Noob questions re:Mission Bay Quivira Basin

[Hobie-Pedaller]

Originally Posted by pbb

....My plan is to rent a yak from Aqua Adventures in Quivira Basin...

.....Any suggestions to make my first time out successful?

if you are renting yak, i understand your limitations of LOCATION.

but IMHO - for newbs, SD Bay is a much better place to start & learn.
if u have a way to get a kayak that u can use at SDB, you should try there a few times.

i have fished both SD and Mission Bays for many years.
i ALWAYS catch 2-4 times as many TOTAL fish every outing in SD Bay, compared to Mission Bay.
while i always catch FEWER TOTAL in MB, the Spotties are ALWAYS bigger & fatter in MB.

SDB has WAY LESS eel grass, than Mission Bay.
MB has eel grass EVERYWHERE.
SDB has eel grass mostly only in the shallower areas.
majority of SDB has weedless sandy bottoms.

that eel grass is a haven for the bigger bass in MB.
but it makes the fishing much more challenging for the angler.

for beginners, i would recommend Shelter Island beach (sand) launch, by the moored sailboats. then just go straight out from launch, and get out in the med to deep channel areas. then just drift with tide/current/wind, using plastics or gulp on lead jig-heads, allowing them to bounce along the bottom during the drift. you can usually just keep drifting and working baits on bottom endlessly in SDB, and you will only occasionally get tangled in eel grass or weeds, and you WILL CATCH SOME FISH.

where as in MB, you can NOT typically just drift baits on bottom endlessly there, because you constantly get weeds & eel grass all over baits, which then has to be reeled in, removed, then re-cast, etc.


PS - i never have, but many others use a variety of "weedless" type baits in MB.
this minimizes some of the weed issues, but requires additional types of lures/rigs to be purchased.

hope this helps. good luck with it !!
.