FALL Fishing Tips!
 

If you didn't see it on YT, check out my video about tips and tactics for fall fishing in la jolla. I cover topics like:

1. When is Yellowtail season?

2. Lobster season opener and lobster pots... need heavy gear and tight drag!

3. Homemade sunscreen

4. Using lobster pots to find structure and reefs

5. Sonar settings

Check it out!

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Great video! Makes me want to be there NOW! I always save any unused bait and find someone to give it to on the way back before crossing the reserve line. Question- what do you consider to be "tanked up" on bait? I know everyone uses bait differently and has different sized livewells, etc. and it would depend how long you plan to be on the water, but I never really know when enough bait is enough. Personally, I'm used to fishing from a friend's boat that easily holds 1.5-2 full scoops from the barge no problem and I've been getting out of the habit of going though it so quickly. At LJ, I've been averaging about 15-ish mixed Spanish and Greenbacks and haven't run out yet over about 8 hours on the water. Just curious at what point when catching bait do you say "Okay, that's enough."

In my experience, it doesn't matter how tight your drag is or how strong the line is if you don't have a drift chute.


A kayak alone doesn't produce much in the way of resistance against a yellowtail when they get a lobster pot or kelp in sight.


Even with a drift chute, I think the maximum resistance is not very high, maybe within range of 15-20 pound test. I'd say that abrasion resistance, and excellent choice of knots are more important than heavy line.

That's why you should pull yourself, or peddle yourself directly over the top of the fish as quickly as you can. With your line vertical in the water you can more effectively avoid the obstructions, and put more pressure on the fish because it isn't fighting the surface tension of the water, it's fighting the buoyancy of the kayak. A drift chute would prevent you from getting over the fish faster and is counter productive. Its not the 10 pound of drag on the surface of the water, its the ~400 pounds of weight capacity (buoyancy) of the kayak which you should be using to your advantage.

But by all means if you like to fish 15 pound test go for it!

15 is probably a good number, but it depends on the size of the baits too. Big greenback can use up a lot of oxygen and for them really big ones I'll do like 6. If its just Spanish in there you can easy do 20+ baits. They seem to chill out much more in the tank and use much less dissolved O2.

That's the ticket, Stay on top of the fish..... the less line that is out, the better. When the Amberjacks are wreck spawning in my area, I will go up to 100lb braid. The rod has to be pointed at the bow at all times to avoid flipping, but it is pretty exhilarating when you connect and the PA gets towed fast. BTW, nice video, smart to make your own sunscreen, most the ones on the market have toxic ingredience that get absorbed into the skin that are bad for ones health.

Well Done Chris
 

Gives me that urge.
:D

Some good dope here👌🏻

Love the fall fishing at LJ ❤️

Nice work on the video!

I’ve found that if a YT is running towards a lobster pot before you can get on top of it that you can sometimes steer them away from it. If you turn your kayak hard left the fish will usually turn right.

I’ve managed to do this a few times so I think it works. Of course it could have just been dumb luck!

This was a dope video 🙌🏼

100%... rudder control can do a lot on those initial runs. It also depends on which side of the mouth you have them hooked as usually they will have to turn towards the hook. I think this is one of the big advantages of paddle kayaks over hobies. Having the rudder controlled with your feet adds a huge amount of control, and the rudder being on the very stern of the hull makes it so you can take a straight perpendicular vector to put more pressure on them before you get over the top of them. The hobie, well at least the PA, doesn't seem to want to track in a straight perpendicular line and wants to keep turning where you will keep turning away from it until you counter steer. Then you are constantly reaching down and counter steering which gets pretty annoying. Its hard to explain in words but you can see it plain as day in the videos.

Even being completely vertical, I have a very hard time snapping 12 pound with a good knot.


I'd be worried about flipping with stronger line and a fast running fish with buttoned down drag.


I do think the the best outcome is getting vertical and keeping drags mostly loose so they come up easy and don't fight too much, but that doesn't always happen.

If necessary, you can drag them around with the kayak, but not everyone has a pedal kayak. If is paddling only, then a drift chute becomes the next best choice. That said, I've never come close to snapping 25 pound test on a kayak, and it's a real chore to cut through 40 when they bury you.

I'm sure many would agree with you, and plenty of folks get flipped by fish. However, I can easy bust off 40# and I will frequently go up to 50 pound. And I wouldn't say that my knots have any issues considering my track record. I also wouldn't say that I've had a shortage of big bites. Keep in mind I fished paddle kayaks the majority of my career. :wsb::yt:

awesome video series Chris!

Some great information condensed in there.

Around this time of the year I will switch to 40-50 lb. fluroro/mono on my rigs.

Never been flipped, although a couple close calls over the years and I can still break off 40 lb. as well.

:wsb: