Kayak Fishing Big Bear Lake

Kayak Fishing Big Bear Lake, California, in the summer is a lot of fun!

If you've been stuck on shore fishing and becoming a little tired of watching everyone else out on the water catching fish it might be time for you to invest in a kayak.  Kayaking is a great way to get on the water because there are no California Registration fees with the DMV and the lake access fees are usually less than  motor boats.  You can often find used Kayaks on Craig's List or Ebay for a few hundred dollars.  They also have decent ones during the summer at Costco for around 500 dollars.  If you want all the bells and whistles like rod holders and foot propelled with nice storage hatches and seats then it will likely cost you over a 1000 dollars.  Still much less than any other boats on the water.  Sit on Top fishing Kayaks are very durable  and will last you a long time.

Our first trip out to Big Bear Lake on the kayak was a July 4th weekend.  We paddled out the night before and watched the fireworks from the which is an amazing display over the water.  I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance to go!  The next day we headed out fishing on the Kayak.  We tried trolling from the kayak which works decently, but you have to do a lot of paddling.  Pulling lures on lead line works the best at anywhere from 2-5 colors depending on the thermocline and the depth of the fish.  You can often find this information before you go of from the Big Bear Lake Marina website http://www.bigbearmarina.com/.  You should spool your real with the lead line and then attach about 20 feet of 8 pound fluorocarbon line as the leader.  Then you can attach your lake troll, Rapala's, spoons, or baits to the end of this line.  I'll post another blog to detail trolling at a later date.

When you get tired of paddling there is always the bait and wait game.  In the hot summer months as the lake temperature rises the fish migrate and stack up at the west side of the lake.  So head on down to the dam and grab yourself a big white buoy.  Don't be scared of the big motor boats.  Just paddle on by and tie off to one of the open buoys because you don't need any special reservations.  This area is great for fishing in the summer.

Once you are in position set up your rods with a slip bobber.  It really helps if you have a fish finder, but if not that is fine.  Watch the fish finder and look what depth the fish are marking at.  Usually anywhere from 15 feet down to 24 feet suspended off the bottom.  Set your bobber stop at these depths with a single night crawler hook and thread half a night crawler onto the hook.  Cast the float away from the boat and let the wind and current carry the float.  When you see that float disappear hold on tight cause you are in for a wild ride!  These summer trout fight fantastic.  Warm water conditions in the lake make it difficult to release the rainbows with a reasonable survival rate.  You may just want to keep a limit since you're bait fishing and call it a day once you catch your 5 fish.  If the night crawlers aren't working then you should switch to a small treble hook size 16-18 and put a small ball of power bait on.  This also works very well.

Don't forget to stop by the East or West Launch facilities for a boat inspection and to buy a day pass on the lake which is $15 or a yearly pass which is $45.  I usually get the yearly pass since you only need to go three times to make it worth while.

If you'd like information on how to rig a slip bobber then check out my instructional video here!

For a Big Bear Kayak Fishing Preview check out this video!

A Few More Pictures of really nice hold over rainbows.

Good Luck Fishing!

Kayak Fishing La Jolla

La Jolla Kayak Fishing - Valentine's Day 

I had been reading about the amazing fishing in La Jolla even prior to getting my very of Malibu Pro 2 Tandem Kayak.  I had been reading the forums and intrigued by the giant fish that lurk in the near shore waters of La Jolla.  Pictures of Huge Yellowtail and White Sea Bass litter the internet and I couldn't wait to sink my hook into one.  

I convinced my wife that Valentines weekend was perfect to go and visit La Jolla.  So we booked a hotel and headed down for the weekend.  Valentines Day we got a late start... really late.   My wife is not a morning person and getting her to go fishing in the early am is like waking the dead. 

We head out to the La Jolla Shores launching area and unload.  The sun is now high up in the ski and people are already packing it up after the morning of fishing.  We load up the kayak and jump in for the paddle out to the fishing grounds.  We make it out past the protected area and try to drop down for some bait.  No such luck for any use able baitfish.  

Good thing I have a few Irons and read a ton about Yo-Yoing fishing.  So I hook up an Tady and start casting it out and letting it fall to the bottom.  Then crank it back to me at a good pace.  Dropped it down here and there and everywhere for absolutely nothing.

Then ALL OF A SUDDEN!!!  It Happens!!!   No not a fish but a loud spout of water and air shooting into the air right behind us.  About 50 feet away from us two Grey Whales on their migration past La Jolla decided to surface for air right beside us and swim along the surface.  We paddled a bit closer to them before they dived down out of site.  Wow that sure made the paddle out worth it. 

Before finishing up we caught a few small whitefish near the bottom.  None of the Huge Yellowtail Homeguards I had been reading about.  I knew the odds were against us with the late start.  This place is awesome with so much sea life I was determined to come back and give it another shot!  

TIP FROM GUYS WHO OBVIOUSLY KNOW MORE THAN ME:  Saw some other guys who were out there much earlier then us and caught some yellow tail and WSB on weighted live bait, mackerel or sardines.  So if you want to give it a try I'd recommend their method fishing near the bottom in 80 to 100 feet of water.  Good Luck out there and watch out for the Great White Sharks!  

Kayak Fishing Big Sur on the Central California Coast

I had read about fishing BIG SUR for months online and it was my first chance to go.  I had my kayak, fish finder, GPS and a few sturdy rods to help me catch some fish.  Everything I read seemed like it was impossible not to catch lots of fish off the Big Sur Coast.  The forecast was for big wind and bigger waves, but the sea wasn't quite so angry past the shore break.  My wife and I suited up in our wet suits and stood on the beach watching for any patterns to the waves that were crashing on the beach.  This seemed a little tricky being our first time out on the BIG WATER!  After waiting we chose our moment carefully and paddled furiously to get out past the shore break before we became its breakfast. We made it past the break and headed out to the Bull Kelp we could see from shore.  The swell was about 8 feet high and we were rolling up and down in our Pro2 Tandem Malibu Kayak.  It wasn't long before I started to feel a little sick.  This was my first experience of true Sea Sickness.  I was severely debilitated and it ruined my fishing ability.  I couldn't even change hooks.  After puking my guts out three times in a row I got lucky and caught one undersized ling cod on a large white scampi.  I think I chummed the waters with breakfast from earlier that morning at Tree Bones Resort.  It was a sunny beautiful day and the winds stayed low.  We headed in early though as I was sick and we weren't catching anything anyways.   I was shocked... seemed like my Big Sur dreams were dashed, but there was always the next day!

Day #2 headed back to the same fishy spot for a second attempt armed with ocean defense... a Scopolamine patch behind my ear.  OH MAN! fishing is 100% better when you are not sick.  The weather was great and  I was trying different lures, moving to different spots and found out the fish really just wanted something simple.  A good ole Shrimp Fly Rig with a strip of squid on it.  We started hauling in the rockfish one after another.   There were a lot of different species as well showing up.  We caught black and yellows, gophers, a big ling cod, a cabezon, and black rockfish.  These fish were located by moving around in the bull kelp and dropping the rig to the bottom and holding it still until you felt a hit.  The bites would come within a matter of seconds of hitting the bottom usually.  After catching a few fish in a spot it was time to move to the next for more action.  The only problem was getting snagged here and them and losing a few rigs to the bottom.  If you are going plan on bringing enough tackle to last you the trip.  Fishing was very consistent and then I hooked into something bigger.  It was pulling hard and actually gave me a good run as it took off back down to the bottom.  The entertaining battle ended with my first legal ling cod sitting on my lap.  What a cool looking fish.  After filling our stringer we headed back with the Central Coast delights.  We had a great day and I knew I would be back for more soon!

Hope you guys enjoyed the post.  If you have any questions about Kayak Fishing the Central Coast let me know and I'll hook you up with some information. 

This is an amazing place to go see.  We really enjoy staying at the Tree Bones Resort with complimentary breakfast.  It is very nice Glamping in Yurts right on the coast.  They also have a few camping spots on the property.

Convict Lake and Sabrina Lake Fall Fishing the Sierras

My wife and I were camping, late fall, at the Convict Lake campground.  I woke up early as usual contemplating where to search out a spot to fish while Meli was still asleep.  I tied up an ultra light spinning rod with a white mini jig and headed down to the outlet stream from Convict Lake.  The stream is very small after the pool just below the lake outlet.  Mostly 5-8 feet across and a short rod works great in the tight bushes.  I found a fool small pools and bounced my mini jig through with not much luck.  I worked my way up the stream towards the lake and found a small water fall and tried below it.  I jigged the mini jig in the white water and soon had a beautiful little brown trout to show for my work.  I released it back after a picture and headed up to the large outlet pools below the lake.  I could see about ten trout swimming around in the pools.  Even though they were there I could not convince them to bite.  Apparently the California Department of Fish and Game often stocks this stream and has put some Alpers in here at times. Without much luck I headed back for breakfast. 

Later on we launched the Kayak onto Convict Lake and trolled all over the place without catching anything.  We tried lures such as Thomas Buoyant spoons, a lake troll with a worm behind, spinners, jigs for nothing.  We saw someone else on a boat drifting night crawlers catch a large rainbow mid lake.  Since we weren't having much luck we headed to the other side of the lake where the inlet stream enters the lake.  After fishing out front for a while I caught a nice little rainbow on a mini jig.  This fish was caught with a Berkley Gulp Alive Fish Fry in white on a Trout Teaser jig head.  Saw some people fishing from shore with the bait and wait technique having some success.  Since the wasn't going to well we decided to back up and head over to Sabrina lake on the way home.      

We packed up and headed to Sabrina lake.  It turns out we had much better luck fishing from shore at Sabrina lake.  We were fishing by the dam near the parking lot since some other people seemed to be having some action there.  We were using Rainbow Glitter Powerbait and sliding egg sinker rigs.  Meli, my wife, started to catch rainbow after rainbow with this technique.  We would cast it out and slowly drag it back, pausing in between small pulls.  My wife outfished me big time!  In the hour that we were there we must have hooked 8 rainbows.  After watching a beautiful sunset it was time to head home.  Dress warm if going to Sabrina Lake it is pretty high up in the Mountains near Bishop.   

The Deer were a little too friendly at Convict Lake Campground, they came looking for breakfast from us.

Good Luck out there!  If you have any questions about the area let me know how I can help.