By Paul Lebowitz

The first kayak hit the water off the stern of the Islander as dawn still pinked the sky. It was early November, and the mothership was out for the year’s final shot at San Clemente Island. The isle hunched low and indistinct in the early morning mist, some two miles distant across one of its large, lush kelp beds.

Not ten minutes later that first man off the big boat was battling a fine forkie, one of the hard-charging yellowtail to lure this load of twenty kayak anglers out to this remote and rugged chunk of rock, one of the eight Channel Islands.

That quick ‘tail is emblematic of the exceptional kayak fishing available at the ‘C.I,’ Southern California’s own archipelago. Oases from the ordinary, the islands seem to hover just out of reach of the mainland, promising an exotic escape.

The northernmost five comprise Channel Islands National Park. The park takes in the largest and smallest of the isles, twenty-two mile long Santa Cruz and tiny Santa Barbara, just one square mile in size, plus Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Anacapa, a trio of narrowly-separated islands counted as one.

Continuing southward, the best known Channel Island is next, Santa Catalina. The second largest in the chain, it is home to the archipelago’s only real town, the lyrically named Avalon. Far-flung San Nicolas and southernmost San Clemente are the province of the US Navy, their surrounding waters subject to periodic security closures.

A coastal kayak angler might look at a map and deem every one of the Channel Islands prime territory. It is sometimes so, but prevailing ocean conditions usually limit kayakers to the largest islands, Catalina, Santa Cruz, San Clemente, and to a lesser degree Santa Rosa. They benefit most from the shielding bulwark of Point Conception.   

Before we delve into how to get here – kayak fishing the Channel Islands requires hopping on a boat one way or another – let’s examine why paddling and fishing this wonderland is worth the effort.

Succinctly put, these are wild and magnificent places. Even familiar Catalina, just twenty six short miles from the mainland, feels a world apart from the mundane urban jungle. The islands seem lost in time, untamed, even primeval where their chiseled northern and western faces endure the full fury of the ocean. Kelp grows thick, waves crash against jagged shorelines or lap at pristine pocket beaches. The sea seethes with life. In such an environment, even the most fish-addled fanatic on his speck of a craft can’t fail to feel humbled by nature’s grandeur.

The isolated waters harbor abundant gamefish populations. Halibut hide on the little crescent beaches, where the water often takes on an incredible milky-blue hue. Yellowtail and white seabass patrol thick kelps, and then there are the calico bass. The checkers are notable for both their abundance and size. Although the bigger game can be hit or miss, the world-class calicos rarely disappoint. This is the place to catch and release a personal best.

Ok, its obvious traveling to the Channel Islands requires climbing aboard a powerboat. So why not leave the kayak at home, stay on board and fish while high and dry? Good question. The most common answer is it’s the only way to reach the nooks and crannies overlooked by most motorized boaters, deep within the thickest kelps and perilous feet from jagged rocks. Any kayak angler worth his salt will have an additional motivation – freedom, independence, and the intense satisfaction of finding, battling, and landing fish all on one’s own.

Dreamy Catalina
Not much more than a hop, skip and jump from metropolitan Southern California, Santa Catalina Island is the ideal place for that first taste of Channel Islands kayak fishing. For the best experience, bypass Avalon and its lively scene for the backcountry quiet of Two Harbors.

Known as the Isthmus, this narrow neck of land offers access to two distinct fishing areas. Out front, broad and often placid Isthmus Cove offers quality calico fishing on Harbor Reef and Ship and Bird Rocks. Yellowtail sometimes breeze between the two structures. The west side offers up shallow Cat Harbor and the entire exposed backside of Catalina’s stony spine. The water is rougher and there are next to no places to beach a kayak, but the fishing and paddling are top-notch for the experienced.  

Getting here is easy; high-speed ferries depart every day from a half dozen conveniently located landings. Bringing a personal kayak is somewhat more difficult. Only the Catalina – Marina del Rey Flyer offers regular kayak transport at $44 each way. If the Flyer isn’t convenient, the Two Harbors Dive Shop offers a workable alternative. Ocean Kayak Prowler 15s outfitted for fishing start at $53 per day or $70 for twenty four hours.  

Two Harbors accommodations range from the bed and breakfast pampering of the Banning House Lodge, the functional off-season Catalina Cabins, or the spectacularly situated campground perched high above the cove. Another more remote option waits a four mile paddle down the weather side. Little Harbor forfeits the showers, burgers, and ‘buffalo milk’ cocktails of Two Harbors for the closest thing you’ll find to splendid isolation on popular Catalina. 

Channel Islands National Park
For the kayak angler who wants to put stakes down on one of the more remote and unsettled isles, only the campgrounds of the Channel Islands National Park will serve. This is an entirely do it yourself place. Potable water, pit toilets and picnic tables are the extent of the services at the developed campgrounds. There’s only one per island, and all require at least a bit of a hike.

The best suited for the kayak angler is at Scorpion Ranch near the east end of Santa Cruz. The pleasant campground is nestled in a valley an easy half mile stroll from the broad cove of the same name. Nearby sea caves make for interesting paddling; unfortunately, fishing here requires transiting the Scorpion Marine Reserve, unaccountably established in the vicinity of the park’s most popular campground.

The reserve ends roughly a half mile east of the cove. Boiler rocks extend all the way to San Pedro Point at the tip of Santa Cruz. The paddle around the point to the beach of Smugglers Cove and on to Yellow Banks, where a one-day mothership trip aboard the Aloha Spirit yielded a nice catch of yellowtail in September 2006, is a serious dawn to dusk undertaking. The current can rip here; Wilderness Systems staffer Mark Pierpont and I spent hours clawing our way back to the point during our last visit, in October 2007.

The western boundary of the Scorpion Reserve is nearly three long, exposed miles from the launch site. Waves smash against the sheer cliff faces, rebounding back helter-skelter. Strong paddlers can enjoy tremendous scenery and exciting boiler rock fishing once they reach Potato Harbor.    

Another National Park option is the Water Canyon campground on Santa Rosa, a one and a half mile walk from the landing site at Bechers Bay. Marine reserves bracket this place east and west. Anacapa is another alternative for the intrepid. The seven site campground is 154 steep steps and half a mile uphill. There's no beach here; kayak launching and landing is via a pier hoist. The entire northern side of Anacapa is a marine reserve.

To reach Channel Islands National Park, hop aboard an Island Packers boat. Fares start at $54 for an overnight visit to Anacapa; most kayaks are another $18.

The limited camping areas and the difficulties of navigating around the many marine reserves make basing a kayak fishing trip here tough. Despite the issues, it can be a richly rewarding. By far, it’s the best way to thoroughly explore one of these unspoiled islands from land and sea. Not enough? For the ultimate in do it yourself adventure, experienced kayakers should investigate the summertime backcountry beach camping on Santa Rosa. 

The Mothership Option
Ah, sweet luxury. Boats such as the Islander provide the pinnacle of island kayak fishing options. With the range to fish a new spot every day and the benefit of decades of fishing know-how, not only is a mothership trip comfortable, it is also efficient. 

The first to pioneer the mothership concept from the fishing point of view, the Islander is outfitted with a custom swim step and ladder for easy on-off access. When not in use, kayaks rest on a rack built above the bait tanks. Yes, the Islander packs a full load of live sardines on each of her trips, freeing kayak anglers from bait-catching duty.

There’s more decadence: three plus square meals a day (kayak anglers burn a lot of fuel!), hot freshwater showers, and stateroom accommodations. Really, a kayak angler doesn’t need much more, except maybe bait and beverage service via Zodiac. The hard-working Islander crew headed by John Coniff and Shane Slaughter provide that too. 

The Islander runs a series of spring day and a half trips out of San Diego. Most visit San Clemente; the Navy’s operational schedule only rarely diverts the boat to Catalina. Charters are another possibility, such as the fall three-day that hit the yellowtail jackpot last year. With more time, options expand dramatically and inclement weather can be out waited or sometimes outrun.

Then there are the dive boats. With prior arrangement, operators such as Truth Aquatics out of Santa Barbara will find room on the rack for your fishing kayak. In most respects, the experience is similar to that provided by the Islander although kayak anglers will have to provide their own bait. Keep in mind the skippers will be focused on dive spots, not prime hook and line fishing zones.

By press time there should be a new mothership on the scene. The Supergun, a 46-foot Bertram, will run six-pack charters from Channel Islands Harbor overnight to fishing spots throughout the islands. Kayak fishing guide Jeff Krieger said the boat will carry kayakers to the hot bites and take full advantage of the live squid fishery.

KAYAK FISHING GUIDE Jason Morton is handed his gear during a one-shot mothership trip to Yellow Banks aboard the Aloha Spirit. Other than dive boats, there are no regularly scheduled open party motherships plying the northern Channel Islands. Soon a new charter will come on line, the Supergun six-pack out of Channel Islands Harbor.

LOADING UP Island Packer’s Channel Islands ferry. Island Packers boats regularly transport visitors and their kayaks to the National Park’s landings.

AN ISLANDER kayak angler and the yellowtail on his line near a critical moment.

ABOVE - Here’s one of SCI’s pumped-up calicos. This eight-pounder was caught late in the day during last spring’s WON Islander charter by Wilderness Systems staffer Mark Pierpont. BELOW - Many of the Channel Islands are known for sea caves and arches. Here Mark Pierpont of Wilderness Systems checks out a towering window near Santa Cruz’s Cavern Point. Although fascinating, kayakers should exercise extreme caution around sea caves.

SEAN WHITE with the yellowtail he singled out on his sonar just ten minutes into the three-day Okuma mothership. Incidents such as these are emblematic of the Islands’ exceptional kayak fishing.

HURTS SO GOOD. Putting everything into a hard-earned sleigh ride.

THE NATIONAL PARK'S Scorpion Ranch campground near the eastern end of Santa Cruz Island. All of the park’s overnight sites require at least a bit of a hike. The trail to this one is the shortest, just half a level mile.