i finally caught a friggin fish!!!!!!
 

On my first ever paddle of any harbor in to the mighty pacific. ive been fishing lakes and NPH for a little bit now and have never actually caught a fish. i was tired of getting skunked. my target for today was to catch a fish, any fish at all. i was going to head out yesterday but for some reason the holiday got me all lazy and all.

ive never launched from the coast guard beach so i thought id give it a try. i dont have wheels, so the carry was good one. i was out on the water by 0700. paddled along the jetty and thought id shine my balls and head out to corona del mar. paddle out and thought where the heck am i going to go. so i thought like a calico, and i said go to the kelp beds. i ventured in for nada. so i hit the outside edges and started a drift. i was metering fish but none wanted to play. so i metered some bait and saw some arches below them. threw the plastic and on the drop i felt a good tug and pull. i calmly set the hook and thought oh great my first fish is a makarel cause i was fighting like one. but once it got to color i saw the checkers. first ever fish was a calico. ended up doing about 5 more drifts for 3 more calicos. all fish were safely released. im pretty new to the kayak fishing scene so im pretty green. if there is anyone that would like to give me a few pointers, it would help greatly. and if anyone needs a buddy to head out with let me know. i am usually free. im just happy to pull on some fish, i have officially been kayak fishing de-virginized! time to celebrate. :cheers1:

Good story, congrats!

Congrats
that's a good day:cheers1:
it only gets better!

Congrats on the fish.

Greenback or Mossback...its all good!!!!!!!!!!!
WTG!!!:cheers1::reel:

You didn't catch a fish you caught 4 Fish!!!! Awesome, well done, great times:cheers1:

Broke the skunk in a big way. WTG.

you gotta read this to yourself in the "Carl voice"...
you know...Carl...from Sling Blade...
"I like the way you talk"


Mmmhmm...aight den...
four fish just a tuggin' on yer strang!
now you've gone 'n' done it!
you started da uncontrollable, never endin', always a naggin' atchye,
MmmmmHmmm...
can't stop thinkin' 'bout da need...
it's addiction for which der aint no cure...mmmmm....
der is...MmmHmmm...
a preescription fer what ails ya...














































GIT ANOTHA TUGGER!
Aight den!

Good job on the catch and release....the water looks pretty good.

Nice trip and this was just a warm up. Go get them monsters!:D

got my first yakkin calico in the same exact spot, was actually 5 for the day throwing the crank bait around the kelp, but most are small at the kelp if you want a bigger fish throw towards the boilers around there and hold on :reel:

Congrats...:cheers1:

Esp. like how the flip flops match the yak...:biggrinjester:...and killer name by the way...

:cheers1:

CONGRATS! Pretty green myself. Trying to fish Cabrillo beach sunday morning if you want to join.

That's a good start. Get used to your craft, being on the water, taking it slow. Eventually, you'll be on the big ones. Good luck.

Congrats on poppin that cherry !
:luxhello:

Another nice rig shot, gonna have to get one of mine someday, I love hearin' a first yak fish story...like they said it's all over now, you are officially addicted...congrats...:reel:

Good Job! Harbor water looks pretty clean too for being post rain storm.Maybe it was an incoming tide.Overall,how did the water look?

Way to go man, lots more where that came from.

Congrats, looking forward to more reports.

Congrats on your first fish. If my back ever heals up to where I can load my kayak you're welcome to join me. I love that area. As was already mentioned, the bigger models will be on the boilers.

Pardon my noobness, but what is a boiler?

A boiler is a rock sticking out of the water. If the rock is just under the surface the water kinda looks like its boiling as a wave passes.

These are good targets to hit for bass. They like these areas because they provide protection, a place to ambush prey, and lots of water movement. Cast a rubber at the boiler as a wave is receding and it imitates a prey caught in the current.

nice......your on it now.

hi ray, glad to see that you got a chance to get out onto the water. matt and i went out last saturday to cabrillo and he caught a nice hali. the next time we go, i'll call you and maybe you and matt can hitch a ride together since you guys are so close.
keep in touch, hope to see you out on the water. :cheers1:

You did better than I did, I fished the same area wed. and got 1 cailco in front of the kelp. Lots of small macks for bait. 2 got hit but dropped and a larger fish hooked on a whole sqiud. so it's good to see theres life out there. Newport is the closest for me so I paddle out there often. let me know next time your heading out I'll join ya.

Congrats on the fish and welcome to the addiction!
 

Sling Blade is one of the best movies of all time, a must see for those who missed it! One of my favorites from that movie: "I reckon the good Lord wouldn't send you to hate-eez---you're just a boy" :cheers1:

very dangerous color swimbait for bass and halibut, one of my favs. NICE day out! :cheers1:

nice day out there :cheers1:

Had this thread set to email when a response came in but i didnt get it. thank you guys all for that info! really helpful!