Angling Addict

Addiction: Kayak Fishing (Video)

2012-01-17T00:21:00.000-05:00

After compiling a years worth of footage from 2011, here's a visual cornucopia of kayak fishing delights from VA. It's not instructional, but perhaps motivational. I hope you enjoy and get pumped up for the new year.

Starting Off on a Boat

2012-01-07T21:00:00.000-05:00

First trip of 2012 was with Bob Shepherd on the James River. We launched his boat a little south of Hopewell and put out a spread of cut shad that we cast netted that morning. The action wasn't hot, but we still had a good time with the few that we found.

51lb Blue Catfish

Not many people can say they had a good time fishing with their boss.

Maybe one day I'll get him to try it in a kayak.

Closing Remarks & Opening Statement

2012-01-02T22:20:00.001-05:00

Without a doubt, 2011 was my best angling year thus far. My wife's generosity seemed to know no bounds and I spent more time on the water than ever before. I was lucky to have that much time and to say that I did pretty good would be an understatement.

Although I left a few goals still on the table, I accomplished more than I thought I would. I beat my personal best Red Drum 3 times (40", 45" and 48.5"). I boosted my personal best Spadefish several times up to 15.5", and raised my tautog record (22.25" twice and a 23.5"). I caught my first cobia ever along with 3 others. Even though it wasn't from a kayak, it still felt good to check that off the list. I'll be looking for the brown clown from the yak in the coming year.

I caught 10 Virginia saltwater trophy citations in 2011 spread through 4 different species (Red Drum, Speckled Trout, Sheepshead, and Tautog). In the freshwater world I had one Blue catfish citation and one flathead catfish citation. The Flathead also happens to be my new personal best at 41". I targeted and successfully caught carp for the first time as well.

Relentless in my pursuit, I launched my kayak over 75 times, spent more than 470 hours on the water, and paddled roughly 315 miles. My addiction also drove me to add almost 10,000 miles to my car.

My competitive nature was put to the test while participating in two different year-long online tournaments, one of which was a big national venue with different divisions based on what area you live in. With over 300 registered anglers in over 100 teams, Kayak Wars is one of the biggest online kayak tournaments hosting some of the best kayak anglers around. Virginia, being clumped together with the Northeast states made it very challenging to compete with the striper saturated northern states. None the less, our team, Fish Junkies, came in a respectable 2nd place in the Northeast division and I placed 3rd in individual ranking for the Northeast (second year in a row). With 279 registered fish, 5325 points spread through 15 different species, claiming 7 records, I'm pretty proud of my 3rd place. I feel like I gave it my all and that's that. I'm not sure that we'll get any actual prizes, but the bragging rights are pretty sweet.

The other tournament was with a smaller, more local, kayak fishing club called the Pirates of Lynnhaven. I won the Angler of the Year tournament along with a few of the smaller week long tournaments. I accumulated a few excellent glass mounted FishDV8 plaques, several gift certificates, an offshore deep drop trip with Rudee Angler, and a brand new kayak (Moken 12 angler from Appomattox River Company). The cherry on top is the fact that all the proceeds from that tournament went towards the VCU Massey Cancer Center.

My desire to promote the sport caught the eyes of some companies who had similar goals. In 2011, I was asked to join some very respected names in the industry in helping to showcase some innovative and excellent quality products made by some of the leading companies of the sport. YakAttack, Hook1/Kayak Bass Fishing and Werner paddles added me to their respective teams and I hope to keep contributing and helping to get their message out. And much to my appreciation, Hook1 and YakAngler continue to publish my articles on their website/blog. On top of that, I was also honored to be included in Kayak Kevin's 2nd fishing DVD.

Having said all that, with so much to be proud of, I think the thing I cherish the most is the couple of times I took my 3 year old daughter out. There are few things more satisfying to me than when she says she wants to go fishing with daddy. 2012 will definitely bring more trips with the wee ones.

Also, I look forward to helping the Heroes on the Water again in the coming year. My experience with the program left a supreme sense of satisfaction that mirrors the level of gratitude I have toward our service men and women.

I treasured the time I spent with some great fishing buddies and truly enjoyed making some new ones, too. I savored my time on the water and maintained vigilance to keep learning as much as I can about the fisheries I explored. But also, I remembered to simply enjoy the paddle and soak in what mother nature had to offer.

Although, some times mother nature wasn't so nice. I found myself in some scary situations in 2011 which will serve as a reminder to myself, and hopefully you too, that safety is always priority number one. Know your limits, wear your pfd, and please practice your self-recovery skills.

As far as goals for 2012 go, there are many. I've shared some already, but others include more trips closer to home and trying for a broader range of species. I plan on trying some new places for new species as well. Also, I promised my wife that I wouldn't doing any long term tournaments in 2012. So no Kayak Wars and no Angler of the Year tourneys. Kayak Wars served as a good way of keeping track of how many fish I caught, so this year, I will have to try to keep a separate log. I plan on creating more artwork as well as some entertaining videos. But mostly, I hope to keep learning through time spent on the water and then sharing those experiences.

I thank everyone who enjoys checking out my blog and hope you all have an excellent 2012. Whether it's just getting out on the water simply for the joy of paddling and being out in nature or you're quest is for the next big fish,
stay safe and best of luck.

Oh and watch out for deer on the road.

Not So Big Finale

2011-12-28T22:27:00.000-05:00

I am very grateful to have such awesome fishing buddies. After hearing about my fiasco with the deer, I had several offers to help me get back on the water quickly. Everything from giving me a ride, to spare kayaks, and even places to stay were generously made available for me. I genuinely appreciated it and can not thank you all for the great support. Timing was difficult none the less and it made for a tough end-of-the-year for me.

Between a crazy work schedule, holiday trials and tribulations, and dealing with the whole car thing, I wasn't able to hit the water as many times as I would have liked. By the way, waiting in line for 3 hours, listening to other babies crying and whining, in a mall filled with angry/rude holiday shoppers, so my 3 year old can sit on some random bearded guy's lap... really sucks. But the promise of a happy daughter filled with magic and laughter is very compelling.

And it would have been worth it to see that smile... but guess what... by the time she was sitting in Santa's lap she was so tired, out-of-it, and weirded out that everyone was staring at her, that we couldn't get her to smile. I leaned over to the girl behind the camera and told her to just pick one so I can get the hell out of there.

Anyway, back to fishing... Justin and I got on some more topwater trout action on the Elizabeth River. We almost couldn't believe that we were getting topwater blow ups in December. Justin had some nice ones up to 23.5".

Various soft plastics, including one of my favorites, the Marshworks 3" Bayou Thumper, on a 1/4 ounce jighead also worked well. When I stopped getting hits on that I switched over to a MirrOlure.

After that we switched gears in search of the big stripers. In total, I went eelin' 4 times and didn't catch a single one. Ash Bishop caught a nice 49"er one night, then a 42"er the next night.

Ash's 42" Striper

Justin also got in on the action with a ridiculously fat 34"er.

Work schedule and having been kicked in the nuts will prevent me from getting another chance before the end of the year.

I would have loved to end the year with a trophy striper, but I really can't complain. I've had a fantastic year and perhaps it'll be the first to get checked off next year.

Togzilla vs. The Bastardly Buck

2011-12-06T22:30:00.000-05:00

Yes. This is the story about the one. Finally.

But, there's a problem...

Over the past three years, I've learned a lot about the kayak tautog fishery in the lower Chesapeake Bay. I've put in a good amount of time, and if I had to guess, I've probably caught nearly 200 togs during that time. Though some were under 15" and not worth talking about, I've also had my fair share of near trophy togs and everything in between. Coming within less than an inch of citation twice this year made my desire to catch that 23"+ tog that much more insatiable. My quest for Togzilla became an obsession.

The day started with my wife going to yoga. By the time she got back, I was contemplating just staying at home since I wasn't going to have too much day light left by the time I got down to Virginia Beach. Tautog are a daytime only species. But the weather was so nice with the wind laying low, so I decided I had to give it one more try before switching gears for the big stripers. My little girl wished me good luck and I made the long drive down. After a tough time finding bait, I finally got on the water a little after 2pm.

My trusty Werner paddle got me out to the spot by 3:00, leaving me about 2 hours of tog-able time left. I had exactly one tog bite in those two hours. But, it was just like the two other 22"+ togs from earlier in the year... a single solid thump, and I didn't hesitate. Setting the hook, I knew immediately it was a heavy fish. After the first few cranks, the response came in the form of a violent jackhammering of the rod. I loved it. The bulldog of a beast put a nerve-racking bend in my rod that started from the handle and line started peeling off the super tight drag. I really didn't want it getting back to it's hole, so I stayed confident that my tackle would withstand it, and I pumped the rod and cranked. It fought hard the entire way up. When it got to the surface, before I could grab the leader, it slapped it's tail and went on another awe-inspiring run that had me praying that the hook stayed in. It did and my second landing attempt went smoothly. I grabbed the leader and as the head hit the gunwale, I used my leg to scoop it in. I smiled but didn't let myself get too outwardly excited until I measured it. Please, please, please be 23"...

23.5" RELEASE CITATION TAUTOG!

The emotions came pouring out. My screaming "Yeah! Woohoo! $#%^ yeah!" turned into maniacal laughter that echoed under the bridge. The lack of wind made it seem even louder. I was on cloud 9.

I released it in hope of keeping this kayakable fishery strong. Especially since it's a big female. Not too long after, the sun started touching the horizon which marked the end of my tog season. I laughed out loud and had yelling fits of joy during the entire paddle back. It was the greatest ending I could have asked for.

I should have stopped there. Before I left the house, my wife said "if you catch 'the one' today, you should just come home right then". And I agreed. The thing is, I bought eels before I got on the water, just in case I didn't catch "the one". But now I couldn't let the eels go to waste, right? Plus, Johnnie Caldwell sent me a message telling me he caught a 51" 47lber a few days earlier. I had to try.

I paid the hefty toll and went across the bay to the Eastern Shore. Still giddy as my thoughts lingered on how I wanted to tell this story, I was oblivious to the fact that I was driving through a deer crossing gauntlet. Having seen so many deer on that stretch of highway before, I should have known better. I was cruising a little over 55mph when the first one popped out. I slammed the brakes, miss it, but the one chasing it was just too close. All my equipment slid up and hit the back of my seat. The buck got clobbered then airborne. I wasn't scared or panicky. I was immediately pissed. I try not to use much profanity on my blog, but FUCK THAT DEER.

I checked the car. Lots of damage, but it seemed drivable. I checked the bastardly buck. Dead. If I knew how to field dress a deer, it's ass end would have gone in the cooler. My thoughts went back to fishing since I was very close to where I was headed, Kiptopeke State Park. I figured I was already so close, I might as well dunk those eels. The car got there ok and I spent about 5 hours on the water. My buddy Ash Bishop came out to join me and he had two nice runs, but no hook ups. With no bites for me, I called it a night around 2:30 am and packed it up. I got a little past the toll booths coming back when my car started overheating. Crap. The radiator fluid was all gone. Lucky for me, Ash wasn't too far behind and picked me up. By the time he dropped me off at my parents' house in Virginia Beach it was 5am. The car was towed across the bridge-tunnel a few hours later.

Needless to say, my emotions are torn at the moment. I'm still smiling when I think of my long awaited trophy, but cursing under my breathe and damning the entire deer specie. But as time goes on, I'm sure Togzilla will prevail as the dominant memory and my insurance will make the mess go away.

I just hope it doesn't take too long so I can get back out on the water for my next adventure...

Tog-a-palooza and a Princess Rod Striper

2011-11-28T23:00:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, my brother and I don't talk for a while. But when we finally do, we pick up right where we left off... joking around, talking sports, and generally reaffirming how awesome it is to be a Choi :)

But, one thing we haven't been on the same page about is fishing. So all year, I've been trying to get him out on the water. It finally happened on Black Friday.

He's paddled plenty before, so I took him to the CBBT and we made the long trip out to the first island. The current ran stronger than usual and made the fishing very difficult, but I got Charlie to pop his tog cherry.

Lil' bro's 16.5"

I have to admit, it was pretty awesome watching him set the hook and do battle with his first tog. I tried to explain what a tog fight is like over Thanksgiving dinner, but there's nothing like experiencing it first hand. He caught two others and I had a few with the biggest going 18.5". We also got into a fair number of these...

Baby Black Drum

But the show was stolen by someone who recently got the tog addiction pretty bad. Jack Daughtry from Maryland understands why I love tautog fishing so much. Along with his buddy Josh Williams, they made the long trip several times in the last week and a half... and it paid off.

Jack Daughtry with a really nice 22"er.

I also went out on the 19th as well and got into a decent number. A lot of them were between 13 and 14" with a few going 19"+. Billy Ragulsky had the hot rod of that day with several nice ones and the biggest going 21".

Did I mention that the boys from Maryland have the tog addiction? Because they were out there on the 22nd also. And did I mention that their time on the water paid off? Because, holy crap, it really paid off. Jack Daughtry pulled in the coveted citation tautog.

24.5" and 10lbs.

Those of you who read this blog with any regularity know that I've been after that fish for a long time and put in a lot of time while searching for it. Yes, I am insanely jealous. Jack, I hate you. Ok, I'm kidding. No, actually, I'm not. I hate you. But seriously, congrats man. That is one helluva tog, and I look forward to fishing with you again, you bastard.

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Here's little video of a lightline striper caught on my daughter's Disney Princess Rod. I'll have to work on the lighting for the next one.

Last Minute Trophy Trout

2011-11-18T16:38:00.001-05:00

I wasn't planning on going, but I got invited to a screening of Kayak Kevin's new DVD which was on the way to the spot. At the last minute, I figured that I might as well strap the kayak on the rack. All my stuff was still in my car from the last trout trip, which made the decision even easier.

I left Kevin's party a little early and headed down to the southern branch of the Elizabeth. I launched a little after 10pm to a breezy river with dramatically lower temps than last time. The action wasn't quite as good as Tuesday night, but I still ended up with 4 fish. Three on topwater and one on the jig. I could of had 6 but I dropped 2 right at the boat. 18.5", 21.75", 19.5" and the release citation I was looking for at 24.5".

I was walking-the-dog in the light of the half moon when I saw it quietly suck the lure under.

Nice night, off the water at 1:30am.

Topwater Trout Action on the Elizabeth

2011-11-16T07:10:00.000-05:00

Justin and I were tempted to try the infamous Hot Ditch area of the Elizabeth River. But part of me was also interested in trying some of the other areas on the E. Lucky for us, Matt Anderson was feeling generous and agreed to take us to one of his spots. It's not often that a speckled trout fisherman is willing to share.

We launched into the Southern Branch around 9:30pm and I quickly picked up a 16.5" speck on a Marshworks 3" Bayou Thumper in "croakain" color on a 1/4oz jighead. I love the hard thumping action on those lures. We were working the flats and drop offs and it wasn't long before Justin got a nice one that went a little over 20" on a purple MirrOLure. I stuck to working the bottom and hooked a pretty decent trout that got off right at the boat. It was probably around 18-19". After that the action died off. It took a while, but Justin came up with the right idea. Topwater.

Just over 20"

Justin preferred the Super Spook Jr. and I worked a Rapala Skitter Walk in "speckled trout" color. Though, I think any walk-the-dog style lure would have worked.

21"

Matt joined in on the fun and we all had numerous blow ups. Many of them missed the lure, but it still got the excitement level up. Sometimes they would explode on the lure just as we were pulling it out of the water. It's pretty startling when the dark calmness is suddenly shattered as the black water detonates way too close to you.

The action would come and go and we would change the retrieval cadence. A lot of times we would get them to hit on the pause. After a great night of great topwater trout action we called it a night around 2:30am. Thanks again, Matt.

21"

A Great Day for Menhaden Management

2011-11-14T21:40:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone who sent a message to help the menhaden.

My previous post outlined some of the issues and on November 9th, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission held their meeting in Boston. By a vote of 14 to 3, the ASMFC approved a new addendum to cut the annual harvest limit on the Atlantic Menhaden by 37%. It's a great first step and I'm sure the 91,949 comments they received (overwhelming majority for harvest reduction) helped make the difference. It's actually a historic moment since it's the first time ever that the commission voted for the reduction in menhaden harvest.

I think we as a collective community of sport fishermen/women should be proud to finally make a change to this problem. This is definitely not the end to this issue, but definitely big step in the right direction.

The commission now has to create and vote on a plan to implement the new rules which should become effective in May of 2013.

For more information check out the ASMFC page and/or the CCA news page.

Back to the River

2011-11-11T20:47:00.000-05:00

I almost forgot what it was like to drive less than an hour to go fishing. My attraction to the salt had been pretty intense lately. But today, I decided to switch things up and stay close to home. I also decided to switch things up even more by going after something a little unusual..... GAR!

I found out about a spot on the James river that's loaded with gar. However, the nearest public launch area was over 8 miles away and I didn't have time to dedicate to that kind of distance. Staying determined, I did a little research on google maps. Then I worked a little charm on a nice old lady who let me drag my kayak through her property. Next thing I knew I was only a 15 minute paddle from the spot. Ya gotta love being able to do that with a kayak.

As I got closer to the spot, I could see the gar breaching the surface. They were all over the place and some were definitely pushing 4 feet long. I've used artificials/lures on them before but found it extremely frustrating since the hook up ratio on those skinny nosed gar was very low. I decided to bring minnows this time, but it was still difficult to hook one. The gar would grab it, then run, but wouldn't actually eat it for quite some time. I would keep yanking it out of their teeth.

Speaking of teeth, I know some people have used frayed nylon rope as a lure and had pretty decent success with it. The teeth would get tangled in the fine strands of rope and the angler could fight and land it. I tried, but the fish didn't want anything to do with it, or any artificials I threw at them.

Eventually, I finally got one to eat a minnow, and with light tackle, it was a very enjoyable fight. I got a little nervous when I pulled it close to the yak. The prehistoric looking beast started tail dancing with it's mouth open... all 3 zillion pointy teeth flailing around in close proximity.

I think they're actually very pretty, except for their face. My wife says they got "butterface". I didn't see that one coming. Anyway, my free lined minnows couldn't find the inside of another gar's mouth for the rest of the day. But they did find several catfish, including this 42" citation blue cat...

I was a little surprised that this leviathan went after a 4" minnow.

Just before I called it a day this pretty little James River striper came up to bid me adieu.

It was a nice day to change things up.

Jackassery of the First Degree

2011-11-09T21:49:00.001-05:00

I recently found out that a fellow kayak fisherman lives only a few minutes away from me. So naturally, I convinced him to do a midweek run down to the Tidewater area with me. We loaded his Redfish 14 onto my car and made the hour and fifteen minute trip down.

Dan Smullen and I launched a little after 9pm and made our way out to the HRBT. The water was like glass, which brings out the crazy power boaters. We quickly ran into several other striper chasing yakers and shortly afterwards found a few rockfish of our own. We also met up with Chuck Wrenn, another Richmonder.

The first few fish were very skittish but as we made our way toward the island, the we found more that weren't shy in the least. Not too far from the island, we found a school causing a ruckus and busting on baits pretty hard. Unfortunately, just as we were starting to get into them a boat notices our success and proceeds to run their outboard right through the school. We held our tongues, even though we both found them guilty of jackassery in the first degree. Of course, the fish disappeared so we ventured off to find more.

It wasn't quite as productive as I would have liked, but we did end up with a decent number of fish. Dan caught at least ten.

I ended the night with around 15 or so with the biggest going a little over 25 inches.

We called it a night around 1am as the current started going slack.

Took a Chance

2011-11-07T21:04:00.000-05:00

Justin and I were looking for Kayak Wars points. The York River is closer than the HRBT for both of us and we heard some good things recently. So we took a chance and went for it.

Oops.

The schoolie stripers didn't show in numbers. Instead we got a few small hickory shad, a 10" flounder, tiny bluefish, and a gazillion spike trout.

I ended up with a measly two stripers that counted for Kayak Wars and Justin didn't get any. The paddle back seemed longer as disappointment settled in. But I guess, sometimes, that's just the way it goes. The drive back up to Richmond sucked. The end.

Got Toggin' on my Noggin

2011-11-04T17:13:00.000-04:00

The forecast just looked too good. I took the day off, crossed my fingers in hopes that the forecast stayed good and made the trek to Virginia Beach. I paddled 3.5 miles along the CBBT and as I arrived at the 1st island, I was greeted by 7 other kayak fishermen who all had the same thing on their minds... beautiful Thursday morning... TOGS. It felt like I had just made a pilgrimage to the promised land to be with my people. It was awesome. The weather was perfect with minimal winds and warm sunshine.

Kayak toggin' enthusiasts of the day included Kevin and Lee along with their friends Jimmy and Rob, Jay Brooks and Tripp Seed of VirginiaKayakFisherman.com, and Kyle (I forgot your last name)'s dad. The action had slowed down since my last trip out to the island. It wasn't super hot, but we all still got some decent pullage.

Working the rocks over the tunnel

Fiddler crabs did the trick for me in the morning. When I ran out, I switched to chunks of blue crab and they worked well too. I ended the day with around 15 or so tautog, 9 of which count for Kayak Wars. We had a few oystertoads and black sea bass too, which are par for the course. One of the 17" togs was obviously a repeat offender...

I did it a favor and pulled out the extra hook before releasing it. When I looked closer, I noticed it was the same size and style of hook I use (Owner cutting point 2/0 that have a specially designed tip which are easily recognizable). It made me wonder if it was one of the few I hooked and lost two weeks ago at the same spot.

I stuck around until sunset and started the trip back.

The wind picked up in the afternoon and seemed to get worse the later it got (of course) It made the return paddle a little tougher, but after the sun went down, using a 4" swimbait in natural bunker pattern, I had fun messing with the stripers. I caught 9 stripers around the first small boat channel (red and green lights).

I could have easily caught a bunch more, but I was beat and figured I should try to be somewhat coherent for my daughter's birthday the next day. I took a few fish to my parents who were super excited and all in all, it was a great day!

Tog Chowder

2011-11-02T15:15:00.001-04:00

With the chill of autumn setting in and old man winter fast approaching, I thought I'd share one of my favorite feel-good soups, Tog Chowder.

Here's what I use...

2-3 tablespoons of butter
2-3 cups of onions, chopped
About a dozen fresh mushrooms (I really like mushrooms. Give or take to your preference)
2 stalks of celery
Small can of corn
4 cups of chicken stock
4-5 cups of potatoes, diced.
2 lbs of tautog, diced into 3/4" cubes. Any firm white fish will do, such as striper/rockfish, cod, etc, but my favorite is tautog.
1/4 teaspoon of ground thyme. Some people like Old Bay, too. Add to taste.
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 twelve ounce cans of evaporated milk
Finely chopped parsley

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Saute the onions, mushrooms, and celery just a little bit.

Add the chicken stock, potatoes and corn; simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add the fish and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Add milk, season to taste with thyme or Old Bay, salt and pepper. Let simmer for another 5-7 minutes. It should thicken up a bit.

Add parsley.

Done.

I like those french fried onion things that go on greenbean casseroles, too. Add a nice piece of crusty bread and it's a great meal after a cold day on the water. Enjoy...

Hawg Trough Improvement

2011-11-01T16:38:00.000-04:00

After using the Hawg Trough for a couple of years now, I looked back through my Kayak Wars stats and realized that it's helped me measure and photograph well over 4 hundred fish (including the ones that were too small). It makes documenting the catch quick and easy. It's accurate and the numbers show up well in the photos. It hardly weighs anything, which is great on a kayak, and it stores easily.

However, it does not float. Last week, I had a fish thrash while it was on the board and normally I can keep control of it, but this time it went over. It sank slowly, but I was not able to get to it in time and down to Davy Jones' locker it went. After I caught the next fish, I forgot what it was like trying to measure a fish without it (besides the monster Red Drum and Kow Stripers). I ordered a new one the next day and started thinking of ways to not lose it. A friend of mine suggested a retractable cable, and although it's a good idea, I couldn't logistically find a place to attach it to without getting in the way and/or slowing me down.

When I got it in the mail, I saw on the back that there were two groove and the light bulb came on. I got a roll of 1/2" x 3/8" strip foam insulation and some glue from the hardware store...

...and crammed it into the two grooves...

Ta Daa!

Bath tub tested! Good to go!

The Hawg Trough is available at Hook1 Kayak Fishing Gear.

York River Toggin'

2011-10-31T15:38:00.000-04:00

5:50am. Hit snooze. Baby's awake. Ugghh...

As I rocked Miles back to sleep, I checked the wind forecast. Over night, it went from just-maybe-borderline-doable to hell-no-you-dun-lost-yo-mind. So I called Justin to call off the tautog trip to the CBBT first island and passed back out with a drooling baby on my chest.

As I made breakfast the brooding thoughts of big togs in the deep calmness crept into my mind, so I checked the wind again... with no reprieve. I played with my little stinker-dinker kiddos and their laughter shut the door on fishing, and I was good with that. My wife reiterated how I deserved to have some time to myself, and she was thinking about taking the kids to her mom's place anyway, so maybe I can do something else. I said I would think about it (and reminded her how lucky I was).

A few hours later, Justin came up with a brilliant idea that I couldn't resist and since my car was already loaded, it wasn't long before I was on the road. Justin had caught a tautog on the York River before, but always wanted to try again. I wanted an alternative place to go when it was blowing at the first island.

We got on the water and the NW wind was not a factor in that area. When we got to the structure, it didn't take me long to get a hook up...

19.5" Tog. Photo credit Justin Mayer

However, the action was not "hot" by any means. In fact we went long stretches with no hits. Eventually, just before we were about to move to another area, Justin hooks up to a nice one that jackhammers his rod into the water. He kept the beast from getting into the pilings and when it finally came up, it was a doozie.

Justin's new personal best 22" Tautog

The rest of the afternoon all the way until sunset was very uneventful. We each had a couple of missed hits as we explored the new area and that was it. When it got dark we caught a bunch of stripers up to 23" under the lights then called it a day.

Fall Bite in Full Effect

2011-10-24T23:46:00.001-04:00

Fishing in the VA tidewater area is really heating up. Reports of speckled trout are pouring in from all over with various MirrOlures and jighead n soft plastics getting the job done. I wasn't able to get in on the trout action, but I did find a few other species.

I got out to the HRBT around 1am on Sunday morning and met Justin Mayer and Ash Bishop. The water had just started moving with the incoming tide and the stripers were lined up thick. As the current picked up so did their appetite. My preference for the night was a 3" swimshad in natural bunker pattern, but almost anything would have done the trick. I lost count after 20 or so with the biggest going 24". Justin and Ash both had ridiculous numbers as well with their biggest going around 26"ish. I got off the water around 4:15am and drove over to Oceans East 2 tackle shop.

After blinking my eyes a couple times, I got out of the car around 6am as Kevin was getting into work and he hooked me up with a nice mess of fiddler crabs. I launched at the base of the CBBT to a sunrise that filled me with optimism. However, the paddle to the first island kicked my butt as the cross currents pushed hard and the head wind gusted over 15kts... but it was worth it. Just like the recent speck bite, the tog bite was on fire. There were times where I couldn't even get my reel engaged before my fiddler was getting destroyed. Most of them were in the 15"-17" range.

Over all I must of caught over 30 or so togs. No that's not an exaggeration. I admit, some of those were under 15", but several were over 17" with the biggest going about 20". Each additional inch brings a whole 'nother level of fun (insert "that's what she said" joke). One of them ended up thrashing so hard as I was measuring it that I lost my hawg trough (the normal measuring device I use to take photos).

I had an occasional oyster toad or baby black sea bass, but the majority of the bites were definitely from togs. A few other boats were having good luck using cut blue crab as well. If you've been wanting to try for togs, or if you're just bored of messing with spike trout, and you're willing to deal with the paddle out, now is a great time. A 16" tog will put up a surprisingly good fight for it's size and a 19-20" will definitely test your tackle. I had two break me off around a piling and one pull me into bottom structure, but I ended up getting it out, minus my sinker.

As my fiddler supply dwindled, I decided to try a different spot along the bridge that I never tried before. I wasn't expecting much and since I was already exhausted, I was thinking of leaving soon. But I felt a hard thump and when I set the hook I immediately knew it was a much heavier fish than I've had all day. It was an intense fight and I couldn't help but hope it was the citation (23") tog I've been after. But I wasn't upset when it turned out to be...

Release citation Sheepshead

Reference

The last thing left in my bait container was a big fiddler claw that had broken off, and I figured why not. I tried one piling over from where I caught the sheepshead and within a minute, I had another tough fighter on the line. This one fought harder than the last and each nerve punishing drag run had me praying that it stayed hooked... and my imagination kept making the potential tog bigger and bigger. But once again, I can't be upset...

Another release citation Sheepshead
I know it looks a lot like the other one, but I swear they're different.

Mean looking thing

Long, but great day

And remember to send ASMFC the prewritten email about the menhaden issue before November 2nd!

H E L P!!!

2011-10-17T23:55:00.000-04:00

Free Stock Photo

Normally I try to avoid anything that might make my readers feel like they have to choose sides. But this time, I have decided to throw down the gauntlet. If I lose followers because of it, then so be it.

I feel like if we don't do something, we're going to lose what is quite possibly the most important fish in the Chesapeake Bay, which in turn will affect fishing all along the entire east coast.

Menhaden... bunker... pogy... the more I research the subject, the more upset I get and the more urgent the matter seems.

One fact regarding Atlantic menhaden is not in dispute: the coastal population has declined 88% since 1984, and now stands at a historic low point. The latest Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s assessment confirms that. - www.ccava.org

One single fleet harvests about three-quarters of the entire East Coast annual catch of menhaden in Virginia. They harvest more than 100,000 metric tons of fish from the bay and surrounding coastal waters... The overall population of Atlantic menhaden is near historic lows while the population of young menhaden has been at an all-time low for more than a decade. Predators that depend on menhaden as a food source, most notably striped bass, are showing signs of ecological stress. A high proportion of striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay are suffering malnutrition and poor body condition. More than half of the striped bass sampled are infected with mycobacteriosis, a sometimes fatal disease, which typically appears in fish under stress. The survival rate of striped bass has been declining due to natural causes. Menhaden are important to the overall health of Chesapeake not only as prey, they are also filter feeders. They are second only to oysters, which are already grossly depleted, and feed on plankton and decaying plant matter. - www.recycledfish.org

Free Stock Photo

I can regurgitate pages and pages of info I've found. If you want, do your own homework. In the end, I'm just asking... do you like to fish? Would you like to keep fishing for a long time? Do you want your kids to fish? If you answered yes, you need to do something about the raping of our waters. For a long time I was furious with Omega Protein, but after listening to Beau Beasley speak at a local meeting, I realized that being upset with something that was perfectly legal is futile. We need to have our voices heard and make a change. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) is taking public comments until November 2nd on the DRAFT ADDENDUM V TO AMENDMENT 1 TO THE ATLANTIC MENHADEN FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN. Right now is the first time in the history of the menhaden fishery that the commission is thinking about implementing regulations to stop overfishing.

Visit http://www.menhadendefenders.org/ and simply fill out your zip code then your info to send your the prewritten letter to the ASMFC.

Plus, check out this site to see how we do our part in reducing the use of Omega 3 that come from menhaden.

Also, if you can spare a few packs of Gulp, join your local Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) chapter and help them push the lawmakers into making the right decision.

There comes a time when you can choose to do something that might change the course of history. Instead of idly standing by, letting the good fight blow past you... do something.

The Last Three Trips

2011-10-14T21:01:00.001-04:00

Thursday October 6th, got off work and went lightline striper hunting at the HRBT. I fished the slack then most of the incoming tide and ended up with several decent size croaker and eighteen stripers between 21" and 24.5". Other species that ended up on my line included grey trout, baby bluefish, oyster toads, and black sea bass. Lures/baits for the night included chartreuse gulp, gotcha 3" dark green grubs, fishbites bloodworms, and 4" calcutta swimbaits in natural bunker pattern. I met Matt Anderson out there and we stayed out til nearly 5am.

Monday October 10th. After work, I met up with Marty Mood and tried for the big red drum under the CBBT. The bluefish were thick and there were good numbers of schoolie stripers... but no reds. Oh well.

Thursday October 13th. I got the urge so back to the HRBT it was. I started off with a small speckled trout, a dink flounder, then got into the stripers. I caught about a dozen with the two biggest going...

24.5"

and

26.25"

They're definitely out there and hungry for anything that swims by.

Get out and be safe!

MONSTER RED

2011-09-29T23:34:00.001-04:00

So I was sitting there in my office, being productive, getting my work done, feeling good after the recent tournament, when I decide to give Kayak Kevin a call to wish him a happy birthday. When he picked up I could tell he was excited about something. It turns out he had a 46" red drum in his lap! My palms instantly got a little sweaty and my mind started racing (I know, I have an addiction). I immediately wanted to be out there fishing for those powerful bulls. He went on to tell me the story, which I'm sure he'll share on his website, then hung up to chase some more. He was under the CBBT fishing for sheepshead when the reds showed up. About 10 minutes later, I get a call from Kevin's buddy Lee Williams and he says "dude, I was on your piling fishing for sheepshead when I hooked into a massive red!". He continued to tell me how it came undone, then he had to take off to go to work. By now, I was standing out of my office chair, with both hands grasping my hair, mind racing even faster, completely incapable of doing work at that moment. I had to go.... SOON. I immediately checked the weather forecast and tides then called the one other person that I knew Kevin wouldn't mind if I told. The news had a similar effect on Justin Mayer. We called our respective wives and the plan was set in motion.

We launched around 9:30pm after a full days work and an hour and a half drive. We fished the CBBT lightline for schoolie stripers on the way out to the target area. We each caught 4 or 5 and as the current started to slow down, our anticipation grew. We both put two rods out with whole crabs on fishfinder rigs and jigged a 6" chartreuse swimming mullet Gulp on a 2oz jighead. Justin got a hit first. One of his lines with a crab started peeling off, he engaged, and just as his kayak started getting pulled, it came unbuttoned. About 10 minutes later I suddenly lost tension on my jigging rod. I reeled in the slack and instinctively set the hook knowing that something picked it up and moved upward. The ensuing headshakes and screaming drag run quickly made me realize, this was a big fish! I was very lucky it didn't go straight through the set of pilings that were near by. Instead the beast pulled me in between the two bridges then did a 360 and ripped drag back toward the pilings. Luckily it veered away again, and after about 7 or 8 more minutes of tackle testing drag runs, I leg lifted the monster red over my gunwale.

Heavy 48.5"
Citation Red Drum

Those were all the bites we had. I got home at 5am feeling tired, but still buzzed from having caught my biggest fish thus far.

2011 TKAA Charity Tournament

2011-09-27T12:42:00.000-04:00

It had been raining on and off all day. My hands were exceedingly pruney, my hat was soaked all the way through and I was yet to feel a fish on the end of my line. Other tournament anglers started heading in and many of them asked about my luck. Every one of them had either a perplexed look or thought I was joking when I told them I hadn't hooked a single one. I was running out of time so I decided to make one more pass by my favorite spot in the inlet as the rain got heavier. I was trolling a MirrOLure when it got crushed...

by a big...

fat...

nothing.

Yet, for some reason, I was still smiling, happy and had a supreme sense of satisfaction as I drove to the weigh-in/awards ceremony. The confused looks and "you're kidding, right" statements continued there, but I went on to explain to them that I had a different goal that day.

Every year there's a group of people that take some veterans from the near by hospitals and gets them out on the water to fish during the tournament. I decided to be a part of that group. At the end of the day, Ben Swenson of Virginia Wildlife Magazine wanted a quick interview, so I obliged, and most of the questions were easy... was this your first time volunteering for this... yes... do you think you'll do it again... yes... but there was one question that I couldn't answer very quickly. "Why?" "What made you decide to do this?". My mind was running so fast... I'm usually a very competitive person and I love these types of events... so why did I decide to forego the enjoyment of competing? Why would I use that precious time away from my family and personal fishing endeavors for something like this? I don't have any strong connections to the military. I dislike politics. I just didn't have an immediate answer for him.

Maybe I just wanted something cool to write about on my blog. Maybe I thought it would make me look like a "good guy" in the kayak fishing community. Or maybe it was the perfect opportunity for me to really help someone by sharing the passion I have for this sport. And not just anyone, but someone who has put his country before himself... someone who did what our country as a whole needed him to do and now he's stuck in a hospital. I know if I was in his shoes, I'd love it if someone took me fishing.

Maybe I volunteered because I've always felt like I owed a debt of gratitude to the veterans of this country. I was born here, grew up here, and enjoyed the freedom my entire life. My parents came here from South Korea back in the mid 70's, not only because this country opened its doors to a certain number of immigrants from there, but also because of the veterans who fought the Korean war. The outcome of that war would obviously be very different if it hadn't been for those veterans and I would not be here today loving life to the fullest, and you would not be reading this.

Maybe I didn't have an answer for Ben Swenson because I didn't know how to bring up the subject of my wife's beloved grandfather, who recently passed away last month. He served in the United States Army and was awarded a Combat Infantry Badge and three bronze stars for his service in Korea. You can imagine the sense of gratitude I have, especially when I was around him. Here I am, in the greatest country in the world, enjoying all the freedoms that come with it because of the service and sacrifices made by him and the other veterans of the Korean War. And to top it off, I got to marry his granddaughter. I made sure he knew that she was in good hands with me, and he was many times the recipient of a fillet or two from my outings along with the treasured visits from his great grandkids.

I know this would have made him happy and proud.

Mark Lozier gives a few pointers to the veterans

I took Lance Corporal Israel Ramirez out to Rudee Inlet in my Redfish 12. He had been to many places including Greece and Lybia and now had several pins in his right hand along with a cast. Knowing that I shouldn't push him, we started off pretty relaxed. I just wanted him to have a good time on the water. But after chatting and getting to know him, I realized he was pretty mission driven and today's mission was to catch a fish. It's something he had never done before and it was my goal to help him achieve that. His casting got better as the day progressed and his paddle strokes got stronger. He couldn't quite grip the paddle all the way and I told him to let me know if his hand was bothering him and that we could take a break. But like a true marine, he told me "pain is weakness leaving the body" and trucked on as I nodded and smiled. Shortly there after, I got him to hook up and I was ecstatic when he caught his first fish ever.

He caught 2 more spot (bigger than the first) and a nice pinfish as well. When we got off the water for lunch it was obvious the vets were all glad to have gotten a little therapy on the water and it did them good. They had so much to talk about and at least for a short while, their minds were away from the heavy burdens they accumulated through their previous experiences and long stays in the hospital.

Later on, Israel came up and told me that his buddies from the same hospital couldn't believe he caught 4 fish. The others enjoyed themselves on the water, but were not able to catch anything. That added a certain level of satisfaction for me, knowing I helped him get those bragging rights!

There's definitely something magical about powering yourself though the water. Add the lure of angling and the therapy is undeniable. For more information about the program helping the vets, check out the Heroes on the Water page and Project Healing Waters page.

All the proceeds from the tournament went towards those programs so even those that didn't fish with a veteran still helped out. They are two great organizations that definitely deserve our support. If you live in the mid-Atlantic, enjoy kayak fishing, and have not attended this event before, please consider trying next year. The camaraderie is second to none and the raffle is out of this world. Here's a link to some more info about the tournament and the results.

On a side note, after the weigh-in and award ceremony, I ventured back out to the HRBT for a few more hours of personal fishing time. I quickly picked up a 19" flounder, 5 schoolie stripers and a few good size croaker.

Before the Big Tourney

2011-09-26T22:53:00.000-04:00

Who's Awesome?!? My wife! That's who! She agreed to hold the fort down with both kids while I made the annual trip down for the TKAA tourney. I got permission to leave Thursday night and soon felt a good binge coming on. It was like being back in college and it was the first day of spring break. I smiled as I thought... I'm going to get crazy hammered on some fishing then hang out with all the cool kids at the biggest kayak fishing party in VA. WooHoo!!!

I got to the HRBT around 9:15pm and as I took my first few paddle strokes, I realized I hadn't paddled in the salt in almost two weeks. Man, it felt good. I found a good mess of stripers along the light line, but the baby bluefish were just everywhere. It was one of those nights where if you casted just a little too far in front of the striper, the blues would just tear them up. It was really quite a sight to see water boiling all around the bridge... and it lasted all night. I managed around 20 stripers ranging from 16" to 26", some nice size croakers, a few small speckled trout and grey trout, and obviously more bluefish than I cared for.

While fishing, I met Jack Daughtry and a few other guys from Maryland who had come down to prefish the big tourney. It was nice to meet a few other kayak anglers that didn't make me feel like I'm the crazy one. I left and took a nap in the car around 5am, but later I found out that those guys stayed up past sunrise.

I woke up and went over to Kayak Kevin's place to figure out where we were going to prefish that day. I really wanted to try the Eastern Shore for the red drum but the weather was iffy. While we checked the radar, I got a sneak peek at portions of his new DVD that's coming out soon. It. Is. Awesome. He's got a few more expletives he needs to bleep out, but I can't wait for it to be released. Anyway, with all the little storms popping up Kevin decided to stay in and work on the DVD some more. As for me, after watching some of the sheepshead clips, I couldn't resist. Instead of prefishing for a species included in the tournament, I went after the notorious convict.

With Kevin watching the radar for me I got to the base of the CBBT, unloaded, had everything ready to launch... then thunder rumbled in the distance. I checked radar on my phone and the storm was a good distance away, but headed toward me. About 45 minutes later, Kevin calls and tells me it's getting close and I should get off the water. Luckily, I knew better and hadn't even launched yet. About 20 minutes later, lightning cracks, wind picks up and the sky drops buckets of water. Boy was I glad I waited. It was 3:00pm by the time I launched, which was actually just right for the slack tide. I quickly got into a scuffle with a 22.5" Sheepie that nearly broke me off on the piling.

Not too long after, I fought into submission a 25.5" and a 24.5" convict to become my 4th and 5th release citation sheepies for the year.

It started raining again so I started heading in. The wind never got bad though, which was nice. Feeling good about my catches, I got off the water and headed over to the captains meeting for the big tourney coming the next day.

Late Summer Cold Front Bassin'

2011-09-19T12:04:00.001-04:00

There was a time in my life when football took precedence over fishing. But in the last couple of years, that's changed. My desire to get on the kayak and feel the water got pretty strong, and my first chance to get out was late Sunday afternoon. With the winds blowing 20-30kts down in my favorite saltwater spots, I decided to stick close to home. It definitely felt too early to dust off the waders, but the temperature dropped enough and I had to resort to the chest high breathables and long sleeves.

I started with a black double colorado blade spinnerbait and got a bunch of short strikes. Eventually I got one to hook up and landed this feisty little smallmouth bass who was fond of getting airborne.

I switched to a small white grub to find a few sunfish and tried using them to catch flathead catfish. I found the bream along the bank around some fallen trees, but the catfish were nowhere to be found. I casted the spinnerbait again as I soaked the baits and hooked up to one more...

It's a little unusual for me not to find any catfish this time of year, but at least I got to tango with a few smallies. On a side note, I did see some BIG carp. I went home a little after dark, made some chili, had a beer, checked the scores and called it a good day.

Yak Catch Fish Bag - Gear Review

2011-09-16T15:40:00.000-04:00

As a conservation minded angler, I now release the vast majority of the keepable fish I catch. But sometimes I target a species that isn't being overfished nor in serious decline. Plus, there's always something special about harvesting food for yourself and/or your family (as long it's done responsibly).

For a while I just put the fish I caught on a stringer and tied it off to the side of the kayak. But on the long trips with strong current, the stringer full of keeper size fish became a drag, literally. The kayak was slowed down considerably when I was paddling or it was pulled by the current quicker than I'd like when I was trying to stay over certain structure. So I'd have to haul the stringer over the gunwale often to relieve the drag for a bit then put it back in the water. It was annoying and tiresome to say the least. Also, if you catch something you plan on keeping early in the trip, that might mean you're going to drag that fish around for another 5-6 hours. I've done it. It sucked. For the shorter trips in places with less current, the stringer didn't bother me. Or if it was already very cold, I could just put the fish in the kayak hatch. But in the heat of the summer, you might as well be baking the fish if it wasn't in the water or on ice.

Kayak Kevin's buddy Lee Williams suggested the idea of a fish bag that we could put inside the yak and I started searching the internet. I met another guy out at the CBBT who was utilizing it and he like it a lot. So, I went ahead and tested out the Yak Catch Fish Bag in medium from HOOK1 for myself.

I like the crate organization system made by Precision Pak, so I figured this fish bag would be just as well thought out. I think for most kayaks, it would be easy to strap to the top with the attached clips. The guy I met out on the water put his inside the front hatch and just scooted forward to access it. If you have a kayak with a rod pod, you can access it easily through there.

There is a removable PVC liner bag for easy cleaning. The insulated bag is made with durable 600D polyester PU, lined with 300D PVC and fully padded with 2mm PE foam. Honestly, I have no idea what that means. I just copied that from their website. But what I can tell you is that a small bag of ice will last at least 5-6 hours in mid 80 degree temps. A little will melt, but the fish will definitely keep cold. I'm thinking of investing in several of the re-freezable gel packs as well. Also, you can keep frozen bottles of water in the bag to help keep things cool and as they thaw slowly, it will be refreshing.

For those that want to strap it to the top, there are bungee cords and other tool storage slots. Also there is a long centered waterproof zipper for easy access. Plus, it's got a carrying handle and shoulder strap so you can easily transport it from your vehicle to your kayak. There are two other sizes (small and large), but the medium fits inside the Ocean Kayak Trident 13 well. I can still stow my rods toward the rear of the the kayak and there is still plenty of room for other things. During the Catching for Kids Tournament I was able to fit two 12" spadefish, two 15.5" togs and one 22.25" tog so the bag can definitely hold plenty of fish. I probably could have fit a flounder or two in there as well. I lost a lot of ice that day because it was extremely hot and we were out there for nearly 11hrs. But the fish were still cool when I got to shore.

Over all, I'm very happy with the product and anytime I plan on keeping fish in warm weather, I'm bringing it with me.

If you're interested, visit Hook1's website and checkout the Yak Catch Fish Bag by Precision Pak.

Brown and White Redemption

2011-09-15T22:04:00.000-04:00

My first cobia charter didn't go quite according to plan. Mistake after mistake and a few uncontrollable circumstances landed me the skunk. So when my boss got a call from Captain Tony Horsley, saying this is probably our last chance before the cold front comes through and closes the curtain on the exiting fish, we jumped on it.

After meeting the captain and his mate over at Bell Island Marina, we launched and headed straight for the ocean. Almost all the other cobia sight casting charter captains had already given up on the season. But Capt. Tony knows his stuff, and got us on plenty of fish.

I still felt anxious standing in the tower, but this time, my bucktail found the target and I was able to pick a fight with the brown clown. And it was a great fight at that!


My first ever hooked and landed cobia @ 44" Photo credit Bob Shepherd.

We probably saw around 30-35 fish, hooked about 18 to 20 of them, and landed 10. We had a few chances at 2 or 3 big slobs, but things just didn't work out. I had another wrapped tip like last time, I accidentally threw an eel into my boss' line, and nerves got the better of me, again. But none the less, we had an excellent time.

Later in the afternoon the wind picked up and seas got a little rougher, but Tony's 26' SeaFox handled it well. The ride back in was definitely more enjoyable than last time since I finally had that monkey off my back.

So next year, if you get a hankering to try sight casting to one of the top predators in Virginia waters, give Capt. Tony Horsley of Bowed Up Fishing Charters a call. 804-513-7744. The man is passionate about finding and catching these fish.

Traffic Court Excuses

2011-09-09T21:11:00.000-04:00

No, I wasn't caught speeding on my way to go fishing. I had some expired tags and I forgot about the state inspection. The thing is, I was pulled over in Virginia Beach. That meant I had to make a trip back to Virginia Beach for court. Naturally, I brought my kayak to the courthouse and tried not to daydream about fishing too much.

Both tickets were dismissed since I took care of the problem issues quickly. I paid my court fees, changed into my fishing clothes and made my way to the tackle shop. They didn't have any fiddlers and I didn't want to drive 20 minutes to the other tackle shop. So I decided to just go with clams and focus on the spades.

The wind was a little worse than predicted and the swells were definitely bigger than I thought they'd be. I checked my phone to make sure the line of storms were veering away, and they were. The surf was looking not-so-pretty, but just past it didn't look that bad. So I launched. It was rough.

I got hit by another big wave about half a mile out. Most of them were small 1-2 ft waves but this rogue 5-6 footer was building then started breaking right in front of me at a slight angle. Luckily I had just enough time to turn straight into it and I got as vertical as I've ever been in a kayak. It soaked me, but I didn't lose anything. I definitely would have turtled if I hadn't straightened out.

I told myself, if I ran into another one of those, I'd turn back. But I didn't. It got better and the wind calmed a bit as I got to the target area. The baby bluefish were out in force and annoying as hell. But eventually I hooked into a decent spadefish.

After that, I had a hard time finding any more. I tried the clams on the bottom to see if togs or sheepies wanted any, but that didn't work either. Just after sunset, I made it back to the launch area and heard the roar of the surf. I knew I needed to utilize the rod pod. I put away everything that was expensive and tried to time the sets of waves. I paddled in behind a wave and just as my bow was about to hit the sand a massive wave crashed right behind me and sent my kayak flying. Luckily I was able to stay in it and keep it straight. I was completely drenched, but once again glad I didn't lose anything.

I talked to Justin as I was packing up and we decided to hit up the HRBT after I grabbed a bite to eat. The wind dropped out and the swells were non-existent by the time we launched. The baby 10"-15" bluefish were literally everywhere under the bridge. Mixed in, we found some grey trout, small speckled trout and a few schoolie stripers, too.

Right around slack tide, I found several flounder and Justin managed to find a beautiful 25" redfish.

I got pretty tired and left around 2:30am. Justin's crazy ass stayed out there until 5:30am. I bet the bite got good when the current got running and I'm sure he'll have a good report up soon. He had an awesome home-made lure he was trying out too. Check it out!

Labor Day Camping

2011-09-06T21:23:00.000-04:00

I didn't get much time to fish, but that wasn't the point of this trip. It was the annual Labor Day weekend Choi family camping trip and it went off without a hitch. The weather was nice and surprisingly, the traffic wasn't too bad. We switched it up from last years location of Sherando Lake to Kiptopeke State Park. My parents, my brother, his fiance, my wife, two kids and dog made the trip across the bay for a long weekend of campfire hijinks and beach time antics.

My dad fished the pier and ended up doing well with two keeper flounder at 19" and 22" on live gudgeons. Sorry, no pics. He had them cut up before I had a chance to take pictures. It's pretty awesome to have super fresh sashimi at campsite. I hung out at the pier for a bit and was quickly reminded of how awesome it is to be on the kayak. The pier was crowded with "interesting" people and personalities some of which I cared not to be around for very long. Not to mention the line tangles from errant casts of the guy 20 feet down the pier from you. All the prime spots were already taken and some drunk guy sang the same terrible song over and over, and over again, loudly, in a another language! The dude was definitely hammered.

I got one chance to take out the kayak and it was only for a short time. I targeted flounder then dropped fiddlers for a bit. I hooked up to a what felt like a good size flounder...

...but after a few seconds, it came off. I should have waited one more second to set the hook since I was using the 7"Gulp Jerkshad. Oh well. I ended up with the skunk, but it was better than getting the evil eye from the family for staying out too long.

T'was good times and I'll get my pullage soon enough.

Hope you all had a good holiday weekend as well.

Tagged Tog Info

2011-09-06T17:00:00.002-04:00

I love learning about the species I target, so whenever I catch a tagged fish I look forward to receiving the information about it. The last time I went out fishing I caught a tagged tautog and called in the number. I got the info from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission in the mail the other day and just thought I'd share it with others who might also be interested in this type of thing.

It was originally tagged by Rob Collins of Norfolk, VA. Caught and tagged at the 1st island of the CBBT on March 20, 2011, the little guy was 13.75". 153 days later I caught it at the same place and it was 15.5". It was in excellent condition and must have been eating good since it grew 1.75" in about 5 months. It's my understanding the rate of growth slows down dramatically when they get larger (like with most species).

I usually release tagged fish so the research can go on, but I was fishing the Catching for Kids tournament and I kept it.

Over the last 3 or 4 years I've caught several tagged fish and usually I get a T shirt or a tackle storage box, but this time I got a cool tautog pin. Thought that was pretty neat.

It's about an inch and a half long

Double Tourney Saturday

2011-08-21T13:22:00.004-04:00

A while back, I was asked to join the TKAA team for the Catching for Kids 20th Annual Anglers Club Challenge Tournament. Of course, I was happy to oblige not only because I love to fish, but the money raised goes to a great cause. Click the link for more info about Catching for Kids.

The TKAA team divided up into several groups to target different species. The CBBT group, consisting of Justin Mayer, Billy Ragulsky, Seth Goodrich and myself, met up around 5am, got things ready, set a good game plan, and launched to a gorgeous sunrise.

We stopped at several spots that usually produce quality fish, but either no one was home or no one wanted to come out and play. Well, at least no one we were actually looking for. The baby bluefish were everywhere, destroying any soft plastic we dangled off the kayak. Justin and I decided to move close toward the 1st island while Billy and Seth tried a little longer.

As the current slowed down we were sure the bite was going to turn on. Justin focused on the spades as I worked the fiddlers on the bottom. Sheepshead, triggerfish, and tautogs were all on the list of species for the tournament and all of them love fiddler crabs. Justin started off getting a few small spades, then the action shut off. I caught a bunch of trash fish, which I actually didn't mind for this trip. I'll explain later.

Justin and I were baffled. All through slack tide, we didn't catch anything we wanted to enter into the tourney. A little before, through slack, and a little after are the best times and we were at the spot that normally holds fish. Staying persistent, I eventually caught a couple of small togs, one of which was tagged.

I love learning where, when and how big the fish was when they tagged the fish.

I had my doubts about whether those two little togs would rank in the tourney, so I kept at it. I was also hoping for a good size trigger, since I hadn't caught one all year. But I failed to find any. After a while, I switched over to clams and enticed 2 spadefish around 12" to play along.

Frequent CBBT kayak angler Kyle (forgot the last name) hooked up to a nice spade

We also met Seadoo Dave out there for the first time. He seems like a good guy... check out his site.

Hoping for that big sheepshead, I went back to using fiddlers. I tried a new area along the bridge and my hook started getting cleaned with a quickness. On the third drop over the same piling, I finally hooked up to a nice fish. After several line peeling bull dog runs, I brought it up to the surface...

... and twice it buried my rod tip deep into the water ...

... but in that tug of war, I was victorious.

It was the second 22.25" tautog for me this year. .75" shy of release citation.

Again.

Long story short, that fish ended up being the second place tog for the tournament and I was proud. Justin had one of his spadefish end up being 3rd place for that specie as well. There were many reputable angler clubs to enter teams in the tournament. And for us to be the only kayak team against a bay full of motor boats and placing 4th over all is a great achievement. If my understanding is correct, we were only one point behind 3rd place. The weigh-in was a great time with excellent food and camaraderie. I admit however, I left shortly after the food...

Remember how I said that I didn't mind catching trash fish earlier. Normally, I'd be pretty annoyed, but I was actually double dipping tournaments that day. Pirates of Lynnhaven held a week long trash fish tournament and it was the last day. The weigh-in was at 7pm. And even though I didn't think my fish were going to hold up, I left the first tournament awards early. My croaker, spot and oystertoad (3 of the 6 species included in the tournament) measured a mere 1/8" more (combined) than the next guy and I ended up winning. (Sorry Joe, I got lucky)

I won this cool trophy designed by Fish DV8 and also a 16 hour deep drop trip with Rudee Deep Sea Fishing. On top of that, half of the money raised in entry fees gets donated to the charity of the winners choice. So CCA of Virginia should be getting a decent little check from The Pirates of Lynnhaven.

My wife was happy I helped out two great organizations and also excited I won a tournament.

But, she wasn't too keen with the idea of me going on a boat for 16 hours.

I told her it's really not much different from my usual fishing trips.
Just not on a kayak.

Cobia Charter

2011-08-16T16:01:00.001-04:00

So once or twice a year, I find myself on a boat. And every time I do, I feel weird. All the space, the speed, the ability to see better and farther, and of course the smell of gas and machinery. I got invited by my boss, Bob Shepherd, to go on a cobia charter. So, along with his friend Fred Murray, we met up with Capt. Tony Horsley and went in search of the infamous brown clown.

I can't disclose where we went, but I can tell you this; Capt. Horsley knows his stuff. We spotted over 40 nice cobia through out the day while taking turns in the tower. The man does his job well. I, on the other hand, sucked. I had several chances and screwed them all up. Being 12 feet, or maybe more, up in a tower is big difference from sitting on the surface. Almost all my casts were over thrown and when I tried to compensate, I was either too short of off to the side. Did I mention I sucked.

My boss hooked several and landed two. Fred landed one. My frustration was starting to get the better of me when I finally got a cobia to eat. I watched the big beautiful fish give chase and take the bucktail. I set the hook, and as the rod loaded, the tension suddenly disappeared. I was tip wrapped. I stared at the curled inch of braid on the end of my rod in utter disbelief. The wind that was blowing in my face had made a loop over the first guide as I bounced the bucktail just under the surface. It felt like a big fuck you from the fishing gods and I was left speechless. In sharp contrast however, an amazing explosion of expletives came bursting out of Capt. Horsley. It was as if he was fishing "through" me and couldn't believe what just happened.

And of course, soon after, the storm clouds showed up and the day ended before I was able to hook into another.

Bob Shepherd

Fred Murray, Capt. Tony Horsley, Bob Shepherd and that guy who can't cast.
Even though I'm smiling, I really, really hate holding someone else's fish.

I really thought I was going to catch my first cobia, but at least I learned a lot from the experience. I even thought of some things / places I can try on my kayak.

One day...

I'm gonna catch that brown clown.

Midweek Antics

2011-08-11T10:04:00.001-04:00

I took the old Redfish12 out to see what was shakin' under the HRBT. After launching at 8:45pm I quickly found huge numbers of cutlass fish.

aka Ribbonfish

More chrome than your rims and a wicked grill to match. Check out the barbs on dem teefers!

Korean people love to eat this fish and swarm from as far away as Maryland (maybe farther) to catch them by the cooler full. But this twinkie (definitions 1,4,5&7 apply) doesn't have a taste for them. My mom would be pissed if she knew I threw them all back.

I also found a good number of these...

Weakfish aka Grey Trout

Nothing big, but big schools of little ones, which is good because their population was on the brink for a while in VA. Hopefully this is a good sign for the future.

Par for the course, I also had a few small croaker, bluefish, and some...

Wee little flounder

Also got to do a little battle with good ol' Morone Saxatilis

Most were in the 17"-19" range and very skittish.

All fish were caught on 3" chartreuse, white or dark green swimming mullet Gulp on 1/4 ounce dark green jigheads.

The smoke from the dismal swamp fire got pretty nasty so I called it quits around 1am.

Until next time...

Peace out homies.

Kayak Fishing the Chesapeake Bay 2 Preview Trailer

2011-08-10T15:52:00.001-04:00

Can't wait for the full DVD!!!

Can't Stop Thinking About Them Spades

2011-08-09T19:41:00.007-04:00

I got a fever.

And the only prescription

is more spadefish!

My last intense battle had me yearning for more. So I got the OK from the greatest woman in the world (my wife) and drove on down to the magical land of Sheeps and Spades.

The wind was rough and the current didn't help. But I found a few up to 12"~13" and one 23" sheepie. I was hoping for bigger spades, but I guess I can't complain.... especially with the big sheepshead.

Released to bump uglies and make lots of baby sheepies.

I'm kind of pissed because I broke my favorite baitcasting rod (Shimano Cumara) on this smiley faced little spade. Not sure what happened, but I'm hoping Shimano honors the life time warranty
on it even though I don't have the receipt.

On a side note, I tested out a new YakAttack product.

New Panfish Portrait with GoPro Hero.
I'll have a full review after I take it through the paces.

In the mean time here's a few screenshots.

I need to remember to wipe the lense off

And I'm hoping to get the GoPro HD soon so the picture would be clearer.

My quest for the big spades will continue.

Spade. It's What's for Dinner.

2011-08-04T22:32:00.001-04:00

About to land one
Photo by Justin Mayer

It was as if Mother Nature was apologetic for her excessive bitchiness on my last trip out to the CBBT. I was granted a full 9+ hours on the water with almost no wind. It was sexy.

The target for the day was spadefish. It is the fish I probably curse at more than any other. In the last three years, I've fed more spades than Asians eat rice. Their ability to strip a hook clean is almost as uncanny as their strength once it's finally hooked.

My personal best has been stuck at 12" for a while, so I really hoped to break that on this trip. But it started off with only a few the size of my hand and a bunch of little bait stealers.

Kevin says Hi

Baby Black Sea Bass
aka PunkassBait Stealer

I kinda think they're pretty cool looking though...

...but not as cool looking as these guys.

Pretty little thing

Kevin put on a show as Justin and I were swinging and missing with empty hooks. He had several up to 17" with some amazing fights that took him in and out, zigzagging, through and around several pilings. Justin had a few decent ones then eventually hooked into a real nice one, but dropped it at the boat. I finally broke my personal best with a 13"er. It put up a great fight for a relatively small fish.

Photo credit: Justin Mayer

But on my next to last clam strip I hooked into what I was really hoping for. After watching Kevin's fights, I was dying hook one myself.

15.5"er

Inch for inch, spadefish are definitely one of the strongest fish out there. The second you hook one, there isn't that pause before it reacts like with some fish. It's absolute pandemonium from the split second it's on there, and their brute strength is phenomenal. They go completely spastic and ballistic at the same time. I love 'em! I can't wait to get back out and try again.

From what I understand, spadefish don't take forever to grow like big sheepshead, nor are they in serious decline like many other species, so I decided to take a few home. I made a few spade nuggets for the wee one...

Natalie with the smile of approval

And I had my panko breaded yummy deliciousness with veggies and of course...

RICE!!!

After Hours Topwater Bassin'

2011-07-29T08:40:00.003-04:00

I get a call at 4:50pm, right before quittin' time.

"Dude, you wanna go fishing?"

It's Justin, a fellow diehard fish junkie... looking to get his midweek fix.

Before we're off the phone, the drug of choice for the night is determined.

Topwater bass fishing.

Stoked.

Second cast, 15.5"er

By the time we got on the dance floor it was almost 9pm.

The paraphernalia for the night consisted of Zara Spook Jr.'s, Pop-R's,

and various Rage Tail soft plastics.

This pretty 20"er couldn't resist Justin's sexy noise maker


Bustin' out the ninja moves on another 15.5"er.

Tango with the twins... another 15.5"er.

Justin got some love from the fat ones, like this chubby 18"er

16.5"er. No I'm not stoned, just high off the topwater action!

It was a great night on the water. Even the youngin's came out to play.

...Getting Slammed

2011-07-23T23:50:00.005-04:00

I found this report after what I am about to tell you.

My Grand Slam day turned into an unnerving situation by getting slammed. That moment when I noticed the guys looking up at the sky, the wind jumped and hit us all in the face. And not a second later heavy rain started pelting everyone, except those of us under the bridge. About a dozen boats came rushing to get cover so I knew it caught them off guard too. There was also one other kayaker near by who had been anchored up as well. About 5 minutes later, the rain died off and we both decided it was time to head back. About 10 minutes later, mother nature unleashed a fury the likes of which I had never been on the water for. Yes, I have been in some pretty intense storms, but this was definitely the worst.

We were under the southbound bridge and the rain made the north bound bridge barely visible. The lightning was not that cloud to cloud stuff, but the crazy intense bolts that exploded when it came down. For a while it was every couple of seconds... the sound was deafening and I could feel it deep in my chest. I laid my rods down and tucked my yak behind the middle of the three pilings. I brought my body down as far as I could while still being able to paddle in place, not only because of the lightning, but to keep my body from becoming a sail. The other kayaker was two piling sets behind me and I kept looking over to make sure he was still there. When the gust slowed down, I would move up one set of pilings and he would follow. We got a little ways then the wind picked up even more. I felt my paddle push violently against me and that's when I thought "what if there's a tornado/water spout?" The rain was hitting my face so hard I couldn't keep my eyes open. I would squint a peek every now and then just to make sure I was still behind the piling. Waves were crashing into my kayak from what felt like all directions. When I felt myself tipping to one side I used my paddle stroke on the same side to push back. I didn't panic or freak out. I felt confident in my ability, my body didn't feel fatigued and I knew if I stayed under the bridge, behind that piling, and hopefully I don't get airborne, I would be alright. I knew it couldn't last too much longer. I had never met the other guy before and I had no idea how much experience he's had or his ability to paddle through that type of scenario. Thus, I worried.

When I could open my eyes again, I looked over and the other kayak was gone. "Oh Crap!" Lightning bolts were still going off and we were maybe 1/3 of the way back of the 3+ miles. I knew I couldn't go looking for him in those conditions. There was no sense in getting myself screwed as well. I couldn't reach for my phone either because if I stopped paddling even for a few seconds, I would be pushed away from the bridge and safety of the pilings. I told myself I'd call for a search/rescue as soon as I get the chance. At that moment, my safety was my primary goal.

I managed to keep myself in place for a while, then I looked over again and barely made out a shape. He was paddling furiously, trying to get back to the bridge, but it wasn't looking good. I lost sight of him again as gusts came through that rattled my nerves and lifted one of my rods from my lap (same one I almost lost to a spade earlier). I got things situated and looked back again and much to my surprise and relief, a boat pulled up and looked like it was going to pick him up. Whew! Sigh of relief. Time is hard to measure in moments like that. But it felt like a long time.

I decided to keep going since I didn't know how long they were going to be. I kept going one piling at at a time and eventually, the gusts slowed down and the lightning stopped. And about a quarter mile from shore, like Keyser Söze, "...poof, he's gone". The rain stopped, the sun came out, the water flatten, I looked back at the island and shook my head. My favorite/lucky hat was long gone, but luckily, that was all I lost.

When I got to shore, I was greeted by a wedding party setting up in front of Alexander's restaurant. It was the strangest thing. They wanted me to hurry up and get my stuff out of the way, like they had no idea what I had just been through.

The other kayaker who had been on shore for a little while now walked up and introduced himself. If you're reading this, I apologize, I forgot your name. Glad it all work out though. It turns out he tried to anchor to stay in place and it popped out. He turtled (flipped) and amazingly got back in. He lost everything except his paddle. The boat passing by might not have seen him if he wasn't able to get back in and paddle back towards the bridge. Knowing how to recover and get back in the yak was critical for him. If he had lost his paddle or didn't have a spare, he could have easily ended up way out in the bay and maybe in the newspaper.

I find this all sort of ironic because I was recently asked by several people if I could take them out to the 1st island. I felt helpless, something I rarely feel, when I couldn't help that guy out on the water. Though not often, stuff like this happens and this is exactly why I have a hard time agreeing to take people out, especially if I don't know their skill level.

I try not to exaggerate too much in my posts, so here's a wind report I found.
That's 62 mph in Virginia Beach, during the time I was out on the water. That's no joke and I felt every bit of it.


http://www.erh.noaa.gov/akq/lsr/index.php?wfo=akq It only displays the past 72 hrs, but here's the screen capture.

I went to Ocean's East to tell them I was alright since Kevin knew I was out there. He told me they were keeping an eye out on the radar and all they saw was a little blip that turned into a massive storm all of a sudden... there wasn't much they or I could do to predict that one.

Later on, after reading this post, a certified storm spotter sent me a message. He reiterated that there wasn't much I could do about that one. There was no storm watch issued that entire day, but they sent out a warning as it was already happening. My smartphone and VHF radio would not have given any warning until then. He was also kind enough to send a radar loop. I was three miles north of the "k" in Norfolk.

Click image for loop

Those of you who haven't perfected your kayak recovery, you need to remedy that. For those that want to make those long trips, work on your endurance. Anything can happen...

Grand Slam...

2011-07-23T22:52:00.005-04:00

I got lucky. I was expecting to have to work with my dad at his shop while my mom got in on some quality time with her granddaughter. But my dad got it covered so he told me to just go fishing. Bingo. Bango. Weather looked good and the tides were alright so I launched at one of my favorite summer time spots, the CBBT. I knew it was going to be close to 100 degrees if not over, so I packed a soft sided cooler with five frozen 1-liter bottles of water and lots of sunblock. In hopes of trying to stay cool during the long paddle out, I stayed in the shadow of the bridge. It definitely helps to not be directly in the sun.

My first stop of the day brought in several flounder with the two biggest going...

and

The 21.5"er was lazy and didn't put up much of a fight. I knew I wanted to keep him so I opened the rod pod and as I was grabbing the leader, the flounder went nuts. I slid his body over the gunwale, got him in the rodpod and for about 10 seconds straight it thrashed, banged around and threw up minnows all over the inside of my yak. Flounder are notorious for going ape-shit once landed and I've lost my share so I was glad I had the rodpod for this one. On a side note, if you get one of these while leadering a fish...

... make sure you use the other hand to squeeze the lemon while cooking the fish. Not fun.

Anyway, back to fishing... I was using a 1/2 oz jighead and 5" crazylegs gulp jerkshad in white/chartreuse. TKAA member Scott J. was out there, too, wearing the flounder out on live bait.

After a while, I decided to switch rigs and bust out the fiddlers. My first drop down...


Mr. Tough Guy Tautog, even for a 16"er.

The very next drop in the same spot produced a single distinct thump and a heavy weight on the line. I slammed the hookset hard and the ensuing mayhem had me thinking it was the citation tog I've been wanting (for those of you who have been follow along for a while, can you tell I want one really bad?) A skiff with three guys on it, that happened to be near by, started hootin' and hollerin', when they saw me put a nerve-racking bend in the rod. After a while, I saw the stripes so I knew it wasn't the tog. But who can be upset after a fight like that?

24.5" Release citation Sheepie

I tell you what I did get upset about... bad fishing etiquette. While I was taking the above picture, I drifted off just a little (no anchor) and the skiff with the three guys on it scooted right into my spot. I saw a small opening for me to squeeze my yak in, so I got over there, asked if they have had any luck, and dropped my line right next to theirs. They started small talk and mentioned they had been sheepshead fishing all day and hadn't caught a single one. They asked what I was using for bait, and me being the polite guy that I am, said "fiddlers". A minute later, I get a hard thump and a heavy weight on my line, again. It's that split second that you know, "This hookset is going to be awesome". Wham! It's on. Bowed up and tearing drag, I look up at the guys with their jaws dropped open. I smile, give a little "woo hoo!" and enjoy the signature sheepie fight...

25.5" Release citation Sheepie

"In your face!"

I get back to my spot, low and behold, the douche-bags have now positioned their skiff so I can't squeeze in anymore. I decided not to get upset and fished the next set of pilings over. I was thinking of switching over to spadefish soon anyway, but wanted to try for one more. About 3 or 4 minutes later, I was about to pull my line in when once again, I felt that familiar thump. Immediately after setting the hook, I yelled out "There he is!" just to make sure the skiff knew I was a hooked up, again. It finally got to the youngest of the three. He was just disgusted. As he watched me fight the fish he yelled "What the fuck man! Now that's just not fair! God damn it! You gonna make me go out and buy one a dem damn kayaks..." I was trying really hard not to burst out into laughter, just smiling and nodding my head.

Real pretty 23"er with all it's fins out. Love it.

I wished the guys good luck and moved on to the spades. I switched rigs, opened up some clams and immediately started getting bites. The thing is, their bites are so damn fast. Eventually, I finally got one to hook up, almost losing my rod in the process (wet hands with clam juice on them). I saw the flash of it's bright side just before it came off. Frustration set in soon after when the same thing happened to me 4 or 5 times. I would get the hook up, have an intense 4 or 5 seconds with drag ripping chaos, then it would come off. To make things worse, the current was picking up, which meant I wouldn't be able to maintain the one arm paddle for much longer. But I really wanted to beat my 12" personal best, so I kept at it and finally got one to stick. It didn't fight as hard as the others I had hooked earlier, but I was glad to finally land one.


Toughest 12" fish ever.

It only tied my personal best, so I went back to try again. Unfortunately, the current got even stronger and the fish had disappeared. I decided to take a break and anchored up next to the island, under the bridge to stay in the shade. As I was eating a snack I realized I caught 4 species of fish that day (not including the trashfish like oystertoads and baby bluefish that I failed to mention earlier). I thought to myself "CBBT Grand slam, baby! Yeah!" It had been a good day and I was contemplating about heading back in after my break when I noticed a skiff with a pair of flounder fisherman on it looking up at the sky.

I thought "what the heck are they looking at?"

That's when it happened...

Fishing with his Royal Brownness

2011-07-21T22:40:00.000-04:00

For the rest of you brown people out there, please don't take offense to the title.. I love this guy almost like my brother. We went to college (partied) together, and came up with a bunch of inside jokes and nicknames. He happened to be the whitest brown guy I knew and I was the whitest Asian guy he knew. People started calling me the Harold to his Kumar. I'm not trying to get into any racial discussion, because I really don't care. But every day I wake up, I think... "what can brown do for me?"

So my friend Dorian doesn't fish, doesn't kayak, doesn't really even like the outdoors. But since we work together, he's heard my rants and raves about this whole kayak fishing thing. And the other day, out of the blue, he bought a fishing license. Dude wanted to go fishing with me, and like any good friend, I obliged.

After a quick kayak tutorial in my first kayak, we were off to one of my favorite catfish spots. I set up two rods for him and two rods for me. I was really hoping he'd get the bites and get to experience a good fight. Unfortunately, only a few fish came out to play. I had two decent upper 30" flatheads mess with my lines and a small channel cat on his...

Notice the nice watershoe tan...

His Royal Brownness doesn't like holding fish, yet.

It's a terrible picture, which he's going to hate, but I'm posting it up anyway. Hopefully I'll be able to get him on some big ones soon.

Toothy Bastards

2011-07-15T17:10:00.000-04:00

Justin and I must have caught at least 30 or so.

All sandbar sharks.

Tired.

A Few Hours Before Work...

2011-07-08T16:21:00.001-04:00

Carp. Some call them bonefish of the freshwater world. I got several reports from various sources about a good population of them very close to home. So I took a few hours before work to check it out. Bonefish, known for their unrelenting drag smoking runs on the flats of the tropics, have always interested me. Thus, when people start comparing carp to bonefish, I naturally had to try it out. Disclaimer; I didn't try with the flyrod, which is the way most people catch bonefish, but one day... I was short on time so, I used the traditional dough-type bait on a small hook instead.

I started off catching a few small catfish, but shortly there after, I hooked into something very different. I immediately knew and felt the difference. Using light tackle, the high pitched music of my spinning reel drag instantly brought a smile to my face. And then the bright fire of it's beautiful tail flashing under water, made my eyes happy.

25" Carp

In the short amount of time I had available, I ended up with a 23" and a 25" carp. I also had one hookup to a much bigger one that really pulled like a freight train, but a minute into it, it came off. I also saw a couple roll that had to have been pushing three feet.

I've never actually caught a bonefish before, but from the stories I hear, I imagine they're really quite amazing. And I'm sure the diehard bonefish fishermen will say there really is no comparison, but from someone who's never caught one, and probably won't have a chance to any time soon, my sweetwater bone will have to do.

One for the Record Books

2011-07-07T19:52:00.000-04:00

In the saltwater kayak fishing community of Virginia, no other kayak angler has achieved what Kayak Kevin has.

Many avid non-kayak anglers find it very difficult to do, but he reached "expert angler" status in the Virginia Saltwater Tournament, not only once, but twice (2006 & 2007). Catching 6 citations (trophies) of different species in one year all from a kayak is no easy feat. But on Tuesday, July 5th, he brought yet another goal into realization and I was privileged and honored to be a part of it.

Kevin was already out under the CBBT when I pulled up to Chic's Beach, so I unloaded and launched as fast as I could. I'll be honest, having become friends with Kevin doesn't make it any less exciting to fish with the guy. I believe I'm a pretty driven person and I've accomplished a good bit, but what this guy has done and is still doing is truly inspiring. He had been talking to me for a while about needing one more citation fish... and as we planned this trip, we knew... the recent reports, the weather, the tides, everything was just right.

Kayak Kevin's 24" Release Citation Sheepshead

First fish of the day was a gorgeous 24" sheepshead and the pressure was off. There was a sigh of relief and a buzz of excitement as he held up his citation fish. That fish now made him "Virginia Master Saltwater Angler". It takes 25 citations in a minimum of 5 different species (a maximum of 1 citation per species per year allowed) over an unlimited period of time to achieve this. Throw in the fact that he did it all in a kayak and it's really quite an amazing accomplishment. Congrats, my friend.

The first fiddler I put in the water got eaten just a few minutes later. I set the hook and my rod violently doubled over as Mister Badass Master Angler chuckled and watched me struggle to stop the fish. It was my first sheepie hook up of the year and I was quickly reminded of how strong they were when it pulled lots of line off the super tight drag. However, moments later my heart sank as I lifted up a bent hook. It wasn't just a little bent. It was wide open... and my imagination ran wild about the size of that fish. I kept hope while I tried other spots and when I got to one of my favorite pilings ... the fight was on again. And this time, I kept him on the hook.

25" Release Citation Sheepshead.

Feeling good about our sheepshead catches, we moved on to try spadefish. Using clam as bait, Kevin ended up with one around 15" and I dropped one that looked about 13" right at the boat. That little spade darn near yanked the rod right out of my hand!

Soon after, the current really got going and the wind started picking up so we decided to take shelter behind the island and see if big ugly was around. And as if one citation species for the day wasn't enough, Kevin rocked another one...

48" Release Citation Black Drum

He was using artificials and I tried with clam, with no luck. They were very skittish but fun to watch. It's really quite amazing to float right over these 4 foot plus behemoths. We even saw a few with their tails out of the water as they buried their heads looking for grub. I'll try again for them next time.

As the current started to fade, we tried for spades again, with little success. I switched over to fiddlers and on my first drop I felt a single hard thump. I set the hook hard and the butt of my rod quickly dug in under my arm. It felt good... and I thought to myself "if this is a tog, it might be the one". I've been wanting to reach that magic 23" citation mark for some time. When I got it in the boat, the excitement flooded my mind. It was close. I laid it on the measuring board... "c'mon... twenty three inches...."

Not quite... but still happy.

New personal best 22.25" Tautog

Shortly after, with the wind picking up and heavy clouds on the horizon, we called it a day. A great day, in fact. The fishing was excellent and Kevin once again scratches his name in the record books.

His near unparalleled dedication to the sport matches his mantra well...

"You only get out of life, what you get out and do."

CONGRATS!!!

Check out Kevin's website for more info and pics.

And for those that were wondering, yes, I did go for stripers at the HRBT later that evening.... caught just a few small stripers.

Quick Trip to the River

2011-07-03T23:35:00.009-04:00

Got bored.

Caught sunfish.

Still bored.

Freelined sunfish.

Caught some flathead catfish.
Had fun.

The end.

A little something different

2011-06-27T14:55:00.016-04:00

I went sheepshead fishing on Sunday for a little while and caught a surprise. I had one follow my fiddler up last year, but I didn't expect to see another, nor catch one. But it maked sense. I dug up some mole crabs since I couldn't get a hold of any fiddlers and I heard that people down south use them to catch pompano in the surf. Long story short, I didn't catch my target specie, but I always love catching something I never caught before.

13.5" Pompano

Since my last trip was cut short

2011-06-22T09:37:00.001-04:00

The final leg of my last trip was cut short due to weather. So, I decided to go last night to make up for it and HRBT lightline striper action was the goal. The last couple of times I went it was less than stellar (compared to last year around this time), but since our team, Fish Junkies, in Kayak Wars needs more points, I took the chance.

I launched around 7:30pm and started off jigging up a few dink flounder. Then I messed with the croakers for a while until it got dark enough for the lights on the bridge to come on. It took a while for the current to pick up and I kept telling myself they were going to show up. I had a feeling that working the incoming tide (as opposed to the outgoing that we fished the last couple of times) was going to produce. Sure enough, when the current really got going, I saw a few stalking near the surface. Then a few more. Only thing is, they were very skittish and veered away from my well presented treats. I decided I would switch from my light colored grub to a dark green and that was the ticket. With a 1/4oz jighead, I kept it close to the surface and retrieved relatively fast. They tore it up. I must of had at least 20 hard fighting stripers between 19" and 24". When the current slowed down, so did the bite. I packed it up around 2:30am and drove the hour and twenty minutes back to Richmond... guzzling energy drinks... and counting up the points for Kayak Wars.

Blessing and a Curse

2011-06-20T10:45:00.003-04:00

My wife, aka the most wonderfulest woman in the world, granted me the gift of time. Oh, that precious gift of Time. For Father's Day, I thought the entire weekend was going to be reserved for family, which I was fully prepared to do. But it turned out that only Sunday was deemed family time, and Saturday was all mine to do whatever I pleased. Immediately, a big smile crept up on my face. I started planning the 24 hours I was given and had 7 different species swimming in my brain all at once. I knew I should focus on one or two, but I couldn't help myself.

Phase 1. Target species: Speckled Trout and Red Drum. I got up at 2am and drove down to Back River. I launched at 4am and met up with Forrest, who had already been on the water since midnight but didn't have anything to show for it (unusual for Forrest). That reminded of my last trip to that area and I thought of all the hundreds of casts I made without a hook up to anything worthwhile. I kept hope and tossed out my topwater plug. I twitched three times and my wish was granted... a blessing from Mother Nature and Father time.

I thought it was a release citation at first, but after looking closely at the photos when I got home, I realized the mouth was open in all my pictures.

Perhaps I could have pinched the tail a little more, but hindsight is always 20/20 and there's nothing I could do about it now. It might have weighed enough for a kill citation, but I'm glad I released it anyway. I'm sure that big ol' belly is full of precious eggs.

After releasing it, Forrest said " You know you're not going to catch anything else all day, right?". I realized what he was talking about and thought "Oh, CRAP! It's only 4:30 am and I have a lot planned for the rest of the day!" I told myself to keep hope, it's just a bunch of crazy bologna voodoo, but I knew, catching a good fish on the very first cast is bad luck.

I spent about 5 hours out there with Forrest and that was the only fish I caught. Forrest hooked up to several but didn't land anything (maybe he did after I left). He had a few red drum hook ups too, but they all came off. 9am came around and it was time for me to move on to the next place.

Phase 2. Target species: Tautog (not in season until the 25th, but still fun to catch), Sheepshead, Black Drum, Flounder and the longshot cobia (sightcast if I saw one). I stopped at Ocean's East to get some bait and expressed my concerns to Kevin about targeting too many species at once. Anyway, they didn't have what I wanted so I settle for alternatives (bluecrab and clams instead of fiddlers). After breakfast, I launched under the CBBT around 11am and went all the way to the 1st island. Long (very long) story short, every brown shape ended up being a ray instead of cobia, no sheepshead, no black drum, no flounder, one 14" tog, and a bunch of trash fish. I found a big school of BIG red drum on the side of the island, but they didn't want to eat anything. Live crab, chunk crab, fresh croaker, clam, bucktail n gulp... they were spooked. Plus, there were a lot of boaters around. While I wasted my time trying to for the big reds, a kayaker I met out there earlier ended up doing fairly well with the togs. He was using self-caught fiddlers and had several togs up to a very nice 22". If I had stayed focused when I first started tog fishing (when I caught the 14") maybe I could have found more. But the thought of big black drum, which I saw a few of, distracted me. Same thing happened with the flounder. I only tried a little while and later on I talked to a boater who had his limit with the biggest going 25". I should have picked a primary target and stuck with it. So many fish! So little time!

I was off the water by 6:30pm and got dinner at the Pirates of Lynnhaven club meeting. The food was excellent with company to match. I had every intention of going to the HRBT afterwards to look for stripers, but the wind picked up and storms were rolling by. So with Mother Nature and Father Time against me, along with the curse of the first fish, I reluctantly gave in and went home several hours ahead of schedule.

I had a great father's day with the kids (pool, bbq, family time), but before the weekend was over, my wife told me she was sorry she didn't get me anything cool as a gift. I smacked the crap out of her and... I'm just messin'.... I reminded her, and myself, that I was a very lucky guy with countless blessings. In the end, even if I complain about a few fishing trips and talk about some stupid voodoo fish curse, her giving me the time is not taken for granted and I thanked her for the millionth time.

Unproductive Streak

2011-06-15T13:01:00.002-04:00

So at the end of my last post, I was thinking about the infamous Mr. Brown. Cobia have frustrated me to no end and apparently I'm not the only one. Kevin's buddy Lee Williams called me up and vented his frustration too, as we came up with a game plan. Unfortunately mother nature had other ideas and our trip to NC turned into a trip to the Eastern Shore for another shot at the big reds. Kevin, Lee, Zach, Mike and I were hopeful since Kevin found them the day before. It was humbling to fish with that group. They've been doing this for so much longer and it showed. If you look through Kevin's fishing reports through the years, these are the guys that are usually out there with him. I learned a lot looking through those old reports and I learned a lot listening to their stories while fishing with them. Plus they're a fun group of guys who love joking around, which is nice when the fish don't cooperate. We saw a few in the mid 30" range, but spooked very easily. That was about it for the reds. We did however find some sharks. We took turns casting at one really big one and Zach managed to get his swimbait in the perfect spot. I actually saw the shark turn towards it and next thing you know Zach was off to the races.

Yes, that is a construction helmet. Like I said, these guys know how to have fun.

We were all surprised that he had it on for as long as he did.... probably around 5 or 6 minutes. Kevin estimated it to be around 9 feet. Crazy huh? But that was it. Nothing else. It was an all-star cast, but the show had a disappointing ending.

That was June 2nd. On June 10th, I drove down to Back River in search of trophy speckled trout. I met up with another guy who has an incredible amount of experience and recently pulled up two citation trout at 29" and 28". Local legend Forrest Short was kind enough to show me around and give me some pointers. Once again, I was humbled and grateful that he was sharing such info with me. Unfortunately, it just wasn't my night. I spent close to 10 hours on the water, all night, and caught 2 small trout, 13" and 15", and several houndfish. The sun came up, and I had to go since my wife had and appointment. Later on I heard Forrest hooked into several BIG fish moments after I left. He got another citation trout at 27.5"!!! I guess it's just the way it goes sometimes. Congrats Forrest! (sorry no pics)

On June 12th, I was given a couple of hours in the morning, so I decided to try my luck with the Smallmouth bass. The spot is minutes from my house and I used to go all the time, but it had been a while... I was excited. Plus, I felt like I could redeem myself for the last two trips. Wrong. I jumped off a 13" Smallie and a 15" Largemouth. A few bream and this is all I had for the morning...

Not exactly what I had in mind

To put it lightly, I was frustrated. Tuesday night came and I was confident I would get good pullage at the HRBT. This time last year I was catching 10 to 20 stripers a night so that was going to be my way out of this slump. I was going to get much needed points for Kayak Wars and feel better about the last three trips. Wrong again. I fished the last of the incoming tide and most of the outgoing. Lots of tiny croaker and bluefish to tear up my soft plastics, but the stripers were far and few between. And the ones I did see spooked very easily. I was hoping for flounder as well, but that didn't happen. Just before I needed to leave I caught one striper at 25".

Hopefully that's the beginning of a change in luck.

On a side note, it was nice to meet a few guys that enjoy my blog. Philly Joe, thanks for all the kind words. Hopefully we'll have better luck next time. Ben and Tim, good to meet you guys as well.

Take care, be safe, and may we all find good luck on our next fishing trip!

Lovin' them Big Reds

2011-05-30T23:43:00.002-04:00

On Sunday Justin Mayer, Mark Rioux, and I went searching the vast openness of the Eastern Shore Fisherman's Island area for the big reds. After getting some tips from a great friend, we were lucky to find them. It was A LOT of paddling, but it was worth it.

We just about ran over the first school we found. I thought I saw some shapes, so I stood up and plain as day, there they were. As I yelled and pointed "Reds! Right there!", Justin realized there were several right under his yak. I tossed my swim bait, cranked, saw a big red turn and hit it 15 feet in front me, but no hook up. We frantically searched for the school again, but lost them without anyone catching one.

We paddle around for hours with our eyes playing tricks on us. Any inkling of a shape or color had me thinking it was a red. Eventually, Justin found a school and hooked up first. I paddled up and started shooting video as his sleigh ride was in full throttle. I looked below me and saw some MASSIVE fish. I spooked several, one of which had to have been pushing 50". So I put the camera down and tossed my swimbait. By the second cast I was hooked up and lovin' it. Grinnin' from ear to ear, it was pure joy...

Hooked Up!

Justin's 45"er caught on free line crab

New personal best Red Drum at 45"

We also met up with Terry Reece and Dave Narr and spread out our formation in hopes of finding the school again. We would find them, then lose them, but not before Justin hooked into a nice 46.75"er.

Congrats to Justin on his Citation Red Drum!

Check out Justin's page for more pics and his report.

We split up and searched some more, but couldn't find them again. It's my understanding that Dave found another school later on and caught two as well.

I'm not sure if I'll be getting back to the Eastern Shore any time soon. As fun as it is, I know the Cobia bite is on fire down in Hatteras and I've been wanting to get on one of those for quite some time now. I missed out on the epic run last year, and I really don't want to regret not going this year. So time to switch gears...

Natalie's First Fish!!!

2011-05-26T10:57:00.001-04:00

My wife and I decided that Wednesday evening family time was going to be spent at Forest Hill Park, which is conveniently right down the street. I figured it was the perfect time to bust out the Princess rod I got Natalie for Christmas. She's been messin' with it in the house, but definitely needed to be taken to the water.

Even though I did all the casting and hook setting, I was proud that she held the rod and cranked when she realized there was a fish on the other end. When I passed the rod to her after the hook up, she was obviously excited to the feel the fighting fish and reeled it in all by herself. It was awesome.

Green Sunfish (I think)

Bluegill

The magic twinkled in her two and a half year old eyes and as I smiled, I hoped this would be the beginning of many, many more in years to come. I prayed that she would keep interest, and even cultivate a love for it as she gets older. And as I looked over at Miles, sitting, smiling, and watching birdies in mommy's lap, I knew anticipation will inevitably bring his turn. But I tell you what, there's something amazingly special about fishing with my baby girl.

Craming before the Wedding

2011-05-23T22:25:00.000-04:00

As a groomsman in a wedding on Saturday, I knew I wasn't going to have time to fish at all over the weekend. So I decided to hit up the HRBT on Thursday night. I had to drop my babies off at my parents anyway. And after I did, I launched a little after 10pm. The shad were still there, the blues were in thick, croakers even thicker, and when the current really got going (outgoing), the stripers were shoulder to shoulder, satiating my desire for pullage. The fish ranged between 19" and 24". Justin Mayer had a bunch up to 26" and Forrest Short had several up to the mid 30s. I was off the water around 2:45am with lots of Kayak Wars points for team Fish Junkies. WOo hoo!

Afternoon of Little Stuff

2011-05-18T11:24:00.000-04:00

You probably can't tell by looking at my blog archive, but I used to love bass fishing. Before getting married, and before getting a kayak, I used to frequent the shores of several local ponds on my way home from work... looking for what is quite possibly the most popular gamefish in America, the Largemouth Bass.

So, on Tuesday evening, with the weather being iffy to drive all the way down to the HRBT, I decided to hit up an old pond armed with the ultralight set up. It felt pretty cool being on that small body of water that I've only known from shore. I always wanted to know how deep that pond was, so I felt a satisfying grin creep onto my face as I checked the depth finder... 10-11 feet with some interesting drop-offs and points.

Anyway, before the weather blew me off the water, I ended up with lots of small stuff... some bluegills, a few small crappie, and a couple of tiny bass. I was hoping for bigger, but good times none-the-less, especially for just an hour and fifteen minutes.

On Sunday, I also hit up the James river. The weather wasn't very good, but the herring, white perch and small bluecats were plentiful.

So these last two outings weren't big, huge, epic fish trips, but it was still fun to get out and mess around.


Cute little thing tried to eat a spinnerbait that was as big as he was. Gotta love them crazy bass!

Flounder Prints for Charity Tournaments

2011-05-11T14:25:00.000-04:00

I recently had two kayak fishing organizations ask if I could donate a fish print for their charity tournaments. So when I caught this the other day...

Photo credit Kevin Whitley

... I went ahead and made several prints from it. Of those, three turned out good enough to stamp my signature.

Click for enlarged view

The first one is going to my dad (upcoming birthday).

The second one is going to be auctioned off at YakAttack's Charity tournament benefiting Heroes on the Water. Click on the two previous links for more info. If you're in the Central VA area, please check it out. It's for a great cause. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend since I'm a groomsman in a wedding that day.

The third one is going to Pirates Of Lynnhaven's Angler of the Year Charity Tournament. This is an ongoing tournament that ends in December and is also for a great cause. All the money will be donated to the Massey Cancer Center. Plus there are great prizes to be had along with some awesome raffles items (including this print). If you're in the Tidewater area of VA, please check them out.

A Tuesday Night

2011-05-11T11:43:00.000-04:00

I had a mean hankerin' so I made the hour and twenty minute drive down to the HRBT to get my fix. Upon arrival I found a veritable buffet of light tackle species under the bridge. The shad, up to 16" were in thick as well as the croaker, up to 12". The croaker were so thick it took me a while to find a flounder bite. When the jighead n' gulp wasn't torn up as soon as it hit the bottom, the flounder up to 15" were willing to take the lure. Not only that, the bluefish were everywhere also. I switched to a Yozuri Crystal minnow after getting tired of my soft plastics being bitten in half. However, I was quickly reminded of how much I disliked bluefish and treble hooks.

Luckily, that's not my blood. I removed the first of the two treble hooks from the lure, leaving just the one on the rear. Bluefish + multiple treble hooks = Loud profanity and incessant damning of the freakishly hyper specie.

I also found good numbers of 21" - 25" stripers as well. In the mix, I managed to find this guy and enticed him to partake of my 3" paddletail offering.


Light tackle fun 31.5" Striper

I probably could have pinched the tail and took it home, but I didn't.

For a gorgeous night out, there was hardly anyone out on the water. I saw one kayaker heading in as I was heading out and one other boat. I basically had the whole place to myself and had a pretty good time.... satisfied for now.

But the Eastern Shore Reds are still heavy on my mind...

Change of Plans

2011-05-07T23:15:00.001-04:00

After my last trip to the Eastern Shore, I've been itchin' to get back out there in search of the big reds. Knowing that I won't be able to go during Mother's Day weekend, I took Friday off, and headed down Thursday night. I stopped at the HRBT around 10:30pm for a little lightline action and caught croaker, hickory shad, dink flounder and about 15 schoolie stripers ranging from 19" to 25". I told myself I was only going to stay a couple of hours so I could get to the Eastern Shore and rest up before getting up early the next day. The wind was stronger than the forecast called for, but I still couldn't leave the biting stripers until 3:30am. The unpredictable Spring Winds were also stronger than anticipated the following day as well. Rather than the 9-12 kts they said it would be, it was 15-20 kts. Not fun. Kevin, Damien and I looked for the big stripers and reds with no luck. A change of plans brought some flounder up to 20"

I'm glad I at least got on the flounder, but I'm jealous of those who are able to fish this weekend. I desperately want to find more bull reds and with the wind supposedly being minimal, those who go this weekend should have a good chance at them. My wife deserves a good Mother's Day weekend, so that is what I must focus on. The end.

2011-05-01T23:59:00.003-04:00

Skunked. My first two bull drum trips to the Eastern Shore both ended without a bite, leaving my personal best redfish at 32". And as with most things left to brew in the mind, the need to meet that goal from last year has been growing strong. So after the highly anticipated first big red reports of the year came in, I called a good fishing buddy and said...

"Dude, this year, I am going to catch a Bull Red".

The first good weather day to get out there on a kayak was Friday, but I didn't even make an attempt to pass the idea by my wife. Anniversary date night = don't even ask. It turns out that Kevin and everyone else that went had an absolutely epic day. Check out his website photos. He's got so much fish porn over there, it's disgusting.

I finally got out there on Sunday, but only after a cold front moved through the day before. It took us a while, but after some help from Ric Burnley, we got into some nice stripers.

Billy Ragulsky hooked up and going for a ride

34" Flats Striper

We wandered the area for hours, finding them, then losing them, over and over again. Aside from Billy and Ric, the rest of us got no love from the stripers. Bumps. But no hookups. We changed our target to the Big Reds and anchored up around the shoals. By this time, the wind had picked up and clouds rolled over our spot. We threw out our crabs into the white water, but had no takers. Frustration set in and eventually, we got back to the flats. It was hard to see anything in the shallow water with the wind up and sun covered. It had been an exhausting day (going to the HRBT the night before until 2am doesn't help). Nearing the point of defeat, I decided to paddle over to Justin to check out what he was up to before I took off.

Keeping an eye out on the way, I thought I saw a brownish orange shape, about 5 feet from me, for just a split second. Without looking away from the area, I stopped the kayak, picked up the rod and pitched my 6" paddletail. I cranked and as the lure reached the kayak I lifted it out of the water just in time to see a massive head then a big cloud of sand. DAMN! I quickly threw it again and before I could finish my first crank, the rod nearly got pulled out of my hand. The initial run was everything I hoped for. After the drag finished screaming, the kayak was in full sleigh mode, going against the wind and the current. Simply amazing. And when I thought it might be done, even with the drag set tight, it went on another spectacular line peeling run. After a while, I got it close and it started making my kayak doing 360s, just spinning me around. Then finally, it stayed on top. I grabbed it's lower jaw, leg lifted it in, and nearly creamed myself.

Fat 40" Bull Red.
Photo credit William Ragulsky.

Billy caught up to me and helped with pictures. Then quickly, we resumed the search for the school. It was getting harder to see anything in the water with the wind getting stronger. I noticed a few sand bombs went off near me where the drum left in a hurry. I threw my paddletail some more, but it was futile.

I spent about 12 hours on the water. Paddled around 20 miles. But it was worth it. I learned a lot about the area and that one fight will have me going back as soon as I can. I can't wait.

Fish Prints

2011-04-25T23:44:00.000-04:00

Although I have been releasing a lot of my fish, I do enjoy occasionally keeping a few every now and then not only for my dinner plate, but also to appreciate their form as artwork. My mom taught me the art of fish rubbings, Gyotaku, a few years ago and I fell in love with the effect that was created. I'm not considering myself a professional by any means (there are people out there that make a living off this type of art), but I really do enjoy making them and I thought I'd share with my fellow fishermen. I've donated many to local charity tournaments and hope to keep doing so. I've also made some prints for friends who wanted one done of a memorable fish they caught. Please contact me for inquiries.

Click for enlarged view. Hope you like them.

Speckled Trout 25"x10"

Tautog 24"x12"

Sunfish 8"x5"

Striped Bass 27"x14"

Sheepshead 28"x20"

More will be added to the artwork page as they are created.

Putting in the Time

2011-04-20T00:23:00.001-04:00

For some time now, I've been trying to join the small group of kayakers who can say they've caught a citation tautog. They have to be either 9lbs killed or 23" released. Some people just happen to be at the right place at the right time, having only caught a few togs in his/her life, and amazingly find their prize. Others have caught countless togs, coming up just short of the magic 23" mark before their fateful day of holding their well deserved trophy. I've put more hours into this pursuit than I care to admit, and I would love to say this story is about the one, but it's not. Apparently, the fishing gods think I need to put in more time.

Hoping the gods would be swayed by my recent birthday to grant me luck, I ventured out to the first island of the CBBT in search of the elusive togzilla. The paddle out was calm and I reached the ever promising, familiar, and favorite tog holding structures in record time. With clam and blue crab as bait, I felt sure I was going to find a good bite. And I did. But unfortunately, like a slap in the face from the gods, they were all the size of my hand. Frustration set in as hours went by without anything over 11". It was then that I remembered my last weeks blog entry. I needed to relax, smell the salt air that I love, enjoy the lack of wind, smile, and try another spot. Eventually, I hooked into a nice fat 17.5" female.

Even though my parents (who were watching my daughter) hoped I would bring back some delicious tautog, I released her. And as I watched her swim away I wished her the best in finding Mr. Big Tog to do her spring thing, get her groove on, you know... bump uglies and make lots of wee little togs. And in the back of my mind, I hoped the act would put me in good standing with the fishing gods for them to favor me, if not on this trip, hopefully on the next one.... or at least bring me some good fishing karma.

Soon after, the wind started picking up and it was time to head back. About three-quarters of the way back, it started getting pretty bad. NOAA said it would, and this time, they were right. I got back to shore with jello arms, wishing my yak and gear would pack themselves. I looked back at the water, nodded and resigned myself to the fact that I needed to put in more time for that trophy. One day, perhaps in the summer or fall, because for now, I believe it's time to shift gears and bust out the big stuff. Catches of a few bull reds at the Eastern Shore have been confirmed.

On another note, I've apparently put in enough time to gain the respect of my peers, along with some people I really look up to. I've made so many great friends and have met so many new people through the love of this sport. Thank you to all of those that have inspired me. When I started this blog I simply wanted to share my stories with some friends. But recently, based on various forms of feedback I've gotten, it seems as though I'm helping to inspire some of the new generation of kayak anglers. And now, I find myself being asked to share my stories and experiences on a bigger scale. YakAngler has asked me to be a prostaff member and contribute articles on their site, which I was happy to oblige. I'm also honored to have my logo/link on Kayak Kevin's links page of reliable fishing reports. In addition, recently, I was thrilled to get a phone call from another legend of the sport, a man with an almost unparalleled kayak fishing resume and crazy sense of humor, Chad Hoover. He wanted to know if I'd be interested in some of the amazing things he's got coming up. That man is always thinking and always busy. I'm not going to spoil it yet, but it looks like I've put in enough time to get invited to some pretty cool things....

Good Mojo

2011-04-11T17:27:00.005-04:00

So after washing off all the bad joojoo from Friday and Saturday, I spent a little quality time with the kids. Trip to the playground, story time, and the ever so entertaining (and educational) Dora the Explorer were high on the agenda. Halfway through family time, I get a message from Billy. He's coming up to my neck of the woods to try his hand at shad fishing with Seth Goodwich. My wife, being the greatest woman ever, gave me the OK when she got back from yoga class.

This trip was different from my last two. I didn't really have any goals. I just wanted to get out there and enjoy the good company. It was a nice day to be out, paddling with some friends. Especially since I'm always down where Billy's from, and this time he's paying Richmond a visit.

When I met up with them, they had already been out on the water for some time. They caught a few here and there so I lead them up river to a good spot and as soon as we get there, it was fish on. I lost count of how many I caught, all on fly. Seth was tearing them up on a gold spoon. He had one nearly jump over his head. It was amazing. Billy initially had some trouble, but as soon as he got anchored right, he had fish on as well. He was grinnin' ear to ear using his ultra-ultralight. I didn't even know they made spinning reels so small (Sedona 500). After a while, knowing he has an affection for the flyrod, I let him borrow mine. And it didn't take long before he had the long rod bowed up. It was really a great time had by all.

Just as the sun was starting hit the tree line, we made our way down river for a little bottom chunkin' with the hickory shad we just caught. Once again, with little thought to any goals, I just set up over a good hole. I was enjoying the sunset, shootin' the breeze with the fellas when my clicker goes off. I engage the reel, line comes tight... fish on. I get a good chuckle out of Seth when I yell out "This thing's got some ass on it!!!". It pulled drag and I was smilin'.


39" Flathead Catfish. Photo credit William Ragulsky

A little while later, I had another knock down, but came off soon after. A little after the sunset, my clicker goes off again. I engage the reel, let the circle hook do it's thing, and I feel some big head shakes. The addicting adrenaline starts pumping and soon after the massive tail is splashing at the surface. It took a little while, but I finally grabbed him by the rough sandpaper mouth, and yanked him over the gunwale.

41" Citation Flathead Catfish

My new personal best Flathead

There's something to be said about setting a goal, making it happen and accomplishing it. But sometimes, you just have to let it go and have fun.

"You can spend what seems like an eternity searching for the fish of a lifetime....but it seems that when you least expect it, and quite often when you are truly enjoying your time on the water, that fish will find you." - Cory Routh founder of TKAA and true pioneer of kayak fishing

Gotta keep that good mojo!

Bad JooJoo

2011-04-10T23:33:00.007-04:00

This weekend started off great. I broke free of my my office chair shackles early Friday afternoon, picked up my giggle-box kiddos from daycare and hit the road to Virginia Beach. My wife had plans with her friends, and I figured mom and pops would like to see their grandkids while giving me some time to do that thing I love to do.

I heard of some bigger stripers coming from the HRBT (Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel) up to 40". So, I waited for the storm to die down, then launched around 9:15pm. Justin was running a little late, and me being anxious to look for the bigguns, I launched without him. The current was running good and I saw a few small stripers in the light line. But the wind was 12kts with gusts to 15kts so things were challenging to say the least. At one point, I was keeping position right at the light line when I notice a much bigger shape in the water. A little farther back into the shadow and a little deeper, I knew it was a BIG striper. I felt the excitement in my nerves, but I kept my cool and tried to position myself to get the right cast. With the water being a little choppy it was hard to keep it in sight. It was also one of those nights where if you stopped paddling for 5 seconds, you were quickly being pushed into the next set of pilings.

My first few casts went unnoticed. My next cast landed too close and it disappeared. I stayed a while longer and it came back up..... I stalked that fish for half an hour... I'd lose it in the glare of the waves, then it would pop back up a minute later. I'd have to reposition again.... sometimes it was on the wrong side of the piling, and I knew if I hooked up I would not be able to fight the wind, current and fish while getting around the piling. So it took a while to find the right angle with the perfect cast for the fish to notice but not get spooked.... and just as Justin was paddling up.... WHAM! Fish on! My little spinning reel was burnin' even with a tight drag. My skinny bass rod bending from the handle had me yelling. "WOO HOO!" I was taken from the west bound bridge over to the east bound with a quickness. I got him to the boat several times, but just when I thought he was done, he'd go on another run. I was smiling the whole time, but still anxiously hoping the hook doesn't pull out. I finally grabbed the leader... the fish does the perfect head shake... and I'm left with a paddle tail dangling in the wind.... expletives echoing under the bridge. *^#&@! Damn it! *#$@*%!!! It wasn't a full sized cow, but definitely in the upper 30's (inches) and fat.

Sulking in my defeat, I caught up with Justin, expletives still being grumbled under my breath. We looked for more and about half an hour later, I found another one worth stalking. After about 5-10 minutes, I got him hooked up. He wasn't quite as big as the other one, but his attitude made up for it. He fought hard. He took me to the other bridge licketty split and out the other side. By the time I got him to the side of the boat I was in the darkness away from the lights of the bridge. I leadered him and.... would you believe it... he does the perfect head shake... and off he goes. Un-freakin'-believable. He was probably in the lower 30"s and FAT.

We ended the night around 1am. Justin only had one 23"er and I managed 3, with the biggest going 23.5". All fish caught tonight were fat.

I know I should of been happy with those 3 fish, but to see, fight, and have the big ones at fingers distance before losing them was disappointing to say the least. I immediately looked forward to the next day. I planned to go toggin' and heard that Lee Williams caught a release citation Tautog the day before. CONGRATS LEE! I've been wanting one of those for some time now.

The next morning, I woke up to my 2 year old laughing and wanting to play, so I stayed around the house with my parents, entertaining the children... then changed the oil in my car and helped my dad install some new storm doors. I got a call from Billy Ragulsky and we got a game plan going for the 1st island trip. We met and launched around 1:40 into a pretty strong headwind. The occasional 4 foot wave came rolling through but we still made decent time. We got to the promised land that is the 1st island of the CBBT (Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel) in a little over an hour. With the plan to communicate via VHF radio, we split up to cover more area. Hopes were high. We were going to catch some tog.

Wrong. Hours went by without a bite. It sucked. I eventually found a piling with some activity. I set the hook, started cranking, expecting that hard pull back, but it was only a 9"er. I found 4 others, up to a whopping 11"s. Poop.

Once again, I should be happy that I caught something. Especially since Billy got the skunk. But I can't help but feel the bad joojoo. Perhaps it was all that talk about Lee's citation that really got my hopes up, and all that time paddling to the island that builds the expectation. Some average size fish would have been nice.

At least Billy had a tagging kit and he tagged three of my five fish. It'll be really interesting to see if he gets any returns and what we can learn from the info he gets back.

I got back to Richmond, pulled my lucky hat off my head and threw it in the washer. I hadn't washed it in quite some time since, like most fishermen, I'm superstitious. All that luck would get washed off.

Well I figured I must have got some pretty bad joojoo on it at some point. Call me stupid. It's getting washed and tomorrow is another day.

2011 Reel Paddling Film Festival

2011-04-07T12:21:00.000-04:00

Having been a kayak angler for some time now, I've found a brotherhood of others who share my affection for the sport. Predictably so. What I didn't expect is to also find a kinship with other non-fishing kayakers. Whether it be touring, whitewater, or fishing, whenever I see another kayak in transit, I scope out the ride and nod or wave, kinda like people on motorcycles. I like to think it's the love of the paddle that carries through the different genres.

So when Wayne Brady reminded me that the 2011 Reel Paddling Film Festival was in Richmond last night, I used up a precious kitchen pass, and had to check it out. It was at the new Blue Ridge Mountain Sports store which I've been wanting to visit anyway. I got there a few minutes late, but was told I didn't miss much. It was fascinating to watch and listen to a whole other world of kayaking. They have their own insiders language like how us kayak anglers have ours. My wife likes to roll her eyes and asks me to speak like a normal person when get excited and start using acronyms and other yak fishing terms. It gets pretty bad if I mix in the local terms too. "RVA to HRBT, to the CBBT, in my OK trident, stopped at OE2, fiddlers, tried over the tubes, damn toads, need that paper togzilla... got mullet?" Word up, my homies.

Anyway, I would say my favorite was Kayak Kevin's award winning "Kayak Fishing the Chesapeake Bay", which I make a quick appearance in (had to throw that in there), but having seen it several times already, I wanted to note a few others.

-Book of Legends-

-The Halo Effect-

At one point during the show, Wayne turns to me and says... "and people think we're crazy!"
Hats off to our brothers of the whitewater. You all are freakin' nuts.

Check out all the other winners of the 2011 Reel Paddling Film Festival.

Tautog Rig

2011-04-04T09:12:00.002-04:00

The Tautog may not be as well sought after as some of the more popular species like founder, striper, trout and reds, but I believe they are catching on. Their reputation for putting up intense fights are well deserved, so if you decide to give it a shot at these bulldogs of the rocks, here are some of my personal preferences when fishing for them from a kayak.

I like to use a stout yet sensitive 6.5' - 7' rod paired with a quality baitcasting reel with tight but smooth drag. Shimano Calcutta 200 Series and Daiwa Luna are top notch but others will do as well. For bait I use either cut blue crab or live whole fiddler crabs. Green crabs, hermit crabs, clams and other crustaceans also work.

Since togs are structure dwelling, you have to put the bait IN the structure. There's a saying with tog anglers... if your rig is not getting hung up on structure often, then you're not fishing the right place. The nastier, the better. Rocks, wrecks, reefs, and bridge structures are the hot spots. Since the potential for breaking off rigs is high, I tie several in advance. I wrap them around a piece of cardboard and put them in a leader wallet so they are quickly accessible. Instead of wasting time on the water, especially if the bite is on, it's better to be prepared.

When fishing bridge pilings, kayak anglers have an advantage because we can literally grind up next to the structure. During the slow parts of the tide (top of the incoming and bottom of outgoing) as well as slack tide, we don't even have to anchor up usually. Just maintain position with one arm paddling and drop your rig right next to the piling. Usually if there's a little current, you can put your bait in the eddy directly behind the piling (on the back side of the current). Move the the rig every now and then if you're not getting any bites. Just a few feet away can make a difference. As you lift and drop your rig, it will find other holes that the togs may be in. Same goes for fishing the wrecks and rocks, especially over the tubes of a tunnel.

If current picks up you will need to anchor to keep position. For local kayak anglers, wreck anchors for kayaks are available at Ocean's East 2 (Virginia Beach). Kayak Kevin works there so give him a shout and ask about the "piling hugger's" special set up.
For more information about my anchor set ups visit this link.

Finally, togs are a structure dwelling specie that are known to stay in the same area for long periods of time. I caught a tog last year that was tagged two weeks before, in almost the exact same location. It's my understanding that they remain on the same piece of structure and since the number of areas that kayaks can fish for tautog are limited, I believe tautog fishing grounds can be fished out. And once a kayakable area is fished out, it will be a while before it gets re-populated. And like I mentioned in the beginning, more and more people will be wanting to appreciate the fight these brutes have to offer. So, I always release all the females as well as any fish over 20". These are just my personal preferences so take it or leave it as you will. I do know they are absolutely delicious, but I'd like to be able to fish for them in my kayak for many, many years to come. I hope you do too.

Male Tautog
Lighter gray coloring on top with white on bottom. Face is usually blunt, sometimes having more of a "chin".

Female Tautog
Darker color all over, sometimes with a pattern. Nose/face usually comes to a point.
They really are a blast to catch, so get out there, be safe,
and feel the fight!

Anchor Setups

2011-04-03T22:59:00.001-04:00

The kind of bottom surface you're fishing over will determine what kind of anchor you want to use. The depth of the water will also play a role in your decision as well. The following are some personal preferences that I have acquired for the different places I fish.

If anchoring in sandy or soft bottom then I use a 5.5lb grapple style anchor. I secure the main anchor rope to the bottom of the anchor and tie 20lb monofilament to the top, holding the rope in place. That way, if the anchor gets lodge under something, I can lift up on the rope, break the monofilament and bring the anchor up by the bottom. Otherwise it would be impossible to dislodge the anchor.

I also cut the rope and tied on a heavy duty swivel so I can detach the rope easily if I want to switch out anchors. Also, the swivel helps reduce rope twists since the anchor likes to spin when pulling it up through the water.

My main is 100 feet since there are times I anchor fairly deep (30'-50'). I attached a heavy duty off-shore swivel/clip to easily attach the right anchor for the situation.

There are other styles of anchors that work well (ie: bruce anchors), but I have not tried them yet since the grapple style has worked well for me.

I also have a small grapple style anchor that I use more to drag. It helps slow down my drift if current and/or wind are pushing my kayak too fast through the target area.

If I'm on a flat where it's less than 4 feet deep, I'll bring my stake-out pole instead of an anchor. I won one made by Hobie in last year's TKAA tourney. It's easier to handle. No rope. Just put it through your anchor trolley and stick it in the ground. Done deal.

If anchoring in rocks or an area with a lot of structure, I use a mini wreck anchor. Instead of rebar, like on the large wreck anchor for big boats, these have thin flexible stainless steel rods. For those that are in the Tidewater, VA area, they are available at Ocean's East 2. The guy that introduced me to these awesome anchors works there. Ask Kayak Kevin about the "piling huggers" special set up.

They may look small and perhaps too thin to hold in fast current, but I was very surprised to find that they held well and they were very easy to recover also.

I like to have my rope coiled under my leg so it's easy to disperse. I used to keep it wrapped around something but it took up room, became cumbersome, and this was just easier. When I recover the anchor, the rope ends up in a coil there anyway.

I always send my anchor rope to one end of the kayak or the other. I rarely anchor up to the side. It can quickly become disastrous in fast current. Also I like to attach a buoy (piece of a fat pool noodle) outside the anchor trolley clip, so just in case I need to release my anchor line because of emergency or to chase an epic fish, it's quick and easy. For more information about how I rigged my anchor trolley and cleats visit this link.

I hope this helps.

Tight lines and be safe!

More Shad and a Flathead

2011-03-29T22:32:00.000-04:00

Since I couldn't get to the salt, I stayed in Richmond and played with the shad. The action is getting better and in a week or two it'll be hot (and the boat traffic will be chaotic). I kept a few and chunked them up for the kitties. Just before I packed it in for the night I was delighted to find this guy munching on the end of my line...

The Versatile Garden Sprayer - "Gear" Review

2011-03-28T14:42:00.004-04:00

If you fish from a kayak, then your gear is going to get wet. It's just the way it is.
The mere fact that we are just inches above the water makes it near impossible for our gear not to get wet. Whether it's simply the drip from your paddle, to your hands, on to your reel, or from the splash and/or handling of a fish, to even dunking your reel by accident.... it is inevitable. And if you fish the salt, like I do, it is of the utmost importance that you rinse your gear promptly after you get off the water. Through the years I have ruined more equipment than I care to admit by failing to do just that. It could have been just laziness or simply just fatigue from paddling/fishing all day, regardless it was getting expensive. As I accumulated nicer equipment, I realized that no matter how awesome the rods and reels were, if I didn't maintain them, they would turn to crap just like my old stuff.

Upon accepting this simple nature of the game I kept about a dozen used water bottles in my car filled with tap water so I can pour it on my gear while packing up the car at the end of a trip. I didn't want to wait until I got home because sometimes it would take quite a while before I got back or I might not be headed straight home. After using the bottles for most of last year, I got tired of empty ones rattling around in my car, not to mention having to refill them all constantly. So when the light bulb came on I was like "Duh, why didn't I think of this sooner?"

I've been using a garden sprayer for several months now and it's getting the job done well. I found a small one gallon sprayer at the hardware store for around $10. I don't have to fill it up as often since I'm able to focus the spray on exactly where I want instead of dumping water all over. Also, it doesn't take up too much room in my little hatchback. I don't even take it out unless I have to fill it up. It stays bungie tied inside and all I have to do is pump a few times for pressurized fresh water. The adjustable nozzle is great for my rods, reels, radio, various tools... anything sensitive to rust or corrosion. It even comes in handy to wash off sand on your shoes, feet, hands, sunglasses, whatever. I will still take apart, clean, oil and lube my reels once or twice a year, but in the mean time my garden sprayer will help.

There's Magic in the Air

2011-03-26T21:20:00.002-04:00

The dogwoods are blooming, the water temps are rising, the fresh grass is of a color that makes my eyes happy... there's magic in the air.

The "poor man's tarpon" have arrived in my neck of the woods and the excitement in the local anglers is evident. The annual shad run is really quite amazing and I look forward to it every year. It is a mere 5 minute drive from my yard to where the James River bends it's way through downtown Richmond. So when I was given a few hours to do what I want to do, the choice was simple. I dusted off the flyrod, loaded the yak and got on the water. I got to one of my favorite spots and quickly hooked up to a nice hickory shad. They fight well for a relatively small fish. Not giving up easily, they pull fly line from my fingers, making it difficult not to smile.

But that's not the best part.

Next, thing you know, they fly out of the water, violently shaking their heads, just like mini-tarpon.

Not just once, but some jump several times... all shiny, glimmering, beautiful....

like I said....

there's magic in the air.

Kiss the Tog

2011-03-21T12:46:00.001-04:00

After last week's recon mission and failure to capture the mighty Tog, it became imperative that I make another assault. With the need for tog-pullage now at code red, I was granted permission by my superior (the Mrs.) to search and redeem myself. Operation "Kiss the Tog" was a go. I transported my vessel to Virginia Beach from my home base in Richmond late Saturday afternoon and upon arrival at the local intelligence center and supply depot, Oceans East 2, I stocked up on a deadly arsenal of fiddlers & bluecrabs in preparation for my strike in the morning. I was also able to acquire valuable reconnaissance from a few highly decorated officers. Afterwards I was briefed at a POL meeting about future missions and subsequently invited to participate in a side raid to the infamous Hot Ditch. The time was 2030, and with launch time for Operation Kiss the Tog being 0700 I had time to kill. I accepted the invitation with hopes of capturing the ever elusive speckled trout. Dan Smullen and I launched and met up with speckled trout guru, Tim Morris. With "Specks" as his moniker, he proved his namesake having already captured a 23.75" trout before we even got there. However, the action had slowed significantly and by 0200 I had only one trout to show.

Dan had one at 19" and Specks got a 32" Striper surprise.

I was awakened at 0600 by the howling of the wind and violent swinging of the trees. I urgently checked the forecast and the previous predictions of 8-12kts turned into 20kts with gusts to 25kts. DAMN YOU NOAA! I retreated back to Ocean's East to vent my frustrations and hopefully devise another plan of attack. Kiptopeke was suggested since the concrete ships are known to hold small togs, however, while continuously checking the weather, I noticed the forecast called for diminishing winds later in the morning and afternoon. By 0930 the 20kts came down to 14kts and I decided it was time. At 1030 I launched my kayak and accepted the 3 mile punishment I was about to endure for that chance to fight the togs.

It took me almost and hour and half, but I got there in good spirits, optimistic and focused on the mission. With the incoming tide almost done, I deployed my blue crab on a dropper loop with 4oz of lead and felt it infiltrate the rocky hold out of the togs. It took a little while to find the right place, but once I did, I felt that quick tap, followed by another tap, and I jolted my rod up.... but my rig was already disarmed by the skilled blackfish. It took me 5 or 6 times of getting picked off before I was able to hook one up. And as soon as I did, I was grinning ear to ear. It fought hard. Hard enough for me to think it was going to be bigger than 15".

Over the next several hours I did battle with about a dozen strong togs with the biggest going 20". That fight from the 20"er is what I came for. All that traveling, prepping, paddling in the wind was worth it to fight that fish.

Mission Accomplished!

Justin Mayer come out to join in but sadly, the bite was just about gone by the time we met up. Plus, the outgoing current was extremely fast and without the proper anchor system, Justin had a hard time staying in the eddies behind the pilings. Sorry buddy, I'm sure you'll get on 'em next time.

We got off the water around 1930, grabbed a bite to eat and rendezvoused with Ric Burnley at the HRBT for a night raid on the light line stripers. The incoming current was just as insane as the outgoing earlier and made for very tough striper hunting conditions. After a few more hours of punishing myself and not hooking up with any, I decided to leave the stripers for another day and be happy with the successful tog trip. Tired, exhausted..... happy.

Tog recon and stripers at the HRBT

2011-03-14T23:14:00.002-04:00

Kevin, Justin, Patrick Martin and I went looking for tautog on Sunday. After a struggle finding bait, we got on the flat calm water and tried some new spots. I found some promising rocky areas but none of them produced the bulldog fight I was hoping for. Matter of fact none of us did. After a long day, Justin and I met up with Seth Goodwich and Miles Wong at the HRBT to look for the light line stripers. The wind picked up pretty badly but we found several rockfish before it got too bad.

Seth with a nice lightline schoolie.

Rigging an Ocean Kayak Trident 13

2011-03-14T22:59:00.001-04:00

Much to my surprise, I have recently received several inquiries about how I like the Ocean Kayak Trident 13 and more than a few emails about how I was going to rig my new kayak. I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude all my readers and for those that had kind words to say about my posts either through replies, emails or in person, I genuinely appreciate it. Thank you.

The new kayak is different, but good. I like the openness of the Redfish12 cockpit, but the storage options on the Trident are much better. The OK Trident is definitely faster. But harder to turn. There are pros and cons about every kayak. I'll leave it at that for now.

As far as rigging a kayak goes, I think it's a very personal thing. There are some people who are minimalists and do very little to their kayaks and there are some people who can't wait to drill another hole in their plastic. For me going from one style of kayak to a very different style took some getting used to. Over the years, I created a system of storing things in my Redfish and I didn't even have to look behind me to know where certain things were going to be. You may have different preferences so take this as just my two cents. I think some of the things I'm about to go over will evolve in time, too. But for now this is what I did.

First, I knew that the Trident was a wetter ride than the Redfish so I wanted to raise my crate. I used these things I got from work. They're the end pieces from when we get shipments of big rolls of paper. You can probably cut pieces of pvc pipe, drill holes and zip tie them to the bottom of your crate. I also put a tray in the bottom of my crate so small things won't drop through the big holes in the crate. I also drilled small holes in the tray so if I took some waves the water would drain out. Lifting the crate off the kayak also leaves room to store things under the crate, like clams or crabs or other things you don't mind getting wet.

I also put two flush mount Scotty bases back next to the crate. I can put my VisiCarbon light pole in one if I don't want to take a space up in my rod holder. And of course, I can put a Scotty rod holder in one, too (ie: flyrod holder). In addition to that, if I want to film something I can put my camera-mount-on-a-pole in the rod holder as well. I made sure to put plenty of Goop around the drilled holes before I riveted these Scotty flush mount bases in. Also, make sure to get the flush mounts that are sealed at the bottom so it's not a big hole for water to get in.

As far as rod holders in the front, the rod pod has 7 different spots I can put a Scotty in so I'm covered for now.

Next came the anchor trolley. With tips from someone very familiar with Ocean Kayaks, this installation was fairly simple. I put my deck loops close to the ends of the kayak and found small stainless steel carabiners to take the place of a pulley. Since I have a rudder I split the anchor trolley system in to two parts; front anchoring on my port side and rear anchoring on my starboard side. I made sure to put the end points in a place to make it easy to slide the rope back and forth and not have to reach too far forward or back. I also put little hooks to keep the rope out of the way when not in use. I installed cam cleats to hold the anchor rope. I had clam cleats on my other yak, but sometimes the rope would slip out. I was told by a reliable source that cam cleats were the way to go. They held the rope well, but also easy to take out too.

Also, I found big aluminum carabiners for sending the anchor line to the bow or stern. I wanted a bigger one that didn't have the sharp edges that snag the anchor rope; especially while putting the rope in and out of the carabiner.

I forgot to mention this before, but the new 2011 Tridents come with a replaceable keel guard.

Pretty sweet.

Next I worked on a depth finder. I want to mention that depth finders are obviously not essential, especially if you already know the area well. But I do like them for exploring new areas and sometimes checking water temps. I didn't get a really fancy one with dual sonar, gps, color this and that. Don't get me wrong, those are all great things to have and I'm sure they will come in handy. But I just wanted one that would tell me where the drop offs are. Simple and not too pricey. Since the sonar shield on the Trident 13 is a little past the foot wells, I also wanted one that I can still read well. After much deliberation, I went with the Humminbird 560. Like I said, nothing fancy, but still big enough to read from a distance. It came with the normal transducer that most people will mount to the inside of their hull, but I wanted to take advantage of the Trident's transducer compatible scupper feature. So I called up Humminbird and they gave me a return number, asked me to ship them the transducer that came with the unit and in return they would send me the right one for free. So I paid for shipping, sent it off, and 8 days later I got the new Plastic Thru Hull Transducer. I passed it though the scupper, bolted it down, drilled a hole on the back wall of the sonar space just big enough to send the wires through, and installed the unit.

I used zip tie mounts to keep the wires where I want them. Stainless steel bolts, rubber backed stainless steel washers, and lock nuts were implemented in securing the main unit. I then sealed the hole from the inside with copious amounts of Goop.

Next I went looking for a battery box. While browsing through Walmart I came across the food storage section and found Sterilite air tight/water tight containers that would fit my battery just right. Only thing is, it was only available in a big set with a bunch of other sizes. But I figured for $19.97 (compared to $30 for one OtterBox) I could use the other ones for Gulp! containers. Anyone who has had a leaky Gulp container knows, the words stinky and foul just don't cut it; especially in the heat of summer, in a small hatch back like I drive. Barf. Also, the containers work great for dry storage (ie: extra batteries, wallet, keys, phone, etc.). And for me it was time to replace the old containers in the kitchen that I got with sandwich meat. Anyway, I digress, back to the battery box... I drilled a hole, passed the wire, sealed it with Goop, wired a fuse, hooked up the female wire attachments, put the top on, slid it in the Trident's suspending battery bag and shizam, there you have it.

I also put strips of adhesive backed velcro in the rod pod

so I can keep my rods in place and not tumbling around.

I used velcro strips to keep my extra paddle together and wedged it in between the side hull and the scupper hole.

And finally I used adhesive backed vecro to keep my dry box in place off to the side, in the hull,

not taking up top side space.

Man, that was one long ass post.

Still Waiting and an Interview Podcast

2011-03-05T08:50:00.001-05:00

The last time I went out fishing I caught a striper with a Diamond Jim tag in it. I've called several times and left a few messages. I'm starting to get the feeling that their office is closed for the winter. Anyway, my fingers are still crossed. I'll post up about it when I hear back from them.

For those of you that emailed me in anticipation of my upcoming post on how to rig a new Ocean Kayak Trident 13, I'm sorry I haven't been able to post that yet. I've been busy acquiring the right parts and I've also been out of town for work (thus the lack of fishing reports as well). If you're looking for a good fishing report check out this post from Justin. I can't wait to get back out on the water!

Lastly, I've been listening every Friday to a podcast called Stuck On Fishing. The interviewer, Chris Story, has had renown fishing personalities JetSki Brian, Don Lancaster, and Kayak Kevin on the show so far and it's been very interesting to listen to. Well he called me up and asked if he could interview me as well. I was kind of surprised that he would consider me interview worthy and to think that I would join the list of those I mentioned before was very humbling. So I met up with him at the Bass Pro Shop in Hampton, found a semi-quiet corner in the massive store, which happened to be on a big boat on display, and talked about fishing.

Here's the link to his page. Check it out!

Crossing My Fingers in a New Kayak

2011-02-24T10:50:00.012-05:00

First of all, I'd like to thank Vic from Appomattox River Company. He was very knowledgeable, helpful, insightful and just overall awesome. The customer service was unbeatable. If you're thinking about getting a new or used kayak, give Vic a call at the ARC store in Kiln Creek. They have a huge inventory at the store and additional kayaks are constantly being delivered from their main warehouse in Farmville. They also have every known accessory for kayaking. Aside from actual fishing tackle, ARC has just about everything else you would need. Once again, THANKS VIC!

After long deliberations, I got an Ocean Kayak Trident 13. I wanted something lighter, faster, and something that would protect my gear during an oceanside surf launch. Don't get me wrong, I love my Heritage Redfish 12. I can even say I've got an emotional attachment to it since it was my first and I've done so much in it. I've had it for 3 years and I've been able to do everything I've wanted to in it. Except surf launches. I've been wanted to launch from Sandbridge and other ocean side beaches but not being able to stow my rods and reels inside kept me from venturing into the potentially dangerous and expensive waves. The Trident 13 will remedy this, plus it's 10lbs lighter and 1.5 feet longer. The hull is thinner so I won't be beating it up like I did my last one.

Old Hull

New Hull

I'll put up an entry about rigging and outfitting soon.

In the mean time, here's a fishing story. I went to HRBT Sunday night and got into the stripers again with Marty. The wind picked up pretty bad and the current was ripping. I had two rods with me but had to put one in my lap since the water was high and I didn't want the top of the rod to scrape or break against the underside of the bridge. The rod pod came in handy on my first trip. I ended up with a little over a dozen with the biggest three going 23", 24" and 25". As the title of this entry implies, I'm crossing my fingers because I caught a striper with a Diamond Jim tag in it. It was dated back in 2009 but I called in anyway and left a message with the tag number. It's crazy to think that this tagged fish was possibly worth up to $25,000. A decent consolation prize would be nice. Hope they call back soon! Stay tuned!

Either way, I'm off to a great start on my lucky new kayak!

Initial review of the VisiCarbonPro

2011-02-17T09:18:00.000-05:00

I've always been a do-it-yourself kind of guy. My wife even brags to her friends about my MacGyver skills around the house. So, when I first started kayak fishing, I made my own light pole. It had a nice bright light, attachments for a flag and camera mount, too. I was pretty proud of it and for a while, it did it's job well. Keeping in mind, I fish A LOT, things eventually started to fall apart. I made another one and it also did it's job well, but not long after it was looking kinda rough too. I had metal rusting, inferior grade plastic cracking, tape peeling, messy glue all over the place, lights breaking, and batteries losing juice too quickly. I didn't want to go with PVC since I dislike the light swinging around because of the excessive flexiblity. But I didn't want more metal broom handles either.

I decided to finally break down and get a professionally made kayak light. I found the YakAttack VisiCarbon Pro. It had all the features I was looking for and then some. It's pricey, but let me tell you why I think it's worth it. First of all, finding all the pieces to make my previous two light poles wasn't cheap. That was one of my main reasons for going with the VisiPole. I might as well put that money into one that was professionally made (in the US, I might add). Also, with all the other things I have to take care of around the house, time is very valuable. Time is money, so they say. I simply don't have the time to make another one.

When I opened the package, I was pleasantly surprised how small, and light it was (even with the 3AA batteries already in it).

The first thing I checked for was anything that might rust. Nope. None. Excellent. As I inspected it further, I then realized how much thought went into making this product. It's quite ingenious. The poles are made of carbon fiber, so they're very strong and light. They fit into each other like tent poles to form a 4ft long mast upon which the light stands. And they are thin so there is very little drag against the wind. The bottom is wrapped in quality foam so you can put it in a rod holder and it will remain silent. The one I ordered came with an attachment on the bottom that will fit into a Scotty mount. I believe there is the option to get it with RAM attachments also. So if you don't want to take up a spot on the rod holder, you can put it in either a Scotty or RAM mount.

If you do want to put it in the rod holder, there is a stretchy lanyard that you can pull over the bottom of the rod holder to keep the light in place (just in case you turtle). Smart.

It also has the reflective SOLAS tape on it, the light was plenty bright, and the package says the batteries will last for over 100 hours! However, as a precaution, I still carry extra batteries in a drybox, along with an extra camera battery and batteries for my head lamp. The light has two O-rings so no water gets in where the sensitive stuff is.

The bag that it stores in doubles as the flag. I used to fly full size flags often, but the drag they created made me dislike them. However, the flag/bag that comes with this light pole is only 6" tall, creating less drag. But it's still long enough to be highly visible. Very efficient. Also, they came up with a Silent Snap system which makes the flag very easy to remove and there's no clips that make noise when the flag is flapping. Genius.

So far, I am very glad I got this product. I've taken it out on two trips; one very windy day on the James river, and one nice evening out to the HRBT. I'll put it through the rigors of all the other fishing I do throughout the year and post up a final review towards the end of the season.

OH, IT'S ON....

2011-02-16T10:57:00.000-05:00

... like Donkey Kong...

I took my first HRBT trip of the year in the hopes of finding the ever-so-fun-to-catch striped bass. Taking the cue from Ric Burnley's report, I checked winds, temps and tides in preparation for this after work trip. I met KBF prostaff member Marty (PAHillbilly) around 8:15pm and launched to nice flat conditions. The current wasn't super fast, but we found the fish pretty quickly. They weren't stacked up thick by any means, but the ones we saw were very interested in what we had to offer. 4" paddle tails and yozuri crystal minnows were the fish-eye-candy flavors of the night. I ended up enticing over a dozen stripers, landing 7 or 8, dropping more than 5 at the boat. The biggest one I lost was around 24-25". I believe Marty landed 7 or so as well. Around 11:30 the tide slacked off so we called it a night.

It was good to see nice, fat, healthy fish
Hopefully this is the beginning of a great season.

I believe the all-star crew (Burnley, Kevin & Forrest) is heading out tonight. I'm sure you'll find a successful report from them soon.

Where Credit is Due

2011-02-14T10:31:00.000-05:00

I fish a lot. I know. For someone with a gorgeous wife, a two year old, a 3 month old, a house to maintain, and a job to keep, I'm allowed a lot of time to fish. So here's a little credit, where credit is due.

Before I start, if you read my blog strictly for the fishing content, then I will apologize now. Come back for the next entry. If you have a strong avulsion toward public show of affection, you probably don't want to read this. I'm not one to express public signs of affection often since I don't like seeing or reading about them either. And I like to think I already do a good job of showing her I care everyday. But I figured with it being Valentine's Day, I thought I'd show a little more appreciation. I'm also not big on these made up "Hallmark holidays" either, but I'm a hopeless romantic and I know my wife deserves it.

My wife, my love

Words can not express my gratitude to you
You are a woman with no equal
Stong, smart, patient, loving
mother of our children

You are my everything
and without you I would be lost
It is you and your presence in my life that makes me believe
that no matter what happens
everything will be alright

The sweetness of your smile...
the warmth of your soul...
your never fading beauty...
I am the luckiest man in the world.

Thank you for being my Valentine (for the 12th time).

Love ya.
And no, I'm not going to ask for more kitchen passes because I wrote this.

Blues on the James

2011-02-13T20:30:00.000-05:00

I got the ok from the wife kinda late on Saturday. Luckily it was before my boss was off the water. He went looking for big blue catfish and I was hoping he'd have some left over bait. He ended up with several in the 20-30lb range and a couple in the 40s and one in the mid 50lb range. He was also gracious enough to keep some gizzard shad for me.

I got on the water just before dawn and as the sun was peeking up over my shoulder, I paddled a gorgeous river without a breathe of wind. I caught glimpses of bald eagles as I waited for my reel clickers to break the silence.

The action was steady in the morning, but the wind picked up significantly and made for tough paddling and positioning. I ended the day with 7 fish ranging from 23" to 35".

I was hoping for more, but it was still nice to get out and feel some drag pullage.

Wet day on the Elizabeth

2011-02-05T20:27:00.000-05:00

I took my first paddle strokes of the day around 8:30 am. The light drizzly mist rippled the flat black water and for a Saturday morning in February there was hardly any boat traffic at the popular hot spots. With the air temperature in the mid to high 40s and barely any wind, I didn't mind the damp atmosphere. At first.

The initial spot I decided to fish didn't produce. There were 4 or 5 boats around me and nobody was catching anything. Even the guys using bait weren't getting any action. I was relentlessly casting MirrOlures when someone called my name. It was Chong Chae who recognized my beat up kayak. This guy is a character. Always smiling, joking, laughing... I've known him since high school and my brother and I used to go to his father's TaeKwonDo classes. Chong was scary good...

This isn't Chong, but this is the move he used to do to people.

Nuts, huh?

Anyway, I digress. He's also an excellent fisherman. We talked for a bit and I found out the bite was on earlier. He had 3 nice ones up to 25", but nothing was happening now. We talked about tautog fishing for a bit since we both have an affinity for them, then I decided to leave and try another place.

On my way over to another "hot" spot, I spied this...

Go Go Gadget Umbrella!

After a few chuckles, I got to the spot, switched to jigging soft plastics, and quickly picked up several small specks. I had one pull drag and I thought it was going to be a decent trout, but ended up being...

A Lil' 17" Puppy Drum

15 minutes later, the bite shut off, the wind picked up, and the drizzle turned into a downpour. That wind instantly made things feel dramatically colder, especially with the rain dripping off my rain jacket hood and getting blown into my face. After a while, it tapered off, but I still couldn't find a bite and my frigid fingers became incapable of tying knots. I went back to the first spot to see if things turned on but when I got there I only found one boat left.

I kept hope and incessantly threw my lures as the rain and wind pestered me. The monotony of casting and retrieving the lure was finally broken with a drag screaming run. It was the fastest I had seen and heard the drag rip from that tiny reel. Granted, I have ultra light gear, but still, this was definitely a really nice fish. It lasted all of 2 or 3 seconds. If that was a speckled trout, which I like to believe it was, it was the biggest I had ever hooked. So after the cursing and swearing, I continued casting and got a few bumps, a few more missed/dropped fish but finally landed a decent 21" speck.

Shortly there after, Justin Mayer met up with me. And after a few more highly suspect bumps, the bite was gone. I left soon after. I'm not sure how Justin ended up doing, but the fishing was pretty tough today.

First trip of 2011

2011-02-02T09:55:00.000-05:00

I finally got out for the first fishing trip of 2011! The cabin fever had me feeling like Jack in The Shining. CRAZY! So, with an invitation from local fishing legend Forrest Short and it being the opening day of Kayak Wars, I was determined to get some pullage.

The air temps were in the mid to lower 40s with a little mist. It was nice night to paddle out and as I took my first few strokes I was glad it was dark so Forrest wouldn't see my gooberish grin. It was my first time out in over a month so all the feel-goods were flooding. As we were heading out I listened carefully as he shared valuable info about the area.

We got to the spot and realized we had some friends fishing on shore. Marty (PAHillbilly) and his friend Chris were getting into the striper already. Last I heard, Chris pulled in a 33"er. Anyway, Forrest and I started working our lures and eventually got into a few. I got one 21.75" striper and Forrest's final count was three with the biggest going 23"ish.

It was a tough night of fishing but it was still nice to get out. The highlight of the evening was a green VIMS tag in Forrest's first fish. I believe he can turn in the green tag and get $$$

The thing is, he ended up breaking his Tica rod last night as well. We're not really sure how it happened. He was messing with a 17"ish striper he just got in the yak and snap.

I guess that $$$$ will be going towards a new rod.

Good fishing with you Forrest and thanks for sharing your spot!