By the time I exited the Mission Bay channel the sky was already becoming light. The sun came over the hills just after I paddled past Ocean Beach Pier.
I trolled a big Rapala as I went, but in hindsight it really wasn't a good idea, it slowed me down quite a bit. Looking at my Garmin data, I was averaging less than 3 mph for the first half of the day. My first bottom fishing spot was a small rise in about 90 feet of water. I didn't have any target species in mind, but it seemed like everything I caught was out of season, so I didn't stay long.
Kelp Rockfish (Sebastes atrovirens)
California Sheephead (Semicossyphus pulcher)
As I was putting away gear so I could resume paddling, I heard a "whoosh" to my right and looked over to see a whale, the first one I've seen in the wild! I was so excited, and it was even heading in my direction, so I'd probably get to see it up close.
When it resurfaced again, my happiness quickly changed to alarm. It was coming right at me! I gripped my paddle and camera at the same time and tried to get out of its way before it hit me.
It must have finally realized I was in front of it, because it dove just a few feet before it reached me. I looked down to see it pass directly under my kayak, and then I looked up to see its tail rise up taller than me. It disappeared beneath the water, and then bubbles started coming up all around me, so I paddled like crazy until I was well away from where I thought it might be.
The whale resurfaced 20 or 30 yards away and continued on its way. I ended up seeing two more later in the day, both headed in the same direction to the south. I'm sure the whale watching boats had a good day! My second fishing stop had swarms of big jacksmelt, so I didn't stay long there either.
Jacksmelt (Atherinopsis californiensis)
By the time I reached my third fishing spot, another small seamount, a layer of fog was rolling in from the south. You can see the change in color in my photos. Again I caught rockfish and sheephead, all of which were released.
Gopher Rockfish (Sebastes carnatus)
One thing I didn't consider when I planned my route was the kelp beds. It was a good thing I have a paddle kayak, because this would have been a problem if I had fins underneath me. Going over top of the kelp slowed me down a bit, but I kept on my course and was out of it before long.
My last fishing spot was a rise of about 25 feet surrounded by 40 feet of water. It looked like a fishy spot, but I knew I couldn't stay long because I needed to start my paddle back. I caught this vividly colored rock wrasse and a handful of small calico bass and then packed up my fishing gear.
Rock Wrasse (Halichoeres semicinctus)
Kelp Bass (Paralabrax clathratus)
The fog continued to roll in, so there wasn't much to see as I paddled along Point Loma. I chose a route a lot closer to shore compared to the way I came down in the morning.
By the time I reached Sunset Cliffs the fog had mostly cleared up. I was surprised by how much of the coast the surfers use. A couple times I had to correct my course away from shore so I didn't go into an area with a surf break big enough to get me into trouble.
The wind never became an issue, which I was very grateful for. I landed back at Mission Point Park 7.5 hours after I launched with my Garmin saying exactly 15 miles.
Miles: 15.09
Hours: 7:29
Overall the day was a success, and I learned a few things to help me plan my 20+ mile days in the future. I can probably launch an hour earlier, I should not mess around with trolling no matter how tempting it is, and for the sake of my lower back I should be really strict about a time limit of about 8 hours. There will always be a trade off between paddling time and fishing time, so I'm not going to do these crazy long sessions every time, probably once a month.
I'm looking forward to rockfish opening back up soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.