Kayak Fishing San Diego Kelp Beds

Down in off the coast of San Diego lies one of the top fisheries with great access for Kayak Fisherman. Inside close closeness after launching from the beach, one can paddle half a mile direct to the kelp beds that hold many aquatic game life like Calico Bass, California Sheepshead, Barred Sand Bass, California Halibut, California Yellowtail, and White Seabass. With also direct access to much deeper water a deep underwater canyon goes right through the area one may also fish for an variety of Rockfish and Lingcod. (jacksonkayak.com)

Spring in Southern California has me watching the weather forecasts and water temperatures closely, and to get out to the kelp beds when conditions permit. Its an thrilling time of year as many kinds of fish spawn in this season, and the pre-spawn warming water temps trigger their feeding to fatten up. Many fish that use up the winter in deeper water 100 – 200+’ will come into the kelp regions in 30 – 90′ to take benefit of the grunion, smelt, anchovies, sardines and other baitfish. (larryl.com)

Not a especially powerful swimmer, the white seabass reserves its power for short ambushing strikes. Once hooked they’ll make some strong runs and sooner or later tire themselves out and frequently end up floating upside down by the end of the fight, waiting for the gaff. They’re also notorious for strong headshakes which can result in the hook pulling out if adequate pressure isn’t maintained. Somewhat heavy line should still be used as they do possess the capability to bury themselves in the nearest kelp stringer. 50 or 65lb spectra mainline and 5 to 6 feet of 25 or 30lb fluorocarbon leader is satisfactory. (brianlongdesign.com)

Prime yellowtail regions are found around the Coronado Islands, La Jolla Kelp, the area between Oceanside and Dana Point, Horseshoe Kelp, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Santa Catalina Island and San Clemente Island. Most yellowtail taken by California anglers are landed on boats which anchor at spots where yellowtail are recognized to aggregate, then chum the fish to the ship with live anchovies. As the fish mill about the ship, anglers then use anchovies, mackerel or squid to catch them. Small boaters may take yellowtail by trolling jigs or feathers in regions where these fish happen. (sportfishsandiego.com)

The butterflies continued as I entered my kayak-an Ocean Scrambler XT-and the cold water slapped my knees. Anxiety turned to terror, then quickly to survival concentration as my yak and I were pummeled by a set of waves that was double the size of all the last sets that morning. As I made my way outside of the surf line, I was drenched by a big wave that broke over the bow and my head, nearly pitch-poling the kayak. Wet, cold, adrenaline pumping, I waited for Chris to launch and wondered what the hell I had gotten myself into. Chris joined me about five minutes afterward commenting that my launch was really good given that "the surf really picked up when you headed out. (topkayaker.net)

Hi tony, I went two weeks ago. Google mothers beach or baby beach in dana point, its at the wnd of the road past the ship launch are. Parking is free and you may be able to wheel the yak to the sand and launch. Its inside the harbor so no surf for an easy launch. I’ll be launching at the ship launch. My tandem island is 200lbs and was a real ache to wheel from the lot to the beach so I bought a trailer and will ship launch, its $10 to park and launch. I think the best place to meet could be the bait barge inside the harbor since we most likely wont be launching from the same spot$. (meetup.com)

Flylining bait is most likely one of the most successful methods for fishing the kelp beds. Usually, a live bait hook, from #4 to 2/0 based on bait size is tied to 10 to 20 lb. Test tackle with 15 lb. Being most likely the common without any sinker. A live anchovy or sardine bait is hooked and toss it overboard. Keep the reel out of gear so that the bait is allowed to swim freely, keeping only enough tension on the line with your fingers to be able to detect the struggling of the bait and the strike of the game fish. When bit, let the fish to run with the bait for some seconds, then clutch the reel in gear and set the hook. (socaloceanfishing.com)

Description: The body of the cabezon is elongate and stout. The head is big, broad and the snout is bluntly rounded. The mouth is big. The color is typically black brown, however a range of colors ranging from blue green to reddish brown happen and there’s much mottling. It seems somewhat like the lingcod, and on occasion has blue colored flesh. It’s a member of the true sculpin family and it can best be distinguished from the alike looking lingcod by: the lack of scales on its body; and by the presence of a small flap of skin, a cirrus, over each eye and in the center of the snout. The lining of its mouth is a pale to black blue and it also lacks the big teeth of the lingcod. (centralcoastkayakfishing.com)

Yellowtail off of La Jolla, sea bass in the San Diego Bay or big game sport fishing towards Baja. There is lots of fishing opportunities in La Jolla or just down the freeway in San Diego. Kayak fishing is well-liked in La Jolla. Half day, all day or multi-day fishing excursions with guides are available. You may be able to generally grab your gear and hit the shorelines or piers for some thrilling fishing action. (dreamlajolla.com)

As I mentioned in my last post, this year in Southern Califonia was one for the records. Tuna, Dorado and many yellowtail have been caught this year with high expectations that many more will be caught before this year is over. Because of this we decided to shoot a couple of episodes of my show here in San Diego. As seen in the last post we 1st attended the JAL memorial kayak fishing tournament and saw some great catches of big White Seabass and Yellowtail. (gameon2.wordpress.com)