[Holy Mackerel]

I emailed Brad Wednesday about plans for the weekend......After recent reports from James, aka Cuda', we decided a nice Croaker bite was hard to pass up... So we headed just south of San Quintin about 5 hours to Socorro, Mexico.

Saturday September 2nd, 2006

James was kind enough to give me some good intel, so we decided to leave 4:00AM on Saturday morning. Arrived in Socorro around 9:00AM, to this awesome ramp.....

We decided to head out, and set up camp later... Light winds, glassy water, plenty of bait, and perhaps the biggest smelt I have ever seen. The Kelp was thick, and only about a 1/2 mile offshore. Brad saw a freeswimming white sea bass that wouldn't bite.

Around noon we decide to head in, set up camp, and come back out on a PM shift.

We camped next to a guy named "George" don't tell anyone he is there...

George....

Video of "George":

The bird action was unreal, and seemed to be everywhere, this would cause these waters difficult to read, but later in the trip, we finally figured out where the fish were.

Brad hooked into a big Bonito!

Water seemed fishy, plenty of bait, smelt, greenies, spanish macks, sardinas... We paddled toward shore, as the sun was going down.

Sunday September 3rd, 2006

A beautiful morning, surf was a little tricky, some bigger sets, even if you timed it right, you were gonna get wet.

I headed out to deeper water, a spot we thought fish might be holding due to the drop in depth... Dropped a megabait... BENDO!! Line was peeling fast, unfortunately I was too lazy to change the snap swivel from my sabiki rig, and my line busted... :x

Brad and I fish this area for a while longer, brad got onto a fish, and fought it for a while, it found bull kelp. He says it felt like a white...

Video of Brad fighting a fish:

It was nice to be around Kelp again, almost forgot the nuances... The kelp was very healthy, this batch is not representative of the kelp beds there.

I decided to paddle to the middle of the kelp, as I was looking down the large spiraling kelp canopies with bait fish darting to and from, I hear Brad yell with excitement... he had a nice 26 lb WSB on deck!

I threw lures around the area for nada, decided to head in for a cold cerveza, and rest for the PM Shift.

On the PM shift, I got a nice zing... But got my bait back, no marks, might have been the right kind...

Monday September 4th, 2006

Monday Morning launch to mixed swell around 5AM. Brad was getting his gear together, so I made some bait and started to head out to the "spot" On my way out......zzzzz, then...ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ, line was peeling hard, threw in gear, felt like the right kind... Had a good fight, finally got it to color, look like a nice yellowtail, went 19 lbs 6 oz...

Video of my Yellowtail fight:

Incidentally, during this fight, my other bait rod loads up, but it was tanlged with my bait rod, I am glad it didnt set... :shock:

Brad catches up, and a Panga stops by to congratulate me, as they all dropped their irons...

We continued out to this contour we felt the fish were holding under structure... As we were talking I decide to throw irons, and on my 2nd toss... BENDO!!! This fish was had power but fought differently than a yellowtail. I was using #20 lb test on my new Sealine SHV 20, and medium flip n stick. At color, I saw it was a white...

Video of my WSB fight...

this is when my bait rod went ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!! I just threw it in gear, gaffed my fish, and pick up the other rod, it was on, but came unbuttoned...

It was getting hot, so after two nice fish, I decided to head in, and randomly throw for a flatty to no avail, landed to some big surf, had a 4ft face crash on my back, but I purposely left water in my tank to give me weight, I was submerged in white water, I wish someone took video, as I felt like I was on a white water rocketship! :lol: I landed upright, but my tackle bow with various lures was lost... baja tax...

Brad later came back in with a heartbreak tale...

Video of Brad's surf landing:

We enjoyed a beer, took our time packing up, and headed back to the border.

Before leaving we stopped at the local basurero, and you can't see it in this pic, but there was a Froman working there as well... :shock:

Border wait was only 30 minutes... Lessoned learned leave early in the AM going down, and come back late on Holidays!

BTW, got four more species for BWE Ironman contest...

WSB

Greenie...

Sand bass... (forgot my scale onshore for WCB )

Smelt...

Can't wait to get back next month... 8)

Chris

 

[Yakabe]

Again Holy Mac, that is some exceptional fishing. :shock:

Couple of questions on the WS Tarpon 160i as I am fishing from one myself and beginning next year as I am moving to Perth and will be doing some offshore. How are they in surf entry/exit as I am fishing within a gulf that is fairly protected from any large swell? Any tips on surf exit ie need a rudder etc?

Yakabe.

 

[Mallard Duck]

Ok thats awesome!! I don't know what else to say really ....

 

[Mallard Duck]

Ok thats awesome!! I don't know what else to say really ....

 

[kingfisher111]

Thanks Chris for another ripper report. Keep them coming. Steve.

 

[PeterJ]

Very , very nice .
Love the video links.

 

[Davey G]

stop it, stop it.

you're making me feel inadequate!

great report and pics once again.

by the way....are you a full time yak fisherman?

 

[Holy Mackerel]

Thanks guys, it is summer, and I am enjoying it!!! I plan on being a full time fisherman, someday!

How are they in surf entry/exit as I am fishing within a gulf that is fairly protected from any large swell? Any tips on surf exit ie need a rudder etc?

Yakabe.

First tip, take your boat out in the surf one day without any equipment. Just surf for a day, I guarantee you will build confidence, and get to know your boat. :wink: If you feel like your nose is dipping on a wave LEAN BACK!

This boat handles good for a long boat, but remember even when you gain confidence, you need to learn to have patience when launching, watch the sets coming in, notice a lull, that is when you want to launch. Practice this on the day you go out in the surf w/o equipment.

Coming back in, wait just outside the surf line, wait for the sets to come in, again, wait for the lull. Even if you have to sit through a couple sets. You NEVER want to intentionally ride a wave with fishing equipment. Remember to tether all your stuff...

I made my tethers out of nylon poly braid rope from Home Depot, and use brass clips from a dive shop. I tie bowline knots to the brass clip, and to the pad eye on my kayak. The rope is just long enough, so if I flip, the rod will come out of the flush mount, or bait tank rod holder. This way your rod isn't stuck in the holder. I made this mistake at first, and snapped a rod...

I also picked up these at a dive shop going out of business, they are a little expensive, but coil, and stretch...

Chris

 

[DGax65]

I'll second what Chris has to say about using tethers.
I flipped once and lost several hundred dollars worth of gear. Now I've made tethers for just about everything that I carry on my kayak; rods, game clip, radio, camera, game clip....you get the picture. I make them from hollow nylon straps through which I run a bungee cord. I use a brass snap link on the side that attaches to the yak or my PFD and a brass trigger hook on the other end. The nylon strap with the bungee cord is looped through the ring on the brass hooks and then sewn in place. They are very strong and provide some shock absorption. I use brightly colored nylon strap for the shock cords. I think it helps me see at a glance if I have everything tethered. The attached pictures show my rather poor workmanship.