Kayak fishing’s lure: getting closer to your catch

The SPOTTED bay bass strikes like lightning and pulls like a miniature tugboat.

Which is essentially what it has become, what with me on a kayak grinning with disbelief as the 18-inch fish has towed my 12-foot vessel away from the bank and is spinning it in a large circle.

I’m inside Huntington Harbor with Paul Quirk, who owns Pablojoe Kayak Fishing and specializes in hands-on instruction for those considering a plunge into this increasingly popular method of angling.

Quirk, who guides through numerous Southland bays and along the coast, totes his kayaks inside a converted U-Haul truck. He is a man who errs on the side of safety to the extreme. His truck harbors every device imaginable, from high-tech locater beacons to special dyes that can be spotted from airplanes.

“You never know what might happen out there,” he explains, pointing toward the ocean as we prepare for our journey into tranquil bay waters, flanked by posh homes and bustling Pacific Coast Highway.

I was sure he’d force me to don a safety vest and fish with a high-frequency whistle in my mouth and a flare at the fingertips.

To my relief, he was merely showing off his gadgetry before setting me atop a 12-foot pedal kayak with three rods in the rear holders, a lunchbox, water, pliers and instructions to have fun.

It’s a pleasure to cruise in this manner. Pedal kayaks, with lever steering, can be driven without oars, leaving hands free for fishing. They’re much easier to hold position against current and wind.

We’ve arrived along the weedy north banks, where the truly prolific fishers -- the herons and egrets -- eye us suspiciously.

Quirk flings a green plastic lure and employs a technique of reeling slowly, two turns at a time, pausing briefly between turns, keeping the line taut, and reeling again.

Wham!

There’s no doubt about a “spotty” strike. The bay bass dashes unsuccessfully toward the cover of weeds, then shoots beneath Quirk’s boat, causing him to spin a half-circle before he lands an estimated 3-pound specimen, which is promptly released.

I’ve missed on two strikes and am told I’m not quick enough, that bay bass inhale and spit plastic offerings in an instant. Yes, I respond, but my brain must also deal with a moving platform, keeping it properly positioned while casting and retrieving. It takes getting used to.

Soon we’re beneath PCH, in a channel leading to open ocean, casting along the bridgework.

Wham!

It’s my turn, in the eerie shadow of towering concrete. Cars whiz by overhead while I turn this way, then that, trying to keep the fish from entering the rocks or cutting off on the pedal blades.

Success!

I grab the fish by its lower lip, remove the hook, toss it back and quickly hook another. As we drift back into sunlight, Quirk says the bay is also home to sand bass, croakers and sometimes bonito and barracuda. A week earlier, he adds, a young client caught a 20-pound halibut. It was no miniature tugboat but a full-fledged freighter, and some fine table fare to boot.

--

-- Pete.Thomas@latimes.com

--

KAYAK FISHING

WHERE: Southland bays or coastal waters

WHO: Paul Quirk, Pablojoe Kayak Fishing

PRICE: $145 per person or $245 for private lessons

INFO: (562) 322-8014 or Pablojoe@gmail.com