Introduction, obsessed species chaser, new to kayaking

[BenCantrell]

Originally Posted by Hunters Pa

Welcome! Look in the events and Heroes on the Water sections. There are some events coming up where you can meet a lot at once.

Thanks I'll check it out! I've been looking for some volunteer opportunities.

Originally Posted by King Saba

You'll love chasing the multi-species we have here. Hit the kelplines for the best shot at catching a mixed bag. For bait, squid is universal here, candy bait if you will, but from past experience I've found that shrimp gets bit by everything.

Treefish is the first species I'd like to go for in the kelp. After that there's not a whole lot left for me - WSB and thresher come to mind. I've caught yellowtail but only tiny ones, so it would be nice to catch a legit one.

Originally Posted by Orca Winfrey

Great report and welcome to the forum and SoCal. You’ve chosen a great place to live if you love fishing. IMO, if you’re planning on fishing open waters, you should get a sit on top yak. They are much more easy to deal with when you flip and they don’t fill with water when waves crash over you.

Yeah my midlife crisis will probably be "I can't take my sit-in kayak offshore, time for a new sit-on-top, haha. With that said, I am getting all the safety gear like extra hull flotation, bilge pump, paddle float, etc, so if going offshore in my current setup is at all possible, I'd still like to give it a try. Buddy system and super calm day for starters of course.