2/15 J st report - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

taggermike · 02-15-2011, 07:25 PM

I had some time and a new reel to try out so I launched the kayak at J street about 3:30 and headed out to the channel. Low tide and murky water but the spotties wanted to bite. Got 10 or so smaller models on the 3" smelt swim bait then switched to 5" green flake bass assasins for a few more spotties. This is the sort of strange part; I got a slow heavy bite that turned in to a slow heavy fish that took a minute or so to get off the bottom. I was thinking maybe halibut until I saw a flash of silver. The fish went on another decent run then came all the way to the surface. It was a spotfin croaker I'm guessing wieghed about 5 lbs. I've been fishing SD Bay for 40 years and thought I had caught about every thing there was to catch but this was my first spot fin. Not at all exotic but still cool. Mike

sterling · 02-15-2011, 09:27 PM

Hey Mike. That is cool and huge. Was that your first Spotfin period or just in the Bay. I got one on a 1/2 boat out of Oceanside. I thought they were common? Send me a pm with your phone #, we should get out on the yaks sometime.
Sterling

Matt · 02-15-2011, 09:49 PM

Nice job Mike!!

kayakhunter · 02-15-2011, 09:58 PM

I saw a school of about 40 Spot Fin cruising in the surf at La Jolla last weekend, It was pretty sweet. Looked like something you would see in Florida on the flats.

onetriphudson · 02-15-2011, 10:04 PM

Awesome! I grew up fishing J st. Always proud to hear that dirty old backwater can produce a surprise now and then. Between the bones, turtles, jellies and corvina, it's got to be one of the more unpredictble spots.

steveooo · 02-16-2011, 08:46 AM

Cool

I need to mark that off my species list.

taggermike · 02-16-2011, 01:52 PM

I've speared a few over the years but that was my first spotfin on rod and reel. They're not rare but usually don't eat plastics. Onetrip, you're right there are some surprises in the south bay. I've caught the bonefish, vina, and seen the turtles and hammer heads. I get a kick out of the osprey and enjoy the 5 mph speed limit. Some day I hope to catch the jack creval that very occationally get caught down here. Or who knows what else. Mike

onetriphudson · 02-16-2011, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taggermike

I've speared a few over the years but that was my first spotfin on rod and reel. They're not rare but usually don't eat plastics. Onetrip, you're right there are some surprises in the south bay. I've caught the bonefish, vina, and seen the turtles and hammer heads. I get a kick out of the osprey and enjoy the 5 mph speed limit. Some day I hope to catch the jack creval that very occationally get caught down here. Or who knows what else. Mike

You gotta be kidding me! There are Jack and Hammers around there too? From the ages of 8 to 15 it was the only spot I could fish consistently within reach of home. It took years to find the sweet spots but once I was mobile enough to use a boat or a kayak I never really looked back. Now I'm 33 and wondering if the place deserves another look!

dniss · 02-16-2011, 07:14 PM

That's my backyard and I fish it a lot. I remember getting a small spotfin when I first started tubing J street, but none since I took to the yak. I've hooked leos, smoothhounds, guitars and bat rays down here, but never a hammerhead. That's freaky to know they get in there. Seems I always manage to scratch out something at J street, but it's been slow for me there (and everywhere else I fish, also) for several weeks now. Guess I'm just sucking at fishing. I'm stoked that the power plant is shut down and they've pretty much finished dredging to open a salt pond (meaning more fishable habitat). I hopethat the drop in water temperature due to the power plant closing will be more than offset by the fact that it won't be killing millions of eggs, fry, and fish by taking in water to cool the plant. I once heard on a radio news report that when it was running, the power plant circulated 15% of the total volume of water south of the bridge every day it ran. That's a whole lotta water, and it amazes me what a rich fishery it's been since I started fishing it a few years ago, despite the duress the habitat was under. I notice I haven't caught bonefish in probably six weeks and I'm wondering if they'll leave the bay and head up or down the coast in search of warmer water now that the "thermostat" has been turned off. There've been periods of weeks where I've caught more bonefish than bass at J street. Thanks again for posting.

taggermike · 02-17-2011, 12:49 PM

Deffinately the power plants in So cal kill more fish, larval fish that is, in a day than all other methods kill in a decade. And the larvae of every other creature in the area as well. driss, if that 15% water use per day number is correct than that plant is killing the vast majority of all marine life that spawns in the south bay.

I know 2 different people that have caught jack creval in the south bay. Also when I worked for the Hubbs institute's white seabass program we had a gill net sampling team that went all over So Cal looking for our tagged WSB. Of course with gill nets they also caught other things as well. On one of there South SD Bay samples they caught 2 scalloped hammerhead sharks at 5 1/2 and 6 feet long. I saw these sharks with my own eyes.
Mike

onetriphudson · 02-17-2011, 01:20 PM

I mentioned previously about the time that I spent down at G and J st fishing the piers as a kid. Every now and then, one of us would have a rod ripped right off the pier and it wouldn't even hit the water for a good 15 or 20 feet. My buddy and I would look at each other like the loch-ness monster just went by. We started loosening the drag, and we'd get to keep our fishing poles but the second you set the hook you would get busted off or spooled. I've seen it happen a half-dozen times and we always assumed it was a big shark or ray. I suppose you could take a 4/0 out there with 50#, but then you're really getting looks from people. Heck it's only 15 ft at the deepest spot around there. It's cool stuff though when you are a kid, really gets the imagination excited about fishing bigger water.

yaknewb · 02-17-2011, 01:56 PM

Iv been spooled on ob pier with the drag buttoned down with 30 pound line i really wish i knew what i hooked those times.

kobra · 02-19-2011, 07:56 PM

Those big spotfin are always a cool catch. I have'nt heard of anyone catching a jack cravelle in a long time. The last one I caught was over 20 years ago. A friend caught one a while back but that was when the power plant was still in operation. Without the warm water discharge, I kinda doubt that they are still back there. Hope I'm wrong though. Those things pulled really hard.

Piranha · 02-19-2011, 11:00 PM

I've been in love with spotfin croakers ever since I got my monster spotfin way back in 2004.

http://kayakfishing.com/images/Recor...n_corker_m.jpg

great fighter, good eating! Jerry/Piranha

dniss · 02-20-2011, 07:31 AM

Maybe I'll lay off the tubing for a while, if there's hammies like that in there. Definitely piques my interest, and I plan to do a lot of exploring in the newly opened salt pond at the south end, near where I've hooked the majority of sharks and rays I've caught in south bay. I've caught a few healthy juvenile (up to 22") WSB down there also.

yaknewb · 02-20-2011, 10:06 AM

Is that pond open to fish now?

Amish Ed · 02-21-2011, 04:39 PM

Spot fins are awesome. Since they swim in schools a lot of times you can get quite a few in a row. One of the few non-bass I like to catch.

dniss · 02-21-2011, 06:46 PM

Not sure. When I was there two weeks ago, they were still pumping the piles of sand south to the Otay River mouth and they had a tubular floating barricade up splitting the pond in half. I spoke to a couple guys from the dredging crew who were fishing the shoreline at lunch and they said the dredging was done and they just had to finish the sand transport and clean up. Hoping the spoils will create some hali habitat.

02-15-2011, 07:25 PM	#1
taggermike Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Chula Vista Posts: 1,589	2/15 J st report I had some time and a new reel to try out so I launched the kayak at J street about 3:30 and headed out to the channel. Low tide and murky water but the spotties wanted to bite. Got 10 or so smaller models on the 3" smelt swim bait then switched to 5" green flake bass assasins for a few more spotties. This is the sort of strange part; I got a slow heavy bite that turned in to a slow heavy fish that took a minute or so to get off the bottom. I was thinking maybe halibut until I saw a flash of silver. The fish went on another decent run then came all the way to the surface. It was a spotfin croaker I'm guessing wieghed about 5 lbs. I've been fishing SD Bay for 40 years and thought I had caught about every thing there was to catch but this was my first spot fin. Not at all exotic but still cool. Mike

02-15-2011, 09:49 PM	#3
Matt Support your local pangas Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Lj Posts: 976	Nice job Mike!! __________________ Thanks Matt F.

02-15-2011, 09:58 PM	#4
kayakhunter Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Orange Posts: 207	Croakers I saw a school of about 40 Spot Fin cruising in the surf at La Jolla last weekend, It was pretty sweet. Looked like something you would see in Florida on the flats.

02-16-2011, 07:14 PM	#9
dniss Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 77	Thanks for posting That's my backyard and I fish it a lot. I remember getting a small spotfin when I first started tubing J street, but none since I took to the yak. I've hooked leos, smoothhounds, guitars and bat rays down here, but never a hammerhead. That's freaky to know they get in there. Seems I always manage to scratch out something at J street, but it's been slow for me there (and everywhere else I fish, also) for several weeks now. Guess I'm just sucking at fishing. I'm stoked that the power plant is shut down and they've pretty much finished dredging to open a salt pond (meaning more fishable habitat). I hopethat the drop in water temperature due to the power plant closing will be more than offset by the fact that it won't be killing millions of eggs, fry, and fish by taking in water to cool the plant. I once heard on a radio news report that when it was running, the power plant circulated 15% of the total volume of water south of the bridge every day it ran. That's a whole lotta water, and it amazes me what a rich fishery it's been since I started fishing it a few years ago, despite the duress the habitat was under. I notice I haven't caught bonefish in probably six weeks and I'm wondering if they'll leave the bay and head up or down the coast in search of warmer water now that the "thermostat" has been turned off. There've been periods of weeks where I've caught more bonefish than bass at J street. Thanks again for posting.

02-19-2011, 11:00 PM	#14
Piranha Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Alhambra.CA Posts: 35	I've been in love with spotfin croakers ever since I got my monster spotfin way back in 2004. http://kayakfishing.com/images/Recor...n_corker_m.jpg great fighter, good eating! Jerry/Piranha __________________ Oh Lord, Thy sea is so great and my boat is so small!

02-15-2011, 09:27 PM	#2
sterling Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 118	Hey Mike. That is cool and huge. Was that your first Spotfin period or just in the Bay. I got one on a 1/2 boat out of Oceanside. I thought they were common? Send me a pm with your phone #, we should get out on the yaks sometime. Sterling

02-15-2011, 10:04 PM	#5
onetriphudson Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Carlsbad Posts: 143	Awesome! I grew up fishing J st. Always proud to hear that dirty old backwater can produce a surprise now and then. Between the bones, turtles, jellies and corvina, it's got to be one of the more unpredictble spots.

02-16-2011, 08:46 AM	#6
steveooo Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 1,921	Cool I need to mark that off my species list.

02-16-2011, 01:52 PM	#7
taggermike Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Chula Vista Posts: 1,589	I've speared a few over the years but that was my first spotfin on rod and reel. They're not rare but usually don't eat plastics. Onetrip, you're right there are some surprises in the south bay. I've caught the bonefish, vina, and seen the turtles and hammer heads. I get a kick out of the osprey and enjoy the 5 mph speed limit. Some day I hope to catch the jack creval that very occationally get caught down here. Or who knows what else. Mike

02-17-2011, 12:49 PM	#10
taggermike Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Chula Vista Posts: 1,589	Deffinately the power plants in So cal kill more fish, larval fish that is, in a day than all other methods kill in a decade. And the larvae of every other creature in the area as well. driss, if that 15% water use per day number is correct than that plant is killing the vast majority of all marine life that spawns in the south bay. I know 2 different people that have caught jack creval in the south bay. Also when I worked for the Hubbs institute's white seabass program we had a gill net sampling team that went all over So Cal looking for our tagged WSB. Of course with gill nets they also caught other things as well. On one of there South SD Bay samples they caught 2 scalloped hammerhead sharks at 5 1/2 and 6 feet long. I saw these sharks with my own eyes. Mike

02-17-2011, 01:20 PM	#11
onetriphudson Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Carlsbad Posts: 143	I mentioned previously about the time that I spent down at G and J st fishing the piers as a kid. Every now and then, one of us would have a rod ripped right off the pier and it wouldn't even hit the water for a good 15 or 20 feet. My buddy and I would look at each other like the loch-ness monster just went by. We started loosening the drag, and we'd get to keep our fishing poles but the second you set the hook you would get busted off or spooled. I've seen it happen a half-dozen times and we always assumed it was a big shark or ray. I suppose you could take a 4/0 out there with 50#, but then you're really getting looks from people. Heck it's only 15 ft at the deepest spot around there. It's cool stuff though when you are a kid, really gets the imagination excited about fishing bigger water.

02-17-2011, 01:56 PM	#12
yaknewb Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 143	Iv been spooled on ob pier with the drag buttoned down with 30 pound line i really wish i knew what i hooked those times.

02-19-2011, 07:56 PM	#13
kobra Senior Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: oceanside Posts: 880	Those big spotfin are always a cool catch. I have'nt heard of anyone catching a jack cravelle in a long time. The last one I caught was over 20 years ago. A friend caught one a while back but that was when the power plant was still in operation. Without the warm water discharge, I kinda doubt that they are still back there. Hope I'm wrong though. Those things pulled really hard.

02-20-2011, 07:31 AM	#15
dniss Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 77	Hammerheads Maybe I'll lay off the tubing for a while, if there's hammies like that in there. Definitely piques my interest, and I plan to do a lot of exploring in the newly opened salt pond at the south end, near where I've hooked the majority of sharks and rays I've caught in south bay. I've caught a few healthy juvenile (up to 22") WSB down there also.

02-20-2011, 10:06 AM	#16
yaknewb Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 143	Is that pond open to fish now?

02-21-2011, 04:39 PM	#17
Amish Ed Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Grants Pass, OR Posts: 1,906	Spot fins are awesome. Since they swim in schools a lot of times you can get quite a few in a row. One of the few non-bass I like to catch. __________________ Amish Ed You can't catch it again if it's dead!

02-21-2011, 06:46 PM	#18
dniss Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 77	Pond status Not sure. When I was there two weeks ago, they were still pumping the piles of sand south to the Otay River mouth and they had a tubular floating barricade up splitting the pond in half. I spoke to a couple guys from the dredging crew who were fishing the shoreline at lunch and they said the dredging was done and they just had to finish the sand transport and clean up. Hoping the spoils will create some hali habitat.