Huntington Harbor, 12-23-16

[Amish Ed]

Landwhale and I met up at OEX to demo a couple yaks and wet a line. The city just filled in the sand on the beach and it was soft and steep. Made for an interesting launch. Special thanks to Roman for the help (nice meeting you too).

I tried the Malibu X13. Too bad the weight capacity is over-stated by at least a 100lbs. For a smaller person though I'd definitely recommend checking them out. I ended up fishing from a Jackson Kraken 13.5. Fast enough yak, but I felt really unstable and the rod holders were too far back for my liking. Plus, the seat back dug into my back, just under the shoulder blade. This is a problem area with my back, so I didn't last long. But, I could see why someone would like the yak. Especially as the butt support is great. I'll probably end up back in a Native Manta 14.

As far as the fishing went, we didn't fish for too long. We both had issues with our seats, though Steve's was just an adjustment that was fixed once we got back in. Wind was blowing strong out of the south and was pretty chilly. Lots of clouds too. Water was 58º (I think that's what Steve said), very murky and lots of trash. We did one long drift down the main channel. I fished a Coolbaits underspin w/a 5" smoke sparkle grub trailer. I got 5 or 6 bites and one small spotty off of a dock end. Steve got bit, but no takers. For a short trip it was fun. I haven't been on the water for at least a month, so just getting out there was good and hanging with Steve is always a pleasure.