Launched my kick-boat 6:45am at Doheny beach right by the jetty. Headed south about 50yds from shore trolling a mini blam a 3" #13 big hammer and a 3" storm curly tail shad. Tide was just coming down from high. There was no surf, very little surge and I could see the bottom in 10+ of water in places, but not in others. Lots of fog until 10am or so.

Unlike trolling in long beach or in the harbor, trolling off of doheny involves a lot of snags, as mentioned by leapin'bass. Annoying, But I am getting to know where the bad spots are and mark them on my GPS, and will reel in and cast in the bad areas, or just troll shallow. Kanaka- my GPS is a Garmin III+ that I usually use in my plane see www.martialartsacademy.org/zr.htm and look at the bottom of my instrument panel. I have it mounted on the front of my tube. I *almost* bought a fishfinder today, but am thinking I'm getting carried away? Maybe I'll go back and get it...
...I have some cool aerial pics of dana and salt creek and laguna straight down from 3k feet that clearly show the bottom structure, hmmm... ;-)

I have only been float tubing a month or so and am still over-zealous, perhaps. I love it. i also love swim-baits, they didn't exist except for scampis and scroungers a few years back when last I fished the salt a lot.

So anyways I kicked south about 3/4nm, picked up a big sculpin and several short 'butts up to 18" and a couple of short or barely legal sand bass. Tuened around and fished back a little further out, for some more flatties and sandies, no keepers. Worked my "secret spot carefully for two 18" butts. The guy in the kayak was there again-Steve and his Grandson- and Steve said that so far this year he has bagged over 30 keepers from that spot as well as some 2 digit weight fish. But not today.

I kicked back to the jetty and around and into the harbor without a hit, and then fished the receiver as usual for several barries- they were a little bigger today. Pus one 18" halibut right next to the "Sum Fun" while it was getting bait. Got a lot of comments from the passengers, and one smart-ass one from a deck ape. He said, "Small boat, small fish, big boat, big fish." He should log on to Baytubers.com...

Now if you have read this far, this is the big pay-off. A crazy sailor dude (he had a USSN ships hat) in a kayak comes paddling up to the receiver and sez "I need some more bait, I used it all." No biggie except that the bait guy sez "what happened to your bait?" And the kayak guy sez "I caught about 40 halibut,including about 15 keepers."

Needless to say everyone in earshot, and there were four other float tubers besides me milling around, is paying attention at this point. The bait guy seemed suprised, the sailor swore it was true, a kid in a tube asked where, the sailor pointed and started paddling.

It looked like a friggin parade. The kayak was the pied-piper of float tubes, myself included. You would have too, admit it. As it turns out the sailor guy wasn't lying, and we were soon getting stupid-bendo action and smoking reel action on just short and LEGAL halibuts. I had to leave after catching three, and as I was kicking away one of the kid tubers was fighting an obviously BIG fish. I lost sight of him as Iwent around a concrete corner of the harbor near the fuel dock. Just as I lost sight of him...BIG time splashing and that deep sound that experienced guys know means GOOD fish...

Going to go back to that spot mid-week.

Quietman

Quietman

http://www.kayakfishingpro.com