6/20/13 - DP Crustacean
 

I hit up DP headlands the day after the Thresher Shark was caught. Good thing that shark is gone because he must have taken all of the good fish while there. In other words the bite was slow. The water was murky and due to some pretty good sized swells much of the the kelp was laying down about 10' below the surface. There was a lot of kelp debris in the water too. It was hard to find the holes to fish through.

In any case, the lack of bite found me soaking cut bait on the bottom for longer than usual periods of time. Finally, I saw some strange rod tip action, started reeling and was surprised to retrieve a large Kelp Crab. I did not want it in the kayak with me so no measurement. I'm sure it could have spread it's legs about 3-feet apart. This is actually the second crab of the day and the only catch worth photographing. I did manage to catch a good many bait fish (of no use) and a few smaller sand bass as well.

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/p...pictureid=1529

at least you didnt get skunked. and a crab that can spread 3ft wide is (in my book) a big catch.

When the kelp is laying down, that is because of current not swell. While current can be tough to fish, it is usually the time that fish bite.

You are probably right about the current being the problem with kelp conditions. My Carolina Rigs seemed to move about more than usual and get extra tangled during this trip. I think I need to be ready with some added weight in these scenarios.

Carolina? like how much weight? 3oz egg? Thanks for the tip.. and the report.

A buddy and i were also out there on the yellow and blue yaks, saw you in the distance. It was the same for us out there, very slow only managed 2 sand bass and 5 calicos all around 10". The one thing that pissed me off was a couple freedivers showed up around 1 and instantly picked off a yellowtail about 100 feet from me. Said a school of about 20 where circling around in the kelp. Time to get my speargun out of storage!

WOW...If I had seen the Yellowtail I would have stayed with you guys.

I have been using 1-oz, 1.5-oz and 2-oz on Carolina Rig depending on bait-size and this has generally been plenty. I'm scared to go too much bigger for wrapping the sinker on the kelp. I'll need a stiffer rod to heave 3-oz or more.