Report? - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Hunters Pa · 09-06-2014, 09:07 AM

OK, here it is. Those of you with younger kids will know how it goes, the price you pay for a day on the water - kid duty, to do list, cleaning up your fishing stuff so the garage doesn't stink, etc.

Got the call (text, actually) Thursday from Jim that he was going out for a crab run Friday and searching for bonita during the soak. At first I was not optomistic about clearing my calendar, and also not having my gear in order. Then things started to fall into place. Able to move meetings, Jim had a couple extra hoops I could borrow. PA still needed some rigging but I was going to just go with what I had and could borrow.

Loaded the PA on top of teh SUV - yeah, 155 pounds of me put it up there. Made some runners out of 8' 2x4s, some outdoor carpet and a couple wall hooks. Slid right on up. Loaded everything I might need and finally got to bed around 11.

Met up with Jim at Redondo a bit before 7. Started rigging up and FF would not power up - rushed job, probably grabbed a battery that needed charged. No worries, Jim had his.

I had brought a couple cages stuffed with salmon trimmings. Forgot to grab clips or zipties. That's ok, secured with mono - more on that later. Put the bait tank from my Trident on the back and launched. Jim had buzzed out with his trolling motor and I was pedalling to catch up. Could not believe the room on the PA. Wide, like a lot of girls I had dated. Stable, unlike a lot of girls I had dated. Enjoyed the hands-free propulsion.

Got to the grounds and dropped 1, 2, 3, 4 hoops. Trolled on the way out looking for bones but it was nothing but greenbacks. Hoping for a smaller greenie to send to the bottom for a soak. Did not get a small one until until later in the morning.

Played with greenies most of the morning, keeping half dozen or so for bait. Time to pull traps.

First pull - 3 nice crabs. They were not happy about having their meal interrupted. Into the bait tank they went. Next pull was one of the hoops with the salmon bait. Don't know if it was the sealion that was following us or if teh cage was just not shut, but the cage was empty. Jim loaded it on the back of his PA and we moved on. That Scotty trap puller he had sure made short work of hetting those hoops to the surface. Next hoop, one crab. Into the bait tank and hoop sent back. Next was another salmon hoop. On this one the bait cage was completely gone. No trace. Guess it was not secured as well as I had hoped.

Left the set for another soak and went back to the search for bonita. Not as active on the greenbacks as it was earlier, but enough to keep it interesting.

Summary for the day, 11 crabs for the two of us with 4 hoops. Mackeral in the freezer and a couple of good lessons learned on rookie mistakes.

Oh, the whistle? That's for when I get bored. About as complex a musical instrument as I can handle.

Actually, I always have that on the water. When I started doing this yak thing 10 years ago I took the name Hunters Pa to keep me reminded that there are people at home counting on me coming home. For me, safety and backup plans every time.

Great hooping with you Jim. Looking forward to the next time.

09-06-2014, 09:07 AM	#1
Hunters Pa Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Fullerton Posts: 1,361	OK, here it is. Those of you with younger kids will know how it goes, the price you pay for a day on the water - kid duty, to do list, cleaning up your fishing stuff so the garage doesn't stink, etc. Got the call (text, actually) Thursday from Jim that he was going out for a crab run Friday and searching for bonita during the soak. At first I was not optomistic about clearing my calendar, and also not having my gear in order. Then things started to fall into place. Able to move meetings, Jim had a couple extra hoops I could borrow. PA still needed some rigging but I was going to just go with what I had and could borrow. Loaded the PA on top of teh SUV - yeah, 155 pounds of me put it up there. Made some runners out of 8' 2x4s, some outdoor carpet and a couple wall hooks. Slid right on up. Loaded everything I might need and finally got to bed around 11. Met up with Jim at Redondo a bit before 7. Started rigging up and FF would not power up - rushed job, probably grabbed a battery that needed charged. No worries, Jim had his. I had brought a couple cages stuffed with salmon trimmings. Forgot to grab clips or zipties. That's ok, secured with mono - more on that later. Put the bait tank from my Trident on the back and launched. Jim had buzzed out with his trolling motor and I was pedalling to catch up. Could not believe the room on the PA. Wide, like a lot of girls I had dated. Stable, unlike a lot of girls I had dated. Enjoyed the hands-free propulsion. Got to the grounds and dropped 1, 2, 3, 4 hoops. Trolled on the way out looking for bones but it was nothing but greenbacks. Hoping for a smaller greenie to send to the bottom for a soak. Did not get a small one until until later in the morning. Played with greenies most of the morning, keeping half dozen or so for bait. Time to pull traps. First pull - 3 nice crabs. They were not happy about having their meal interrupted. Into the bait tank they went. Next pull was one of the hoops with the salmon bait. Don't know if it was the sealion that was following us or if teh cage was just not shut, but the cage was empty. Jim loaded it on the back of his PA and we moved on. That Scotty trap puller he had sure made short work of hetting those hoops to the surface. Next hoop, one crab. Into the bait tank and hoop sent back. Next was another salmon hoop. On this one the bait cage was completely gone. No trace. Guess it was not secured as well as I had hoped. Left the set for another soak and went back to the search for bonita. Not as active on the greenbacks as it was earlier, but enough to keep it interesting. Summary for the day, 11 crabs for the two of us with 4 hoops. Mackeral in the freezer and a couple of good lessons learned on rookie mistakes. Oh, the whistle? That's for when I get bored. About as complex a musical instrument as I can handle. Actually, I always have that on the water. When I started doing this yak thing 10 years ago I took the name Hunters Pa to keep me reminded that there are people at home counting on me coming home. For me, safety and backup plans every time. Great hooping with you Jim. Looking forward to the next time.