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Posted by Brendan on 13:29:56 12/04/03
Its always a good idea to check the weather report right before you leave in the morning... Especially this time of year. With the frequency of offshore storms, and variation in pressure gradients, things can change real quick.
Though the weather didn't ruin my last trip of the season, it definitely called for a change of plans and inventive thinking. The report had called for 5-7 foot swells and 5-15knot wind for Wednesday. When I woke up, it had changed to 10-20 knot with winds above 25 knots below point sur. The swell was no problem, actually the ideal for the area I would be fishing. 10-20 knot winds would make things difficult. I got down to Garrapata on the north end of Big Sur as the sun was rising over the Ventanas. Absolutely beautiful! Made the day worthwhile in and of itself. However, even at the early hour of 6:30 am, whitecaps were building at the edge of the kelp. Garrapata is one of my favorite areas to fish. The two island sized rocks about a mile offshore and beautiful surroundings, coupled with the consistent number of big lings, reds, coppers and cabezon, makes this area one I will always return to. However, this area gets the brunt of the northwest winds that come howling down our coast from the Guld of Alaska. So, I decided that I didn't want to deal with the wind when it was blowing so hard so I opted for another spot back up Hwy 1 called Yankee Point. This spot offers a bit more protection due to its proximity to the Point Lobos (its out of the boundaries) headlands.
It was still blowing when I got there, but not as hard. Finally, by 8 am, after carrying my gear down a trail and lowering my boat over a cliff, I was able to launch. Once I got around the point, the breeze was up. It was all about tying up to the bull kelp and casting scampis into the 80+ foot water. The fishing was alright, but not as good as I've seen it down there on past trips. The storm that had passed through a few days past had probably sent all the rocks and lings out into deeper water. Anyway, managed 4 short lings, 2 keepers for the freezer 28 inches and 31 inches, 2 fat reds for the freezer, and a number of smaller rockfish that I released unharmed. All of these fish were caught on 6 inch scampis and 3 oz heads with half or whole squids pinned on. The wind started to get real bad so I was off the water by noon.
The winters here, but we should get the occasional flat calm winter window. I can hardly wait for the warm, breezeless days of late summer/early fall to return. I saw some of the best weather off the Big Sur coast this past summer and it makes going back to the more "typical" conditions a little bit of a heartbreaker.
TL and Happy Holidays
Brendan
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