Newport 8/29

[hage0429]

I've been following BWE since getting into kayak fishing earlier this year. Was trying to wait until I picked up something significant to make my first post but after 100+ hours around the Newport area and a couple days at La Jolla small bonito and a few barely legal calicos are the best I'd managed so far.

Went out Saturday more to beat the heat than anything. Launched from the kiddie beach around 4:00pm and trolled near the surface in anywhere from 150-300 ft down to about the middle of crystal cove beach before turning back and working along the kelp line at twilight. Water temp was about 76F and boat traffic was lighter than I expected for a Saturday so it was a nice day on the water even if the fishing wasn't too exciting. I picked up a bigger bonito than usual (~6lb) trolling a small white swim bait and decided I'd keep it for ceviche and make it my first post. There were a couple other small bass in the mix once I got closer to the kelp but nothing exciting.

Was keeping an eye on a sea lion and washing my knife as the bonito bled on a game hook. Five seconds later I felt a little bump, 2/3 of the fish was gone, and about 16 inches of fin was swinging around behind me. Nothing exceptionally alarming or "aggressive" about the situation but, considering the cloud of blood and scales it made, I opted not to stick around for a precision ID or length estimate.

Sorry for no on the water pics, I didn't want to mess with trying to take one myself on the water and it was dark by the time I got back to the beach.

Good luck to everyone! Hopefully my next post will involve an intact fish and be something destined for sashimi instead of ceviche!