20 Nov 6 , 2020 VOL . 39 • ISS . 23
Spotlight On Kayak Fishing ...
Sponsered by Kayak City in Citrus Heights , CA
Kayak City . Com 916.565.1400
Summer 2020 Kayak Mothership Adventure To San Clemente Island : Part 1
By Zack Clift , Kayak City Fishing Team
When we started the planning for our Summer 2020 Mothership trip to San Clemente Island , we had no idea the impact that COVID-19 would have on those plans . As the date for our trip got closer , it looked as though it would not actually happen . Up until the day before our departure the entire San Diego fleet had been docked , with no outlook of being released to go fishing . We always book this trip through Fish VIllage , so it was a constant stream of messages and emails back and forth with them to see if we would actually get off the dock . Behind the scenes Fish Village and Islander Sportfishing were working hard to make sure we could get to the Island as soon as the powers that be would allow us . When we finally got the call that the trip was a go , we shot out the door ready for action . I met up with my buddies Andy and Ryan and we loaded our gear into Ryan ’ s truck and headed South to San Diego . We had my trusty WIlderness Systems Radar 135 , Andy ’ s Radar 135 and Ryan ’ s Outback , and enough gear to head out on a 10 day trip . What can I say , the Central Coast crew comes prepared . When we arrived at Fisherman ’ s Landing , we were greeted by the Fish Village crew as well as the Islander crew and informed of the new Covid-19 protocol while on board . We got checked in and loaded our massive amount of gear on the Islander and left the dock around 8:00 pm . Headed for San Clemente Island in search of Yellowtail ! On the morning of day 1 of our 2 day adventure I had my alarm set for 4:30 am . I was pleased to smell the sweet aroma of freshly brewed coffee up in the galley . When I made my way up the stairs I could see that the Islander ’ s Chef Mike was already hard at work cooking a breakfast of French Toast , Sausage , Eggs and some fresh fruit . What a way to fuel up for a day on the water . Having prepped all of my gear on the way out the night before , I was ready to hit the water as soon as the sun started to rise . Over the stern my Radar 135 went , and the crew began handing me my rods and other gear . They loaded my Wildy Thrive baitwell up with a couple scoops of live sardines and I was on my way . It did not take long for the action to begin . After only about 10 minutes of slow trolling a live bait , the clicker on the Okuma Komodo started screaming ! Let it eat I told myself , let it eat . After a good 20 count I put the reel in gear and the fight was on ! I was hooked up ! Fish on ! I yelled over the radio . Yellowtail have a fight to them like no other . The strength of these fish is unbelievable ! This fish was on my custom Seeker Inshore Pro ( built by Crafted Fishing Rods ) which is only a 10-17lb rod so I didn ’ t want to force the fish to the kayak . It pulled me around a bit and made a few strong runs , but I could tell that this was a smaller grade fish . After seeing some color near the kayak , I put some more pressure on the fish to get it in before a sea dog decided it wanted breakfast . I got the fish close enough to land a good gaff shot and had it on deck ! Success ! I had landed my first Yellowtail of the trip ! After bleeding the fish and putting it on my game clip , I pinned on 2 fresh baits and went back to slow trolling hoping to find another one . It only took about another 15 minutes or so before I would get that opportunity . The clicker was yelling at me again , FISH ON ! This time it was my Okuma
Tesoro paired with my Seeker Beacon rod that was getting the action .. Once again I let it eat and then put the reel in gear and set the hook ! I could tell right away it was a better grade of fish but it was still no monster . It put up a much better fight than the first fish , and being it was on a more appropriate rod / reel combo , I was able to put a lot more pressure on it and get it to the kayak . Another clean gaff shot and I had Yellowtail number 2 on board before most of the others had even hit the water ! I called over the radio to the Islander skiff for a fish pick up and some fresh bait ( even though I still had some in the Thrive baitwell , fresh baits are key !) and went back to work hunting fish . The next few hours proved to be pretty slow for me . I picked up quite a few Calico Bass but the Yellowtail did not seem to want to play anymore . I decided to head back to the boat for lunch and had one of the best dang bacon burgers I have ever eaten . After a killer lunch I decided to put the drone up to get some shots of the boat and the Island . The scenery at San Clemente never disappoints and I was able to get some really cool shots before I headed back out on the water . Calico bass after Calico bass was what was on tap for the next hour or so . Cruising around in the Radar 135 is effortless , so I decided to head to the South over near my buddy Dusty to see if he had any luck so far . I pinned on some more fresh baits , and slow trolled around while talking to Dusty about the start to our day . I stayed in that area for a while , and Dusty must have been my good luck charm because I was once again greeted with the familiar sound of my reel clicker going crazy . Game on again ! This fish had some serious fight to it , and in no way wanted to feel the point of my gaff . I let it make its runs and it put up a valiant fight , before I really put the wood to it and let it know who was in charge of this battle .
I got it to the kayak and stuck another gaff shot . I got it on deck and it ended up being my biggest so far . Maybe a 12-15 lb fish . Nothing huge but I was stoked to have another fish down . At this point the wind started to pick up so we all stayed close to the island in hopes to pick up some more fish while leap frogging the mothership south . As the wind picked up even more , I decided to end my day and head back to the Islander to relax and get ready for dinner . The weather forecast for the next day looked grim with winds gusting 30-40 mph , so the Islander Skipper John decided we would head to Catalina on day 2 in hopes of being able to hide from the wind . The trip over to Catalina was spent re-rigging and tying on new leaders and getting ready for the next days action . We spent that evening talking about the day , talking smack , joking around , and laughing a lot . You know fisherman type stuff . It had been one really killer day . Turns out I had the most Yellowtail for the day with my 3 . Again nothing huge but I was pretty stoked having skunked on the trip the year before . I was more than happy with my 3 decent fish . Tune in to the next issue of the Fish Sniffer for the conclusion of Zack ’ s adventure- Editor