathtub.



Refer to StinkyMatt's response. If a boater intentionally cuts thru kayakers what does that say of the boater?


No one is tired, we're just trying to be informative. Our intention is to make make others aware of potential hazards including but not limited to boaters who think they own the waterways




Speaking from experience, I have to disagree with you. If you don't believe me go to any boat launch the weekend after next and you'll see what I mean. When you're done there go to any place where yakkers launch and you'll see that the amount of idiot to safe boaters is far higher than the amount of idiot yakkers to safe yakkers.


Just my .02

amen...nuff said...

[PapaDave]

Nice Halibut, I want one!