Newport Harbor 6-2

[Fishing Jedi]

First time post so forgive me. Me and Hooked Face started getting into kayak fishing early this year and it has quickly become an addiction! We were waiting all weekend to take the yaks out, after calling the bait barges we decided Newport was the spot because they had chovies and squid. We get in the water about 5 am, paddle out to the barge and all they have is sardines. Our bait tank was on a 6 volt battery at the time because we were thinking of using anchovies. A little discouraged we got the sardines anyway and headed out to the kelp. After an hour of using the sardines we had nothing and the dines started to fade pretty quickly. We decided to start cutting the dead ones and using them as bait. From then the bite was on. We pulled a few undersized calico out of the kelps on the small poles and more than a few spider crabs. Being more familiar inside the harbor we head back in and hit the spots. Switching to drop shot we started slaying the spotties, smelt, perch, mackerel. Still trying to have a live bait line out didn't work too well because the sealions were out in full and were Biting our bait in half. I kept my half deen on the line and threw it out anyway, about 5 minutes later a thump and a nice little fight and I landed a 16" spotty. best of the day. If anyone could recommend some spots outside the harbor or any tips for us new to open water fishing we would appreciate it!