Off the wild west coast

[jonnou]

Finally got a break in the swell good enough to get off Baylys Beach
This is a wild surf beach that usually has HUGE breakers rolling in on It.
we had a short window on a tuesday with a 1.5m ground swell at 14 seconds and light onshore winds.
Had to work till 5pm so we got in the water about 6pm after a long drive down the beach looking for a suitable hole to put the boat in.
Joint custody is a 18'4'" hard top aluminium lazercraft with a 115 yamaha 4 stoke.
got soaked just after launch due to a badly timed throttle burst which buried the bow into a lumpy little wave.
woke us up and we had no more issues after this.
fishing was slow to start with we were just after the low tide.
Lots of sign on the sounder with large schools of baitfish going through as we were anchored in 25m in one of our favorite marks.
Snapper gurnard(sea robin) and kahawai (salmon) were all brought aboard. A blue shark was hooked and gave the first bit of excitement as it was a possibility that it was a YT king
but it bit through the trace and came in for a look at us. This shark decided to hang out with us for the afternoon and collected another lip piercing and scared all the fish up to the boat for us. It was just a little on of about 6 foot.
as the sun went close to the horizon the fishing picked up and the best ones came in in quick succession.
we had to leave as you would be crazy to come in on the beach in the dark.
so in we went and tucked up on the back of the biggest wave we could find and had good green water all the way in and a forward pointing boat.
pulled the boat up dry (tide moving in) and pushed the trailer up to it and winched it on. The trick here is to have good inflatable tyres on a sturdy jockey wheel and leave the boat a bit back on the rollers so it is balaced on the trailer wheels. then a sturdy rope is attached and with a bit of timing the vehicle sweeps around and has the free loop of rope dropped on the tow ball and the trailer is yanked out on an angle to free the wheels that are now buried in the sand.
I got a bit wild this time and the boat jumped a bit and broke the marker light on the trailer (oh well)
we then had a bit of a drive back having to time our runs a few times to miss the sweeping waves as we navigated a few rocks that have been exposed by an atrocious run of weather and waves. I love this fishing it makes you feel alive  here are the picks of the harvest

[Keta]

Nice.  I hope you are settled in at your new place.

[jonnou]

Nice.  I hope you are settled in at your new place.

not yet I have a week and a half at the old work then off to the East coast where conditions like that would be considered rough and unfishable

will do a substantial report on the new situation in the new year.
The 26th of december till the 6th of january is madness at the camp.
Tent city

[alantani]

you launch from the beach?  no harbors? 

[Alto Mare]

Nice going! That's some nice fish . Be careful with that boat, it gets expensive quickly. Thanks for sharing.

Sal

[Newell Nut]

you launch from the beach?  no harbors? 

In one area on the kenai peninsula I went halibut fishing and the tide swing is so big there that a very large wheeled tractor hooked onto the boat trailer and launched from the rocky beach and picked us up the same way. That way was a lot faster getting to the fishing grounds than launching from the marina in Homer.

[foakes]

Thanks for the great report, Jon --

Looks like a great quick trip -- good pics.

Best,

Fred

[MFB]

Nice catch, smoked snapper wings breakfast of champions

Rgds

Mark

[redsetta]

Nice work Jon - fished a bit around Baylys and Glinks, but not in years.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Justin
PS Lion Brown - now there's a brew you don't see everyday!

[Dominick]

Nice job.  Adrenaline rush and fresh fish.    Way to go Jon.  Dominick

[Shark Hunter]

Thanks for the report Jon. Nice looking Catch.

[jonnou]

you launch from the beach?  no harbors? 

In one area on the kenai peninsula I went halibut fishing and the tide swing is so big there that a very large wheeled tractor hooked onto the boat trailer and launched from the rocky beach and picked us up the same way. That way was a lot faster getting to the fishing grounds than launching from the marina in Homer.

Yes the surf beach It takes skill and guts
even experienced guys have tipped over doing this. you need a good crew and a calm demeanor and all equipment working
we test the motor and bilge pump before leaving and log the trip with the coast guard.
Make sure all the things you can control are working in your favour.
If it don't feel right don't go.
To get to this spot from a harbour would take at least 2 hours and you would have to make a bar crossing that is equally treacherous. this keeps the fish stocks up as you can hardly ever get to the fish. It makes you angry when you see the trawlers make their annual runs. The Motorised Torpedo style longlines can also access this area and they pull out a lot of fish.
In late summer you can access game fishing waters in about 10 minutes from launch. When this was first discovered small trailer boats were catching large numbers of Marlin and yellowfin tuna. Now the fishery is still good but not as amazing as it was and yellowfin are nearly non existent. 
Thanks for the reply's
Tight lines Jon

here is a picture of Joint Custody on the east coast. a lot more tranquil!

[Shark Hunter]

Jon,
Your first pictures of the water look ominous. Those Dark swells don't look very inviting. You be safe out there buddy.

[Steve-O]

Nice mess of fish!  Good onya! gotta go thaw some halibut now....

[wallacewt]

hi jonnou
nice eating size snappers.
the headless 3,for the neighbors,in-laws?
taxman maybe