DP-3/23/07PM - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

yellowtail55 · 03-24-2007, 09:42 AM

I fished DP harbor/harbor mouth Friday afternoon/evening w/ my friend in our double peddle kayak. We hit up the bait barge for a 10 scoop, which worked out great in our bait tank. It was a frustrating day because my friend and I's baits were frecuently getting raked despite our trap rigs. I finally caught a just-legal halibut at dusk by the sport boats on a deep-diving minnow lure. Ironically, all three fish I caught today were trolling, while I only trolled for around 1/10 of the time I fished. The only fish caught on the live-dines were a 21" halibut and a small sand bass, both caught by my friend Aaron. Another frustrating fact was that our kayak was literally sinking near the end of the day, since the mirage drive wholes have become cracked...There was about 3 1/2" of water in our hull, while took about 10 minutes to drain out, depsite our bailing throughout the day. You would have laughed to see how low we were in the water...

Fish Count:
Me:
1-22 1/2" Halibut, 1-16" sand bass, 1 tiny barraduca [all released]
Aaron:
1-21" Halibut, 1-12" sand bass[all released]

It was overall an extremely slow afternoon...but I guess that's what you should expect when you fish off-tides.

hobb3s93 · 03-24-2007, 10:52 AM

how long have you had your kayak? i got an outback, and dont want the mirage drive thing to crack, any suggestions?

nice job by the way

dpliska · 03-24-2007, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yellowtail55

1-22 1/2" Halibut, ...[all released]

Good job on the catches and especially the release!

blackcloud9 · 03-24-2007, 08:27 PM

Where the Mirage Drive is supported by the kayak, the area that takes the most punishment, you can get wear and eventually some leakage on older versions of the Mirage Drive kayaks which were not built sturdy enough.

Hobie recently sent owners a kit for reinforcing these Drive fitting areas, but the good news is that they are very responsive to issues with their kayaks. Excellent customer service in my experience, so go and talk to your dealer.

Here's a forum on their website:
http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewforum.php?f=11

yellowtail55 · 03-27-2007, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobb3s93

how long have you had your kayak? i got an outback, and dont want the mirage drive thing to crack, any suggestions?

nice job by the way

Well...this is actually our second outiftter. Hobie gave us a new one about a year ago after we experienced the same problem. Keeping the mirage-drive fasteners tight helps prolong the life of the plastic area supporting the mirage drive, the problem still ultimately returns on their older models. I'm told the newer models have much stronger support for the mirage drives, but I'll guess I'll know for sure if Hobie gives us a third kayak. Hopefully the new models hold up under frequent use. I'm considering purchasing a bilge pump for our next kayak...

madscientist · 03-27-2007, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yellowtail55

I'm considering purchasing a bilge pump for our next kayak...

A good idea for any boat.

woolybugger · 03-27-2007, 04:35 PM

I went again on Sunday and got a 24'' halibut an 18'' halibut 5 baby wsb and a tiny cuda. The the halibut were on chovies and so were three of the c bass the other two were on 3'' swim baits. all fish were released and the kayak leaked a lot less with only one person.

03-24-2007, 09:42 AM	#1
yellowtail55 The Highlander Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 44	DP-3/23/07PM I fished DP harbor/harbor mouth Friday afternoon/evening w/ my friend in our double peddle kayak. We hit up the bait barge for a 10 scoop, which worked out great in our bait tank. It was a frustrating day because my friend and I's baits were frecuently getting raked despite our trap rigs. I finally caught a just-legal halibut at dusk by the sport boats on a deep-diving minnow lure. Ironically, all three fish I caught today were trolling, while I only trolled for around 1/10 of the time I fished. The only fish caught on the live-dines were a 21" halibut and a small sand bass, both caught by my friend Aaron. Another frustrating fact was that our kayak was literally sinking near the end of the day, since the mirage drive wholes have become cracked...There was about 3 1/2" of water in our hull, while took about 10 minutes to drain out, depsite our bailing throughout the day. You would have laughed to see how low we were in the water... Fish Count: Me: 1-22 1/2" Halibut, 1-16" sand bass, 1 tiny barraduca [all released] Aaron: 1-21" Halibut, 1-12" sand bass[all released] It was overall an extremely slow afternoon...but I guess that's what you should expect when you fish off-tides.

03-27-2007, 04:35 PM	#7
woolybugger Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Laguna Niguel Posts: 14	I went again on Sunday and got a 24'' halibut an 18'' halibut 5 baby wsb and a tiny cuda. The the halibut were on chovies and so were three of the c bass the other two were on 3'' swim baits. all fish were released and the kayak leaked a lot less with only one person. __________________

03-24-2007, 10:52 AM	#2
hobb3s93 Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 7	how long have you had your kayak? i got an outback, and dont want the mirage drive thing to crack, any suggestions? nice job by the way

03-24-2007, 08:27 PM	#4
blackcloud9 Kayaker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Big Rock, WindanSea, La Jolla Posts: 413	Where the Mirage Drive is supported by the kayak, the area that takes the most punishment, you can get wear and eventually some leakage on older versions of the Mirage Drive kayaks which were not built sturdy enough. Hobie recently sent owners a kit for reinforcing these Drive fitting areas, but the good news is that they are very responsive to issues with their kayaks. Excellent customer service in my experience, so go and talk to your dealer. Here's a forum on their website: http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewforum.php?f=11