contrasts

[Freespool]

Being a salmon and steelhead guy from NorCal and spending more time with a fly rod during my angling career than conventional gear, I felt lost starting out as a kayak angler in San Diego when I moved here from Seattle a year ago. I had a very similar feeling when starting snowboarding in college after skiing since I was 4 years old. Taking to a small plastic vessel and launching into the vast open ocean was new and intimidating compared to wading rivers or fishing from a boat – then to add in irons, yo-yoing, greenback mackerel live baits, Spectra, kelp beds, new life histories of species that grow very large, etc. etc. – it’s a whole new style. I didn’t have any of the right gear and still don’t have a lot of what I need, generally. I’m slowing building up the gear and am currently looking for a jig stick and a 30-50 lb. setup – hint, hint all you guys with used gear to sell. Anyways, being a novice again in an activity very similar but totally different than something you’ve been doing for years can break your confidence, and it did mine. I also started a new job in November that prevented very many fishing trips. Actually, the only fishing I had done in the last few months had been ice fishing in the Adirondacks at a corporate retreat/training (see first photo below, not sure how to insert right here).

Yeah, pretty boring – not much technique and a lot of standing around catching nothing. One person caught an average largemouth bass. Weeeeee!! Luckily, my 35th birthday came along and certain family members were both generous and perceptive. Having heard me complain of confusion out there learning a new style of fishing and also having paid attention when I mentioned a guide that seemed to put people on big fish regularly, my family did the right research and hooked me up with a trip with the Darkhorse.

I know I’m far from the first to do so, but I highly recommend anyone feeling lost in La Jolla to take a trip with Josh. Simply put, the guy is fishy. He also has spent so much time out in La Jolla, he knows the fishery backwards and forwards and how to find big fish. I learned a ton out there and can now approach La Jolla with confidence. I know I’m still a newbie with an unbelievable amount to learn, but at least now I can go out there with a plan and some knowledge of how to approach a place as big and intimidating as La Jolla.

Before going out with Josh, I had never caught anything over 20 lbs. from the kayak and had never caught a white seabass from any vessel. This would all change on my first day out with Josh. After dropping a bait into a nice pothole in the kelp for awhile, I pulled it in a bit to check out if it was still swimming well. With my bait only about 12 feet below the kayak, I see this slowly cruising ghost coming out from the depths under a nearby couple of kelp fronds. I could hardly believe what I was seeing as the beast slowly came up and gulped my bait. It wasn’t the quick flash of a fish coming to a fly that I’m used to when observing a take but a slow deliberate gulp. That image will be imprinted on my brain for awhile. I didn’t maintain any composure whatsoever and did pretty much everything wrong that I possibly could. I was in freespool with my thumb on the spool and I set the hook when I saw the fish take off but before putting the reel in gear. Of course, a bunch of line blows off the reel and becomes slack when my thumb pressure isn’t enough, and I hear Josh groaning something about what are you doing or what happened, but somehow I avoid a backlash, put it in gear, and the slack line feeds out without issue. Very lucky. I also had my drag way too loose and the fish ended up wrapping me in some kelp. Good job Jonny, way to be on top of things. After a 25 minute fight and kelp wrestle this fish breaks me off just out of gaff reach and Josh and I watch it slowly swim away laughing at me. It had been a long day and the light was fading so I thought it was time to paddle back feeling dejected but amazed by the experience. Instead, Josh encouraged me to set up again in the same area in the hopes that others were nearby. Within 3 minutes, I feel a very nervous bait followed by a complete takedown of the rod and the battle is on. This time, no major mistakes and a much shorter fight without any real hangups in kelp. After a nice couple of powerful runs, my first “real” sleigh ride in the kayak, and some very tiring bulldog battling (complete with Josh’s comment of “this isn’t a salmon”), I finally landed my first white seabass – and it was a doozy. I never weighed it so I’ll take anyone’s guesses (45-50 lbs?) but it measured 52” and tasted really, really good. I’m now hooked on this style of fishing completely and hope to have a much more productive summer this year than last. See you guys out there!