Being my first time out in salt water, the heavy fog made me extremely cautious as we headed out into the bay. Being with a handful of others AND knowing I had the proper safety equipment put my mind at ease as we approached Mile Buoy. Being out in the bay in the fog was a very calming experience. The sound of the whistle buoy and the seals combined with the low visibility made for a serene environment that put a huge smile on my face. It was the same feeling I get when paddling out to a break on my surfboard at first light and seeing the sun begin to rise above the horizon as the sets begin to roll in.
Having never fished the area I was very surprised to see a lack of structure on the sea floor. I had always assumed that the sea floor was covered in rock/reef and would be easy to locate structure with my fish finder. Paddling around the Mile Buoy for a couple of hours I did not mark any structure, so jigging was unproductive. Time to move on...
As we headed toward Steamer Lane, structure became more frequent. I stopped just outside of the kelp bed and decided to wet a line. I skipped the shrimp fly setup and started jigging a 3oz lead head with a 6.5" Halloween Big Hammer. I immediately felt a bite as I lifted the pole from the first bounce off the bottom. I set the hook and felt a few head shakes. As I reeled in and start to see color, I could tell it was an undersized Ling Cod. The first of three. I paddled a little further from the kelp bed and notice a large area of structure and drop my line again. I feel a bite, this time the rod goes bendo and I immediately knew this was a larger fish. It put up much more of a fight than the first three. I pulled the fish next to my kayak and grabbed my fish grips. As I lift the fish onto my lap I knew it was a keeper. The Lingcod measured 24" and was the first fish I've landed on my kayak. What a great experience!
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