How do 25 kayak anglers get to this outer island? Easy, on a Mother ship!
This is Jim Sammons of San Diego with monster Yellowfin Tuna.Nope it was NOT on this trip, but was taken by Jim on a kayak!
You can, if you know whay you are doing, catch anything on a yak.
His kayak is by "Ocean Kayak!" Jim is a guide a "star" and a kayak fishing expert. if you want to learn this sport, you would do well to contact jim
This is yours truely with a nice yellowtail. yes, on this trip. Check all those rods in theStarboard corner!
This is Tom Berringer, of Cerritos CA, in the water and rarin to go. Look how well he is rigged. Yes this trip!
I was not keen on this trip, but went anyway, Turned out to be the best ever!
Mark Hunter of La Canada organized the charter and was good enough to invite me.
A group of 25 men and women, yes, females are kayak fishers too, boarded.
Mark booked the “Great Escape”, a fine boat, aptly named, and a superb choice!
We departed from 22nd street landing on Sunday morning at 1:30 on the 20th of August 2001. Loading 25 kayaks on board with all the needed tackle is a chore, but everyone lent a hand.
The sea was flat and almost everyone slept well.
We arrived at West Cove on the NW end of the island at 7:00 in the morning, refreshed and anxious to fish.
The crew was very efficient at lashing the kayaks against the cabin and decks; even a rough sea would not have been a problem. Off-loading takes some time and one has to wait his/her turn to get in the water. With bountiful kelp beds close by many of us fished while waiting. That was a good decision because we
caught bass, barracuda, and sheephead.
The “Great Escape” was loaded with anchovies and sardines. Most of us had live bait tanks. Floating nylon bait receivers were placed near our anchorage.
It was a simple matter to paddle back to the receiver to replenish our bait.
A wide variety of tackle was used. Small reels like the Shimano Calcutta and the Penn 501 and the Daiwa 40x were popular. The Accurate “Boss” 197 was much admired for its good looks and smooth performance.
You would be amazed at how many rods some kayakers carry. Too many for me! Travel light is my motto, but didn’t the boy scouts say “Be Prepared”?
Kencore of Gardena has a short rod called “Panga”. I loved trying it. The “Panga” can handle bass and yellowtail. The Cal Star 6 ft. 195 C and their GFGR 600XL are similar and are tough sticks that will take abuse. Many prefer longer rods so they can reach beyond the bow and handle fish that want to circle your boat.
Sardines and anchovies as well as “iron” jigs, all produced fish.
If this kind of fishing is new to you, you may be surprised to learn that most of the anglers have electronic fish finders just like the big boats use. On this day all one needed to do was watch the surface action. Game fish chasing bait with abandon is a sight to behold.
When yellowtail and barracuda are hot, getting hook ups is likely, and hook up we did!
What turned out to be the jackpot yellowtail dumped Kai Schumann of San Diego. His fishing buddy, Tom Berringer of Cerritos CA, was close by and held the rod for Kai as he clambered back into his kayak wet and slightly embarrassed but cool enough to land this scrappy yellowtail.
Dr. Gary Meyers of Ramona caught a similar sized fish, but lost the pot to Kai by mere ounces.
About 15 yellows were caught, averaging 18 pounds. Some big kelp bass were taken too; 5 to 7 pounds was not uncommon.
Steve Sala of Dana Point was the first to return to the Mother ship with a nice yellow.
A small black sea bass was caught and released.
I was hooked up with what I believe was a big black.
It was on the big ship. I had 20 pound line and had to be very careful. I would gain a few yards of line and then lose a few more! After 20 minutes the line popped.
Dr. Gary was so busy catching fish from his kayak, he was very late returning. He was chided by the crew and was met with a storm of sardines and anchovies dumped on him by fellow anglers. No Gatorade!
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New kayaks and accessories were compared and tried, Rich Lewis of El Segundo had a new carbon fiber “Wave Witch” from Hawaii, it is light, fast, maneuverable and expensive.
With kayaks you get nothing for nothing. If you want speed, you give up some stability and vice versa, so a suitable compromise must be reached. For kayak fishing a sit-on-top is perfect. Getting back in is a lot easier than it would be with a sit-inside model.
A top quality sit-on-top is not expensive. For about $600.00 and up you can be an owner.
What’s the right one for you? Not all are suitable for everyone. You must try them. Good shops will often let you do just that. They have demo days where you can talk to factory reps and try many boats. There are many factors to consider and professional advice is invaluable.
My Ocean Kayak “Drifter” was not as fast as some kayaks, but the stable fishing platform is a good trade off. For kayak fishing, speed is not important. I was happy with my “Drifter.” Since this trip I got a “Caper” much like the “Drifter.” but smaller, lighter and faster. It too is made by “Ocean Kayak”
I think our group was extraordinary. We have all run into some “bad apples” on party boats, but nothing like that here, Why? I feel that kayak anglers know they need to help each other so a fine camaraderie exists. Old friendships were renewed, and new ones made.
We all felt fortunate to have been part of this adventure.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank Capt. Tim Burke. He and his crew were remarkable. It seemed they never stopped working or serving food. You name it, they had it, and it all seemed to appear from nowhere. For breakfast we had pancakes, sausage and eggs. Lunch was Cornish game hen. Even a theatre style popcorn machine was set up for afternoon snacks. Before getting back to San Pedro we were treated to ice cream and fudge brownies! This is roughing it?
There are many boats that cater to kayak anglers. You can locate vessels in a port close to your home.
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