Winter kayak fishing

I get to spend more time in the Bay Area this winter.     Oh well, at least I'll avoid some of the rain.  Favorite winter time fishery down there for me is Oneil Forebay striped bass.  Mostly schoolies with the occastional 5-7 pounder and sometimes bigger, but the action can get hot and heavy for short bursts on topwater busting stripers.

Up in Seattle it'll be wintertime cutties on Lake Washington.

And of course winter time means snowboarding!!!

-Allen

Allen,

For Winter fishing in the Bay area,
November used to be good for Halibut off the South Jetty at Pillar point in Half Moon Bay. You need monster surf stuff and a spreader rig with plastic worms. But even hooking into a chicken halibut is a lot of fun (and tasty).
I did this years ago and I'm not up on the regs but there wasn't much fishing pressure from the jetty.
In the Spring around the North side of the Radar installation there is fair lingcod fishing. You can only get out to the reef at low tides and you have to watch the tide constantly so you don't get caught. Makes for a real adventure and the coast there is quite stunning.
You will also see lots of poke polers hunting for those wolf eels.
I used to fish for red tail surf perch just South of hwy 92 at a place we used to call Strawberry Beach.

Kurt

I will take my Ultimate 12 out if I get the chance. What I have in mind is paddling upstream from tidewater as far as I can go, and then wade fishing for steelhead and any cutthroat that may still be around. Only a couple of local streams where I can do this, and the river levels have to be within reason.
Otherwise I will be wade fishing for steelhead, on occasion.
The odd float with my buddy in his driftboat, whenever he calls me up out of the blue (he a pilot) and says "We are floating XX River day after tomorrow, unless it blows out. Be at my place at 6am."  (Aye Capt!)
Maybe a solo float or two in my own mini-drifter.

Plan to lake fish a few times, weather permitting (looking for a nice day when rivers are still blown) but might take one of my other boats, so I can bring a propane heater along. 

Allen,

For Winter fishing in the Bay area,
November used to be good for Halibut off the South Jetty at Pillar point in Half Moon Bay. You need monster surf stuff and a spreader rig with plastic worms. But even hooking into a chicken halibut is a lot of fun (and tasty).
I did this years ago and I'm not up on the regs but there wasn't much fishing pressure from the jetty.

Hmmm ... haven't heard much about near shore halibut fishing in November.  May have to check that out.  Thanks.

In the Spring around the North side of the Radar installation there is fair lingcod fishing. You can only get out to the reef at low tides and you have to watch the tide constantly so you don't get caught. Makes for a real adventure and the coast there is quite stunning.
You will also see lots of poke polers hunting for those wolf eels.

This area is slated to be closed as part of the CA MLPA Initiative.   

-Allen

The Clackamas for steelhead or salmon sounds like fun.  So does Willamette Sturgeon.  Flat, calm days on the ocean would be my preference but it's also a matter of availability.  Be nice to get the boat out...

I'm going to drift the lower Nehalem for native steelies this year. I keep hearing about the monster native steelhead the Nehalem gets, and how little pressure there is because it is a catch and release fishery.

I'm ok with that. It is a beautiful run, and pretty easy in a kayak. no real whitewater to speak of.

I'm also looking at a river running white water kayak. I'm going to try a little white water kayaking to get to those steelhead spots that no other anglers can.

I'm also hoping to get out with Brian for sturgeon on the Willamette.

Once there is a good supply of water in Dorman Pond at intersection of Hwys 6/8, I'd like to see if I can find a few summer hold over trout and of course some blue gills.

Is that the pond on 6 near gales creek?  used to fish it when I was small, when I would visit my aunt and uncle in gales creek for a week each summer

Yup, it's a tiny little water hole, but when there's fish biting it's worth the fishing.  It'll look like I'm kayaking in a bathtub. 

Be even funnier if we had a derby on the pond.  We'd all be tossing bait over each other's kayaks. 

Wait!  That's not a bad idea!  We could call it a Micro Derby.

Yup, it's a tiny little water hole, but when there's fish biting it's worth the fishing.  It'll look like I'm kayaking in a bathtub. 

Be even funnier if we had a derby on the pond.  We'd all be tossing bait over each other's kayaks. 

Wait!  That's not a bad idea!  We could call it a Micro Derby.

the winner to receive a 12 pack from local micro breweries?

Yup, it's a tiny little water hole, but when there's fish biting it's worth the fishing.  It'll look like I'm kayaking in a bathtub. 

Be even funnier if we had a derby on the pond.  We'd all be tossing bait over each other's kayaks. 

Wait!  That's not a bad idea!  We could call it a Micro Derby.

the winner to receive a 12 pack from local micro breweries?

Absolutely!   

I'll be hitting the Willy for sturgeon on the kayak (too much fun so close to home) and I'll probably hit some local lakes for stocked trout with my son.  Other than that, I'm hoping to finally get a steelhead drift fishing (non-kayak) this winter.  If I can figure out a decent stretch of river to get a steelhead in the kayak that would be even better.  Any steelhead experts out there willing to take me under their wing this winter?

Brian

I whent for a pre-work paddle around Ross Island on the Willamette yesterday (11/19/08), and saw 3 or 4 shaker sturgeon fly straight up out of the water. Several in the little channel between Ross & Toe Island.

Also last year at this time I had a good 5 footer jump straight out of the water and hit the bow of my kayak when it came down. That was 20 ft off of Elk Rock by Miluakie on the Willamette.

I think they are ready for us dude.

-Jason