Simpson Reef Report 11/18

November 25th marks the one year anniversary that I encountered a Great White. Oddly enough, the ocean conditions this year closely resembled those of a day that I will never forget. The winds were calm, the seas were flat and the ocean was a beautiful aqua blue. All of those factors had me spooked before I even got my kayak in the water that morning.

Evan and I headed straight for the reef while Justin took his time gearing up. He called over the radio saying that he got stuck on the beach talking with a guy who was interested in kayak fishing. The winds were up a bit on our way out and we had to deal with a little bit of chop. I was pretty nervous as we neared the reef. It felt like I could be launched from my kayak at any moment. The wind chop kept me from being able to see into the water very well and that helped to calm my nerves. It was hard not to glance in the water. It just felt really "sharky" and I couldn't shake the feeling.

I dropped my jig down and started a slow troll over some rocks that I could see on my fish finder. Evan was fishing parallel to me when I noticed a grayish white mass swim right between us. It was cruising about five feet below and the wind chop made it difficult to make out the actual size of it. I asked Evan if he could see it but it cruised by too fast.
"Don't look down there!" Evan said to me.
I was thinking "Shit, what the hell was that!?"

This was starting to feel like a bad idea...

I noticed some sort of gray and white sea bird bobbling around near us and decided that must have been what I saw. I was starting to calm down a bit.
It didn't take long and Evan and I had landed our first fish of the morning. Justin finally showed up and we all dropped jigs and jerked rods. The bite turned on and I forgot all about any shark that could be out there.

The wind died down and everything went smooth and blue. We caught lots of lings. Most of which were in the 28" to 32" range. I released some nice sized fish before I decided to keep a couple for the freezer.

The lingcod bite started to slow down right before I got ling #2. I switched gears and went on the hunt for some blacks.We could see schools of black rockfish under our kayaks. Every once in a while we could see a black break from the school to rocket up after a jig leaving the strike zone. I trolled jigs over piles of rockfish that I could see on my fish finder. I never did get into any huge blacks but I did end up with five decent fish.

Toward the end of the day we headed inland, closer to the cliffs on our way back to the launch. I poked around the rocks and snags and was finally rewarded with a fat cabezon. We headed back to Sunset Bay shortly after that. It was nice to get back on the beach. I realize the chance of ever seeing a GWS is pretty small, it was still hard to shake that feeling. That fear is so addicting. The rush of adrenaline, senses working in overdrive, the victory at sea when you see the fish surface that you've been looking for all day. I can't get enough of it.

Great report and pictures! I love the underwater pictures. I always tell myself I'm going to do more of that, and then I never do. I'm looking forward to getting out on the salt again, but it may be a while for me. Nice bundle of fish there... time for a feast.

Great report and pictures! I love the underwater pictures. I always tell myself I'm going to do more of that, and then I never do. I'm looking forward to getting out on the salt again, but it may be a while for me. Nice bundle of fish there... time for a feast.

Thanks Lauren! I have been meaning to get some cooler shots. I think this one turned out pretty well. I'm inspired to figure out new ways to get that perfect angle. 

Nice report, thanks. Makes me hungry, too.

I have fishing buddies that still refuse to go out into the salt with me due to their innate fear of the GWS or anything they can't see that could kill them out there. It's when I come back in one piece with a harvest of fish like yourself that I see a glimpse of hope in their eyes & the fear is temporarily forgotten.
At the Monterrey Aquarium I learned that GWS attacks are extremely uncommon, approximately only 50 ever recorded in history. The Aquarium has tracked their seasonal movements with GPS beacons & can confirm that they are very commonly around, especially in and out of SF Bay on a daily basis. I know there are a lot of people in the water in that Bay. Still, the adrenaline & fear are always present and you bet I stay alert, ready to poke out a shark eye to save myself if it comes down to it. 
Nice catch & once again thanks for the inspiration Chris.
Hugh

Great report! It's good to see people are getting out on the ocean still!

Hey, Chris did you know that Nov. and the first week of Dec. are the prime mating months for GWS along the Oregon coast. Maybe the shark thought your Hobie being the right size and color and those sexy peddles underwater! Just saying......................

I'm sure you'll never forget that day, I know I never would. Looks like a productive day though!