Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Unless you are lucky enough to be around the week or so the squid spawn, February is usually on the slow side.I'll remember this month as the best February in history. I was lucky to have a few squid latch onto my iron just after a fresh rain. I say lucky because I didn't have my sonar on and the large group of anglers had drifted off the grounds with the help of stiff offshore winds. I kept my excitement to a minimum to not alert the herd. I paddled over to one lucky angler and whispered to come with me. We made a short move, quietly made a few more pieces, and prepared to do a quick exchange for the "right-kind". It wasn't long before my partner in crime was flying past me and my anticipation grew to a feverish pitch. Just about the time his fish found the gaff my squid got slammed. Shortly there after I had my largest Yellowtail of the winter in my lap. I put another bait down and was hit again in no time. The fish was strong, a little too strong to be a Yellowtail. The mystery was over ten minutes later with a big Black Seabass that was easily revived. The next morning would prove to be a good day as plenty of anglers enjoyed the happy-paddle in with Yellowtail in their lap. I was fortunate to have caught a #34 10 oz Yellowtail and a #33 6 oz Yellowtail my first two days of the bite. I was satisfied with the two strong submissions for WCW and was prepared to release everything under #33 or 44".
http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegall...h_34_10_oz.jpg
I've only fished La Jolla for eleven-years, but I have friends that have fished here for fifty. Those that were the lucky few to witness the "White Seabass Show" will agree that this was the best White Seabass bite ever. I've been in the middle of quite a few wide-open bites, but nothing like this. La Jolla isn't Catalina and our idea of a wide-open White Seabass bite is six fish caught for thirty anglers. The two main days of the "ghost-bite" were absolutely ridiculous. You would of been hard pressed to get a squid through that school without a big fish nailing your bait. The crowd was fairly light the first day of this bite and nearly everyone had a chance at a trophy ghost. Satisfied with my two ghosts and a couple of released #30 class Yellowtail everyone including myself went in. My big fish of the day was a #46 12 oz ghost.
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I can't help but wonder what would of happened if more people stayed out. I say this because of my experience the next day. The entire fleet was on the grounds and prepared to do battle. I had gotten a late start and was relieved when the bite started a little later than usual around 9:00. I had an opportunity to release a couple of Yellowtail over 40" (good practice). I was annoyed by all of the bi-catch (Calico's, Sandie's, Sheepshead, giant red rock cod, Yellowtail). I re-tied my flouro leader at least eight times anticipating the trophy-ghost. My biggest blessing came when I was testing my knot-strength and my #100 swivel snapped in two pieces. I was stoked this didn't happen at the wrong time. I re-tied my spectra knot and borrowed more bait. Most everyone was leaving by now. It was around 10:30 and most thought it was over. The wind was howling and it was a challenge to stay in one place (constant paddling). I was determined and remember telling one angler that "you couldn't pay me to leave". My next bite was the one I had been looking for. A deceiving fight that had me thinking big-Yellowtail all the way to the gaff. Multiple big runs and planted to the bottom for a while. I was relieved when I saw my large hook buried in the corner of a trophy-ghost. This is when it got a little crazy. For the next couple of hours every direction I looked and as far as I could see there were multiple anglers per boat with bent rods. I mean quads and doubles of straight White Seabass on every drift. I was a little tired by now and made the mistake of staying in my spot. Constantly paddling against the 20-30mph wind and rain. I'm sure if I made the tiring move up-current a couple hundred yards and drifted through the school again I could of continued my success. My fish looked pretty solid and I decided to take her down to OEX-rosecrans to get the certified weight. Everyone who saw this fish including myself thought it would be close to #60. I gasped with disappointment when it quickly buried the scale to #53 and a half. I took a step back and questioned the scale for a second. It's hard to tell on that scale, but after calming my disappointed heart of not beating my #55 personal best and taking a closer look it was a little left of the pin, so #53 9oz to be exact.
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I know, I need to go to the gym. Not only because of the "double-chin", but because I could barely lift this girl into the kayak.

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Ahhhhh, that's more like it. A properly documented trophy-ghost with a photo to look back on when I'm old and grey myself.

All in all a "February to remember" with a total of three Yellowtail kept, six #30 class Yellowtail released, and three white Seabass kept. I was prepared to release any ghost under #50 for the rest of the month and pounded sand till I was blue in the face. I guess the slam wasn't meant to be so I'll have to settle for my measly 101 points.

TO ALL WHO PURSUE THE COVETED CROWN.:viking: