Double Dose with Capt. Wade

[Old Man in the Sea]

I have gone fishing with 3 Kayak fishing guides now and I have had an excellent time with each of them. I think Capt Wade’s strength is his upfront research for the perfect day and time to go fishing, the right equipment to use, and getting you into the zone for a wide open bite. I have been really busy lately at work and I have not had that much time to get in the water this summer. Wade picked us the perfect full moon night – no cloud cover and tiny one foot waves to launch. I knew we were going to have an awesome time because the conditions were perfect – no kayakers were in sight. Wade predicted the best bite to be 7 hours based on tide movement. That meant we would launch at 1am to make squid and be back in position for fishing. Wade gave me a list of items to bring and some fresh dead just in case. Wade quickly rigged both bait rods with 2 different setups each with a specific set of knots. Yes - each guide uses a little different technique and they want to make sure you follow their technique. This was my second time fishing at night in a kayak, but it was really cool experience with the full moon, no wind, no fog and the headlamps on the toe slapping waves.

We could see 2 light boats and with one Seiner off in the distance working on the candy squid. Wade and I hauled ass over the solo light boat named the Tradition. They brought up a huge school of squid to the surface and we loaded up our tanks with about 60+ squid each. I kept laughing because they were so many squid and they were squirting ink and water everywhere. The timing was perfect because we were all loaded up and it was time for us to go because another bigger light boat was taking over the squid school.

We started fishing for white seabass in the moonlight along a contour line at a certain depth plus or minus a few feet. Wade had success catching white seabass on previous outings. This is the point in the trip when you realize that it is really cool to have an experienced guide to fish with. All fears from Shark week and other safety concerns seemed to have magically disappeared and now we could concentrate on only fishing. We fished hard in the white seabass zone for a few hours before the gray light started to appear, but we were unable to get a hookup. Now it was time for plan B, we moved over a little and a little deeper to our secondary target which was yellowtail. Wade said yesterday was the first day of a pretty much wide open yellowtail bite and we were in perfect position to take advantage of the situation. Slowly the crowd of kayakers and small boats grew to about 20 fishermen all waiting patiently for the yellowtail attack to start. And then the excitement started with the first small skiff getting hooked up with a double. I quickly peddled to deeper water and scooped up a monster squid out of my loaded bait tank. I threaded him on the hook and sent him down kicking and squirting on my dropper loop rig. I hit bottom around 98 feet and took a couple of cranks up as suggested by Wade. I lifted my rod up and down and told the squid “ Come on dude – you gotta catch me a big yellowtail”. After a few minutes, my rod doubles over and line starts peeling off and the sleigh ride began. Fighting yellowtail is an adrenaline rush – no doubt! After 3 long runs I am able to bring him to color, sink the gaff, attach game clip, slit gills and put him to sleep under burlap bedspread.

About forty-five minutes later the fish came through again and Wade gets bent over and yells “They are back again- Get ready”! A couple of minutes later while Wade is fighting his second yellowtail - I go bendo again and yell back to him “ I am hooked up again”. About 10 minutes later Wade lets his second yellowtail go and I am still fighting my yellowtail. Deep water, no kelp, and no dogs – it is a yellowtail fight made in heaven. This fish is bigger and after a long fight he finally weakens and a big smile fills my face when I see color. The last few circles are ended with another perfect gaff shot. Next I attach the game clip, slit the gills and now have 2 beautiful yellowtail sleeping on either side of my mirage drive.

I had an excellent time fishing with my good friend Capt Wade. I would recommend that you give Capt. Wade a call to setup an amazing fishing trip to catch your first trophy fish, go night fishing, or to upgrade your fishing game. Enjoy the pictures and video of our trip.