Who's gettin' salty?!?!?!?!

Thanks for the kind words INSAYN!   

Great pics everyone!  It was awesome fishing with ya'll.  I'll get mine up shortly.

The thing with jumping off and using the kayak as a boogie board is this kinda counter intuitive.
If you find yourself being run down by a rogue wave, jumping out early and attempting this maneuver probably isn't going to net you enough time to accomplish the task.

Right, but sometimes you just know you aren't going to be able to surf.  Jumping out and holding the front of the boat is for when you know you can't make the ride in beforehand.

A 16 foot tarpon doesn't surf worth a crap and has zero rocker in the front.  Unless the waves are under 2 foot face, it's going to nose dive.   

For me, doing the superman is reserved for when I've been knocked off my boat and I realize I'm about to get worked by another big wave.  You have more control while on your kayak as opposed to hanging onto it. 

OK, so who lost a RAM mount rod holder?  A lady came up to Rawkfish & I before launching the second morning, with one in her hand, and said they had found it in the sand.  I thought it was probably Willbd's, but according to him it's not.   INSAYN maybe?  Anyone?

The thing with jumping off and using the kayak as a boogie board is this kinda counter intuitive.
If you find yourself being run down by a rogue wave, jumping out early and attempting this maneuver probably isn't going to net you enough time to accomplish the task.

Right, but sometimes you just know you aren't going to be able to surf.  Jumping out and holding the front of the boat is for when you know you can't make the ride in beforehand.

A 16 foot tarpon doesn't surf worth a crap and has zero rocker in the front.  Unless the waves are under 2 foot face, it's going to nose dive.   

Lee, I agree with hopping out and just grabbing the handle if you have the time.  I was referring to the remounting and riding Boogie Board style.  I think it would take to long to do, or not necessary if time allowed.   Unless of course it was planned just for the thrill of it.

My first day on the salt coming in at Devils Punch Bowl was very similar to Sunday in the surf till it burrows kind of approach.  Only that time the wave just flipped my T13 and left it right in front of me to grab the rear toggle.  I took another wave over the head, and then flipped he yak over from behind.  Keeping a grip on the toggle I was pulled swiftly to shore without incident.  I think this would have been my go to approach had I known that the wave was going to be a contender in the game Sunday.  I think someone in the surfing community has more "Chi" than I do and asked for some better waves to form.

OK, so who lost a RAM mount rod holder?  A lady came up to Rawkfish & I before launching the second morning, with one in her hand, and said they had found it in the sand.  I thought it was probably Willbd's, but according to him it's not.   INSAYN maybe?  Anyone?

Now that I think of it, I don't remember pulling my Revolution Rod holder back out of the hatch after beach recovery. 

Does it look like the one in this picture?
If it is, I stand corrected.  I didn't think I lost anything other than the sponge towel that was wadded up in a side pocket. 
Which ironically is in the same picture next to the water pump.  The blue thingy there.




I took it off and tossed it in the front hatch with everything else that I thought would stay put. 
As you can see here, I cleared the deck and secured everything topside, but that damn hatch security system is getting a work over real soon! 

Yeah Craig, that was it.  We were pretty befuddled seeing that!

Yeah Craig, that was it.  We were pretty befuddled seeing that!

I took everything off that I could get snagged on, but I'm telling you that was almost useless having the hatch stretching open like that when waves hit it from below. That would be the heaviest item that wasn't in a dry bag (conveniently floating inside the hull).  First chance it had to escape, it must have bailed. 

I owe somebodies a beer?   

It was great to see everyone out at the launch!! I counted about 11 yaks on the water on Sunday.  The surf was a little bigger than what I had anticipated, but it didn't seem like anyone had a problem on the way out.

Langcod & Noah unloading




Getting ready to launch


Ling Banger punchin' out like a boss!


Conditions were amazing for most of the day, but it started raining around 3 or so.



INSAYN fighting a rockfish






As mentioned before, mid-twenties lings was the name of the game Sunday.  At one point I decided that the school I was marking and dropping in on was actually a ball of lings instead of the school of rockfish I thought it was.  For all of the lings I caught I was surprised that I couldn't seem to find one over 27".  I found a couple of schools of blacks and caught all that I wanted to keep.  The most productive school was in about 80 feet though so reeling them up from that depth and dealing with them getting barotrauma got old quick. 

Cabby




DeaFish, it was great meeting you out there!

I found a couple of schools of blacks and caught all that I wanted to keep.  The most productive school was in about 80 feet though so reeling them up from that depth and dealing with them getting barotrauma got old quick.

Thanks again for sharing so much knowledge on Sunday, Jeff. It was a blast. How were you dealing with the barotrauma for those fish? I just kept all of the ones I caught at that depth but I wasn't sure how to send them back if I wanted to.

...damn hatch security system is getting a work over real soon! 

Would you mind posting pics of this when completed?  I've had the hatch open on the Outback also.  I was thinking of a snap buckle system at the front of the hatch in addition to the bungees...

Thanks again for sharing so much knowledge on Sunday, Jeff. It was a blast. How were you dealing with the barotrauma for those fish? I just kept all of the ones I caught at that depth but I wasn't sure how to send them back if I wanted to.

The easiest way to do it is if you're going to release them, do it as quick as you possible can.  Usually if you toss a fish back right away, it should be able to make it back down under it's own power.  For the bigger ones though, I use a send-down rig.  Essentially it is a piece of tuna chord that has a clip on one end for putting about a pound or more of weight on and a clip on the other end to snap on to your line where the jig is - maybe right on to the eye of the jig or to a swivel or duo-lock snap already on your line somewhere.  In the middle of the rig is a upside down 9/0 barbless hook.  Simply hook the rockfish in the top lip from the outside to the inside and send it down about 50 feet and reel back up.   

Cool. So you don't need to hold the fish at 50 for any period of time?

Yeah INSAYN, that's the one.  I have it in my gear box, hopefully we can work out a time to meet up soon so u don't have to go without.  What are the chances of that nice lady & her family stumbling upon it while Jeff & I were just about to launch?  Get yourself some scratch-its Craig

Yeah INSAYN, that's the one.  I have it in my gear box, hopefully we can work out a time to meet up soon so u don't have to go without.  What are the chances of that nice lady & her family stumbling upon it while Jeff & I were just about to launch?  Get yourself some scratch-its Craig

If I go and try my hand at a scratch it, I'll probably drown in my Cheerios in the morning. 
I want to chuck it up to Karma looking after me, and not so much Luck. 

I'll line up a time in April with ya to retrieve it, and we'll get a beer.