Persistence is Key

[fresh to salt]

Finally, after 3 years of fishing la jolla from my kayak and learning the ins and outs, all my effort finally come to fruition!

Left my house in Menifee a little later than I wanted but made it to the launch just after first light. Launched in beautiful conditions and once I made it to the corner, I was able to easily make bait. Mostly GB but a couple of spanish that I kept just in case. Put 6 macs in the bait tank and I was off to the races. Once I got out of the pack at the corner and found my own ground about 200 yards south, I marked a good one. Dropped my brand new purple squid Tady 4/0 and it must have hit this fish right on the forehead. The second it hit something hard I had enough time to move the lever to strike the rod was almost ripped out of my hands and a split second later it was gone... No time to waste as the mark was still there so I grabbed my trusty Penn Jigmaster 500 with a dropper loop set up and sent one of the spanish down to depth. Clicker on and freespool I set the rod in the rod holder and looked at the 40 lb fluoro leader from my yoyo rod. The line was sliced just above where the iron would have been... The knot didnt fail but Im not sure what could have happened unless a fish rocked me instantly or if it was a shark down there... No time to think as I see my ff light up with a solid worm around my bait. Click click zzzzzz and were off to the races with the right kind on. I had the biggest smile on my face as I enjoyed my first sleigh ride until I started to feel the line sliding through kelp and my smile immediately started to fade as I made the realization that my Penn had mono and not braid. Luckily another kayaker was out there to keep me calm and encouraged me to just relax and take my time with it. This guy cut extra stringers of kelp that I accumulated on my line, while I was trying to keep pressure and stay calm... Finally after about 25 minutes of excitement and the fear of losing this fish, I bring the fish to color, along with about 40 lbs of kelp just above the fish. Aaron (spelling?) the other kayaker helping me out was able to get a perfect gaff shot on my first kayak yellowtail!

I have caught plenty of yellowtail, tuna, and dorado of varying sizes but this fish had to have been the fish that I am most proud of! Putting in my time on the kayak and learning what to look for and to understand the conditions finally allowed me to land this fish and I couldnt be happier! Thanks Aaron for keeping me calm and helping me land this fish, and of course for the OTW shots! Tight lines to all!