Feel Like Giving Up

[tak100]

I certainly don't know the area up there but I would like to change your perspective. The same techniques that worked as a shore fisherman or on a party boat will work on a kayak.

If you know a location really well that you shore fished and can get there by kayak that would be a great place to start. At least you will have an idea of what worked where. Then with the greater mobility of your kayak you can expand out from that location with confidence.

If you are interested in catching fish but not necessarily putting food on the table you are welcome to come down to Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro and I will put you on some bass. I personally won't eat anything I catch that close to the harbor but there are lots of fish there.

[cris]

Try fishing a dropper loop with a 2-4oz sinker, and a #1 hook off a 4” loop about 12” off the bottom, baited with a squid strip just big enough to cover the hook. Drop it to the bottom and maintain tension so you can feel the nibbles. When you tire of the small fish you can start fishing bigger strips or whole squid or sardine which will reduce the number of bites but produce better quality.

[domtesta27]

Hey Beer Me, I'm a local Ventura kayak fisher who does a lot of traveling and i have a few small pieces of advice that i think will help tremendously with your frustrations.....


1. stop fishing the C.I.H. breakwall, unless its el nino, there is nothing going on there other than small mackerel and the occasional short calico or sand bass trust me i spend several years on a float tube with a fly rod working that wall every other weekend.


2. see about "downgrading" to a slightly smaller kayak, especially if surf launches are challenging for you. the PA 14 is a barge, plain and simple, its stable and wide but super slow trying to break through the surf. If you can downgrade to a PA 12 or an Outback you will have a much easier time punching through surf (btw I love you SD guys but La jolla doesn't compare to county line or the other spots we launch into here. Our surf is very unforgiving and will kick your ass. Again love you guys.....)


3. Go to Malibu! its only 20 or 30 minutes away and you have a plethora of good spots to fish for both rockfish/bass as well as sport fish like Yellowtail and WSB. go through this forum and look at reports from past years. County line, Leo Carillo, Deer Creek, and BKR are all great spots to launch from and head to the kelp beds or rock piles for fish. Also talk to other kayak fisherman on the beach before you launch! This is how i met most of the group on here. Everyone is really friendly and will probably offer to let you tag along for the day of fishing! its not a guarantee but your odds of having a good day are way higher than fishing out of the harbor!


Good luck and tight lines!!!!

[skrilla]

You at least have a fish finder or know any places with structure?

[DanaPT]

Quitters suck!