Planning a Course when Paddy Hopping...

[Bob Ballew]

One of the mistakes fishermen and divers make when heading out to kelp paddies: running out of the harbor and plotting directly toward the location (ex. Avalon Bank)..this puts you behind every other boat departing before you..they get first dibs and you get a worked over paddy...instead, head due south or north a bit, then, head for your destination..this gives you a slightly new area and the kelps you encounter are less likely to be worked over...
Another suggestion: be on your first dive spot at first light...otherwise, you again encounter worked over paddies and boats stacked up on the good size paddies..that way, you have a chance of getting a couple of fish onboard before the invading boat army arrives..also, less chance of arriving at a launch ramp and finding it full with no parking spots available...common on weekends when the fish are close by..

[Mike Eberhardt]

Solid, thanks Bob!

[zenspearo]

Thanks Bob.

Sometimes I'm just in a rush to get there but you are right.

[Nate Baker]

I'm with you, Joe. Maybe we both need to relax more.

That said, when I'm faced with that Dana to East End or Dana to Avalon run, sometimes it's worth stopping on a paddie and making waypoints on it a few minutes apart to see how it's moving. It's not unusual to find out it's drifting at more than a knot, in which case it's good to make that jog off the rhumb line on the upcurrent side so as not to get paddies that got worked an hour earlier when they were on the line and have since drifted off.

[Bob Ballew]

sounds like Nate has it wired...now, all we need are helpful terns to lead us to the fish...

[Nate Baker]

Originally Posted by Bob Ballew

now, all we need are helpful terns to lead us to the fish...

That's for sure. That's how we found almost all our fish Saturday. It's nice to have help when you're nearsighted.

Which reminds me. The first fish we found were under a couple of terns. The dorado were feeding under a single, 4-foot-long stem with a couple of leaves on it. My buddy Mark said the bait fish shot right up under his arm pits. No paddie is too small.

[White Shark]

Another reason why I love cold water...



..

[rhyne]

man...that is a great bunch of tips and why this board is so valuable. thanks for sharing what could very easily be considered "insider info" not to be shared. That's the kind of thing that has me love this sport and want to just keep getting out there and sorting thru the wonder that is ocean hunting. it's an adventure that i just need to have ....thanks.

[Seaholic]

Since all you guys will be changing course, I will stick to the normal route that would leave the paddies all to myself.. hehehehe J/K

Good tip Bob

[Huntersmoon]

Great tips Bob. I was out on Friday, found a nice paddy with good size yellows and dorado...all to myself for about 30 min, when a couple boats show up. I shot another dorado and went upswell to make another drift when a couple yahoos start crying on the radio that a diver was on "their" paddy shutting down the bite. I turned off the radio.

[nowhere2go]

thanks for the heads up, simple point but very valuable knowledge.

[apneanaut]

Good idea, especially this time of year. I've always thought it's best to find paddies down-weather of a high spot since those paddies have drifted over the spot and collected fish. That may be something to consider when deciding between going north or south of your course.