Big Day - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

cowboybill · 05-15-2010, 07:37 AM

I hit the water about 2pm...Waves were not bad, but larger than the report showed. The small wave cycles seemed very short, I was patient and timed it well....

Red tide looked like paddling in V8 juice! Saw a couple of Cool Jelly fish. Red tide cleared at the west end of the kelp...

I started seeing bird activity at about 85 ft deep, 1/4 mile off the kelp. I was tempted but stayed focused on making bait...Took a bit to find some bait, but once I did It was too easy...the bait was less than 10 ft below me at times....Got 7 macks, and 2 smelt just for options? Got away from the kelp and hooked a 8 inch mac.

Started heading west, and at about 100 ft depth, the bird activity started all over... I paddled as quick as possible towards the nearest boil. At that point I could see 4 main boils spread over roughly 1/2 mile in a rough north/south line. Got within throwing distance and started hucking iron. I could not see the fish, only the results at the surface. I worked shallow, and caught a baracuda on 3rd cast. I was not able to land the cuda, as 2 feet off the yak while lifting the fish, it thrashed and jumped off the hook!
Kept working the iron, and chasing the boils...I can see why the peddle system really works at this point, as I was drifting east at a good clip...

The bird activity reminded me of dust devils in the desert, sort of forming, moving, dissipating, and new ones forming or moving...My drift was hurting me as the boils were moving west into the wind slightly....

Suddenly though I was in the middle of several tornado's of bird activity, and as I scanned the horizon, I could see 6 or more boils covering several square miles!! It was rockin! It was then that my trolling rod got hit...Just a side note; I am new to kayak fishing, and not the most experienced fishin guy around....So far I had only feed seals, caught 2 comerants, and gotten kelp snags from my trolling rod...But the way I got hit, I knew this was none of the above!
My shorter rod with an old Senator reel started screaming!!! I pulled the rod out, increased the drag and holy crap! The thing went right for the bottom, and slightly under my yak...I started working the fish up, and then saw 2 other guys about 200-300 yards away with bent rods. I was talking to my fish, as he did not want to cooperate...twice I had in in sight, and he made runs straight down and under my yak! I think it took about 10 minutes to land this thing...

I landed it no problem. I still saw so much activity, I was tempted to go for another...but I had a good fight, it was still early enough to get home before dark, enjoy a beer while cleaning up...half way back, I turned west and the whole sky for miles was dotted with birds. Every yak that landed had at least one Yellow tail while I was there. It was one of those days!!

At shore I ran into Mike, a guy I fished with once before, and he had his YT, and a scale....My YT was just over 26 pounds....

05-15-2010, 07:37 AM	#1
cowboybill Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Santee, CA Posts: 103	Big Day I hit the water about 2pm...Waves were not bad, but larger than the report showed. The small wave cycles seemed very short, I was patient and timed it well.... Red tide looked like paddling in V8 juice! Saw a couple of Cool Jelly fish. Red tide cleared at the west end of the kelp... I started seeing bird activity at about 85 ft deep, 1/4 mile off the kelp. I was tempted but stayed focused on making bait...Took a bit to find some bait, but once I did It was too easy...the bait was less than 10 ft below me at times....Got 7 macks, and 2 smelt just for options? Got away from the kelp and hooked a 8 inch mac. Started heading west, and at about 100 ft depth, the bird activity started all over... I paddled as quick as possible towards the nearest boil. At that point I could see 4 main boils spread over roughly 1/2 mile in a rough north/south line. Got within throwing distance and started hucking iron. I could not see the fish, only the results at the surface. I worked shallow, and caught a baracuda on 3rd cast. I was not able to land the cuda, as 2 feet off the yak while lifting the fish, it thrashed and jumped off the hook! Kept working the iron, and chasing the boils...I can see why the peddle system really works at this point, as I was drifting east at a good clip... The bird activity reminded me of dust devils in the desert, sort of forming, moving, dissipating, and new ones forming or moving...My drift was hurting me as the boils were moving west into the wind slightly.... Suddenly though I was in the middle of several tornado's of bird activity, and as I scanned the horizon, I could see 6 or more boils covering several square miles!! It was rockin! It was then that my trolling rod got hit...Just a side note; I am new to kayak fishing, and not the most experienced fishin guy around....So far I had only feed seals, caught 2 comerants, and gotten kelp snags from my trolling rod...But the way I got hit, I knew this was none of the above! My shorter rod with an old Senator reel started screaming!!! I pulled the rod out, increased the drag and holy crap! The thing went right for the bottom, and slightly under my yak...I started working the fish up, and then saw 2 other guys about 200-300 yards away with bent rods. I was talking to my fish, as he did not want to cooperate...twice I had in in sight, and he made runs straight down and under my yak! I think it took about 10 minutes to land this thing... I landed it no problem. I still saw so much activity, I was tempted to go for another...but I had a good fight, it was still early enough to get home before dark, enjoy a beer while cleaning up...half way back, I turned west and the whole sky for miles was dotted with birds. Every yak that landed had at least one Yellow tail while I was there. It was one of those days!! At shore I ran into Mike, a guy I fished with once before, and he had his YT, and a scale....My YT was just over 26 pounds.... Attached Images