Kayak Fishing For Giant Halibut With Joe Vega

[@time2unwind690]

Great episode! Hey Vince did Joe not prep you on what gear to bring beforehand?

[@VINCEGOESFISHING]

Sadly no he did not. When we met up in the parking lot we took a look at my tackle and that’s when we realized I only had the big sabiki, and the wrong hooks. So I knew I was going out there without the same stuff Joe had which I was upset about. Sure enough my tackle didn’t work. A few weeks later I went back out there all my myself with the right tackle. But the current was sweeping soooo fast that it was unfishabke and I got so far from home I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to fight the current and get back home. When I finally made it back to the launch beach I was shaking from adrenaline and honestly I don’t ever want to go back out there again it scared the shit out of me being stuck out there fighting the current not knowing if I would make it home, alone with no radio and just a paddle kayak. I hate boat fishing. Drifting in protected bays/harbors, close to shore sounds soooooooo fun and I always wanted to do that. Shallow drifting but I usually buddy system on yak and everyone always wanted to paddle out deep .. so I never got that experience.. I gave my kayak away. But maybe some day I’ll get a small boat so I can do that shallow water drifting like 15’ of water, light weight, live bait and seedless swimbaits, sounds so fun… but only on natural beaches and remote with few people around. I can’t stand the idea of fishing in harbors around all those people and boats and city and man made structure 🤮 I’ve become very picky with many preferred handicaps and it’s making it very hard for me to find fishing opportunities so these days I have basically stopped fishing for a while until I decide on a location and style that sounds fun to me.

[@TheHappyDIYGuy-ri8nb]

looks like Joe is ignoring you.

[@theoldsurffisher1943]

Bad break losing that rod and reel. Are "we" surf fishing fishers going to lose you to kayak fishing? It seems like if you sink 2 hooks into a bait the top hook should be a slider to accommodate any size bait.

[@VINCEGOESFISHING]

You won’t ever lose me as a surf fisherman to boat fishing. I hate boat fishing. This video was shot in 2021, and I just finally got around to editing it. I actually gave my kayak away to a local guy a few months ago and he’s having a blast with it. I love shore fishing. I’m going through a strange phase right now, I don’t want to fish beaches where other people are around. I had a burning need for solitude, so I have basically stopped fishing. All the beaches around me are heavily populated. I also don’t care much for the fishing opportunities around here. Halibut in harbors, no thanks. I finally became conditioned to really appreciate perch fishing and now that is becoming totally un-fun due to the presence of striped bass which I hate to see in the surf because they are an invasive species and I worry what effect they have on the perch and other species. But soon stripers will be off the beaches for the season and then the perch should return, I am looking forward to that. Perch are my saving grace because that’s one species I can chase and catch for dinner consistently close to home. Except for even stripers are schooling in the beach. Rock fish and lingcod are the only other species in this areas that I find attractive north of point conception. But my local rocky beaches are terribly slow for rock fishing. If I drive further I can check the lingcod off my bucket list but it’s not something I’ll be doing a lot of cuz they can’t be caught consistently close to home. So I’m gonna keep experimenting/learning more about rock fishing close to home with Swimbait and cut bait and live bait.. and I’ll enjoy the perch fishing when they start schooling close to home again. I don’t care to make a drive for perch. Only Lingcod to the north or Halinut to the south can get me to go on a long drive once in a while. So it’s perch close to home, or go experiment and learn more about rock fishing close to home. I’m really most excited about the rock fishing. But it’s kind of just the best option, that I’m down to. So I guess I’m still not really enjoying the surf fishery in south San Luis Obispo. Haven’t really figured out where I would really prefer to be.. I think if I could find a remote stretch of beach where I can catch lingcod somewhat consistently, I would consider moving there in the future. Or if I can find a remote natural bay that has halibut and practically no people, I would consider moving there in the future. Let me know if you have any regions in mind. Maybe north slo for lingcod. Maybe south Monterrey, or somewhere along the Big Sur? I gotta find some remote empty beaches with lingcod or halibut. And I don’t ever want to meet anyone or fish with anyone ever again when I get there I’m going to fish alone exclusively.

[@entername5706]

You got to have some nice abs to feel comfortable in a kayak!!! Or buy an expensive giant kayak 😂