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.
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.
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!
Between the family and I being sick, a tough work schedule, and nasty weather, I haven't been able to get on the water for over three weeks. I've even been invited twice by local kayak angling legend Ric Burnley, so you can imagine my frustration when I called him back saying it just wasn't going to happen... twice. Lucky for me, and a lot of others in the area with cabin fever, the Richmond Fishing Expo was this weekend.
So Natalie and I ventured out to the state fairgrounds to see what kind of shenanigans we could get into. After checking out the scene, looking for good deals, and talking to some good friends, we found ourselves at the Appomattox River Co. booth where Natalie "tested" some of the goods.
Checking out the Jackson Coosa
Hangin' out on Chad Hoover's WS Ride135
I can't wait to get a rod in those hands
Luther Cifers, maker of the Yak Attack products, hanging out in the crowd.
Malibu Kayak prostaff member, Wayne Bradby, helping to answer questions.
Cory Routh, William Ragulsky, and Mark Lozier taking a break in front of the Ruthless Booth
It was nice to shoot the breeze with fellow fishermen. Before I went there, I expressed my excitement and my wife said it's like I'm going to "mecca" to be with "my people". I laughed, shrugged my shoulders and said "yeah, I can't help it." They had seminars, lots of vendors, free giveaways, raffles, and even a trout pond where people can try their luck and keep what they catch. Kevin was there touting his DVDs and my favorite local tackle shop GreenTop had some killer deals. They had $15 Sebile magic swimmers on sale for $7 so I had to pick some up. I'll let you know how they do. I've heard great things though.
When I got home, I found a package waiting for me. I had a good idea what it was and upon tearing it open, my hunch was confirmed. It was my second place winnings from the smallest fish photo contest.
The Outdoor Blogger Network had a photo prompt to post a picture of your favorite outdoor place. Well it's hard to pick a single place to be my favorite, but here's a picture of one of them. Without giving away the specifics of the place, this marsh is a favorite fishing hole for Redfish in Lynnhaven Inlet, Virginia Beach, VA.
A little while back, I was exploring the ever expanding world of kayak fishing on the internet and found YakAngler. They happened to be having a "Smallest fish photo contest" so I entered a few of my favorites from the inventory. After I entered them, I didn't realize I was suppose to get people to vote for them. Amazingly, I came in second anyway! Who's awesome?!?!
