Should have launched at La Jolla
 

So today was the day for the Rock Fishing Derby. I waffled over the weeke whether to launch at La Jolla or Mission Bay. Finally I chose Mission bay and it was a mistake. I have no problem going out fishing and getting skunked, but going out an having the door outside slammed in my face was not something I enjoyed.

Mike Weber and I launched at Mission, I swung in and picked up bait, and we paddled out to the mouth of the channel. There is was as if we were paddling into a brick way, the only problem was the tide was pulling us out with 5-7 foot swells and cross chop making it very difficult to stay balanced. Finally after what seemed to be about 10 minutes of trying to back paddle and not going anywhere I was able to turn around and use the swell to push my into the channel. I could hear boats doing all they could to get out, their hulls were slamming down and I could even here on the radio some chatter about the Kayakers not being able to get out.

After fighting that battle we realized that having our lives was very rewarding and chose to fish Mission bay. The water was really nice until about 10 when the wind started to pick up. Lizard fish were on the chew big time. I caught a small Halibut and tried using some of the lizards to catch bigger Halibut.

At 11:30 I chose to pack it in and see what was going on over at the Marlin Club. When I got there I was told that nothing was going to start until about 4. I was wiped out and so I just went home, cleaned up the gear and enjoyed a nice Swiss Steak Meal that my wife cooked up. So glad that I made it back in and did not get flipped. I should have launched at La Jolla.

It was rough at LA Jolla today there were quite a few circus acts going on both trying to launch and trying to land. Great derby though big thanks to Drake"Neal" and all the guys that helped out. Looking forward to next years derby!

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Lets face it, bad days are going to happen!. Today was your bad day.....Mine was yesterday!

You hit that nail square on the head there. I learned so many lessons from this.

But did your son grab your bag of fish and keep letting you know
"Look its still moving!!! Its still moving!!! :)"

( Re: His Fred Hall Trout moment!! That was AWESOME!!! ):D

Funny, after getting lipped and losing a rod this morning I was wondering if I should of launched MB. :p

Clean entrance, clean exit, limits , and standing up to piss. Had the polar Opposite Day (not to rub it in)

I heard there were some tough launches and landings at La Jolla also, but it was a risk, I took it, and it didn't pan out. However, I did get back to the landing without being flipped.

Live to fish another day.

There is a reason the launch is where it is, I will always walk the extra distance for the easier in and out. Super short interval with that offshore in the morning made it pretty lumpy out there. 9 am and it got pretty nice on the water. Dry face on the way out and dry t shirt landing. :D

We had no problem getting out at la jolla, but ate it hard coming in. There was no way to land by the boat launch with all the tourist kayakers around, so we gambled and tried to land with the waves and bit it. Still a good day out there though

My best estimate from watching all the action at LJ..

Out of thirty kayak tournament anglers that launched at the shores:

Launch.....8 failures of various types.

Landing......7 failures of various types.






I'm sure there might be some video of some people failing :D

I wish I had a GoPro going when I was trying to get out and come back in. I honestly felt like I was living the Perfect Storm movie on a Kayak, however I lived. I will never worry about the surf at La Jolla again, and will never take it lightly either. What I missed most was being able to hook up with all of you.

Looking forward to the Mission Bay Tourney coming in May.

Were you on a yellow kayak? I think we saw you as we were trying to head out to the 9 on our buddies Blackman. RobFish and I saw either you or someone on a yellow kayak (paddle not peddle) fighting some huge swells at the mouth of the jetty around 6ish. At one point you or that other person were bobbing up and down on top of 7-8 foot waves. It was nasty out there that we ended turning right back around and waiting until 8 to make another attempt. If that was you, I was worried seeing you working to get back but was relieved seeing you on our way back out in a safe part of the inner jetty. BTW- too bad you didn't have a chance to attend the awards ceremony. The guys killed it with the fish fry and Neil put on a great event. Seemed like everyone got a custom made rod or gaff, some lucky bastards even two.

10-4.
It was really snotty at the mouth of the MB jetties early yesterday.
With any significant swell, it can get rough right there at the mouth of the jetties as the swell bounces off the walls and gets crossed in all possible directions. But I guess those 3-5 ft steep and short interval wind swells yesterday created "perfect storm" conditions. The swell did lay down in a few hours, and that 10-15kt wind that was forecasted never really whipped up that hard, fortunately.

Sorry to hear it ruined your plans.

I was out there with Jimmy - getting it on video was the last thing on my mind. Survival was the top priority. He mastered those waves/swells. I was wondering if he was going to get flipped - glad he didn't. Glad I didn't need to make a request for a rescue on 16 - if I could even get my hands off the paddle to grab the radio. Jimmy's bar for handling rough conditions were pushed a few notches up. Well done.

That was me. We saw a lot of boats turning around and waiting it out until they could see better or until the waves died down. We probably should have waited until we could see better and what the waves were like.

Thanks Mike, it was a lot of work and a huge test of my patients and abilities. I honestly feel like I can take on anything after that. I'm alive, I was able to fish a little in the bay, and I'll be out there again sometime soon. I however know better about when to take on the Jetty mouth, and when the weather is bad, that's not a good time.