It's that time of year you either love or hate. Depending on who you talk to, the slowest time of the year. The water is cold, the fish are big, and more often than not you're probably fishing alone. Unless you brought along a wingman, of course. Even the dogs leave you alone this time of year, for the most part. Most of the Winter, La Jolla is a virtual ghost town. At least, that's the idea. A definite possibility if we play our cards right. A kayak fisherman searching for solitude, with a solid shot at a trophy doesn't need to look any further. Paradise. Alaska?...no thanks. My cold water paradise is right down the street, not by accident either.
The ever present Lobster boat with a flock of birds in tow, will probably be the only boat keeping you company on most days. Except for Angry Skiff Guy, of course. Especially, with a lack of reports that look, how shall I say, fishy?
The random report of a solid fish might inspire someone who's already on the fence. But, hardly raise a brow of those who require a full tank of gas. Or more importantly, the avid Bloody Decker, all 50,000 members and counting. I love fishing off the skiff, too. Hell, I love checking Bloody Decks myself. But, if we can avoid turning La Jolla into a parking lot, with a massacre of all our Homeguard fish, giant knots of broken hearts, trophies swimming off trying to shake jigs with 100' of mono attached...you get the idea. Let's avoid the parking lot. Or better yet, prevent the parking lot by using a little discretion with our posts. Ya' feel me?
If there was a Batman' esque sign we could flash during the night, something only the kayak community we love could see...that would be a different story. I'd be all for it, waving the flag. And it's not about being selfish either, it's about protecting the resource.
If you stumble upon something of mass proportions, or even looks like it could turn into something of mass proportions...please use discretion when considering a "timely report". That said, I could care less if you P.M. every person you know. Feel free to call every fishing buddy you have and I'm sure they'll be happy to return the favor some day. We all know these times I speak of, rare opportunities at that, special occasions indeed! Special occasions we all love to share with "friends". These special occasions don't need to be accompanied by a fleet of boats. It's avoidable with some discretion and just a sprinkle of common sense. Trust me, it's been done before. Not by accident, either.
Here's a fish I was going to post, but used great discretion since the stars just so happened to show signs of aligning. I'm not, and didn't want to be, That Guy, ya know? These fish were feeding on fin-bait, a mix of Greenback Mackerel and Sardines. Earlier while soaking up the solitude on a grease calm day, I said hello to a friend passing by. It was Paul, a.k.a. "Old Man", the tree who bore fruit to the platinum album selling band, Slightly Stoopid. A kick a$$ band out of Point Loma, if you've been living under a rock...Check em' out!
Like me, Paul (Old man) is a bit of a loner when fishing. He thrives on finding his own fish (I respect that), which proved to be a poor decision on this day, though. Even though the morning was slow I had a feeling the afternoon action wouldn't disappoint. I was babysitting a large school of bait, well off the typical squid grounds. This after yo-yo'ing for many hours during the early part of the day. I circled for miles and miles, then found an area holding a literal bank vault of bait. Considering the conditions of the day, It seemed my best option at the time. So I set up shop and waited, and waited, and waited some more. I sat just off the large school circling, without one single real fish mark to show. I fished a mackerel on the bottom, while occasional dropping the yo-yo to keep from falling asleep. A few hours later I heard a rumble in the distance... A school of Flipper? No. Landslide on the cliff? No. Tidal wave? No. Holy sh!^, two acres of Yellowtail robbing the bank I'm sitting on! I instantly put the Hobie in gear, while ripping my bottom rig to the surface...knowing I had seconds to close the gap, if that. The only thing that put my mind at ease was the size of the school, impressive display. I had one good shot with the Calstar 100J, just as the school began to sink out. About half way in, without a bump, I get soaked by a Yellowtail that rolled on a mackerel...no more than 6' of my port bow. Ridiculous! Sadly, I blew that shot. And what a shot I had.
I continued in the direction where it looked like the school was headed. It seemed like a good idea, but I began to lose confidence about twenty minutes into the pursuit. The Hobie is plenty fast for a kayak, but no match for a fish swimming 20 mph. I watched the Lowrance intently, focused. As if I had just made a twenty dollar investment at Cheetahs. I'm talkin' laser focus here (LOL). Then I saw those golden marks plaster my screen, yes! I dropped my favorite heavy iron with a custom wrapped Ulua 93H. Not the ideal yo-yo stick, but I'm a sucker for pain. I got bumped a few cranks off the bottom, but it didnt' stick. Then had a similar opportunity a few minutes later, big bump on the grind up...didn't stick. I'm now screaming out loud, WTF?! I told myself to stay patient, don't blame the fish, focus dammit! Then the next meter mark runs across the screen and I got slammed on the sink, yes! I love this sh!+ ! I could tell this was a beast, absolutely kicking my a$$...not ashamed to admit it. About half way to the surface I heard a rumble behind me. That sweet sound, the kind you can't forget once you hear it. I turned the Hobie to my left and confirmed what I thought I was hearing. Then came the decision: to cast or not to cast. I ranged the distance at around 60 yards, well within jig-range. Then while dripping with sweat, did the unthinkable. Well, the unthinkable for smart people. I'll be the first to admit, I'm not that smart...just smarter than fish. I lowered my drag back from being pinned to the rail and put my rod in the holder, while full bendo. Then pulled out my other jig-stick on board (the Calstar 100J) and made the cast. My surface-iron lands right in the foam of approximately twenty fish. Three cranks and drag is ripping off the reel, sick! Nothing like when they eat the plug on the surface, followed by an instant sleigh-ride. Well not this time, since I was anchored with a beast already, circling below. After the surface fish sounded to the bottom, I backed off the drag a hair and went back to fish number one. I'm sure I looked like a Shrimp boat with outriggers from a distance. Nearly twenty feet of a$$ kicking bendo going on! A handful of action to say the least. A couple minutes in with a few nearly capsize moments, I decided to back off the drag a little more on the Calstar 100J. I told myself to focus on one, as the first beast approached deep color for the second time. "One bird in the basket is better than two in the bush", right? Soon after I sank the gaff, the second fish shook loose. Stoked for her, I wasn't going to keep the second Yellowtail anyway.
This sunset would have been sick, fish or no fish. Of course it's better with fish, though.
The rest of the crowd leaving the grounds.
The Wolf of the ocean, otherwise known as, Old Man.
This shot gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling, even though the water's freezing.
For those of you who missed out in 09', don't sweat it. Just think of it this way: the longer we go since the gill nets were removed...the more fish that are swimming in local waters. Don't be fooled by all that MLPA crap, complete lack of science nonsense, B with a capital S. The ocean is thriving, believe that! And if you missed The Bite, even with all the, real time internet reports. There will be more, friends are good..wink, wink. As big Monday approached I already had sore arms. I had intentions of 100% catch and release fishing before I even left the house. It's a good thing too, since apparently some have a problem policing themselves. A part of me thinks there's nothing wrong with harvesting within your limit. No laws are broken, right? And since I harvest on a regular basis, you're not going to catch the pot calling the kettle black here. With that said, I don't care if you can legally keep five Yellowtail. That's not a reason to keep "more than you can eat fresh". I feel the same way about WSB, too. Keeping three fifty pound WSB is retarded. Legal, but absolutely retarded! So is keeping three 40 lb or three 30 lb WSB. If it were up to me, regardless of the fact that stocks are doing well, it would be one WSB and one Yellowtail a day. That's it. We've all been there, I've kept my limit of fish. Not that it's a good excuse, but I was paying big money on a multi-day sportboat, though. And that was way back when. Since then, I release Yellowtail all day long from the deck of a sportboat. I could care less if it pisses off the crew or captain. I'm not a number! And if you want me to continue tipping 30% to the crew, STFU! I realize money talks and good captains have come around in recent years.
Here's the one Yellowtail I kept from The Bite. I landed four large Yellowtail this morning. I could have easily caught more if I didn't lend a helping hand here and there, managing the chaos. And I only kept her because she had popped a gill, heavily bleeding at color. A wound I knew she couldn't recover from, so I decided to harvest against my will. Made me feel like crap. I now have a photo to remember her forever with, though. Thought I'd share. Not one ounce was wasted and I enjoyed her with close friends. She made quite a few people happy and we toasted the night in her honor.
Here's my new iron I got just before, The Bite. Straight 40 lb Izorline with locked down drag and big fish. Catch and release type pulling with two hooks bent out past forty-five. These hooks are twice as strong as a Salas, too. That's why I use them.
For the newbies, don't get it twisted. You get a pass when it comes to your first experiences of fishing gluttany. Maybe it's been a while after putting in some serious time on the water. Wide-open fishing gets the blood flowing, no doubt. I understand completely. Like I said, we've all been there. Maybe it's the first time excitement of a massacre, caught up in the moment type thing...herd mentality. We're human after all, freakin' animals. The apex predators of the world, but animals none the less.
On the other hand, if you aren't ignorant and know exactly what's up with our little fishery...it's disgusting. If these weren't our local crop of fish, I'd understand. Really, I wouldn't care if these were, "here today and gone tomorrow schools"...fish traveling up the coast. But, they're not. This isn't some distant island we're talking about. It's not Cedros, Mag Bay, Alios Rocks, or Punta Abriojos...it's little old La Jolla. La Jolla can't handle a fleet of boats, catching limits of our homeguard stock. Again, this fishery isn't hurting (right now), but just think of all those days you've spent...days when cathing one, just one, big, homeguard Yellowtail would leave you stoked. Freakin' over the moon! And keep that in mind when it's wide open. Don't do it for me, do it for yourself. Please use discretion when you choose to harvest, it's not that hard. Yellowtail are super easy to release, too. You watch, karma will come your way if you do. More and more guys are practicing catch and release, and as previously stated, some are even on purpose.
Adding to the action lately, the occasional Grey Whale will keep you on your toes. Cool from shore or while cruising on the skiff, but when inches above the water...another story. Amazing how small one feels in the presence of Gods' creation. All however many tons, spewing water to the sky like Old Faithful. Beautiful. From a safe distance, of course. Awe inspiring for any outdoor enthusiast, even an old grump like me. Not to mention the occasional large school of five or more whales, impressive water displacement. kinda adds to the odds of an unlikely dreaded kayak dry-dock. The lottery ticket no one wants to pull. In due time it's bound to happen, though. A floating kayak experience with five unleashed reels and custom rods, no thanks! Who's going to be the first kayaker? Any volunteers?...I'll video. I can only speak for myself, but if that happened at night, I'd probably have a heart attack before I hit the water. I've been known to pull a Rabbit out of a hat, but levitating isn't my thing.
And you might have heard by now, but besides the Whales, there's other grey monsters to worry about.