Bare with me as I'm a high school student taking a full load and have a job as well. So one report is way late and the other is from just last week. The reason for the reports is more of a way to say thanks than an opportunity to show off. Because without a little help from these two men my trips would have never happened in the first place. Earlier in the season, after getting fed up of skunking at La Jolla I found myself at my breaking point! Keep in mind I have a two hour drive to La Jolla. I asked my father (who is the men's tennis coach at USC) for some advice. To my surprise he suggested that I seek out the best in my chosen sport and quit wasting time. Something I didn't think of myself. So thanks dad!
I instantly began my research to bring these skunk trips to an end. I came across post after post after post while searching this site with amazing photos to prove it. Which made my decision much easier than I thought. One name just came up time after time so I just reached out with a private message. Followed by an e mail and a call for good measure. I got my gear organized as he suggested and a month later we were on the water. Enter: The Darkhorse to rescue my season.
Our first trip was scheduled for a warm water day at the very end of summer. I'm happy to say I finally learned how to get on the fish. Believe me I read everything there was to read on this website about yellows. It's all I do in my spare time! I tried and tried on my own, but it just wasn't happening. At this point I had never caught a kayak fish that really made the drag slip. Until this special day that is. We looked all over the place as i received tons of specific instruction. We're looking and pedaling and looking around some more. Then it happened and my drag just began to scream!
Basically, my face looked like this for an hour.
At first, we thought I hooked a monster yellow as it popped through kelp stringer after kelp stringer. However, I ended up getting a massive Black Seabass to eventually surface. Talk about a grueling battle that never seemed to end. Josh urged me to fight through the pain and get right back to fishing.
Luckily I did as well. When just minutes after we tied a new leader and that bait hit the water, I finally got the fight I came for. This was more like it. Crazy speed and strong powerful runs through the forest.
This was just an experience that I will never forget. All said and done I caught a 27lb yellow and an estimated 200lb Black Seabass that towed me around for an hour! Here's my first real trophy fish.
Not to mention learning more in this single day than I could have ever imagined. That was about as good as it gets, and had it not been for the heavy learning curve? I would have had two more yellows that I lost! Both being operator error and over excitement on my part. Lessons learned on both fish that I won't soon forget. In fact it was these lessons that allowed me to catch two more yellows on my own later that same month! Pretty cool to figure little things out like that and feel confident on my own.
Which brings us to my recent trip with The Darkhorse. I followed advice and chose to take my second trip in the cold water months. This after many skunk trips (since the water cooled) on my own. What had worked so well just eventually quit working. Safe to say I just didn't know what I was doing. I often just gave up and caught rock fish instead of what I really came down for. All of which changed after one days lesson. It was just the ideal day with no wind, swell, and of course more yellows ripping line!
On this trip I really learned the ins and outs of my sonar. Completely different tips and techniques than what we did on our last trip. I also managed to catch a nice one (my first fish caught on iron from the kayak). And Josh was releasing them (two big yellows) to fight another day! This is an image that's really going to stick with me for a while. Something that I can't get out of my head. Josh told me that some fish don't need the stiff arm photography. I could hardly believe how hard my fish pulled. It was a very hard hit and an incredible fight. The drag just peeled off the reel with violent head shakes.
I'll quote the man himself: "Welcome to the over 30lb club". Just over thirty four pounds at the scale!
So there you have it. The best investment this eighteen year old has ever made. How I became confident in my ability to get on the yellows now. It has been a sweet first year of kayak fishing if I don't say so myself. I'd like to thank my dad once again for his wisdom and Josh Pruitt for so openly sharing his knowledge. God this is just an amazing sport!