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Posted by Brendan on 10:54:36 09/06/03
Just got back from the burningman festival with 2 days off work... So, I decided to go fishing.
Drove down to Big Sur on a whim and a good weather report Thursday night to camp near one of my secret little coves. Woke at day break, hauled my boat and metal frame kayak gear backpack through the bluffs, and down the cliff to get to my spot. The launch was a bit more difficult than usual due to a mixed south and west swell, but doable none the less. Out through the rock garden, dodging boilers along the way, to find myself in a thick bed of both bull and pacific giant kelp. Decided to trade kelp bed fishing for the deeper lairs, and bigger fish, out a bit further... Paddled past a circle of 8 rocks that I have named the sea kings and into water that was around 100 feet deep. The structure out in this area is amazing. Thousands of pinnacles that come up anywhere from 10 feet of the bottom to the surface.
First drop down I was bouncing a rootbeer scampi, 4 oz head, and whole squid on 20 lb line for a huge ling. Guessing around 10-12 lbs. I usually fish 12lb line on a bass outfit down here, but decided to step up a bit after getting rocked so many times by big lings in the area. The next drop after that resulted in a plump four pound red, and the day went as such. I managed a fish almost every other drop, with some spots producing a fish every drop while others were a bit slower. Caught a lot of lings and reds, up to 14 lbs and 8 lbs respectively. I also managed a decent sized bright red cabezon. The aspect of this trip that amazed me was the shere number of reds being caught. No olives, blacks, or blues, just red after red, with the occasional good sized copper being thrown in for variety. The number of good sized reds in the area could be considered an indicator species for the overall health of the ecosystem. Big Sur is a wild place and the fishing can be phenomenal. If you come up here, please come with respect for our fishery and only take home what you plan on keeping. If your interested in the fishing up here, drop me an email.
TL
Brendan
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