Cambria- first time success!
 

Hello all, I just wanted to share an experience I had the past few days at Cambria for the groundfish opener. I had my mind set on catching a Lingcod, I even fished the Ling rock at Redondo the day before driving up to Cambria with no success.

Before I start, it would be really helpful if you gave me a follow on Instagram at @nomad.waterman . I post regularly with some neat stuff on my page and I'd like to reach more people like you!


On Wednesday, March 31st, I drove from Orange County to meet with a friend and grab some ice. I found a spot to camp in my car and get some rest for an epic few days ahead.

https://i.imgur.com/L9L9F0Fl.png

That morning, I went over to the launch and met with some cool people who were just as excited as I was. Here's a night shot at Leffingwell Landing (love this mode on the Google Pixel 5, it was pitch black and I could still take these pictures).

https://i.imgur.com/AQJCwoUl.jpg

I loaded up the Stealth and paddled 2.8 miles straight out to 230' as I found some interesting rocks on Google Earth. The first drop with the Mustad Inkvader 120g yielded my biggest rockfish of the trip, a 6.5lb Vermillion!

https://i.imgur.com/sxM7Lgdl.png

After a snag and a snap, I switched over to a 7" big hammer paddletail on a 3oz jig head and it was wide open Copper fishing from there. Yes, it took a little while to get down but the nice freespool on the Cavalla 5nii and some paddling skill got it down without much line scope. Two pitches and pauses with the swimbait was all it took to get a bite.

https://i.imgur.com/PMNceMGl.png

https://i.imgur.com/ddS5oHTl.png

After a few hours and no Lingcod, I paddled back in to see if I could fish the kelp. There wasn't much of it unlike what Google Earth shows. My friend was diving that day and said purple urchin was everywhere. Man, we need some more sheephead! Catching and releasing those are really helpful to our environment, so think about that.

https://i.imgur.com/0k0hbmAl.jpg

The landing was nice and easy. Had a quick picnic on the hill with some friends and made some ceviche with a starry rockfish and some home grown Rocoto peppers.

https://i.imgur.com/hnhD0bJl.png

The next day, Anthony (OCOutdoorsman on youtube) came to join on his Old Town Bigwater PDL. That thing is so fast and efficient. We were doing between 4.5-6mph without much effort. We went to the spot and it was the same story. Coppers everywhere!

https://i.imgur.com/V1ADEyIl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/OFOxcrnl.png

The third day, there were probably 70 kayaks on the beach when we launched. We got some intel the day before, so we headed South this time about 2.7 miles to some rocky bottom about 80-130' deep. I used the same 7" swimbait and quickly limited on Vermillions and had no bites that felt like Lingcod. So I switched from the big hammer over to a Kalin Mogambo 6" grub and the Lingcod loved it. A couple drops with the lure put me on a 21" Lingcod. I let that guy go and soon after... I snagged. I pulled hard to release the snag, but the snag fought back with some nasty headshakes. I realized I had a bigger Lingcod on and I played it out with the 25lb leader because I knew this was the fish I came for. A short fight later, I got a 31" Lingcod that weighed 9lb 4oz on the beach after bleeding out. Maybe it was 10lbs wet? So stoked I didn't even feel the 15-20mph wind on the way back. I love the Stealth, I averaged 3.5mph going directly into the wind.

https://i.imgur.com/x9ZEg7Hl.png

https://i.imgur.com/bZYsdHYl.png

All in all, this was such a fantastic trip. Made me really think about what I want to do with my life as I don't want these to be "once in a while" experiences. I mean, come on, look at how beautiful the night sky was there. We don't see much of that in SoCal (or any populated areas really).

https://i.imgur.com/rC9DFv1l.jpg

Thanks for reading, and please give me a follow on Instagram! Soon I'll start focusing more on YouTube, but I lost my last GoPro so I need a new one and some mounts.

One last shot of the Stealth:

https://i.imgur.com/aznH7YGl.png

Awesome trip man. Thanks for sharing the pics. I love the Cambria area. Fishing is so much better than around here for the most part. Check out this video of my trip about a year ago. Reds, lings and lots of whales! https://youtu.be/YM-5anvdIR0

Nice photodocumentary! Congratulations on the Lingcod! What were the winning catches/awards of the opener?

Thank you! There was some kind of club there that had a big fish award but I don't know what the prizes were. From what I could overhear the biggest Lingcod was 32" and vermillion was 20-21" or something like that.

Thanks! Yeah I saw your video a while ago. Awesome stuff. I agree fishing is a different story the further you get away from major cities/harbors. Just a small change in fishing pressure results in a completely different ecosystem.

Fresh n Salty Kayaking Fishing
 

Its a FB group out of Central/North Cal.

That's the way to do it!! Nice lingcod, I'm so jealous!!

I think biggest red was $900 and biggest long was a new rod. My 21” red that day was 1/2” shy of the prize.

DANG! Such good prizes and you got so close!! I got a 21" red as my first fish on Thursday fishing 230' but no reds that big after that. The fish out there are huge, down here in OC I had to grind hard for a 20"er last year.

You know I never even submitted my fish because someone said oner the radio they had a 24” on the boat. Bastard fooed me lol.

What a really good post. Well done. Glad you had this success. Following you now on Instagram.

I have lost out on tournament awards over hearsay also.... always submit your catches -- you never know. Once won the 4th place kayak and a $1700 Calcutta with a 6lb fish.

Thanks, really appreciate it!!

I was in a spearfishing tournament back in 2017 and shot two yellowtail. One was right up against the coastline and I forgot to bring food so I cut it up and ate it on the boat. A couple hours later I shoot one around 5lbs under a paddy (I have this video on my Instagram waaaaay back in there) and we heard on the radio people were shooting yellows and dorados so we thought it wasn't worth weighing it in. My buddies even thought about eating it on board too. But on our way back in to DP harbor I was like, screw it, I just want to weigh it anyways. Boom, 3rd place fish and $200 for my team. A 5lb yellow. Lol.

lol nice

Nice bag...thanks for sharing.

Fresh and Salty
 

The fishing group on Facebook is Fresh and Salty.