Humpbacks at LJ (and some fish)

[Salty]

Just thought I'd share a pretty epic picture my buddy Gnarwhal got last weekend while fishing at La Jolla. We heard them first before we saw them. Just massive explosions of water. It was awesome. If you've ever watched a 40,000lb whale launch 10 feet into the air and crash back down while you watch from nearby while floating on a tiny kayak, you know what I'm talking about! Seen whales plenty of times cruising around but never doing this! At least not this close. Once they would crash back down, you never knew exactly where they'd launch again, so it was a little sketchy waiting in the eerie silence before *BAM!!*WHALE! Not sure how he did it, but my buddy somehow managed to perfectly time this shot!

Side note: This was my first time on the new Outback! Handles like a dream. Super stoked to keep it fishy. Landed 2 decent Lingcod around 22" but released them. New Seaforth was on a mission running circles around me wherever I went for some reason. Didn't see them pull up anything substantial. Mostly calico. They made the bait rain for the dogs, yet they still saw MY bait as more attractive... Wish the bigger fish thought the same way.

[SoCalEDC]

That whale picture is bitchin

[kurt]

Epic whale photo!

[FISH11]

They are so awesome to see up closer than 60 yards, but to see them do their repeated breaching is incredible. I was lucky to see it from a similar area and got video after having problems trying to time the next jump and when to shoot the picture to be at time of breach. Unfortunately this was before sunrise so the video is a bit dark and not super detailed, like my memory of the whale bigger than most SUV's playing around repeatedly getting airborne. Amazing!

[TJones]

thanks for sharing.

[tunaseeker]

cool pics! A ling is one of my goals this year. Any suggestions??

[jpp9565]

Awesome but very scary 😳

[JohnMckroidJr]

Cool whale pic, I am accustomed to seeing Grey's off CA, Are Humpbacks now common?

[Salty]

Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr

Cool whale pic, I am accustomed to seeing Grey's off CA, Are Humpbacks now common?

Humpbacks are not super common near shore, but they're around. They've been seeing LOTS offshore from Dana Point on the whale-watching boats this year. Funny, the day before this I went on one of those boats for a friend's daughter's 6th birthday and we saw humpbacks just cruising by. Then the next day I take my kayak out and there are humpbacks LAUNCHING next to me!

Originally Posted by FISH11

They are so awesome to see up closer than 60 yards, but to see them do their repeated breaching is incredible. I was lucky to see it from a similar area and got video after having problems trying to time the next jump and when to shoot the picture to be at time of breach. Unfortunately this was before sunrise so the video is a bit dark and not super detailed, like my memory of the whale bigger than most SUV's playing around repeatedly getting airborne. Amazing!

yeah, it's really hard to time! I did get this one on video too, but the video starts with the whale already halfway out of the water. But it's the slow turn and intense landing that's the best!

Originally Posted by SoCalEDC

That whale picture is bitchin

...I think this kayak just brings good luck

Originally Posted by tunaseeker

cool pics! A ling is one of my goals this year. Any suggestions??

Well I didn't start out targeting them intentionally, but the second one I did! 100' depth, 8oz dropper loop (I was using a 3-way swivel) with a live Spanish mac. Cruise until you find structure and send it down. Bounce the weight off the bottom and left the drift push you over the structure. I never really target these on purpose, so I'm sure there are people that have WAY more experience with them that could give you better advice!
It was funny though, the exact same thing happened with both lings for me. I felt something tugging the line, but the Seaforth was circling me like crazy and all the dogs were literally waiting under my kayak. I waited a good 5 minutes for the cattle boat to move away and waited for the sea lions follow it before I started reeling it in! And the second one I hooked about an hour later was the EXACT same thing!! I don't like keeping fish on a line too long like that, but when the options are to either take the chance and wait or risk loosing it to a dog, it seemed to be the right choice. Seemed to work out for me both times lol.

[NiksYak]

Yep. Glad you had that experience. The memory is a keeper.

[FullFlavorPike]

great shot of the breaching whale

[CorvinaLoca]

having tried to photo whale breaches for past 15 yrs or so, all I can say is WOW! your instincts are incredible - that is incredibly impressive shot. i'd love to have copy of pix. can i pm you my email for a copy?

[Salty]

Originally Posted by CorvinaLoca

having tried to photo whale breaches for past 15 yrs or so, all I can say is WOW! your instincts are incredible - that is incredibly impressive shot. i'd love to have copy of pix. can i pm you my email for a copy?

Sure, go ahead! I do have to give credit to my buddy, Gnarwhal, who took the photo. I actually got it on video with my phone too though! I got it on the gopro as well, but it's too small to see much.

[the dude]

incredible pic, you should send it to the news.