DP: Memorial Day 5-31-21 - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Salty · 06-02-2021, 11:57 AM

Launched at baby beach at 6am. Got bait, then worked the high spots around the buoy off the San Juan rocks. Water averaged around 63 out there. Fishing was rough. Marks were minimal. Live bait had almost no action. Large bait was probably the issue. Was able to get a few decent bites and eventually got a 16" sandy with small squid pinned to a yoyo. Caught a fairly new looking kayak anchor too! (I swear, I catch the weirded shit here... I'll just add it to the list I guess)

Headed back to the harbor a bit early and decided to use up the rest of my bait doing some Hail-Mary drifts for halibut while dodging the expected holiday traffic. Ended up getting one which was nice, even though it was short. Was fun to have a small crowd watching from the railing clap and take pictures too lol. Must have gotten wrapped on my line at some point judging by the braid-burn across it's back. Still swam away strong though. Got back to baby beach at around 2pm to a scene that made me think I had been transported to wither La Jolla or Miami Beach. Just chaos and paddleboards all along the shore. Even with the crowded beach and harbor, it was still good to get out there and pull on some fish. Hope you all had a nice Memorial Day too! Much respect to all you veterans and service members out there for making days like this possible.

PapaDave · 06-02-2021, 01:22 PM

I fished the harbor that Saturday, outside was a bit too rough for my guest. We managed a few Spotties and a WSB about 6 inches short, fun. Yeah, the bait wasn't real good, had a lot die out on me. The bait is usually much better.

The trick with the large sardines is....

Just kidding, fish in free spool and when they bite, let them run for a bit.

Salty · 06-02-2021, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PapaDave

I fished the harbor that Saturday, outside was a bit too rough for my guest. We managed a few Spotties and a WSB about 6 inches short, fun. Yeah, the bait wasn't real good, had a lot die out on me. The bait is usually much better.

The trick with the large sardines is....

Just kidding, fish in free spool and when they bite, let them run for a bit.

Yeah I had a decent amount die on me as well. Threw the bigger ones away early to try to free up space for the others. Better to have fewer good baitfish, than a lot of dead ones. And yeah, whenever I feel a bite on a large sardine, if it feels like bass, I just open the drag to free-spool and wait for them to take the whole thing! lol

JohnMckroidJr · 06-03-2021, 06:21 AM

Nice photos and report. At least you got an anchor out of it! That Halibut? Fins near the scar are all gone like it was old, but it still looks kind of raw on the back?

jruiz · 06-03-2021, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr

Nice photos and report. At least you got an anchor out of it! That Halibut? Fins near the scar are all gone like it was old, but it still looks kind of raw on the back?

If it wasn't his braid I would think it was a stuck in a net at some point

Salty · 06-03-2021, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr

Nice photos and report. At least you got an anchor out of it! That Halibut? Fins near the scar are all gone like it was old, but it still looks kind of raw on the back?

Yeah, It was pretty strange. Noticed the fins were deformed along the scar line too, but the cut on the back was definitely fresh. Maybe this particular fish has the unique behavior of getting wrapped on slack line or something? Guess I'll just have to catch him again and ask him

JohnMckroidJr · 06-03-2021, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jruiz

If it wasn't his braid I would think it was a stuck in a net at some point

Agree....regardless of if the braid re-newed the injury, definitely looks like a prior net incident.

06-02-2021, 11:57 AM	#1
Salty Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: Huntington Beach, CA Posts: 424	DP: Memorial Day 5-31-21 Launched at baby beach at 6am. Got bait, then worked the high spots around the buoy off the San Juan rocks. Water averaged around 63 out there. Fishing was rough. Marks were minimal. Live bait had almost no action. Large bait was probably the issue. Was able to get a few decent bites and eventually got a 16" sandy with small squid pinned to a yoyo. Caught a fairly new looking kayak anchor too! (I swear, I catch the weirded shit here... I'll just add it to the list I guess) Headed back to the harbor a bit early and decided to use up the rest of my bait doing some Hail-Mary drifts for halibut while dodging the expected holiday traffic. Ended up getting one which was nice, even though it was short. Was fun to have a small crowd watching from the railing clap and take pictures too lol. Must have gotten wrapped on my line at some point judging by the braid-burn across it's back. Still swam away strong though. Got back to baby beach at around 2pm to a scene that made me think I had been transported to wither La Jolla or Miami Beach. Just chaos and paddleboards all along the shore. Even with the crowded beach and harbor, it was still good to get out there and pull on some fish. Hope you all had a nice Memorial Day too! Much respect to all you veterans and service members out there for making days like this possible. Attached Images

06-02-2021, 01:22 PM	#2
PapaDave Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Menifee, CA Posts: 1,455	I fished the harbor that Saturday, outside was a bit too rough for my guest. We managed a few Spotties and a WSB about 6 inches short, fun. Yeah, the bait wasn't real good, had a lot die out on me. The bait is usually much better. The trick with the large sardines is.... Just kidding, fish in free spool and when they bite, let them run for a bit. __________________ So long and thanks for all the fish...

06-03-2021, 06:21 AM	#4
JohnMckroidJr Senior Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: Fort Lauderdale Posts: 1,863	Nice photos and report. At least you got an anchor out of it! That Halibut? Fins near the scar are all gone like it was old, but it still looks kind of raw on the back?