Report from the kelp beds 2/3/17

[kirkdavis]

Went out out of Dana Landing in Mission bay. Hit the mouth at 0600 and it was rough enough that I was considering turning around because it was still too dark to see how rough it was further out. Turned out not so bad. Headed southwest to the kelp beds. Swells about 5-7 feet and not too much chop. Caught bait fairly early, mixed spanish and greenbacks. The kelp beds off of Sunset Cliffs are recovering nicely. There is quite a bit on the surface, so it is easier to find now. Fished dropper squid, dropper mack, flyline mack, and plastic. No takers. Fortunatly, I am the sort that counts catching bait as catching fish, so I consider myself not skunked. I did not have even a bite from target fish. I was hoping to catch something gaff-worthy so I could try my new-made gaff. I told my wife that she is to blame, because when I left I didn't get my good luck kiss. She was sleeping so hard I only got the back of her head.
Anyhow, it was a beautiful day on the water. I saw one whale cruise by, only saw one young sea lion, and he didn't harass me, and saw dolphins several times. One interesting thing happened with the dolphins. I had one blow me a raspberry....either that or he farted. He did it three times in a row. I'm retired Navy, so I have seen a lot of dolphins, and I don't recall ever hearing that noise from a dolphin.
Headed back in around noon, and the swells were going in the right direction so it made the journey easier. Last time out when I caught the BSB, it took me 2.5 hours of hard pedaling to get back.