Heh.
So I actually was supposed to go out with a guide a couple of months back but his truck broke down the night before... I already had my kayak on the truck and was crashing at a friend's house up the road. Sooo I had him talk me through the launch/landing the night before. Launch was fine. timed it in the sets, and got out great. The landing though... I assumed I would just ride a wave in and steer through any issues... the wave I "caught" didn't really give me much of a choice..... In one very swift motion, I simultaneously turned and rolled... thankfully only lost my sunglasses, and my baitrunner was no worse for wear after a little washing.

But yeah... Learned the hard way about how to watch the sets coming in :)

Just got an Avet SX, so I think I'll be keeping it in a ziploc for launch/landing until I get the hang of it.

one more... I've also been enjoying this series this guy just published kayak fishing up and down the west coast... Specifically this one in North Ventura https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWLk...Kj2SwH&index=9 Not a very productive day in the vid, but I'm curious if anyone's had much luck fishing off that manmade island and pier that connects to it. Seems like a pretty decent bit of structure.

I've launched at Leo Carillo, now depending on the surf if its flat or small you can launch at the entry just north of the rock where the surfers take off.Now beware when coming in from this area cause the surf can nail you. You can also launch at the beach parking lot area and paddle south.Talk to the lifeguards at the lookout and beach sta.Good luck!

have not checked it out yet. Can one person get to the water easily? this is for the county line comment.

Professor fishing
 

Very kool videos

Where's 'County Line'?

LA/Ventura county line. On the pch, across from Neptune's Nest. Big surfing spot. And fishing.

Cronus, very easy to get to the water at County, but I've never braved launching there.

Andy

X 2 that launch is not for beginners. Only give it a shot on small surf day 1-2 ft and have absolutely EVERYTHING tucked away. Even the seasoned kayaker can take a spill there on a small day.

I've been at it for several years and I just prefer to avoid the hassle of launching there. I would just wear a wetsuit for that and bring 1-2 rods tucked away.

Well, that was interesting.

I am now batting 500 on the launches and 500 on the landings.

Went out to Leo Carrio up near Tower five to just go play in the surf today around 3 PM. Spent a good half hour watching the sets to try to time my launch. Thought I was at the end of a set, and had one more wave coming in right as I threw my feet over into the kayak. That. Did not. Go well :-)

Lost a Calstar rod for my trouble and learned a little bit about Rod leashes today.

Got out and spent about an hour watching the waves. Finally got the rhythm of it and had a practically boring landing which was a nice alternative.

Probably going to run out on Sunday morning. Probably going to try to launch south of the rocks this time

Take some time to play in the surf without any fishing gear on board. Get to know how your kayak handles.

Been a while since I have been out through surf, I should probably do this too as a refresher

I learned two things recently that help landing significantly.

1. When coming in to land you always should jump out before the next set and run to the back of the kayak to grab the back as the wave passes. ( assuming you don't land on the sand and have plenty of time)

2. A bow rope will go a long way in controlling your kayak when you are on the side. A bow rope is a rope that ties from the nose of your kayak to the middle. This way when you jump off you immediately have a line to hang on to control the kayak. This also allows you to slide your hand from the middle of the kayak to the front without letting go in the surf.

Dumb question: Why wouldn't someone jump out and grab the bow handle instead and drag it up shore? The quicker you're out of the water, the quicker you are out of the yard sale zone, no?

This is a great idea. Almost like a dual purpose anchor trolley that you can use to control the direction of the boat. Also possibly to be used as a safety "grab spot" if the shit ever hits the fan. Hmmmm.......

As always, thanks for the input and suggestions.
The story actually has a happy ending to it as well.

When I was getting ready to launch yesterday, I told myself I wasn't going to put any gear on the boat that wasn't for paddling... Seat, Paddle, life jacket, Dolley. At the last minute, I thought... "well I could just put this older short rod on here and troll the kelp once I get out there. Maybe I'll luck out on an old halibut" An old Penn TLD (15 yrs) on a 6' Calstar. Of course, when I wiped out in my launch, I had it bungeed on to the side in a couple of places, but that wasn't enough to keep it on. Nice lesson there.

I saw it once while getting control of my boat, and there was a guy in his RV who was nice enough to run down and help me drag it up. Rod disappeared when I turned around (this is also the 2nd pair or sunglasses I've lost in the surf too. I've learned to stow them, no matter how tight I can get my croakies)

The guy advised me a bit on how to watch the surf and actually told me when to go... worked out great. While I was sitting out there watching the sets before coming in (it really is an impressive and scary sight to see the swells when the ocean just drops a few meters out in front of you.) and I saw the rod fly up out of the water just once. Took me at least 30 mins before I could get a feel for when there was calm. I find that part requires a lot of patience and concentration, as it's not entirely obvious to the untrained eye... I honestly "felt" more like it had calmed down than I had acutely observed.

I sat on the beach for another little while watching for my rod to pop up once I had landed. The same guy came back and offered me his number, *and* helped me haul my kayak onto my truck. Said it would probably wash up in high tide and that he'd grab it for me. Sure enough he and his wife went for a walk last night, found it in the hands of a woman on the beach who had just picked it up 50 yds north/west, and claimed it for me. Actually went a long way toward my faith in the kindness of strangers. Planning to bring the man a nice bottle of tequila.

At any rate, I think I've learned my lesson around not launching unless I can piggy-back off of the experience of someone else and follow their lead.... At least not until I can clearly read the sets. My back got pretty rashed up in the rocks, and I hear infection is not something to play around with in saltwater.
I'm still finding sand behind my ears, and I'd prefer to avoid this in the future.

I'm even toying around with finding someone non-fishing focused to get some launch lessons from.... Maybe just spend a day going in and out so it feels less daunting. After that botched launch, I was a but gun shy to land. . . i honesly feel like a little fear is probably healthy :)

As far as I can tell, 90% of this is reading the surf, but I'm also interested in practicing techniques like these so that I'm prepared when everything goes to shit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRdYMIU3Di8

One big mistake I learned from yesterday was that I tried to go legs first into the kayak, and my foot got caught coming over the boat... It was a horrible false start.

I've seen a mix of this on youtube videos... I realize a lot of people throw a leg over, straddle, and sit... Then pull legs in... Seems like a much more stable way to get in.

At any rate, i'm rambling... I hope to see some of you out on Sunday morning. Thinking I'll try to launch the south/east side of the rocks on Leo Carillo based on that map provided by Cronus. That's super helpful, as I never considered using the gated entrance to pull the kayak through... especially when they're still closed.

As the surf tends to come from the NW, launching from the protected S/E side of that point/rocks seems like a smart idea.

Thanks Cronus!

This too (would probably helped me two Sundays ago when I yard saled there on landing):

Thanks Denis.

Andy

Hey ProfessorLongArms, I sent you a PM.

This is kind of a nuanced and situational.

In a perfect landing you are coming in with forward momentum and stop on the sand with 5-6 seconds to run to the front of the kayak before the next set comes in. So you are able to drag away from the break zone before the next set.

However more often then not, you will hop off while still in 2-4 ft of water and realize that the next set is closer that you thought. Being in water does not allow for a full sprint to the front handle. Even if you do get to the front handle, it is tough to get a very solid grip quickly and when the next wave comes in it will either rip the kayak out of your hand or swing it sideways as you are pulling and cause it to roll( the back end will outrace the front due to incoming water). Grabbing the back of the kayak as the next wave passes allows you to steady the kayak from rolling and hold on to it at a rear pivot point from preventing it from turning parallel to the beach.

Again, this is very situational and is for normal conditions. There are different techniques depending on what kind of waves you are dealing with.

I am still nursing a broken finger from an attempt in too big of surf at Leo. And that was just from trying to hold my kayak in place in the low surf before getting on. The returns can be intimidating, especially after hearing some of the large waves crash off those rocks. I have a Feelfree Lure 13.5 kayak which is very stable, 36" wide. On the day with the huge waves I never rolled but got pulled back to shore while trying to launch which just wiped me out, was totally out of gas. Had to wait like 30 min before I had the energy to try again. But have been very lucky lately. I will be out there tomorrow trying to stock my freezer with fish. Both Saturday and Sunday look to be very low surf days. Hopefully this will not be the third time in a row that I forget a hat......

And is anyone using bait or just jigs and soft bodies? I usually have some frozen squid out while I am working a jig. I do not have a bait tank so no live bait for me. I will occasionally re-hook a mackerel and send him back out but have not had luck wit that yet. Have some new grubs I want to try along with some lures that have still not seen the water yet.

OUCH. Sorry to hear about the broken finger. I count myself pretty lucky that I walked away with just some scrapes yesterday, as I got in that one spot you're never supposed to be with the kayak between you and a wave.

My setup is looking pretty similar, though I have a live bait tank and a sabiki.
I'm probably going to go out in the afternoon and make a few more dry launches/landings so I'm ready to put some actual tackle and equipment in my boat on Sunday morning. Happy to share the wealth if I can make bait.

Go get 'em guys! My oldest leaves for college on Sunday so no fishing this weekend for me.

Andy

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for that extra explanation.

You really are good at details and describing stuff. You ever consider being a teacher? LOL