LJ 4/16 Dawn Patrol in Search of a Home Guard - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Gflann · 04-16-2021, 05:39 PM

Paddled out at gray light. Water temp around 63 degrees. Showed choppy on SwellInfo and it was a bit. Not much of a swell so it was bearable.

I apologize in advance for a long write up. I’m interested in some more experiences guys take on what went on.

Made about six greenbacks right off point la jolla in about 60’ of water. What caught my eye was the last greenback I pulled up. He was a feisty bugger and about 14”.

I knew he was the chosen one. Put him on a fly line and headed out to NW corner. He was so feisty that I stopped seriously trolling and just went to a few pumps on the pedals and a short drift off and on. I figured I’d let him dance and do his magic.

I had him on a trolling level wind reel (Picsifun Salis 3000x) instead of my normal Jigmaster because I knew with Picsifun he wouldnt be pulling the clicker unless something really was about to go down.

At the corner still letting him do his thing swimming around and then came two short spurts on the clicker. Put it in free spool just as something partially breached the surface and ambushed him from below. Didnt see the mark. 3 potato count in free spool and then I put it in gear and off we went.

Went straight down and almost made my first mistake by not being more aggressive with the drag. Had 30# mono and probably only had 5 pounds of drag set. I worked to get vertical on him and then whatever it was sat on the bottom. I pulled and wound he took it back. I might have been partially wrapped around a rockpile or something. Remembering a guy’s story on here about a possible BSB that hung him up on the bottom I decided to hit record on my sonar. I’ll post it later when I get it off the card.

Did some pedaling around to get out of what I thought was snagged. Still no mark. Cranked down the drag to start pulling and reeling. Every bit of line I took went right back out. It really felt like I was hung on the bottom.

Finally I start gaining some traction and holy crap was there a huge mark on my sonar. Started pumping and winding, got it up to 20 feet then back down to the bottom which was around 90 feet. Pumped again and back down he went the same. Finally I just put the rod on my knee and wound non stop taking what line I could in. Got color and the size refraction of a monster YT showed up. I had to gaff and grab the gill plate of what was a torpedo shaped lunker of a YT. Dunked my reel in the process... Line was a little frayed above the hook so perhaps he took me into a rockpile.

Pedaled back in, offered my remaining 5 greenbacks to another guy but he was headed in so I released those guys.

An absolutely incredible day at LJ. It is such a great fishery that has rewarded me with YT in the summer and all kinds of goodies year round. It just felt so great to finally land a Home Guard.

Measure in just over 50”. Weighed it at Dana Landing which rang in at 38.6 pounds. Perhaps I shouldn’t have bled it out or I would have broken the 40 range...

rdahl · 04-16-2021, 05:56 PM

Congrats! Beautiful fish. Was smart to be patient when you thought you were hung up. Probably also smart to use something other than the jigsmaster, though most all old guys have caught big fish on the trustee 500's.

JohnMckroidJr · 04-16-2021, 07:46 PM

No need to apologize for the write-up(the best way for others to learn). Nice mossback, Congratulations! Couldn't help but upright your photo, Cheers.

dorado123 · 04-16-2021, 07:51 PM

Nice fish ! Congratulations

skrilla · 04-16-2021, 08:08 PM

Congrats on that toad!

Southwest Kayak Fishing · 04-16-2021, 08:15 PM

Beautiful slug of a YT! Congratulations!!

FISH11 · 04-16-2021, 08:19 PM

Congrats on a really nice Homeguard. I've been searching for one like that and lately there have been a few harvested. Just got to keep trying to be that guy "in the right place at the right time!". Tight Lines

LEEZO · 04-16-2021, 08:33 PM

toad alert!!

YakDout · 04-17-2021, 05:41 AM

That’s a real one! You can get away with more drag on your kayak then you can on a boat or fishing from shore etc. Reason being your kayak is moving through the water whenever the fish isn’t exactly straight up and down, thus lessening the drag on the reel. I’ll start at 1/3rd of the line class to set my drag. So if you were fishing 30lb, I would have it set to 10 which is double what you had it set at. I’ve lost too many nice fish to sea lions to have it dangling around for longer than need be.

Also the more line you have out and the longer the fight goes, the better chances those big home guards will break you off in the kelp or on a reef. They’re smart fish. They’re the little 6lb rats that started offshore and survived on the SoCal coast by being the best predator possible, and by avoiding predators to them.

That’s one hell of a nice fish. Any yellowtail over 30-35lbs is MEAN. And fight til death. They don’t give up like seabass.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkp

kayakfisherman · 04-17-2021, 10:46 AM

Wow, great write up and super fish!!

Nobody · 04-17-2021, 01:28 PM

Score!

They sure do love those big greenback macks!

C. Cary · 04-17-2021, 06:15 PM

Awesome catch! Thanks for sharing!

Tac.Fish0313 · 04-17-2021, 10:53 PM

Awesome haul homie!

fishwrap · 05-14-2021, 07:37 AM

that's GREAT! congrats! I want one!

Gflann · 05-22-2021, 10:13 AM

Like I said in the report, when it went straight down I felt like I was hung up on the bottom. I thought I was going to lose it. So I reached over and hit record on the sonar. Attached are a couple screen shots as promised.

The first one is when I hit record. It’s hard to tell if it’s in a rock pile. It looks more like kelp to me. Feel free to weigh in on it. Obviously I’m pedaling around like a mad man trying to unwind whatever the fish wound itself around.

The next couple are me fighting it up and down. You can see when it takes me from about 20’ back to the bottom. And then the final being the struggle as I am gassed, to get up to color and within reach of my gaff.

I’ve gotten alot of good insight over the years lurking on this site. I’m far from an expert, but hopefully this report and some of the associated documentation will be helpful to others.

FISH11 · 05-22-2021, 11:40 AM

Great, love the screen shots. Looks great on the one were you can see it heading to the bottom. Thanks for sharing.

JohnMckroidJr · 05-23-2021, 06:32 AM

Always interesting to see screenshots. Viewing yours makes me realize that most of the Yellowtail are taken in much shallower water than the Amberjack and Almacos that I target usually in 200+ft of water on the East Coast. When I am fighting a big fish, I will keep an eye on the Fishfinder. If it's an AJ, or Almaco, the screen will light up when it's about 80ft down as it releases air from it's swim bladder. If there is no air release, then I know it's most likely some form of Tuna.

YakDout · 05-27-2021, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr

Always interesting to see screenshots. Viewing yours makes me realize that most of the Yellowtail are taken in much shallower water than the Amberjack and Almacos that I target usually in 200+ft of water on the East Coast. When I am fighting a big fish, I will keep an eye on the Fishfinder. If it's an AJ, or Almaco, the screen will light up when it's about 80ft down as it releases air from it's swim bladder. If there is no air release, then I know it's most likely some form of Tuna.

Only when the water warms up. Late fall through early spring is not uncommon for us to yo-yo fish yellowtail in 200’ of water. They’re usually deep that portion of the year because the water temps are more consistent day to day than they are at the surface.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

04-16-2021, 05:39 PM	#1
Gflann Member Join Date: Sep 2020 Location: San Diego Posts: 59	LJ 4/16 Dawn Patrol in Search of a Home Guard Paddled out at gray light. Water temp around 63 degrees. Showed choppy on SwellInfo and it was a bit. Not much of a swell so it was bearable. I apologize in advance for a long write up. I’m interested in some more experiences guys take on what went on. Made about six greenbacks right off point la jolla in about 60’ of water. What caught my eye was the last greenback I pulled up. He was a feisty bugger and about 14”. I knew he was the chosen one. Put him on a fly line and headed out to NW corner. He was so feisty that I stopped seriously trolling and just went to a few pumps on the pedals and a short drift off and on. I figured I’d let him dance and do his magic. I had him on a trolling level wind reel (Picsifun Salis 3000x) instead of my normal Jigmaster because I knew with Picsifun he wouldnt be pulling the clicker unless something really was about to go down. At the corner still letting him do his thing swimming around and then came two short spurts on the clicker. Put it in free spool just as something partially breached the surface and ambushed him from below. Didnt see the mark. 3 potato count in free spool and then I put it in gear and off we went. Went straight down and almost made my first mistake by not being more aggressive with the drag. Had 30# mono and probably only had 5 pounds of drag set. I worked to get vertical on him and then whatever it was sat on the bottom. I pulled and wound he took it back. I might have been partially wrapped around a rockpile or something. Remembering a guy’s story on here about a possible BSB that hung him up on the bottom I decided to hit record on my sonar. I’ll post it later when I get it off the card. Did some pedaling around to get out of what I thought was snagged. Still no mark. Cranked down the drag to start pulling and reeling. Every bit of line I took went right back out. It really felt like I was hung on the bottom. Finally I start gaining some traction and holy crap was there a huge mark on my sonar. Started pumping and winding, got it up to 20 feet then back down to the bottom which was around 90 feet. Pumped again and back down he went the same. Finally I just put the rod on my knee and wound non stop taking what line I could in. Got color and the size refraction of a monster YT showed up. I had to gaff and grab the gill plate of what was a torpedo shaped lunker of a YT. Dunked my reel in the process... Line was a little frayed above the hook so perhaps he took me into a rockpile. Pedaled back in, offered my remaining 5 greenbacks to another guy but he was headed in so I released those guys. An absolutely incredible day at LJ. It is such a great fishery that has rewarded me with YT in the summer and all kinds of goodies year round. It just felt so great to finally land a Home Guard. Measure in just over 50”. Weighed it at Dana Landing which rang in at 38.6 pounds. Perhaps I shouldn’t have bled it out or I would have broken the 40 range... Attached Images __________________ Vibe Shearwater 125 (Tsunami Red) Last edited by Gflann; 04-16-2021 at 05:45 PM.

04-16-2021, 07:46 PM	#3
JohnMckroidJr Senior Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: Fort Lauderdale Posts: 1,865	No need to apologize for the write-up(the best way for others to learn). Nice mossback, Congratulations! Couldn't help but upright your photo, Cheers. Attached Images

04-16-2021, 08:08 PM	#5
skrilla Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: San Diego Posts: 664	Congrats on that toad! __________________ Urban Camo Trident 13

04-16-2021, 08:19 PM	#7
FISH11 Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Pine Valley when not fishing La Jolla Posts: 2,629	Congrats on a really nice Homeguard. I've been searching for one like that and lately there have been a few harvested. Just got to keep trying to be that guy "in the right place at the right time!". Tight Lines __________________ MARK ......... 2016 MALIBU X FACTOR, 2020 SOLO SKIFF (Fishing Kayak on Steroids )

04-17-2021, 05:41 AM	#9
YakDout Brandon Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: San Diego Posts: 2,345	LJ 4/16 Dawn Patrol in Search of a Home Guard That’s a real one! You can get away with more drag on your kayak then you can on a boat or fishing from shore etc. Reason being your kayak is moving through the water whenever the fish isn’t exactly straight up and down, thus lessening the drag on the reel. I’ll start at 1/3rd of the line class to set my drag. So if you were fishing 30lb, I would have it set to 10 which is double what you had it set at. I’ve lost too many nice fish to sea lions to have it dangling around for longer than need be. Also the more line you have out and the longer the fight goes, the better chances those big home guards will break you off in the kelp or on a reef. They’re smart fish. They’re the little 6lb rats that started offshore and survived on the SoCal coast by being the best predator possible, and by avoiding predators to them. That’s one hell of a nice fish. Any yellowtail over 30-35lbs is MEAN. And fight til death. They don’t give up like seabass. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkp

04-16-2021, 05:56 PM	#2
rdahl Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 48	Congrats! Beautiful fish. Was smart to be patient when you thought you were hung up. Probably also smart to use something other than the jigsmaster, though most all old guys have caught big fish on the trustee 500's.

04-16-2021, 07:51 PM	#4
dorado123 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Garden Grove,CA Posts: 204	Nice fish ! Congratulations

04-16-2021, 08:15 PM	#6
Southwest Kayak Fishing Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: Near Mission Viejo Posts: 196	Beautiful slug of a YT! Congratulations!!

04-16-2021, 08:33 PM	#8
LEEZO Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Coronado Posts: 179	toad alert!!

04-17-2021, 10:46 AM	#10
kayakfisherman Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Posts: 715	Wow, great write up and super fish!!

04-17-2021, 01:28 PM	#11
Nobody Member Join Date: Sep 2020 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 56	Score! They sure do love those big greenback macks!

04-17-2021, 06:15 PM	#12
C. Cary Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Carmel Valley Posts: 104	Awesome catch! Thanks for sharing! __________________ Isn't this America? Let them fish

04-17-2021, 10:53 PM	#13
Tac.Fish0313 Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 37	Awesome haul homie!

05-14-2021, 07:37 AM	#14
fishwrap Junior Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: el cajon Posts: 2	that's GREAT! congrats! I want one!

05-22-2021, 10:13 AM	#15
Gflann Member Join Date: Sep 2020 Location: San Diego Posts: 59	Like I said in the report, when it went straight down I felt like I was hung up on the bottom. I thought I was going to lose it. So I reached over and hit record on the sonar. Attached are a couple screen shots as promised. The first one is when I hit record. It’s hard to tell if it’s in a rock pile. It looks more like kelp to me. Feel free to weigh in on it. Obviously I’m pedaling around like a mad man trying to unwind whatever the fish wound itself around. The next couple are me fighting it up and down. You can see when it takes me from about 20’ back to the bottom. And then the final being the struggle as I am gassed, to get up to color and within reach of my gaff. I’ve gotten alot of good insight over the years lurking on this site. I’m far from an expert, but hopefully this report and some of the associated documentation will be helpful to others. Attached Images __________________ Vibe Shearwater 125 (Tsunami Red)

05-22-2021, 11:40 AM	#16
FISH11 Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Pine Valley when not fishing La Jolla Posts: 2,629	Great, love the screen shots. Looks great on the one were you can see it heading to the bottom. Thanks for sharing. __________________ MARK ......... 2016 MALIBU X FACTOR, 2020 SOLO SKIFF (Fishing Kayak on Steroids )

05-23-2021, 06:32 AM	#17
JohnMckroidJr Senior Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: Fort Lauderdale Posts: 1,865	Always interesting to see screenshots. Viewing yours makes me realize that most of the Yellowtail are taken in much shallower water than the Amberjack and Almacos that I target usually in 200+ft of water on the East Coast. When I am fighting a big fish, I will keep an eye on the Fishfinder. If it's an AJ, or Almaco, the screen will light up when it's about 80ft down as it releases air from it's swim bladder. If there is no air release, then I know it's most likely some form of Tuna.