November 1st LJ noob report - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

warburto · 11-02-2015, 09:02 AM

Here's the noob report for the La Jolla kelp for Sunday. We launched at 6:45 to a slight offshore wind and ankle slappers. Headed straight for the reserve line where we made bait fairly easily (all jack/spanish mackerel, no greens to be found). We dragged the bait around along the northern kelp line, with lots of pauses to flip pastics and jigs, but for no love on anything. Dogs took bait several times. Mid-day my buddy caught a bonito on a dead in the water floating rapala while he was messing with something else. I caught a short calico on a waxwing 88. Although not officially a skunk, still smelled pretty skunky to me.

Water temp was still warm, reading 70 on the FF.

Otherwise a beautiful day on the water. Winds shifted around noon to give us a nice push into the beach.

This is my 5th time out at LJ, and no keeper YT yet. Any hints or encouragement would be appreciated.

Cheers,

jorluivil · 11-02-2015, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warburto

Here's the noob report for the La Jolla kelp for Sunday. We launched at 6:45 to a slight offshore wind and ankle slappers. Headed straight for the reserve line where we made bait fairly easily (all jack/spanish mackerel, no greens to be found). We dragged the bait around along the northern kelp line, with lots of pauses to flip pastics and jigs, but for no love on anything. Dogs took bait several times. Mid-day my buddy caught a bonito on a dead in the water floating rapala while he was messing with something else. I caught a short calico on a waxwing 88. Although not officially a skunk, still smelled pretty skunky to me.

Water temp was still warm, reading 70 on the FF.

Otherwise a beautiful day on the water. Winds shifted around noon to give us a nice push into the beach.

This is my 5th time out at LJ, and no keeper YT yet. Any hints or encouragement would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Best suggestion i can give is to not get discouraged, I did something like 15 trips to lj before I caught anything and I'm 100 miles away. A few years ago I went roughly 6-7 months without catching a single fish, everyone around me was catching them while I was watching.

Goose1993 · 11-02-2015, 11:19 AM

Don't get discouraged. Yellowtail can be caught year round at LJ, but it is November so it won't be as easy as August

.

kjsdad619 · 11-02-2015, 11:45 AM

No worries, I was out there with you also. I caught loads of bait and didn't catch a thing..fish took a run a couple times but being out there is better than being on land watching T.V. I went out 9 times before finally getting my first YT..and I tell you what after putting in all that work and time on the water, once I finally caught it...it made it all worth it and felt great that I kept at it and it paid off.
Hit me up I will start having some time off the next few weeks and will be going out there some more. I heard that once water hits 65 degrees to start using 3 way swivel and get it down lower..I'm pretty new at this too, just started in March. If you really want to network and meet some people the Heroes on the Water event is this Saturday..I met a bunch of guys from here at the event, plus it's great to help out veterans like myself!

ctfphoto · 11-02-2015, 11:59 AM

Some take a year and a half to get their first yellow (me) while others around are nailing it in wide open bites.

Others get two on their very first trip.

I have found, the guys who work the hardest, seem to enjoy the sport the most.

monstahfish · 11-02-2015, 04:28 PM

Don't feel bad. It took me 5 months to get my first. I've since caught a whole bunch and score almost everytime but it was realllll slow yesterday.

Apex Predator · 11-02-2015, 05:00 PM

I paid with hundreds of dollars of gear and many hours before i landed my first yellow, don't worry it will come.

FISH11 · 11-02-2015, 05:51 PM

I was out there also and like all said. Made some bait but not too many, trolled around west, north, south. Managed to keep some of the bait for hours but finally lost all then to the frick** furbags. Started to go in and went back into the kelp edge made more bait and stayed out till 4:25pm Other than bait I was also skunked. Only had a couple of light hits and something took my bait on the bottom at 120' once. Saw Ryan (kjsdad619) a couple of times and talked to him once. My second trip out on the Cuda 14 and it was a hell of a lot better than 2 weeks ago in 3-5 foot surf and washing machine conditions out at the fishing ground. Yesterday was super calm an no swell to speak of. Got a good sunburn on my face because I forgot my Buff and also the sunblock. Being that fishing was slow I finished all 5 beers I took out there and wished I had brought more. Keep at it, the fish will come, it sure beats work or watching the local team loose again.

YakDout · 11-02-2015, 06:07 PM

Sunday was tough fishing, I was out there as well, and although the weather showed up in an epic way, the fishing, not so much. Just seemed to me that the water current wasn't moving enough for fish to be active. Watching my gps and trying to drift, I was barely moving on the screen zoomed way in. The most successful trips Ive had were days where current is ripping. Stay at it.

Harry Hill · 11-02-2015, 06:31 PM

Newport was bad on Saturday also, the water was only 66 and crystal clear. I could see the bottom everyplace in the bay. I could watch the little fish pester my squid without taking it.

alanw · 11-02-2015, 07:32 PM

Was the same deal at Dana Point over the weekend. The current (and wind) was so slack that I was drifting at only 0.2 mph in the afternoon. Plenty of bait but no good action for me. One of the party boats must have been slow too, never seen them anchor on the Pipe before.

cell128 · 11-03-2015, 07:34 AM

A few of us went out on Saturday to Newport for rockfish. Wasn't bad for us. Jesse landed a set of huge reds. It was my bad day for me though. Only 2 good sized rockfish, one nice whitefish and a keeper sandbass. LJ has shown no love for me 😧

phisher_man bossin-it · 11-03-2015, 07:50 AM

Bottom fish were biting sunday...those are the only bites I could salvage...one lingcod(28") live Spanish on bottom, one BIG rockfish on a whole squid drifting bottom and a couple calicos along kelp...definitely not a yt day

kjsdad619 · 11-03-2015, 08:16 AM

Damn Mark, we should of linked up! I also forgot my buff..well found it on railing of my truck..good job. I'll be there Saturday for HOw...you going?

Quote:

Originally Posted by FISH11

I was out there also and like all said. Made some bait but not too many, trolled around west, north, south. Managed to keep some of the bait for hours but finally lost all then to the frick** furbags. Started to go in and went back into the kelp edge made more bait and stayed out till 4:25pm Other than bait I was also skunked. Only had a couple of light hits and something took my bait on the bottom at 120' once. Saw Ryan (kjsdad619) a couple of times and talked to him once. My second trip out on the Cuda 14 and it was a hell of a lot better than 2 weeks ago in 3-5 foot surf and washing machine conditions out at the fishing ground. Yesterday was super calm an no swell to speak of. Got a good sunburn on my face because I forgot my Buff and also the sunblock. Being that fishing was slow I finished all 5 beers I took out there and wished I had brought more. Keep at it, the fish will come, it sure beats work or watching the local team loose again.

Harry Hill · 11-03-2015, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cell128

A few of us went out on Saturday to Newport for rockfish. Wasn't bad for us. Jesse landed a set of huge reds. It was my bad day for me though. Only 2 good sized rockfish, one nice whitefish and a keeper sandbass. LJ has shown no love for me 😧

I talked with you guys before we launched, glad to see someone did good. I wasn't happy with the way my yak was handling so I didn't follow you guys out of the harbor. I definitely need a different boat.

batfish · 11-03-2015, 10:23 AM

It took me over a year to get my first YT. Just have to keep going out and learn the area. At least you did not end up in the ER getting a treble hook removed from your fingers.

FISH11 · 11-03-2015, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjsdad619

Damn Mark, we should of linked up! I also forgot my buff..well found it on railing of my truck..good job. I'll be there Saturday for HOw...you going?

I'm still trying to find someone at work to trade, because If I tried to take it off we would be short handed. I hope I can make it, I also had to work the last event. I sure would like a schedule were I don't have to work period! Then I would have all the time I would need to fish.

warburto · 11-05-2015, 07:18 PM

Thanks everyone for the encouragement.

I've spent the last couple of days down the rabbit hole that is the forum archives of this site. I've been able to answer a bunch of questions that were on my mind about how common the hammerheads were, what sabiki techniques to use, what good trolling baits were, and also found a thread directly addressing a question I had about using older Penn reels. Finally, I found MrGregAndrew's amazing videos. Other noobs, I strongly suggest going to his youtube channel when you have a spare hour or two. It's awesome.

The site truly has a wealth of knowledge about the sport. I'm looking forward to spending some more time picking through it.

Cheers!

11-02-2015, 09:02 AM	#1
warburto Member Join Date: Oct 2015 Posts: 43	November 1st LJ noob report Here's the noob report for the La Jolla kelp for Sunday. We launched at 6:45 to a slight offshore wind and ankle slappers. Headed straight for the reserve line where we made bait fairly easily (all jack/spanish mackerel, no greens to be found). We dragged the bait around along the northern kelp line, with lots of pauses to flip pastics and jigs, but for no love on anything. Dogs took bait several times. Mid-day my buddy caught a bonito on a dead in the water floating rapala while he was messing with something else. I caught a short calico on a waxwing 88. Although not officially a skunk, still smelled pretty skunky to me. Water temp was still warm, reading 70 on the FF. Otherwise a beautiful day on the water. Winds shifted around noon to give us a nice push into the beach. This is my 5th time out at LJ, and no keeper YT yet. Any hints or encouragement would be appreciated. Cheers, Last edited by warburto; 11-02-2015 at 09:13 AM.

11-02-2015, 11:45 AM	#4
kjsdad619 Just a Salty Sailor Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: San Diego Posts: 193	No worries, I was out there with you also. I caught loads of bait and didn't catch a thing..fish took a run a couple times but being out there is better than being on land watching T.V. I went out 9 times before finally getting my first YT..and I tell you what after putting in all that work and time on the water, once I finally caught it...it made it all worth it and felt great that I kept at it and it paid off. Hit me up I will start having some time off the next few weeks and will be going out there some more. I heard that once water hits 65 degrees to start using 3 way swivel and get it down lower..I'm pretty new at this too, just started in March. If you really want to network and meet some people the Heroes on the Water event is this Saturday..I met a bunch of guys from here at the event, plus it's great to help out veterans like myself! __________________ So there I was..

11-02-2015, 05:51 PM	#8
FISH11 Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Pine Valley when not fishing La Jolla Posts: 2,643	I was out there also and like all said. Made some bait but not too many, trolled around west, north, south. Managed to keep some of the bait for hours but finally lost all then to the frick** furbags. Started to go in and went back into the kelp edge made more bait and stayed out till 4:25pm Other than bait I was also skunked. Only had a couple of light hits and something took my bait on the bottom at 120' once. Saw Ryan (kjsdad619) a couple of times and talked to him once. My second trip out on the Cuda 14 and it was a hell of a lot better than 2 weeks ago in 3-5 foot surf and washing machine conditions out at the fishing ground. Yesterday was super calm an no swell to speak of. Got a good sunburn on my face because I forgot my Buff and also the sunblock. Being that fishing was slow I finished all 5 beers I took out there and wished I had brought more. Keep at it, the fish will come, it sure beats work or watching the local team loose again. Attached Images __________________ MARK ......... 2016 MALIBU X FACTOR, 2020 SOLO SKIFF (Fishing Kayak on Steroids ) Last edited by FISH11; 11-02-2015 at 07:10 PM.

11-02-2015, 07:32 PM	#11
alanw Made in U.S.A. Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Dana Point Posts: 1,625	Was the same deal at Dana Point over the weekend. The current (and wind) was so slack that I was drifting at only 0.2 mph in the afternoon. Plenty of bait but no good action for me. One of the party boats must have been slow too, never seen them anchor on the Pipe before. __________________ Hobie PA 14 ¸.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º> Jackson Kraken ¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º> Malibu X-Factor ¸.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º> Malibu Stealth-12 ¸.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º> Its not a spelling B its a fishing B ~yakjoe

11-02-2015, 11:19 AM	#3
Goose1993 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: San Diego Posts: 115	Don't get discouraged. Yellowtail can be caught year round at LJ, but it is November so it won't be as easy as August .

11-02-2015, 11:59 AM	#5
ctfphoto Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: San Diego Posts: 901	Some take a year and a half to get their first yellow (me) while others around are nailing it in wide open bites. Others get two on their very first trip. I have found, the guys who work the hardest, seem to enjoy the sport the most.

11-02-2015, 04:28 PM	#6
monstahfish Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 420	Don't feel bad. It took me 5 months to get my first. I've since caught a whole bunch and score almost everytime but it was realllll slow yesterday.

11-02-2015, 05:00 PM	#7
Apex Predator pushpt.com Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Granite Hills Posts: 62	I paid with hundreds of dollars of gear and many hours before i landed my first yellow, don't worry it will come.

11-02-2015, 06:07 PM	#9
YakDout Brandon Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: San Diego Posts: 2,345	Sunday was tough fishing, I was out there as well, and although the weather showed up in an epic way, the fishing, not so much. Just seemed to me that the water current wasn't moving enough for fish to be active. Watching my gps and trying to drift, I was barely moving on the screen zoomed way in. The most successful trips Ive had were days where current is ripping. Stay at it.

11-02-2015, 06:31 PM	#10
Harry Hill Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Yucaipa, CA Posts: 1,136	Newport was bad on Saturday also, the water was only 66 and crystal clear. I could see the bottom everyplace in the bay. I could watch the little fish pester my squid without taking it.

11-03-2015, 07:34 AM	#12
cell128 lizard king Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Lakewood Posts: 520	A few of us went out on Saturday to Newport for rockfish. Wasn't bad for us. Jesse landed a set of huge reds. It was my bad day for me though. Only 2 good sized rockfish, one nice whitefish and a keeper sandbass. LJ has shown no love for me 😧

11-03-2015, 07:50 AM	#13
phisher_man bossin-it Junior Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: North county, SD, CA Posts: 16	Bottom fish were biting sunday...those are the only bites I could salvage...one lingcod(28") live Spanish on bottom, one BIG rockfish on a whole squid drifting bottom and a couple calicos along kelp...definitely not a yt day

11-03-2015, 10:23 AM	#16
batfish Junior Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 13	It took me over a year to get my first YT. Just have to keep going out and learn the area. At least you did not end up in the ER getting a treble hook removed from your fingers.

11-05-2015, 07:18 PM	#18
warburto Member Join Date: Oct 2015 Posts: 43	Thanks everyone for the encouragement. I've spent the last couple of days down the rabbit hole that is the forum archives of this site. I've been able to answer a bunch of questions that were on my mind about how common the hammerheads were, what sabiki techniques to use, what good trolling baits were, and also found a thread directly addressing a question I had about using older Penn reels. Finally, I found MrGregAndrew's amazing videos. Other noobs, I strongly suggest going to his youtube channel when you have a spare hour or two. It's awesome. The site truly has a wealth of knowledge about the sport. I'm looking forward to spending some more time picking through it. Cheers!