Surf Launching Tips Video

Hooked Surf: Launching and Landing Your FIshing Kayak Safely from Werner Paddles on Vimeo.

No Dice

After spending a grueling 14 hours on the water (11/3), then 12 hours the weekend after that (11/9), I straight up rocked my hubby/daddy duties this past week.  My wife enjoyed her slack time while I took care of everything.  You name it, I did it.  I even threw in a few massages, a kickass video of the kids, and she got all the yoga she wanted.  When Friday came along, I picked up her favorite pizza after work and got the OK to go on a little binge.  Her graciousness, patience, and understanding toward my pursuits is nothing short of saintly. 

My quest for six hinges on one last specie citation; the tautog.  However, tautog don't bite at night.  So this weekend's marathon started with some night time speckled trout fishing.  I launched Friday night around 9:30pm at one of my favorite creeks where it dumps out onto a nice flat with a deep channel near by.  I've been jonesin for some topwater action and that's exactly what I got. 

Sorry for the burned out photo, but I was anxious to get back to fishing.  I stayed out until 1:30am after 7 or 8 fish up to 23.5" then drove over to the baitshop to snooze for a few hours before picking up some crabs for bait.

I launched with the sunrise at the base of the CBBT and the hunt was on.  But some of my favorite spots didn't produce much so my confidence started waning.  After several minutes on one spot, I started bringing up my rig to change locations when the crab got hit about half way up.  It ended up being a strong, healthy 27" striper.

I eventually found the togs and got about 6 or 7 with the biggest going 18".  Of course, I had several oystertoads and black sea bass in the mix as well.

Dark Female Tautog

Oystertoad Pectoral fin

The 11 or so hours on the water flew by without the satisfaction I needed.  So, I decided to take my mind off it and called up a few buddies to see if they wanted to partake in some topwater trout action.  An hour and a sandwich later, I met Richie Bekolay at the prior night's spot.  The water was eerie calm over the flat and my skitterwalk wasn't getting the same attention it was 24 hrs ago; and neither was Richie's.  After switching to a pink MirrOlure, I immediately had a few short strikes.  Two casts later and bam... I found my lure of the night.  Billy Ragulsky and Dan Smullen met us out there and quickly joined in on the fun.  Without a possibility of a citation tautog that night it was low pressure fishing.  And I had a blast!  It felt so good to simply enjoy catching fish... in good company at that!  I admit, I caught myself giggling like a little kid a few times on the hooksets.  A few hours later, a dense fog rolled in to add a sense of wonder and adventure to that kid-like feeling.  Before the night was over, I tagged a little under a dozen trout with the biggest going 23".  Unfortunately, I skipped out on taking pics, but Richie has a few on his report.


Feeling rejuvenated after 5 hrs of down time, I was ready to up jump the boogie on some togs.  I wasn't expecting the fog to still be there though...

It burned off as the morning went on, 

and I got into good number of the right species.

After 8 hrs (from launch time to recovery) I ended with 16 togs ranging from 12" to 17.5" and one 13" bergall, aka cunner.  Oddly enough, I didn't catch any other trash fish; no toads, no seabass, no none of that. 

For those of you who haven't spent a lot of time trying but want to give it a shot at tautog, here are a few tips.  Drop your rig down and find pilings with lots of rocks at the bottom.  Try to map out the bottom in your mind as you feel your way around. Raise and lower your rod tip until you find holes where the togs are usually hiding.  Sometimes, as you feel your way around you may find areas of rocky bottom away from the pilings as well. 

Pretty patterned female tog

Well, it's no dice after about 45 hrs of toggin' so far this month.  But that doesn't mean I'll stop looking for my trophy.  Hope to have a good post for you (and me) soon. 

Sheepshead Tips and Rig

This post includes additional info and graphics along with the published article from the July 2013 issue of The Chesapeake Angler.

Sheepshead can give one heck of an adrenaline rush, especially in a kayak. The stark contrasting bars that mark their body earned them nickname, convict.  And when hooked, they definitely run like they just broke out of jail.  A trophy sized sheepshead will put your tackle to the test and challenge your ability to negotiate the structures they dwell.  Kayakers who know what to look for can take advantage of the world class sheepshead fishery that is the Chesapeake Bay.  

Starting in mid June through late October, Sheepshead can be found on most structures in the Chesapeake Bay.  The CBBT bridge structures along with the rock islands tend to hold the biggest convicts.  One of the advantages of fishing in a kayak is that we can rub right up against the pilings.  I like to feel for rubble at the bottom and target those pilings most.  Sheepshead are also known to stay suspended and even just under the surface near the pilings.  They have also been known to hang underneath schools of spadefish as well.  

My rig of choice is a dropper loop about 10” to 16” above a 2-6 ounce sinker.  I use 50-60lb fluorocarbon leader and 2/0-4/0 super sharp Owner cutting point J hooks.  I like to have about 2 to 3 feet of flourocarbon above the dropper loop.  I tie up several rigs with swivels at the top for ease of attaching and put them in a leader wallet.  When fishing in thick structure, there’s a good chance you will go through several rigs.  Another rig people seem to like is a carolina rig style set up with a 2-4 ounce egg sinker over a swivel to a foot or foot and a half of flourocarbon leader to hook.  This rig would be good for suspended fish in my opinion.  My main line is 40-50lb braid which is spooled up on a quality baitcaster with tight and smooth drag.  A 7 foot fast action-medium heavy rod, that’s sensitive yet has enough back bone to withstand some serious pullage will do.  I've been using a Shimano Trevala S jigging rod and enjoy the light weight and great balance but have full confidence in it's ability to put on enough pressure.  Lately, my preference for the reel has been a Curado 300 EJ.




Baits of choice are fiddler crabs or mole crabs aka sand fleas.  Fiddlers can either be caught in the marsh or bought at most tackle/bait shops in the area.  My preference is to take the big claw off and send the hook through the subsequent hole and out through the top. I'll save the big claws just in case I run out of fiddlers. I've caught big sheepshead on just the claw. Mole crabs can be caught in the surf using various methods, including hand digging, as well as half a minnow trap sifted through the sand where the water meets the sand, but a mole crab rake is best.  I hook the mole crabs through the apron (small flap on the underside) and send the barb through the top. Convicts will also eat various other crustaceans, including clams, mussels, other crabs, etc.  

I normally start by working the bottom, but if I don't get a bite after a few minutes, I'll reel up 4-5 cranks and suspend the bait. The bite is hard to explain.  They can be quite the bait stealer, but once you figure out the bite, you’ll figure out the timing of when to set the hook.  In the mean time, for beginners, I’d suggest to go ahead and swing if you think there was a bite.  I’d rather swing and miss than bring up an empty hook over and over again.  Sometimes you’ll just feel a sudden weight on the other end without even feeling a bite.  For that situation, definitely go ahead and swing. If you feel a heavy weight, reel as much line in as you can before it realizes what's happening.


The ensuing runs will astonish even seasoned anglers. If you’re fishing around a piling and it starts taking you around the structure; as soon as you feel your line rubbing the piling put your reel in free spool and paddle through then engage again.  Otherwise your chances at pulling that big sheepie back through are slim to none.  

Once you’ve landed a big one on your kayak, beware of the large spikes along the dorsal and anal fins.  They’re gnarly and while flailing, will leave you bloody if you’re not careful.  You will also notice the strangely human like teeth of the sheepshead.

A note about the sheepshead I’d like to share is that once they reach the 20-22” range they take a very long time to grow to trophy size.  Although they are excellent table fare, I urge you to consider releasing trophy size sheepsheads (24” and above) since we would all like to see the specie thrive for a long time.