Slightly off topic. Yellowfin Trip - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Mr_Fixit · 09-20-2016, 09:05 AM

Gentlemen,

I suppose this is a 'what not to do' kind of message.

I went on a 1.5 day fishing trip. Overall the experience was good, and I learned a lot. Our boat had 18 people and we ended up with 71 fish. My catch? Zero. Big skunk from hell. Only dude on the boat to catch a goose egg.

What I expected? Well, I expected the fish to be much larger. The largest fish we had was 29 pounds. I was expecting fish in the 40+ range. So, given this, I brought my heavy gear including: 2/0 and 3/0 hooks, 40#, 30#, and 15# leader material. I had two heavy rods with Fathom 25N and 30 reels.

Lesson 1) Fishing Style: I was fishing my bait like you would for YT. Let it run out a bit, put on clicker, raise drag a touch, wait for a bite.... WRONG.. Fishing off a boat, you let the bait run. Let it keep on running in free spool.

Lesson 2) Gear: I should have brought lighter gear. Realistically, I should have brought a medium baitcaster setup, possibly two, and one heavy conventional setup. Lighter rod could have been used to cast flat fall irons, and the heavier baitcaster could have been used to cast my bait out further and on target. I cant cast conventional reels (Something I need to work on). So I ended up waiting for my bait to swim in the right direction and such.

Lesson 3) Hooks: Size hooks to the bait, right? Well, the bait we had was pretty small. Size 2 hooks were what was needed on this trip. So, next trip I am going to be bringing Size 2, 1, 1/0, and 2/0 hooks. This was the second major contributor why I caught nada. I was using 2/0 hooks. WAY too big.

Lesson 4) Lures: Bring a flat fall or two. Cast them where the fish are boiling, and you are going to catch. I saw this a number of times. I saw Squish and other lures catch several fish.

Lesson 5) Muscles: Bring Icy Hot, especially if you are not a young dude. It seems stupid, but the rocking of the boat, as nice and soothing (For me at least) as it is, really takes its toll on your knees and hips. Your body is constantly adjusting to the motion while you dont even think of it. All these muscles working that usually do little really starts to hurt like hell towards the end of the day. Next day, I was just trashed.

Lesson 6) Boots: Bring rubber boots. Deck hands are constantly rinsing off the boat, getting the blood off. If you have street shoes, you will soon be wearing soggy sponges.

Lesson 7) Fish Prep: At the end of the trip, the crew offers to fillet your fish or just send you home with the whole fish. Thinking I didnt want to deal with the effort of filleting my fish, I opted for having them do it ($7). What I didnt know is that when you get off the boat, another dude comes up and offers fish processing. Option 1) Fillet, vac-sealed fish steaks. Option 2) Same as 1, but smoked. Option 3) Jerkied! Had I known this, I would have taken Option 1, though I did a good job at home with my goodies.

I did not learn about the hook issue until well into the fishing trip. The morning the captain put us on this HUGE school. These fish were boiling left and right for at least a couple hours. It was awesome! Dudes were hooking up 3-4 at a time. Deck hands were running everywhere gaffing fish. The deck was a bloody mess! We had fish flopping on the deck all over the place. Stacking up and sliding everywhere! Faster than the deck hands could gaff fish. It was GLORIOUS!

Did I leave empty handed? No. The deck hands helped me out as much as they can. Tips and advice were abundant, though honestly a little late. So, the chef caught a couple fish and they gave me one. 20#. Its all nice and snug in my freezer now.

09-20-2016, 09:05 AM	#1
Mr_Fixit Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Escondido, CA Posts: 130	Slightly off topic. Yellowfin Trip Gentlemen, I suppose this is a 'what not to do' kind of message. I went on a 1.5 day fishing trip. Overall the experience was good, and I learned a lot. Our boat had 18 people and we ended up with 71 fish. My catch? Zero. Big skunk from hell. Only dude on the boat to catch a goose egg. What I expected? Well, I expected the fish to be much larger. The largest fish we had was 29 pounds. I was expecting fish in the 40+ range. So, given this, I brought my heavy gear including: 2/0 and 3/0 hooks, 40#, 30#, and 15# leader material. I had two heavy rods with Fathom 25N and 30 reels. Lesson 1) Fishing Style: I was fishing my bait like you would for YT. Let it run out a bit, put on clicker, raise drag a touch, wait for a bite.... WRONG.. Fishing off a boat, you let the bait run. Let it keep on running in free spool. Lesson 2) Gear: I should have brought lighter gear. Realistically, I should have brought a medium baitcaster setup, possibly two, and one heavy conventional setup. Lighter rod could have been used to cast flat fall irons, and the heavier baitcaster could have been used to cast my bait out further and on target. I cant cast conventional reels (Something I need to work on). So I ended up waiting for my bait to swim in the right direction and such. Lesson 3) Hooks: Size hooks to the bait, right? Well, the bait we had was pretty small. Size 2 hooks were what was needed on this trip. So, next trip I am going to be bringing Size 2, 1, 1/0, and 2/0 hooks. This was the second major contributor why I caught nada. I was using 2/0 hooks. WAY too big. Lesson 4) Lures: Bring a flat fall or two. Cast them where the fish are boiling, and you are going to catch. I saw this a number of times. I saw Squish and other lures catch several fish. Lesson 5) Muscles: Bring Icy Hot, especially if you are not a young dude. It seems stupid, but the rocking of the boat, as nice and soothing (For me at least) as it is, really takes its toll on your knees and hips. Your body is constantly adjusting to the motion while you dont even think of it. All these muscles working that usually do little really starts to hurt like hell towards the end of the day. Next day, I was just trashed. Lesson 6) Boots: Bring rubber boots. Deck hands are constantly rinsing off the boat, getting the blood off. If you have street shoes, you will soon be wearing soggy sponges. Lesson 7) Fish Prep: At the end of the trip, the crew offers to fillet your fish or just send you home with the whole fish. Thinking I didnt want to deal with the effort of filleting my fish, I opted for having them do it ($7). What I didnt know is that when you get off the boat, another dude comes up and offers fish processing. Option 1) Fillet, vac-sealed fish steaks. Option 2) Same as 1, but smoked. Option 3) Jerkied! Had I known this, I would have taken Option 1, though I did a good job at home with my goodies. I did not learn about the hook issue until well into the fishing trip. The morning the captain put us on this HUGE school. These fish were boiling left and right for at least a couple hours. It was awesome! Dudes were hooking up 3-4 at a time. Deck hands were running everywhere gaffing fish. The deck was a bloody mess! We had fish flopping on the deck all over the place. Stacking up and sliding everywhere! Faster than the deck hands could gaff fish. It was GLORIOUS! Did I leave empty handed? No. The deck hands helped me out as much as they can. Tips and advice were abundant, though honestly a little late. So, the chef caught a couple fish and they gave me one. 20#. Its all nice and snug in my freezer now.