9/5/09-9/6/09
Well, I went back to baja over the last weekend to try and redeem myself. I was there last month with an old friend. I lost a nice fish and watched him catch two nice white seabass that trip. Humbled to say the least.
This trip was a quick one. Camped on the beach on Friday night. Beautiful full moon and clear skies! Got up at 4:30 and drove to the launch. On the water early and made some sardines and macs. Tons of life as usual for this place. Kinda quiet for a while.
A little later I notice some bait on the surface and go to grab the sabiki. Turning around I look down to see a school of 6-7 big seabass lazily swimming around 3-4 feet below my kayak! Fuck the sabiki! Grab the croc for a few glances. Reel in my mackerel and drop down a sardine... all the while surrounded by ghosts! Looking around I see fish everywhere... a few just finning at the surface taking a nap or something. Thoughts of free gaff come to mind but then zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz and its on! Wrap up in my other line and my buddys line... cut both lines and the sleigh ride begins.
Nice steady fight and as I get to color I see the tangled lines are wrapped up with my croc still atrached and I can't gain anymore line. I can see the fish ten feet away but the tangle is so bad and with the croc from my other line stuck in the mix I was fucked. No way to untangle or reel further I begin to hand line the fish in... fish has other thoughts and make a few more runs... get the fish back up and start to hand line again. This time the fish comes up for the gaff! Sink in the gaff and I have my first baja wsb on the deck! High fives and we are off to try and get back on those fish.
With only one more sardine and being unable to find the fish again we call it a morning and head in to ice my fish and gear up for the pm shift.
Paddle back out and work the kelp for some bait and bass. Head off chasing birds to no avail. Back to the kelp line where the sardines are swarming. More bass, then zzzzzzzzzzzzz my friend gets ripped into the kelp. No spectra! Fuck! I head over and assist in kelp cutting. Gaining line the whole way we get in the clear, and then bam! More kelp... coming up, coming up... well almost. Stuck 4 feet down and stale mate. No gaining or losing I look down and see the fish! Still no love so I reach down with the gaff.
Pull up, and snap! Gone. Shit! I am over the kelp looking down to see if the fish is still wrapped... thinking I may get a shot still. I keep looking and then the kelp shakes and a big yellowtail emerges and swims up and turns just out of range. The fish swims off looking tired into the kelp. never to be seen again. Had I been quicker I might have had a shot as it swam free, but I didn't really think I was going to see the fish... lesson learned.
After that debacle its pretty much dark, and we paddle in for a good nights sleep.
Wake up to the full moon and back to the ramp. Same story... bait and paddle outside. Lots of life everywhere, but no wsb's. Around 8 my friend gets bit. Strong fish , nice runs. 20 minutes later. 25 lb yellow tail at color and I gaff it for a little more redemption! Sweet!
Well, we had to leave early to get home that day so we drift a while longer for wsb's but they never show. Decide to hit the kelp quickly on the way in... drop a nice sardine in a big hole. Reeling back in and I get slammed. Not Again! Same story, big fish in the kelp with no spectra... button down the 50 lb and gain a bunch of line! Splash over to my right and I see a big footprint... zzzzzzzzzz fish is pulling line in the kelp with 50 lb full drag! WTF this fish is strong. BAck anbd forth back and forth, ten feet from the boat the hook pulls. I got everything back including that humbling feeling... Doh! Lesson learned again. From now on I'm bringing goggles, a nice, speargun, and a reel with some 80 lb spectra.
Anyways, paddle in to the beach, put the only fish of the day on ice and get going. Smooth driving and safe as ever.
Seabass weighed in at 36 lbs, gilled and gutted on the spring scale at home... anybody have an idea on what the gills and guts would have weighed? 2-3 lbs is my thoughts... also any thoughts on how to get a fish stuck in the kelp without spectra would be appreciated. I wanted to dive in and put a noose around the tail to pull the fish out backwards but I didn't have a mask or goggles...
