"Kayak Fishing the Chesapeake Bay 3" DVD OUT NOW!

Kayak Kevin's new DVD is out!

"Kayak Kevin, Lee Williams, and Rob Choi target the winter time Chesapeake Bay species, tautog and the Eastern Shore stripers.  They show the rigs and baits, how to use them, anchoring techniques, and navigating the currents during this dangerous time of year to fish the bay."

Order it now!!!

Follow Your Nose

Kevin and I car pooled over the CBBT and found Jeff Lockhart getting ready to launch at our favorite spring locale.  We scoured the flats that morning knowing that Richie Bekolay and Joe Underwood had luck there the day before.  Click their names for the reports. 

It wasn't too long before I got a whiff of something that shouldn't bring a smile to my face, but it did.  It's not exactly a pleasant odor and it's not easy to describe.  Imagine a big school of 30-50lb reds chowing down then collectively taking a huge dump.  It's a strange dead fishy kind of smell, sometimes rotten crab depending on their diet.  If it's not their poop, it might just be their slime.  I'm not exactly sure but either way it's a most delightful aroma when you're on the hunt. 

The smell got stronger the closer I paddled to a certain slick I spotted.  My side imaging unit had a few blips to my right and in my excitement, my first cast backlashed and fell short.  I quickly undid the birds nest and casted in front of me, where I thought more fish would be.  My 5" Berkley swimbait hit the dirty water and within three cranks it was inhaled.  As it pulled me into forward, I then realized how big the school was.  Big reds were all around me and my Humminbird screen was completely filled.  The fight brought a giddy smile to my face as the powerful beast spun me around and took me on a ride.  

The 47" release citation Red Drum got camera shy and took off before Kevin or Jeff could get a decent photo. 

Not too long after that, our noses were graced by that certain smell again.  We saw the slick and as Kev got closer, he hooked up on the troll. 

45"er for Kev

Shortly after that, the dreaded four letter word picked up and blew us back to the launch. 

Fishing with Kevin is always a blast, 

but especially on a successful first trip out for the big reds.  

I'm sure we'll have more fun stories to share in the near future.

A Little Spring Tease

For late February, it was surprisingly warm on Sunday.  I joined Jeff Lockhart (fellow Richmonder) and Billy Nicar (from GreenTop) on the Elizabeth River along with a fleet of others who welcomed the tease of Spring.

A couple of stripers (18"~19") started off the action but after that it went kaput.  Every spot we went to had the same story; boaters and kayakers alike had virtually nothing all day.  Eventually, near where we started, I caught a fairly nice sized hickory shad, then right around sunset, we finally got into some specks.  Jeff spotted big swirl in 3-4 feet of water and hooked up first with a nice 23" trout.

Not too long after, just as I was saying to myself that I really needed to leave, I hooked into a nice scrappy fish.  After some impressive runs I had my first trophy of the year come over the gunnel of the new Predator 13.  

 

Even though the bite was getting hot, it was time to go.  I promised Kev that I'd come by to broadcast live with Lee Williams for an episode of a Kayak Kevin Podcast.

Here's the recorded version.

Friendly reminder: Don't forget your sunblock or face mask/buff.

Cold Weather Gear for Kayak Fishing

After the large number of requests, I was thinking of doing a post on cold weather gear.  But then Kayak Kevin put out a great video that made my life a little easier.  Here's what he uses, which I've adopted most of. 

I also utilize a full drysuit made by Kokatat in the coldest of months.  

And I prefer boots over sandals. 

Here's another video that tests the outerwear.

In Good Company

So yeah, I've been slacking on putting up a new post... my apologies.  The downward spiral was hard to pull out of until recently.  I've put in 5 trips for cobia this year, all with chum, eels, etc.  I've seen more cobia from my kayak this year than any previous year, but the brown clown still eludes me.  I've also had a few recent trips for bull reds, catfish, croaker, spot, and smallmouth but again, they all had the heebeegeebees like some saboteur hid a banana in my kayak.  To make things worse, Lumbergh just upgraded the chains on my office chair so sneaking out for those perfect weather windows just got tougher.

Ok.  Enough bitching.  

I helped my buddy William Ragulsky land a 61lb citation cobia and put the hammer to the dome.

I've also been enjoying the new Predator MX on the James River.

Full review to come later.

Spent some time with her royal wifeyness…

And at the 2013 TKAA tournament, I got to enjoy the company of many great friends and met a lot of new faces.  To those of you who had so many nice things to say about my posts, photos, and videos, I can not thank you enough.  I deeply appreciate it, as it puts a lot into perspective for me.  I hope to continue to provide the kind of content that you all enjoy.

As far as tournament fishing goes, the last two years I helped out with HOW, so this year decided to catch up with a great friend that I don't get to fish with as often as I would like.  

Photo credit: Kayak Kevin Whitley

The wind was brutal, so we tucked ourselves into a creek and got into a good number of little reds.

I almost forgot how fun those little reds can be, especially when you're sight casting to them in less than a foot of water.  

Basic white curly tail grubs on 1/4oz jighead

Did a little exploring and found a turtle skeleton.  Remains were about 2 feet long.

Reed Heckert of Bethesda, MD won the redfish print I donated to the raffle

After it was all said and done, our biggest reds (21.5" and 20") didn't place in the tournament.  But to be honest, I wasn't the least bit disappointed.  

Between all the people at the weigh-in and getting to fish with Kayak Kevin,

 on his birthday at that, 

it was really nice just to take it easy in good company.

Shutter Happy

That fickle temptress, Lady Luck refused to play any role in the last several attempts to achieve my recent objective.  Big red drum have been caught by several kayakers this spring, making my failed endeavors that much more exasperating.  

However, some of those unsuccessful fishing days did turn out to be great "nature days".  Putting my angling frustrations aside, I took the opportunity to get shutter happy on the local wildlife.

First up is a rare shot of a posing Rob Alderman.  Normally seen in the Outer Banks area, it is a rare sight in these neck of the woods.

Next, Lee Williams got us all excited while pointing out a big...

"made you look."

And I guess I shouldn't complain too much since I did find a few bluefish in Rudee inlet and some decent flounder up to 18" as well.

I also had an amazing experience with a dolphin.  As I was trolling along, one breached on my starboard side a little towards the rear.  It came up about 15 feet away.  Then again about 10 feet away.  Then again.  I kept paddling along as it cruised up beside me.  You know you're close when things get all slow motion and you can see it's eyes looking back at you... checking you out... I can almost hear it in my mind... "wutcha doin'?  Ain't no red drum here, dude".  Then Richie Bekolay, who was trolling on my port side, reminds me that I should have my GoPro on.  Of course, it was the day I didn't bring my remote and by the time I reach forward, turn it on and start recording, my new buddy was gone.

The highlight of nature day was this bald eagle. 
(Click photos for larger view)

 I was grateful to Kevin and Lee for pointing out the majestic creature.  He had been munchin' out on a 47" almost dead striper that had washed up on the marsh.

And speaking of local wildlife, there's a good chance you'll run into this guy on the Eastern Shore during this time of year.  His annual migration to this area has been well documented over the last several years.

ARC Demo Day

It was nonstop moving and helping once things got going.  I had a great time sharing my love for Ocean Kayak and hanging out with Kevin and the other pro staffers.  Here's a quick, silly little video of about 30 fun filled minutes compressed to about 2.

Talking about kayaking and fishing for hours... gotta love it!

One for the Record Books

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.