Kayakers, I had a hard decision to make this weekend. Three of my best kayak fishing buddies decided to fish out of Newport. For a few weeks now, I've been wanting to get into the good fishing that has been hitting off San Onofre. However, my fishing buddies were not interested in launching there, and I knew I was going to have to go at it myself. Still, I didn't want to miss the camaraderie of being with my buddies on the water. On the other hand, I really wanted a chance at the barracuda that had been hitting well at San Onofre. This time I sacrificed being with my buddies for a chance at the barracuda. As I put my gear together Saturday night, something told me to bring the landing net, which was strange because as a minimalist, I almost never bring my net. I release almost all of my fish anyway. Anyhow, the net was packed. At about 6:30am on Sunday, I arrived at San Onofre. The surf forecast was right on. There were overhead sets coming in, and a lot of the surfers were staying on the beach. As I geared up my kayak, one wave ski surfer who said he was an experienced fisherman told me that I wouldn't catch anything, because I started too late in the morning and was using jigs instead of live bait. Blah, blah, blah, and yeah, yeah yeah. Another wave ski surfer and a board surfer told me I was crazy to launch a sea kayak through those waves. Blah, blah, blah, and yeah, yeah, yeah. I wish all of those nay sayers would stay home until they sucked the worry warts off their thumbs! Anyhow, I was happy to demonstrate launching my sea kayak through the surf with barely getting my hair wet. The sport fishing fleet was about a mile off San Onofre. When I arrived there, the fleet moved another three miles down and off San Onofre. I wanted to be where the fish are, so I followed them. While drifting through the fleet about three miles off the coast, I caught a lot of stares. A lot of boaters who don't know how well sound travels over water were making comments about me being crazy for being out there. Blah, blah, blah, and yeah, yeah, yeah. I have done a lot of kayak fishing, and I am embarrassed to say that I had never caught a legal size barracuda from a kayak. I've caught my fair share of bass from a kayak, but not a lot of anything else. I was there to catch barracuda. So I was disappointed when I all saw being caught by the boaters were small sand bass. I was bored with bass and wanted barracuda, so that is what I fished for. I was dropping a UFO #1 in yellow, green and white to the bottom and winding it back up as fast as I could over and over. After about 15 minutes I was beginning to think that I might have to explain to my buddies how I was skunked. Then as the lure was about four feet from the side of the kayak, I saw a huge flash and a big yellow tail. I knew it was a yellowtail, and I saw it strike and take the jig. I had 20 pound test on my narrow frame Penn Jig Master reel, and I let the fish take all the line it wanted, which was a lot. I knew there wasn't any structure below for the fish to break the line off on. It went deep. Fifteen minutes passed before I saw color. I wasn't in a hurry to pull it in, because I wanted it to be nice and tired before netting it. Now I knew why something was telling me to bring the net! I saw color a few times, and each time the fish went deep again. I knew the line was strong enough, but I was concerned about the fish spitting the jig, because the lure had only a single hook, and I had filed off the barb to make releasing fish easier. Finally, it was time to net the fish of my lifetime. With the seven foot rod, I let the fish have about six feet of line and I brought the fish to the bow and just below the surface. I held the rod in my left hand and the net in my right. As I brought the fish to the net, the fish spooked and made a short run. I knew that if I didn't land this fish, my buddies would never believe me. If I lost it, I wasn't even going to tell them. I brought the yellowtail back up, and on the second try, it went right into the net. I can't even begin to describe the feeling of having that fish safely in the net. I let out a scream, and boaters in the area cheered. The yellowtail was 33 inches long, and I put it between my legs in the cockpit. At that point I was ready to go, but the weather was just too nice. The sun was shining, and there was a nice breeze keeping me cool in the heat. So I kept fishing. I saw a kelp paddy that no one was on, so I casted to it. I felt a light hit but the hook didn't grab. Then I let the jig drop a bit and started reeling again. A yellowtail followed the jig to the kayak. A lot more casts on the paddy and nothing. I did end up catching my first legal barracuda, which was anti-climatic after catching the yellowtail. Before heading back, I caught another legal barracuda and lost a third. The barracuda were quickly released on the jig with the single barbless hook. Paddling back I knew I still had the overhead surf to contend with. When I was in front of the beach, I stopped about 100 yards out from the breakers. I thought I was safe there. After opening the spray skirt to start securing gear under the deck, I saw an overhead set of waves on the outside. With no time to turn around, I paddled backwards to get past the breaking point. After all of my gear was secure, another overhead set came in, and I followed the last wave in. Closer to the beach, I surfed a more manageable three foot wave toward the beach and had a dry landing. On the beach I tried to find the wave ski surfer who told me I wasn't going to catch any fish. I was going to make him take a picture of me with the yellowtail. Unfortunately, he was gone, but someone else volunteered, and I had my picture taken with the fish of my lifetime. Man, I love kayak fishing! Duane Strosaker Irvine, California *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Fascinating! Since my only interest in kayak fishing would be to fill my belly, can you tell us guys on the So. Atlantic coast, 1) do you EAT barracuda? and 2) is your "yellowtail" the same as ours, which is sometimes called yellowtail snapper and is a superb food fish? (I assume not.) e Elaine Harmon - eilidh_at_dc.seflin.org - eharmon_at_cs.miami.edu *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 7/11/99 9:08:42 PM, eharmon_at_cs.miami.edu writes: >can you tell us guys on the So. Atlantic coast, 1) do you EAT >barracuda? Ahh, Barracuda eaten around the world. Unfortunately, at least in the Caribbean it carries cigueratoa (sp?for sure), a form of food poisoning. Some say its only in fish over 24" or something like that, some say any cuda, I say whatever size, not worth the risk.. Never really heard anyone say its great tasting fish.. And yeah, whats a Pacific Yellowtail???? Scott Just north of Cuba *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Sun, 11 Jul 1999 MadPoodle_at_aol.com wrote: > Ahh, Barracuda eaten around the world. Unfortunately, at least in the > Caribbean it carries cigueratoa (sp?for sure), a form of food poisoning. Some > say its only in fish over 24" or something like that, some say any cuda, I It's "ciguatera". Most prevalent of all of the baddies you can get from seafood hereabouts, although not so serious as Vibrio vulnificus. e Elaine Harmon - eilidh_at_dc.seflin.org - eharmon_at_cs.miami.edu *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
>From time spent sailing in the Windward Islands, it is advisable to NOT eat barracuda in that area. Seems they feed off of something that can be poison to man when he eats the fish. Barb *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
>It's "ciguatera". Most prevalent of all of the baddies you can get from >seafood hereabouts, although not so serious as Vibrio vulnificus. e If I remember aright ciguatera toxin occurs in the muscle of some puffer fish. The barracuda eats the fish and adsorbs the toxin. It's an unusual toxin in that it is one of the few, if not the only one, that is produced by more than one kind of organism. It's also a component of the Red Tide, being produced by a dinoflagellate protozoan as well as some other critters. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
From: Joe Pylka > >It's "ciguatera". <snip. > It's also a component of the Red Tide, being produced by a dinoflagellate protozoan as well as some other critters. > i've read that there is a toxin associated with some Red Tides that can become airborne. i recall that during the '70s some health officials in Florida used that as a reason to try to slow pumping untreated wastes offshore. those materials help feed nasty critters associated with Red Tides. can ciguatera in Red Tide go airborne and become a potential problem for folks living in coastal areas? breaking waves and splash from rain impact on the water surface are two ways to eject the toxins into the air. sea breazes are the way to help them drift ashore. that used to be a health concern, but i haven't read about for a few decades. cu, bliven *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Mon, 12 Jul 1999, Larry Bliven wrote: > i've read that there is a toxin associated with some Red Tides that can > become airborne. i recall that during the '70s some health officials in > Florida used that as a reason to try to slow pumping untreated wastes > offshore. those materials help feed nasty critters associated with Red > Tides. > > can ciguatera in Red Tide go airborne and become a potential problem for > folks living in coastal areas? I've not heard of anything but saxitoxin (the usual red tide toxin) being concentrated enough on occasion to pose a danger from aerosols in sea water. (Maybe someone else can contribute more info.) Of course, now we have pfiesteria toxin aerosols being dangerous in river and estuarine areas. Re toxin origins, there is some evidence accumulating that many if not all of these marine toxins are actually elaborated by bacteria living in various symbiotic relationships with the algae. Elaine Harmon - eilidh_at_dc.seflin.org - eharmon_at_cs.miami.edu *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Also, if memory serves me right, ciguatera (now properly added to spell checker thank you ;-0 ) also is one of those poisons that accumulates in the system, so every time it hits you it gets worse. From what I understand, its fairly common, however its frequently misdiagnosed. Patients end up getting treated for whatever, then the toxins are not neutralized, and the accumulation continues. l8tr Scott A little further from Cuba 2day *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
<< And yeah, whats a Pacific Yellowtail???? >> Often mistaken to be a Tuna, the Pacific Yellowtail is actually part of the Jack family. It's a strong pelagic fish much prized by fishermen. Scott So.Cal. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 7/12/99 8:32:44 PM, KiAyker_at_aol.com writes: >Often mistaken to be a Tuna, the Pacific Yellowtail is actually part of > >the Jack family. ssssssssss.. That sad "leaking" sound of Scott, bummed and putting away the wasabi n soy sauce ;-( Scott Headin to the Sushi bar for dinner..... *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 7/11/99 11:21:21 PM Pacific Daylight Time, pylka_at_castle.net writes: << If I remember aright ciguatera toxin occurs in the muscle of some puffer fish. The barracuda eats the fish and adsorbs the toxin. It's an unusual toxin in that it is one of the few, if not the only one, that is produced by more than one kind of organism. It's also a component of the Red Tide, being produced by a dinoflagellate protozoan as well as some other critters. >> I have heard it is a toxin secreted by a parasitic organism found around disturbed reefs throughout the world. Smaller reef feeders acquire it which are fed upon by larger fish and it works its way up the food chain. Any large reef predator can build up sizable stores of toxin. Affected fish carry no symptoms. I heard of people feeding portions of fish to stray cats and judging it ciguatera free if the cat survived (I never participated in this despite my hatred of cats). I learned of this method in the Marshall Islands where ciguatera is referred to as Beep Beep. It causes severe diarrhea and there is no treatment. The locals would look at a fish and say "no no, Beep Beep." Usually they would walk away with the fish so I suspect this was a scam :?) Deep dwellers and non reef feeders such as Tuna were never associated with it. I had heard someone in Hawaii was developing a test for fish flesh. Robin. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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