Oceanside Artificial Reef Saturday

[Mr_Fixit]

All,

I am going to head out of Oceanside and see if I can locate the artificial reefs out there. Hopefully catch some decent fish.

I was going to head out to Dana Point with some other dudes, but I have never been out there and am looking for something a little closer to home and a familiar area.

Anyone want to head out with me? I should be launching 6-630 am ish. Will probably stop by the bait barge since bait has been a bit scarce lately.

If your out, look for a blue outback and a guy wearing ocean blue colored PG.

[619-SWIM-DOG]

Hope this helps

[Mr_Fixit]

Ok. I am all packed up and set go. Coordinates are all loaded up and ready to go. Hopefully I see some of you out there. Launch should be about 6am.

[Maxfli123]

How'd you do? I'm a Sunday warrior...join me anytime. Weather looked perfect today hope you found some good action.

[Mr_Fixit]

Originally Posted by Maxfli123

How'd you do? I'm a Sunday warrior...join me anytime. Weather looked perfect today hope you found some good action.

Max,

Mixed. I did find Reef 2. I have some minor coordinate issues with one or two locations, but that is easily resolved. Since I am relatively new to Kayak fishing, there were a couple learned lessons here.

First, the current and wind caused me to drift rather rapidly. The sparseness of Reef 2 resulted in very few catches.

My first catch was a decent Calico caught on a flyline I was dragging in the off chance a YT was around. Since it was so early in the trip, he was released.

Second catch was a Sculpin on a Squish jig. Third and fourth was a very small Sculpin and another small fish I have no idea what it was. The last two were on squid. The unknown fish had a small mouth, was silver/grey in color, and had rather large scales. Reminded me of a carp. I also caught a pretty good size Mac on the Squish. I was going to flyline him, but he flipped out of my hands and returned to his family.

Other than that, I spent the day trying to stay on or near the rocks with little success. After doing this for a few hours, I headed into the harbor to drift around in there with no success.

So, lessons learned: 1) I need an anchor (Purchased and being delivered today). I think that should help a lot for staying put, or at least slowed down drastically. 2) I forgot my oars for some reason. Realized it after I purchased bait. Went back, tied up my yak, ran to my car to get the oars, and then headed out. By the time I left the harbor almost all my live bait was dead. I am not sure what went wrong here, but I am thinking that the greatly reduced waterflow through my tank could have caused this. Needless to say, it was a bit frustrating.

I think in the future I am going to head out with someone. Being alone is ok, but being with someone else is much more fun. We can share knowledge in the process.

[PapaDave]

Originally Posted by Mr_Fixit

Max,

Mixed. I did find Reef 2. I have some minor coordinate issues with one or two locations, but that is easily resolved. Since I am relatively new to Kayak fishing, there were a couple learned lessons here.

First, the current and wind caused me to drift rather rapidly. The sparseness of Reef 2 resulted in very few catches.

My first catch was a decent Calico caught on a flyline I was dragging in the off chance a YT was around. Since it was so early in the trip, he was released.

Second catch was a Sculpin on a Squish jig. Third and fourth was a very small Sculpin and another small fish I have no idea what it was. The last two were on squid. The unknown fish had a small mouth, was silver/grey in color, and had rather large scales. Reminded me of a carp. I also caught a pretty good size Mac on the Squish. I was going to flyline him, but he flipped out of my hands and returned to his family.

Other than that, I spent the day trying to stay on or near the rocks with little success. After doing this for a few hours, I headed into the harbor to drift around in there with no success.

So, lessons learned: 1) I need an anchor (Purchased and being delivered today). I think that should help a lot for staying put, or at least slowed down drastically. 2) I forgot my oars for some reason. Realized it after I purchased bait. Went back, tied up my yak, ran to my car to get the oars, and then headed out. By the time I left the harbor almost all my live bait was dead. I am not sure what went wrong here, but I am thinking that the greatly reduced waterflow through my tank could have caused this. Needless to say, it was a bit frustrating.

I think in the future I am going to head out with someone. Being alone is ok, but being with someone else is much more fun. We can share knowledge in the process.

Some of the reefs are off the mark or have additional piles nearby.

Was pretty nasty out there weather wise, not easy to fish the reefs when it is like that.

Not sure an anchor is a good idea, my experience with anchoring a kayak in the ocean is it swings to the side after a wave sweeps by and then the next wave catches you sideways. I moved to a drift anchor, that will do the job nicely. You will still drift but not as fast.

The bait at the Oceanside receiver is lousy a lot of the time, It dies out quick regardless of water flow. Even in a 25 gallon well with a pump connected to 12V they die pretty quick. When that happens, try cutting the head and tail off the fresh dead and drifting that over the rocks. Or flyline a chunk as you drift over the spot. Both have had good results for me.

Also, if it looks to be rough, don't go, it can be frustrating to try to fish the reefs and sometimes isn't fun, the reefs will be there the next time.

Also, the outer reefs will sometimes harbor some 50-100 BSB, try one of those on your bass setup.

[Dave Legacy]

I find an anchor to be very useful when fishing in the bay/harbor, so your purchase isn't a waste.

[PapaDave]

I wasn't trying to imply the purchase was a waste, just out on the open water in rough conditions it might not be a good idea.

[Mr_Fixit]

Good tips all. I am not sure I would consider the conditions to be rough. If I intended to drift fish, there would be no problems at all. The real problem I was contending with was that in this case I really didnt want to drift. So, when I say it was a rough day, I meant in the context that it was difficult for me to fish how I wanted.

Returning to the harbor and fishing there was really not an option. They are dredging the harbor, so everything there is seriously jacked up. Hopefully things stabilize and return to normal.

I think my next trip or two will be out of LJ. Cruise around hunting YT for a bit, then perhaps head to the kelp for a while.

[Yak Daddy]

How far out is the kelp? And does anyone know how deep the top of the canopies are? Any info is greatly appreciated...

[Yak Daddy]

& regarding the Carllsbad kelp... Any idea how deep the top of the canopy is...? Thank you for any and all info.

[Mr_Fixit]

Originally Posted by Yak Daddy

How far out is the kelp? And does anyone know how deep the top of the canopies are? Any info is greatly appreciated...

La Jolla kelp was touching the surface a few weeks ago. However there is a lot of kelp you can see on your sonar. The beds I found were not far north west of the point.

[Dave Legacy]

Originally Posted by PapaDave

I wasn't trying to imply the purchase was a waste, just out on the open water in rough conditions it might not be a good idea.

I wasn't trying to imply that you were implying that it was a wasted purchase.

[Mr_Fixit]

Originally Posted by Dave Legacy

I wasn't trying to imply that you were implying that it was a wasted purchase.

Hahahaha You a politician? Lets obfuscate this a little more

[PapaDave]

Originally Posted by Dave Legacy

I wasn't trying to imply that you were implying that it was a wasted purchase.

That's cool. I wasn't implying that you were implying that I was implying the purchase was a waste...

[onetriphudson]

Originally Posted by PapaDave

Also, the outer reefs will sometimes harbor some 50-100 BSB, try one of those on your bass setup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFacGDq6AMY

[Mr_Fixit]

Originally Posted by onetriphudson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFacGDq6AMY

Damn. Great video. I am glad you (Or whoever) put locations on there since most dont realize how far kayaks are dragged during a big fight.

[Dirty Curti]

WOW! That was one crazy trip Mr. Hudson. You even lost your sleeves. That was awesome.

What lb. braid were you loaded with?

[Geno Machino]

What...

Thanks for sharing!

[Yak Daddy]

Originally Posted by Mr_Fixit

La Jolla kelp was touching the surface a few weeks ago. However there is a lot of kelp you can see on your sonar. The beds I found were not far north west of the point.

Thanks brothman. I appreciate the intel.