Mothership Fishing Trip

Fishing new grounds is always an exciting endeavor. But what about places far beyond your paddling reach? Enter, Kayak Mothership trips. OEX Mission Bay sponsors a San Clemente Island Kayak Mothership trip in partnership with the Islander out of Fisherman's Landing in San Diego, CA. Located 55 miles from San Diego, it is only accessible by boat. The Islander offers a chance for kayak fisherman to take there game to new areas ripe with trophy Calico bass fishing, Halibut, White Seabass, and Yellowtail.

These multi-day kayak fishing trips are like no other. You get to load up with your own kayak and personal gear, without worry of having to borrow or rent equipment. Food and lodging included in the price, the Islander crew takes care of everything for you!

Here is just a small taste of what you can expect from a typical kayak mothership trip at San Clemente!

Look for a video coming soon!

Mission Bay Classic in the Kraken

The 2nd annual Mission Bay Classic, a Heroes on the Water fundraising event, was a huge success! With over 70 signed entries, the saltwater bass division was full of competition. Fellow Jackson Kayak Team Members Jarrod McGehee and Richard Penny were also in attendance.

Though the fishing was great, it was extremely tough being able to weigh fish, with having regulations set at 14" minimum. No matter the case, it was a great event helping out a great cause.

I took out my Jackson Kayak Kraken, for some easy Bay fishing. Having my Kraken plumbed with the KKrate as a livewell, made for easy catch and release with no fishes harmed (besides being hooked!).

Here's a quick video showcasing the Kraken out in San Diego's Mission Bay!

Fishing is Heating Up in Southern California

When many think of Southern California, they see year round sunny days without much seasonal changes. That's somewhat true, however, we do have variations in weather that do affect water temperatures and fishing conditions. Thus, certain times of year see better fishing for certain species. With Spring finally here, bringing warmer conditions and longer days, the bite is definitely getting hotter and only getting better!

With such close proximity to many great fisheries, from our freshwater lakes and reservoirs to the saltwater bays and inshore kelp beds, now's the time to get out on the water! For many beginners, I'd recommend starting off slow and hitting one of the many lakes and reservoirs. Getting comfortable in your in your new boats is a must. But if you're more than ready to tackle the surf, have at it!

Bass are either in prespawn, or spawning and are moving in shallow. Dropshotting worms, or slow dragging jigs in 5'-10' of water seem to be the ticket. If you're more into saltwater action, the bays are spitting out some nice chunks of saltwater bass! Sticking to structure, and slow swimming  a swimbait over some eel grass or channel edges have produced great numbers. Now that the sardines have showed up, drifting with live bait has been producing nice sized halibut!

Whether you're an experienced kayak fisherman,  just starting out, or even just thinking about jumping into this sport, now's the time to get out and fish! Remember, a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at the office!

Sharing the love - San Diego Bay Kayak Fishing

Everyone fishes for different reasons. Whether its to unwind from long days at work, a hopeful dinner feast, or for the thrills and excitement of fighting a fish. Often times we fish alone, the sweet serenity that fishing solitude has to offer. But, nothing beats being able to share that love and excitement with other people. Owning 2 kayaks in my possession has given me this opportunity to share my experiences with others. Recently, many of my friends have expressed interest in going out and fishing with me, and when one of my friends (Jason) was free over the past weekend, I offered to take him out. Just bring yourself, some water and snacks, and I'll take care of the rest.

For many first timers, I like to take them out to the bays first. Here, its much calmer and they can get used to maneuvering and being in a kayak, as well as fishing from one. So, with nice weather forecast for Saturday, I told Jason to meet me up at my place bright and early at 5:45 AM.

We arrived at Shelter Island to beautiful conditions. Flat, with no wind, we were hopeful for a fish-filled day. Tides were predicted to be incoming in the morning until about 930, then an outgoing of 5 ft until 1630. The plan was to loop around the inside of the bay, so that we wouldn't be stuck paddling back in against the current (as I've been stuck doing this, against a headwind and it was not fun...).

Awesome sunrise with the San Diego skyline in the backdrop

Tackle of choice for the day was the usual: assorted colors of 5" big hammers with 3/4 oz. leadheads, dropshotted super fluke, 3-way swivel bait drifter, and of course the sabiki. Unfortunately, it was a sloooow day. Water temp was up, and my usual places just seemed empty. I was able to pound out a few assorted bass, and 3 short hali's, and fortunately I was able to get Jason on some fish, but nothing like I was hoping.

The usual suspects

Still, he said he had fun. Nothing beats getting out on the water, for some fishing! All in all, he's looking forward to our next outing, and hopefully we'll find the fish. Until then, looks like I'll be taking out another friend this weekend! Sharing my enjoyment with others is what I enjoy doing, and hopefully teaching safety and conservation in between. It's fortunate that we fisherman can do this anytime we want, but always a pleasure to share the love with others.

lake murray - my new nemesis

if i had a nemesis lake, it'd be murray. hands down, with out a question, this lake has frustrated me to no end. i used to live maybe 10 minutes away from this lake, and have tried my luck here before. every single time, probably 4 or 5 outings now, i have come out of that place smelling like skunk. i've thrown my whole tackle box out there, spinners/worms/cranks/topwater/etc. with nothign to show for.

now, seeing that the boards have been flooded, and i mean flooded with new personal bests from murray, i had to give it another try. so, off i went with my gf.

started off tossing some worms out into some of the lakes nearby arms. bleh, the lake was just breaming with weeds, EVERYWHERE. the bait could not settle down, unless you found a pocket in that huge mess. i decided to move on to different waters, looking for some tules or open water. i made my way to the power lines, and spotted a few tules. started flipping my weightless senko right into or near the tules. did the same to some other bunches of tules, until i made it just past the power lines. threw in my senko once again to slack line. this time tho, once my line dropped in, it kept dropping. there was no way the water was more than 2 ft deep, but it seemed like my line kept on dropping. at that instant, and started reeling, and what do you know, fish on!

so thats why they say to watch your line for anything "different".

well, murray's still my nemesis lake, but i've got 1 fish out fo here! stoked, and can't wait to get back out there.

Sutherland - 6/15

Sutherlands been kind of my 2nd go to lake in SD county. Just after Miramar. Mainly because shore access is limitless. You can literally walk the entire lakes perimeter, if you've got the time. And, the fishings usually been pretty decent. My last outing on 5/31, we nailed a bunch of nice crappie and at my usual spot, i caught a couple bass. Pics from previous sutherland days.

Decided to hit up Sutherland Saturday morning, but got there pretty late. arrived around 10:30 am to a slight wind, but otherwise nice day. picked off a nice bass early on in the usual spot near the big rock on a crank bait.

we also soaked for some carp with a hair rig, using corn as bait. pbag pulled in a nice carp while we were fishing for crappie.

unfortunately, thats all we caught. no bites for crappie, no other bass, just nothing else. we walked around the lake, hit up a bunch of different spots, and ended up on the docks with still no biters. everyone we've talked to also didn't catch much. we heard from the boaters that most of the crappie were out in deeper water, and much of the bass being caught were near the dam. 

left at closing, as the bite actually turned on once the sun started setting.

PB in the Fresh!!! - 6/6

i had written up a long report, sprawled with my epic story of catching this beast. but, decided to cut it out, as most people only like looking at pictures. and i also started rambling off topic....

well without further adieu, my personal best LMB caught in our fine SD lakes!

caught on a brown 4.5" roboworm using my 7'6" ML/MF shimano compre on 6lb test! finesse style ftw! i was trying out some new rigs and decided to throw this finesse rig, and started jigging it around some points. hooked up to a smaller one at first, and thought, man this thing works! then after a few more cast, thought i got stuck on some rocks. gave it a tug, and it started tugging back! started reeling it in a bit, and it surfaced and jumped out of the water! once i saw it out of the water, MAN! my heart started pumpin! i fought her real nice and slow, knowing that i only had 6lb test line on. she kept giving some good hard runs, almost like my PB hali (33 incher). what got me more afraid was when she buried herself in some grass. on my ML setup, i thought for sure she was a gonner...but she came out and i surfaced her and eased her in. lipped and landed her! i took the hook out with ease, and damn lucky she didn't do another aerial show as for sure she wouldve shooken the hook out. took a few pics and set her free. she splashed her way back and swam away strong. man, she was a beast!!! i could literally fit my whole fist in her mouth.