SWAT Santa Cruz Island Camping and Kayaking

[dlmoo312]

Earlier this week, I went on a camping trip to Santa Cruz Islands for three days. I had gone camping here many years ago, but this time I had my kayak and planned to get some fishing in as well :Envious: I was joined by Thien (bloox8) and a group of friends. The fishing wasn't too spectacular, but it was a great time nonetheless, with great company :Cool:

On day 1, we arrived at the island around 11am. After setting up camp and settling in, we decided to go out on the kayaks and fish east of the reserve. We fished primarily with swimbaits, and right off the bat I got into some rockfish. We kept working our way down along the cliffs for some calicos and more rockfish. Thien had the hotstick for the calicos that day.

On day 2, we had planned to make a 5 mile trek to Chinese Harbor on the kayaks, hoping for something more exotic. We woke up bright and early and set off on our journey. As we passed through the reserve, the conditions looked perfect. Glassy water and no wind :Smile: However, once we passed by potato harbor, the conditions started to get a little rougher. By the time we reached the last point before turning into Chinese Harbor, the water was pretty choppy with larger swells. We had made the long trip out here, so we decided to try and make the most of it. There were many times when I felt like I might be taking a dip. We had to be constantly on the lookout for rouge waves, and it made fishing pretty difficult. I was able to land a calico, and we got some small rockfish and some bonito as well. The wind really started to pick up very early and after a couple hours we decided it would be safer to head back asap. The journey back was a mission to say the least! There were white caps all around us and large swells coming in at frequent intervals. We had everything tied down early. One hand was glued to the rudder control, the other hand tight around the handle, and head constantly on a swivel. I wish I had some footage of the conditions, but taking pics/video was the last thing on my mind at that point :LOL: Luckily we made it back without any incidents, and we were beyond happy to have made it back safely and relatively dry. On our way back we did see one sailboat out that was being rocked heavily by the wind and waves. We saw it start to make its way towards the protected cove of Potato Harbor. When we were safely back at the launch we decided to try and salvage the day by fishing east of the reserve again. The conditions there were pretty bad there as well with strong winds. We scratched out a few fish and headed back in. On our way we saw the sailboat being towed in by the park ranger vessel :Shocked: We spent the rest of the day hanging out with the rest of the group and relaxing.

On day 3, we packed up camp and killed time by kayaking, snorkeling, and just hanging out until the boat came to pick us up. The water was warm enough to swim in without a wetsuit, and it was awesome swimming through kelp forests and seeing the abundance of life. Huge calicos would just look up and stare, and most of the time I was able to get within a foot of the fish before it bolted.


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[SP Dan]

Hi ya Daniel,

That sounded like an "E" ticket ride to me!
What a great write up ..... as I read your report you had me concerned for my yaking friends!
I'm happy to hear that all of you had a "safe" great time with lots of memories!

I just looked at all of the amazing pictures from your trip ..... excellent!
Thank you for sharing your trip with all of us! :Thumbs Up:

SP Dan <"))><

[Which Way Out]

That's a trip to say the least. Gotta watch the winds out there I'm told.
Thanks for posting up an interesting report Daniel.

WWO

Glad I came back and got to see all the great photos.

[yakfish51]

Memories forever! Thanks for letting me share your special moments.

Tim

[exfactor]

theres some really good perching spots close to there also lol

[bones]

Great report and a spectacular pictorial Daniel.... Good memories for sure. Who cares if the fishing wasn't spectacular. Adventures like that have much more to offer to the soul!
All of the smiles paint a very definitive picture!

Thanks for the inspiring report !

[bachiboy]

Awesome report and photos Daniel! Sounds like quite the adventure out there. Too bad that the weather didnt fully cooperate but you guys made the most of your time out there and managed some nice fish. Way to go!

Don

[jerryG]

Looks like you guys had fun and caught a few fish while you were at it. Amazing spot to kayak for sure. My son and I fished that same area on a charter in June. The few sea bass caught on that trip all came the area you guys were fishing. The calico bass fishing was good on swimbaits all through that area as well. There were a few yellows breezing around on the outside kelps. My son was dropping a live anchovy to the bottom on a dropper loop near the kelp line and coming up with a different fish on every drop (calicos, rockfish, sheephead, legal ling). I have fished that area enough to know that the weather can be great in the area where you were fishing but once you get around that point in an instant the conditions can go from calm and glassy to gail force and white capped..

[PTN]

Looks like a great camping trip. Fishing, family, friends and fun! That place looks amazing to be yakking around in. See you on the water.

[troutdog]

Looks like an awesome adventure, great photos!


TD

[camperjay]

Thank you for posting this adventurous report, this exact trip is something I've been wanting to do.

Glad you made it in safe and then decided to go back out to boot!

[Jaysuuun]

Wow what an awesome and fun looking trip guys! Daniel I remember you had mentioned this campsite to me sometime ago. Looks like a sweet spot to spend the summer. I might have to take the family there someday.

Glad you guys made it back safely. I remember salmon fishing up north in a 14ft aluminum boat. We got lost in the fog, the swells had picked up and our engine quit. Oh and we didn't have any pfd's back then. It was a horrible experience, but we made it back safely. Can't imagine going through the same experience in a kayak.

Glad Thien got to pull on some fish! LOL

[Pino]

That's a fantastic trip , how do you get to go ,there how much for boat and trip were do you get info.on that trip.

[BTY]

Y'all ever bounce ball with the yaks? First time I went out and bounced the ball I got a 36" butt on a 10" live Mac

[Fishingdachronarch201E7]

Looked like a great time....great scenery pictures!!!!!!! awesome report...thanks

[blackwater]

Everything about this report was awesome. :Thumbs Up:
What a great adventure, I have to add it to the bucket list.
Hope to see you guys at HG6. :Big Grin:

[Wingnut]

Beautiful report Daniel, I sure would like to make that trip one of these days... :Big Grin:
Invite all your friends to HG6! :Wink: