Perchin' After the Thaw

I went into it with little to no expectation.  

And as with many trips without the possibility of a big let down, 

it turned out to be a memorable one. 

Work, babies, and an extra hour and a half in the wrong direction made what used to be a once or twice a week thing into a rare occurrence.  The message from Justin Mayer saying that he's actually planning on fishing reminded me of some great trips we've had.  Naturally, I accepted the invite...

My more recently acquired fishing buddy, Jeff Lockhart and I met Justin at a creek northeast of Richmond hoping for yellow perch.  Their spawn migration should be in full effect in most rivers in the area.  But having heard of a lot of ice still on many of the normal spots to find them or the water being high and muddy, I didn't get my hopes up.  If it was fishable, I planned on locating schools with live minnows then switching to grubs and blade baits.

Well I definitely found them in decent numbers and sizes.  Jeff, Justin, his dad Curtis and I couldn't get them to take any artificials but we did have good luck on the minnows.  I happened to have the hot rod of the day and landed 16 with 5 over trophy sized (12") and one at 13".  Not being an avid perch fisherman, I didn't know the best live minnow rig for them so I just macguyered a small sinker, with a little dropper loop 10" above that with a little aberdeen hook.  It seemed to get the job done.

From not expect much to ending up with 5 little big fish trophies in one day definitely put a grin on my face.

Needless to say, my kids were eating good.  They even got into a discussion about how they liked it much better than the speckled trout they had last time.  Natalie went on to say she thought flounder was better.
"That's debatable, sweetie."

Fish prints to coming soon...

"Nothin' But Love" - Video Compilation

Fast paced cuts of hook sets, drag rips, kayak dragging, headshakes, camera slaps, and more...
"Nothin' But Love"

YakAttack Boomstick Review

Arguably, there is no better way to share a fishing story than through video.  The hits, the sleigh rides,  the facial expressions, everything you love about the sport can be shared through amazing resolution nowadays.  In my constant pursuit of fun footage, I've had the opportunity to use the Boomstick by YakAttack and as usual with their products, I was not disappointed.  In fact, I was actually kind of giddy with all the different angles the Broomstick helped achieve with ease.

It's GoPro ready.  It's 43".  It floats.  And it's super easy to change the angle and pivot.  A quick release button allows the user to remove the pole from the base with one hand and the multiple articulation points allows for virtually any vantage point whether it's mounted or in your hands. 

Floats with Hero3+ with GoPro extended battery without the Floaty Back Door.

I used a RAM Post and Spline base on a Gear Trac for the attachment point to the kayak (Predator 13 in this case).  The Boomstick also fits well in flush mount rod holders.

Quick Release Button

"Plunger" release pin and pivot point

Another pivot point

When your buddy is hooked up next to you, or something cool is happening in the water below, getting that camera out of the base quickly is crucial.  

The 43" length enables a good height to capture a wide view. 

If you love getting those cool angles to share your days on the water, you're gonna want the Boomstick.  It's definitely my go-to.  Paired with the Panfish Portrait toward the bow of the boat, I feel like I have all the bases covered.  

Cool angle with the Boomstick 

On top of all that, the customer service is second to none at YakAttack.  They stick to their values, make quality products and are committed to making sure it's all MADE IN THE USA.

Winter Bucketmouth Mission

As with most winter fishing in Virginia, I knew it was going to be hit or miss.  So I recruited a couple of my favorite kayak bass experts to aid in my newly acquired mission.  The growing inbox of bass print requests had been in the crosshairs for way too long and it was time to pull the trigger.

This post is brought to you by the YakAttack Boomstick camera mount.  If you like taking video with GoPro style cameras, you're gonna love it.  Full articulation, quick release, floating... it's brilliant.

Complete review with details coming soon.

I met up with fellow Werner Paddles and Kokatat team member, Drew Camp, his dad Chip, and the legendary Forrest Short.  As I was taking photos and video for the upcoming review of the Boomstick, Forrest and Drew quickly got into some fish early on.  A 17" bass and two good size pickerel were caught before I even left the ramp.  And of course, by the time I got out, they didn't want to bite anymore.  A few hours later, Chip broke the monotony with a 13" slab of a crappie on a jerk bait.

We all hoped the action would turn on as the water temps crept up but it stayed slow.  A while later my jig finally enticed a good sized bass.  

Just shy of 21" and a little over 5 1/2 lbs in 8' of water right next to a cypress tree.  I thought about keeping it for prints, but couldn't.  My respect for larger/older fish couldn't be shaken and it was released... fingers crossed... hoping I would run into one I didn't mind killing.

Not too long after that, Drew picked up a 16.5" bass on a square bill crank bait   

After a thorough inspection of the super healthy short round, it went on the stringer.  

Mission accomplished.

I was hoping for an upgrade to about an 18"-19" but that never happened.  Forrest took off to try another lake and scored a huge 25" pickerel and a healthy 18.5" bass.  I went on to score one more fish; an 11" crappie on a small husky jerk, which accompanied the bass for an ink session.  Drew went on to catch another nice pickerel.

All in all, a very satisfying and successful trip.

Hopefully the upcoming weather doesn't keep us off the water too long.

Those of you who have been waiting patiently for a bass print,
soon my friends...

Web Share: Father & Son Video

I found this and had to share.  Beautiful.

Via MoldyChum

Drew Camp - 2014

Here's a fun little video by Drew Camp. 

Looking forward to seeing what he does in 2015.

Blackfin Mothership Trip. Sorta.

Ever since my first one in July of 2010, I've been saying...

There are so many stars that have to line up 
for a mothership trip to happen.

We had the right number of people, the right type of people...

with the right amount of funds, and the right schedule...

the right captain with the right boat...

and of course the right weather forecast

Ric Burnley, Rob Alderman, Matt Anderson, Jeff Lockhart, Alex Britland and myself met in Hatteras just before dawn.  After loading our kayaks and gear on the Good Times, we made our way out to the Gulf Stream.  

All the stars had lined up.  

Or so we thought.

We knew it was going to be a little rough going out.  Two of our crew even did their best chameleon impressions going from ghost white to puke green.  And that was alright because the wind was scheduled to calm down after we got out there.

Except it didn't.

 Some of us had done tougher launches from the mothership before, but regardless, we all test dropped our jigs from the boat.  The current was much faster than expected and the scheduled break in wind was way behind schedule.  As the day went on, we kept thinking we would launch the kayaks soon...

as soon as we found a big wad of fish,

or if the wind and current would calm to where we could stay in the target zone.

All the while, we were still having a blast.

Photo credit: Rob Alderman

The count went nearly 60 blackfins (mostly football size with 4 or 5 bigger ones going 10-15lbs), 3 or 4 amberjack (small), and one false albacore (small).  We had a few run ins with sharks, but it wasn't too bad.  By the time we were headed back in, we all agreed that it was the right decision not to launch the kayaks.  We would have been extremely frustrated trying to stay in position and the catch count would have been dismal.  The thrill of catching them from a kayak was far over shadowed by simply wanting to have a good time.  

And a good time was definitely had.

Photo Credit: Ric Burnley

Photo Credit: Matt Anderson

Photo Credit: Ric Burnley

The last star may not have lined up, but we still got to dance with the little rockets like we were hoping to.  

Side note: by the time we got back in, it was slick calm.
Of course.


Big thanks to Ric and Rob for getting this trip together.

If you're thinking of booking a mothership trip down in NC, Rob Alderman is the freaking man.  He knows all the right people and can hook you up.  He's also one of the best inshore kayak fishing guides in the area during warmer months  (link).  Gear I used includes: Trevala medium heavy with Release SG, Trevala S medium heavy with Daiwa Saltist 20 LDH, Terez medium heavy with Sustain 5000, all 50lb braid to 60lb fluorocarbon leader and 175 lb Tactical Angler Power Clips for quick change ups to various 168-200 gram speed jigs.

I can't wait to try it again!