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Posted by jas on 09:07:04 09/12/02
In Reply to: La Jolla 12-8-02 Shark Report posted by Eagle Eye
: I launched at 7 am into all most no surf. The sun just starting to rise up into a cloudless sky; the wind was blowing only enough to keep the water from being glassy.On my way to the kelp a pelican and a dolphin greeted me. While hunting along the edges of the kelp for bait fish I dead sticked cut squid for a calico and a sand bass.The live bait for today was going to have to be 13” smelt, but at least they were plentiful and I was able to quickly put three in the bucket.I paddled over to my most favorite of all spots, just out of the kelp and directly in front of the high rise. There in 65’ of water I put the smelt on the bottom and cast plastics while drifting west and parallel to the kelp. I picked up another sand bass on a white spinner bait bouncing along the bottom.The Sea Witch had moved in and anchored ahead of me, but well out of iron throwing distance. I wasn’t paying attention to her and almost drifted right into the anchor line. When I finally noticed the ship and crew, they were all smiling and one guy waved a friendly wave to me as I paddled away.My clicker sounded and I put my reel in free spool while I reeled in my other poles. I always do this so that the halibut will have time to get the bait well inside their mouth, but this fish wasn’t just setting there like a halibut. This fish was really moving out and so I stopped playing with the other poles and went back to the live bait rig. I began reeling in line until I could feel the fish but then the line went slack. When I reeled up the hook was gone. I figured that there must have been a nick in the Seaguar 15# test fluorocarbon leader that I was using. I put on another hook and sent down another jumbo smelt. By now the wind had shifted and I was drifting north towards the canyon in 100’ of water. The clicker again and this time I got a solid hook set. I put my watch in stopwatch mode and started the timer. This fish was moving away fast and coming up to the surface. Almost instantly I was into my backing and then the fish began to slow to a stop, but before I could get any line back the fish took off again and about that time my 400 was out of line and so I thumbed the spool and hoped for the best. I was fighting the fish perpendicular to my kayak. The fish was pulling my kayak and bait bucket directly into the wind. Even with all of this drag we were still moving fast. My line drew up guitar string tight and then went slack. I looked at my watch and was amazed to see that the whole thing had only taken 2 minutes and 57 seconds from start to finish. When I reeled in I found that my hook was missing just like the first time.I tied on another hook and sent down the last smelt and even before it reached the bottom something hit it, but what ever it was cut my line as quickly as the first fish had.I put on a 6’ leader made of 80-pound test, paddled back to the kelp and quickly caught two more smelt. Then I paddled back out into 100’ of water and for the next three hours I waited and waited and waited, but they weren’t there any longer. My window of opportunity had come and gone.John
Great Report John! You had me on the edge of my seat. Sometimes I cheat and just go to the bottom looking for a fish count,lol. I'm glad I read it through. Nice!
jas
(PS) I'll get those dodgers out asap so your next report can be about barn door halibuts in La Jolla.
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