Two Trophy Sheepshead, Spades, Togs, and a Keeper Cobia

A dim glow was slowly creeping across the eastern sky when my kayak set free from the beach.  The water was black and glassy and the glide was silky smooth.  I looked up at the stars, smiled, and whispered gratitude.  When I looked back down, my bow was cutting through thick bioluminescence creating Tron-like streaks on the water.  Each stroke of my Werner Kalliste sent clouds of electric blue swirling by and like the other times I've sat on an expansive touch-sensitive light-up body of water, I was reminded of what it feels like to be a child... giddy... full of wonder and amazement. 

The surreal Life-Of-Pi-esque scene, minus the gazillion jellyfish and jumping whale, faded as color spread and reflected on the mirror finish. 

I dropped my sheepshead rig in four or five spots before the sun was clear of the horizon.  Not too long afterwards, I got my first bite.  The strange yet familiar grinding with a sudden weight triggered that instinctual swing and urgent need to gain line.  Plunges of my rod tip preluded the high friction exiting of said line.  We exchanged possession of that length a few times while I kicked and pushed to get away from the big CBBT pilings.  When its rage wore off, I realized the hook was only holding on to a tiny sliver at the tip of it's lip.  I turned the fish so I could tuck my foot under it's pelvic fin, pinned it against the side of my kayak and pushed up as I pulled on the leader.  It measured right at 24".  

24" Release Citation Sheepshead

About 20 minutes later, I replayed the previous sequence much to my delight.  The 25"er had better hook placement on it though. 

25" Release Citation Sheepshead

It was 7:18 and I doubled up on my goal of getting a release citation sheepshead.  Since the bite was hot, I stuck around the area hoping for a third.  However, my patience ran out quickly thinking about the other goals I had for the day.  I had been wanting to make a print of a spadefish for a while, but haven't had a chance to bring one home.  After a quick paddle to different spot, the first drop down with clam brought on the rod-vibrating fight of a 10" spadefish.  Second drop down produced similar. Then, after 15 minutes of no action, I decided it was time to move on.  I checked off goal number two, as one of the spades went on ice destined to be inked.

The final goal of the day was to give it a good shot for cobia.  The sun was getting high enough to possibly see them.  Keeping a keen eye on the surface, I tried to cover as much water as possible in my Ultra 4.7.  However, when I got to one of my favorite spots, I had to drop a fiddler crab down just to see if anyone was home.

Anyone else remember Beetlejuice from Howard Stern?

After four togs up to about 15" I pulled myself away to resume the cobia hunt.  After a good long paddle, I saw what I was hoping for; silly brown clown circling a piling.  It wasn't very big, but I was definitely still going to take a shot.  It was swimming counter clockwise and I tossed a RonZ past the piling to the right side just as fish came around on the left.  I swam it near the surface and he charged as soon as he saw it.  He hit it but didn't eat.  I bounced it and he started chasing.  It was getting fairly close to the kayak and I was running out of line.  I dipped the rod down, thinking I was going to have to open the bail to let the lure drop, but then he grabbed it hard and I slammed it home.  Up until this point, I had only hooked up to cobia on friends' boats and charters.  I've seen plenty from a kayak, including some monsters, but for various reasons (sometimes beyond my control and sometimes my fault) I just never got a hook up.  So, I took my time and enjoyed this fight.  He immediately took some line, came up to the surface and thrashed, circled around and made a run back toward the pilings.  I was able to turn him and then he sounded.  For a smallish cobia, it definitely had some attitude; which I wanted all gone from him when it came time to bring it on the kayak.  I let him take as many runs as he wanted.  Eventually, he stayed relatively calm and I noticed the hook placement was good.  I grabbed the leader and slowly pulled him up.  

I quickly measured him at 38" and decided to keep it.  Knowing how strong they are and their destructive nature if it were to thrash in my lap, I took the hammer to the dome.  

I could have ended the trip at 7 in the morning and the 2hr drive home would have still been all smiles.  But with two release citation sheepies, spades, togs, and a keeper cobia under the hatch... you could say I was cheezin pretty hard. 
 
I made it back to shore by 2pm to get back home by 5pm as promised.  Cherry on top of it all was taking the kids to their first baseball game.  

That celebratory beer though...

Cheers.

Hopefully I'll be back out soon to upgrade that kayak cobia.

In the meantime, fish prints it is...

Video of the sheepies and cobia coming soon.

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.

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

Getting Bent on Hump Day

I had the rare occasion to get a day off while working with a client in the Virginia Beach area... on a Wednesday at that.  So Jay Brooks and I took the opportunity to bend the rods on some spades.  

Fun 14" spadefish

We had a blast messin' with the spades all morning.  The highlights were a couple of 14"s and a 15" with a few dropped sheepshead in the mix as well.

Boy do I make some goofy faces on the hook set

Gotta love those rod digging spade fights

15"er

And then I was like...

"Dude.

Time to go."

Under the Bridge and Dreaming

We launched to down-right-sexy conditions.  The sun, barely over the horizon, peeked through a loose patchwork of clouds.  Air temps were perfect.  The wind was but a whisp and current crept at a snails pace.  Add the excellent water clarity and it was hard to imagine a more perfect scene.  It was as if the goddess of the sea was flirting with our senses... and easily stealing our hearts.

She let us peek 5-6 ft into her underworld and the things I saw made my jaw drop.  I've seen decent numbers of spades before, but this time, the size is what blew my mind.  Staring down through the refracting light and seeing the tight schools of massive, near citation spadefish almost felt like a surreal dream.  I couldn't get them to eat, but did end up picking a fight with some of the smaller ones.

Best of the day for me was a 15"er.

We hung around the rocks when the current picked up and quickly got into a good number of triggerfish.

Richie Bekolay with a nice 17.5" Trigger

We all know that the sea tends to be moody and that day was no different.  The good graces of the morning did not last long and by 2pm, she was on the verge of showing her nasty side.  We were slapped with a stiff head wind for the majority of trip back then thunder grumbled just as we got to shore.  We bid her adieu, but the spell she put on us will not be broken anytime soon.  We'll be back.

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...

CBBT Critterpalooza

After waiting out a storm, and launching over an hour later than expected, the first thing I saw was a cobia thrashing on some bait.  I quickly grabbed the bucktail rod that I specifically brought just in case that scenario presented itself, but by the time I turned back around it was gone.  After searching a while, I switched to dropping mole crabs.

First up, a nice hard fighting 22" sheepshead.  

Next, a not-so-good looking schoolie striper.

Then, after a few croakers, I switched over to clams and tried for spades.  I didn't see any or get any bites at the usual spot and the current was brutal, so I took refuge on the down current side of the island.    It was a good opportunity to look for big black drum that sometimes hang out in the rocks near the surface, but that was also fruitless.  Next, I turned my efforts towards triggerfish and quickly hooked up to a bunch of baby black sea bass.  Normally, I'd be pretty irritated but after remembering that they were on the list, I got to tagging.  Eventually, I got a slightly different kind of hit and slowly reeled in to find a triggerfish chasing the empty jig head.  I rebaited and caught the aggressive little guy.  Sorry no pic.  He was only 11".  Tagged and released.

I kept at it and after a while, noticed an itty bitty little thing just under the surface... something I've never seen before.  

After doing some homework, I'm pretty sure it's a juvenile Banded Rudderfish.  It stayed under my kayak for quite some time, darting out every once in a while.

I love finding new species!

After eating a snack while watching my little buddy peek out from under me, I switched back to mole crabs and brought up something I've never caught before.

Bergall aka Cunner

Like tautog, it's a member of the wrasse family.   

I braved the current again to try jigging for flounder, but only became frustrated.  The water was just too fast.  After losing a few 2oz jigs and not getting any bites, I went back to the island.  Eventually the current slowed down, but only for a little while.  The incoming was also predicted to be very fast, so my window of opportunity was short.  I went back to find the spades.  They were little, but at least I got some.

Even the little ones put a bend in the rod

Wee lil' 8" spade

One right after another

Like predicted, the slack current didn't last long.  And after tagging several of the baby spades, and getting a serious work out from all the one arm paddling, I had to call it a day.

The paddle back seemed to take forever... giving me a chance to think about the tough but interesting day.

Double Tourney Saturday

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.

Can't Stop Thinking About Them Spades

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.