Rare Bluewater Treat

3AM and I struggle to focus my eyes.  I sit on the throne.  Haze clears.  Forecast double check provides a smile.  I wipe.  I'm out the door.

It was supposed to rain later but the lack of wind made it a good day to introduce my new Ultra 4.7 to the CBBT.  Looking to knock sheepshead off the yearly citation list as well as play with some spadefish, I picked up fiddlers and clams at Ocean's East.  When I arrived at the beach, I was more than a little disappointed.  The wind was sustained at 15kts at least from open water with gusts much higher.  I'm pretty sure I would have verbally abused if not shin kicked the crap out of the weather man if he were there.  Luckily, my good friend WillyRags, who was supposed to be there too, gave me the heads up about Ric and Lee about to head out on the boat.  

The trek out was needless to say, brutal.  It felt like we got airborne about 20 times but a smile crept on my face knowing that I rarely get to see that type of water; especially right out of Virginia Beach.  The little 20' Jones Brothers center console actually handled the rough water well... all 30 miles out.  And it got better as we went further out.  

Based on prior year catches on Ric's boat, the main target for this trip was mahi.  We put out a spread of 5 ballyhoo (2 outriggers, two short lines, one flatliner right behind the boat) and one big crankbait 10-15' down.  Within 5 minutes of trolling we were on them.  Then not too long after we lost them.  We put decided to mess around on some wrecks and I jigged up a thick 20" flounder.  Lee was working the Lucanus jig when all of a sudden he hooks a mahi and next thing we know had them all around the boat.  Ric hooks up on cut bait and keeps it in the water to keep the school around.  Unfortunately, they wised up quick and we only picked off a couple.  We go back to trolling and it was on.  The count for the day was 11 mahi with the biggest going 15lbs and the flounder.  

The rare bluewater treat was the farthest thing I could have imagined doing that day, but I'm so glad it happened.  I learned a little more about driving a boat, properly rigging ballyhoo for trolling, understanding outriggers, not to mention bringing home a bunch of excellent meat.  Big thanks to Ric and Lee for accommodating me as well as Rags for sending me their way.  Thanks guys.

Photo credits: Ric Burnley

Til the Break of Dawn

10pm Friday night and Rudee inlet was completely deserted.  Slick calm water and a dense fog made for an other-worldly ambiance as I took the first paddle strokes of my new Ocean Kayak Ultra 4.7.  At 15 and a half feet long, it's meant more for open water rather than a small inlet, but I had to try it out.  The acceleration and smooth glide had me geekin' to say the least.  A full review and rigging post up will be up in the near future.

I wasn't quite sure what the plan was that night but I figured, like a party that I wasn't sure of, I can always leave and go home early.  I ended up wildin' out until 9:40 the next morning.  As long as I was back by noon, the boss lady was ok with it.  So I hit up the lights first after slowly navigating through the fog.  I was mildly entertained by small bluefish on little grubs n jigheads but thought about leaving if that was all Rudee had to offer.  I checked a few other lights with little improvement until I found one with bigger shapes cruising around.  I immediately recognized them as schoolie stripers and just as I expected, my paddletail got crushed as I swam it just under the surface.  I pulled two off the light then they disappeared.  After paddling around, trolling, checking other lights, and messing with more small blues, I came back to the same light and the stripers were there again swiping at little minnows.  Again, I danced with a couple more before they would shy away.  I repeated this process until I was satisfied with 6 stripers up to 23", all fat, strong, healthy, and released.  By now it was about 2:30 am and I was thinking about peacin' out but then I heard a massive splash through the fog.  Fast forward 4 more hours and I ended up with 4 or 5 blues in the upper 20" to lower 30" range with the biggest going 34".  I also had one on that felt really nice but I couldn't get her to join me in my new ride.

So as color streaked toward the east more and more people showed up.  Before I knew it, it was down right crowded.  As I paddled along, I heard my name and saw someone waving me over through the fog.  It was Ryan Clark with a few really nice flounder up to 22".

He found a good bite and started throwing a flyrod with sinking line after that.  Not too long, he had an 18"er on his own fly.

I'm not one to leave a hot bite, so I threw a little paddletail on 1/4oz jighead and...

31" Red

Red Drum Chamber of Death

Shortly after that, I finished off my night/morning with a 17" flounder.

Bluefish, Stripers, Red Drum and Flounder....
I'd say the Ultra 4.7 maiden voyage was a success.

That Certain Something

I just couldn't stay away.  It was going to be a fuster cluck and everyone in Rudee knew it.  With success stories inundating all the social media avenues and forums, the inlet was going to be googan central.  Yet still, I couldn't resist the promise of that certain something I've been craving.

Rods whipping to the left of me
Delightful spinning reel squeals to the right

Infectious grins all around 

 

Long bombing the quarter ounce 

procure smeared gudgeon imposter

on my seven two medium

fast action

With a slow bounce

Imitate.

Instigate.

  

 The predator's pounce sends an electric pulse

firing off the ten pound test braided neuron

When it reaches the high modulus extension of my nervous system

  

Ping.

Clean.

Unmistakable.

Short turn of the reel couples with an urgent swing

 Moment of truth 

Heavy weight

Back arched and tip bouncing

Head shakes

Map the brains of us all at that moment

Googan or not

It's a beautiful thing.

Add stubborn fights with peeling line

and that is why we love it.

Photo Credit:  William Ragulsky

Jeff Lockhart

Photo Credit:  William Ragulsky

Tagging Recapture Info

I've been tagging a couple of years now, won a few awards, and decided to check up on some recapture info.  It's really fascinating what we can learn so I thought I'd share.

First up is a double tag.  Doug Purcell put a tag in a 12" red drum in the Ware River, which is way up in the Mobjack bay area.  Then I caught it 15 days later at Lynnhaven, which is a considerable ways south.  It grew 1.25" in that short period of time.  Fun fact: I caught that same fish again later in the day.

I've had several spadefish recaptures over the last two years.  A few of them were caught by my fishing buddies (Jay Brooks, Matt Anderson and a few others probably) and they were usually in the same area I caught them earlier.  I've also recaptured my own tagged spadefish a few times. 

I've also caught my own tagged tautog as well.  They also are usually in the same area if not the exact same piling.

Black Sea Bass are also on the tagging list and I've had 3 recaptures.  Two of them were only a few days after I tagged them so not much info was gained.  The 3rd was caught by my friend Jay Brooks.  It was recaptured 118 days after I tagged it, in the same general area (CBBT 1st island) and it grew from 9.5" to 11.5".  

Jay also recaptured one of my tagged triggerfish as well.  Again it was in the same area (CBBT 1st island).  It grew from 12" to 12.25" in 19 days.  Cool fact: I wrote a note saying that my hook went through the eye and it as badly damaged.  Apparently it was still ok, found plently of food and kept growing without any problems.

Here's another red drum recapture.

It traveled a good ways north in 30 days and grew an inch and a half.

Flounder recapture.

I tagged it under Lesner.  6 days later it was caught in the same area with .5" more.  Then 21 days later, it was caught again in the same area.

Another flounder recapture.

This one was eatin' good!  Staying in the HRBT/Willoughby area, it grew 3" in 45 days!

On the other hand...

This flounder was tagged and caught within a mile's distance away after 61 days and it didn't grow at all.

One more flounder.

This one also didn't go too far and after 88 days it only grew half an inch.  

I did puncture it's eye though.

I've had several speckled trout recaptures, mostly caught and recaptured in the Elizabeth River, Hot Ditch area.  One however stood out.

This one was tagged in late September up in Poquoson and by mid December was caught in the Hot Ditch area.

Again, I just thought I'd share some fun stuff.  

Hope you got your learn on.

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.

Sea Change and Spreading the Love

The window-down kind of days have slowly brought on the wader-up type of outings.  Like a banner of farewell, the bold colors of the trees bid bon voyage to the mass exodus that brings about a sea change to the Chesapeake Bay fishery. 

The last several weeks have been a great time to take advantage of the gluttonous appetite of many species on the way out.  And if there was a certain summer specie you were looking for, unfortunately time is running out.  My quest for a trophy croaker (3lbs or 20") will have to resume next year as I fell short in 2012.

16.5"

One of the species that stay available almost all year, including winter in certain warm water pockets is the speckled trout.  Local legend and trout master, Forrest Short, was once again generous enough to let me hang out with him a few weeks ago. 

But even the most decorated anglers have off days.  All we got was this lil 17"er.  However, he redeemed himself a week later or so later with an amazing day that included a beautiful 25.5"er.

On Sunday the 21st, I took my cousin Chris and his friend Steve out to meet Richie Bekolay at the trout hole.  Long story short, casting MirroLures, jigging soft plastics and trolling either or both did the trick.  Pink, pink/yellow, chartreuse, peppered white, and dark greens with chartreuse tails were the flavors of the day.  Several nice specks up to 20" and a few small reds were tagged and released.

Richie Bekolay 18" Speckled Trout

Chris Lee with an 18" Speckled Trout.  He also had a pretty 20"er earlier

 We were off the water just as the sun was setting.  After a bite to eat we launched again at the HRBT.  There was 2 hours left of the outgoing and I was hopeful.  But I was wrong.  As my cousin put it, I "snipered" off the one lone striper we saw on the entire light line.  It was a skinny little 21"er and I put the lure perfectly in it's path.  Unfortunately no picture.  As the current slowed, we jigged for whatever wanted to bite since we had to wait until the tide swung.  After several gray trout, I picked up a 15" flounder and just as I was tossing it toward my cousin (just to startle him) I realized that was my inshore slam (speck, red & flounder)... and with the striper, an inshore grand slam... a pleasant surprise, but unfortunately, no pictures of the flounder or striper.  As the incoming current picked up I was really hoping that the stripers would line up thick.  However, after 2.5 hours into the tide, I knew it wasn't going to happen.  We found a few here and there that were very finicky.  I managed to entice 8 or so up to 27".  Chris and Steve had a few follow their lures but not commit.  It was great none the less to see them so excited.  Actually seeing the fish, sometimes literally right next to the kayak in paddle touching distance, reacting to their presentations is really a magical thing.  Even though they didn't catch any, they understood the challenge and what to look for.  They'll be back, I'm sure. 

It was a great day to enjoy the season and spread the love...  and the addiction.

Fish Taggin' Bender

Photo credit: Joseph Underwood

After receiving info on some of my tagged fish recaptures, I've been even more motivated to keep sticking it to 'em.  So much so that I went on a bit of a bender with Richie Bekolay.  On Saturday afternoon we went to Lynnhaven inlet and found the little red drum all over the place as well as a few small flounder and black sea bass.  We eagerly watched the radar knowing that a storm was on the way.  We got off just in time and waited it out in the parking lot.  After the longer than expected down time, we made our way over to HRBT and searched the light line for some stripers.  It took us a while, but we eventually found them.  Most were fairly small (16"-18") but we managed a few skinny ones that went 23.5" and 24.5".  I also jigged up a few itty bitty flounder and croaker.  We got off the water around midnight and got to passing out in the our cars around 1:30.

The 5 am rendezvous time for the CBBT came quick.  Joe Underwood was already there, amped up and ready to go.  The three of us made good time getting out to the spots and quickly found the spades. None of them were very big (7"-11"), but fun none the less.  After dropping fiddlers for a bit with no love, we moved on toward the 1st island and found the mother load of small flounder.  I was getting hits on every cast for a while and emptying out my tagging gun quickly.

Barely hooked

Eventually the bite slowed down and we switched to dropping fiddler crabs again.  Joe was the only one finding the bite and hooked up more than once to a big sheepshead.  Unfortunately, he couldn't seal the deal on any.  I was a good distance away when Richie tells me over the VHF radio that Joe was hooked up a third time to a big sheepie.  Then a few minutes later, the wind carried over a not-so-happy scream.  Dude was especially pissed.  Later on I found out he had it halfway in the  kayak and the leader popped.  I feel for him, but I'm sure he'll get one if not more before the season is over.


Click on 720p under settings for best quality

Crazy Hotness and the Itty Bitties

It almost sounds like a band name, doesn't it?  "Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome The Crazy Hotness and the Itty Bitties with their hit single... Swamp Butt".  Seriously though, it was stupid hot.  But with hopes of catch up to Jay Brooks and Justin Mayer in the race to VA Saltwater Expert Angler, I braved the heat with several bottles of frozen water and ventured out under the CBBT.  Much to my surprise several other kayak anglers were out in search of that addictive tug.  It was nice to meet some new guys and see a few others that I recognized. 

The action was almost as hot...

Caught a few flounder up to 16.5" while jigging soft plastics.
Also met a guy who had a nice 20"er earlier in the day.

There were plenty of what Lee Williams likes to call "ChesaFreak bay Oyster Toads"

Dropped some fiddler crabs to the bottom and found a few tautog up to 15"

And you can't drop fiddlers in the summer without running into a few of these... Black Sea Bass.  Normally, they're extremely small. 
I was surprised to find some in the 10"-11" range.

I switched to clams and found the ever-so-fun spadefish.  Some friends went out earlier in the week and got into better class of fish, but the biggest for me was a mere 9".  At least there were lots of them to keep me entertained.

On a side note, I recaptured a spadefish that I tagged 6 hrs earlier.... it was still on the exact same piling!  I wonder if they'll send me a t-shirt for that.  I mean it was a tagged fish, right?

So in the end, it was a veritable buffet of itty bitties and no check off the citation list.  I did have one bite and hook up that still has my imagination running wild.  I was under the same piling that I caught a near citation tog at last summer.  It went on three absolutely amazing runs, then I used the remote to start recording on the GoPro... I get a little slack in the line and the fish gets off.  A boat near by gives me the "Aww man, that sucks... that really looked like a good one".  Pardon my language at the end of the video clip.  But notice the vein sticking out of my neck during the slow mode...