A few weeks ago, Kayak Kevin Whitley, Virginia Marine Police Officer Ron Cagle, and I were invited to the Hampton Appomattox River Company location speak on springtime striper fishing in the lower Chesapeake Bay.
Officer Cagle was awesome, speaking to the changes in striper regulations, and rules in general if you plan on keeping any striped bass in particular.
Kevin and I presented in more of a forum type style, which was really enjoyable. Whether you are interested in the conventional or fly fishing aspect of springtime striper fishing, Im sure you will enjoy the video.
Video courtesy of Kayak Kevin
Below you will find some information I came up with to aid the kayak fly angler. I hope you enjoy it!
Back in the day, Kayak Kevin coined the term "Spadefish Surprise."
def. When ones bait (clam) is struck by a target specie other than spadefish. i.e. Sheepshead
Well, Ill give your the definition of a "Sheepshead Surprise" in a minute, but lets set the scene shall we. All week long, I had a good feeling about my first VA saltwater outing in a month and a half. So good I felt that I was going to be a hero and do some epic things. On August 1st, there were forecasted ideal conditions for what I was wanting to do, but I just couldn't find the right people who were willing to go all out and leave any trepidation's at the launch. Calls went back and forth, and I got confirmation that the plan was a go, but i had a feeling something would change (and it did). Oh well, I guess I will just relax and sleep in.
One of my favorite things is waking up on my own terms, with no alarm clock or other am annoyances to start the day off on the wrong note. So when I woke up at 0600, and saw a text from Tex, I was shocked but ready for what the day would bring. I collect myself, get bait, and head to the launch. Paddling off the beach at 8am on a Saturday is less than ideal, and this was confirmed when I counted no less than 10 kayaks in my first 10 minutes of launching. I kept telling myself it was still going to be a good day, and when I met up with Tex, all the other kayaks and boats that were at the front of my mind disappeared. Tex had made a handful of drops when we decided to move on. As we approach one of my favorite spots, there was already yaks on it. Well, it just goes to show the early bird gets the worm, and it increased my pace to get to my favorite part of the 3 mile span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
First drop was met by a spade that was all of 10". The right target, just not the right size. So I moved around looking to gauge the attitude and location of the school of spades. Within minutes, I feel the tall tale "tick tick", drop the rod tip and gather slack, and drive the sz 4 Owner home. "Fish On"! I'm getting bulldogged, and my rod is not shaking, which can mean only one thing Spadefish Surprise. As I navigate through the pilings, I am getting ready to sweep the fish in when I get that gut wrenching feeling of slack line. I look at Tex, and say "sometimes you got it, sometimes you don't". As I inspect my rig, the small spadefish hook just didn't have enough purchase in the toothy mouth of the Sheepshead. time to go back to basics and remind myself that I don't need a ton of drag when I get these fish to the open.
While all this drama is going on with me, Tex is putting on a spadefish clinic!
Roland with one of the nicer Spades on the day
I had a pretty good day on the spades in between dropping crabs to the depths. Not long after loosing the first sheepie, I feel a tap while on the bottom. I set the hook, and get worked much like a sheepie would. This fish is working me through the piling set and once I am in the clear, I let up on the drag. About this time, she is coming to the surface, and much to my surprise, I ended up with a true Sheepshead surprise.
40" Striper brought up from the depths
Shocked!
After landing, snapping pics, and getting a healthy release, I was back at it. I went back and busted out a few more spades until I got bored again and dropped back down. This time, I feel the hit and felt some weight, but had horizontal instead of vertical runs. In shock, not quite sure of what to expect, I bring the fish up to find a 7-10lb Black Drum. Now Ive never really targeted them, so my personal best was a whopping 8" fish. Imagine my stoke when I brought this bad boy up. While most fish go back to live another day, I love eating blacks this size, and he came home for dinner.
Personal Best Black Drum
We went back to spade fishing, but as the current got stronger, we decided to go take refuge and find some triggers. While they were there, they were extremely skittish and we managed a pair a piece. I enjoyed chilling, but Tex was on a mission for his personal best Sheepie. We start moving in, and hit some of our favorite spots. On my first drop, I feel that all to familiar tap tap, and this time I wasn't disappointed. I get the fish in the open, and this is where I get to enjoy the fight without the fear of loosing them. If they want to run, they get to run, as there is nothing that is going to break me off. The leg sweep brought me this beautifully colored fish.
A solid 23" sheep to end the day
This last fish marked the end of our day. Not necessarily all we had hoped for in alot of ways, but more than I would have expected in others. So now I have a new definition for ya: The Sheepsead Surprise
def. 1. a game fish other than a sheepshead, that comes as bycatch while fishing for sheepies 2. a sheepshead that comes after a day full of "Sheepshead Surprises" (see #1)
This has been a odd summer for me. In the years past I have been hammering the fish inshore getting on good numbers of quality fish, of many different species. This year, the inshore fishing in SE Virginia really hasn't materialized into much to talk about, so I have spent my time carp fishing instead. Besides a few outings which produced a few Sheepshead to 25", Carp fishing with the fly rod has been my main pursuit.
Bowed up on the 6wt
A bit over 32" Common
My first Mirror (on the fly none the less)
Carp fishing has presented me with a number of challenges that have helped me step up my fishing game. It teaches you patience, to make the right presentation on a fish, observe their moods and adjust to the fish, and fighting fish in close quarters. All of these skills I worked on came into play the past month, when I went on a 3 week marathon to the great waters of the North Carolina coast.
These trips all occurred on days off, with the schedule looking something like this...
0600 - wake up for work
1600-2300 - go over gear, pack the car, and relax
2300-0430 - drive south
0530-1700 - fish hard!
Repeat for the following days off
last day 1600-2200 - drive north
This leads to very little sleep which requires good decision making and patience when your body just isn't willing to do what your mind tells it to do. It also requires a good playlist to keep you going.
Money Trees - Kendric Lamar
Woah! - Black Robb
Root Down - Beastie Boys
Woo Hah!! - Busta Rhymes
The music got me going, and it was time to get some fishes! Week one presented muddy waters, low tides, and lots of wind. With all of that being taken into account, there were still a good number of flounder being caught on the natural Ultra Shrimp. These bad boys were sight casted along marsh edges. Just look for sudden and violent explosion's, and there you have it!
Flounder on the Fly
Day two was searching new water for reds. Again, the conditions were challenging at best but we still got a few fish to hand.
The Wicked Pissah of the world famous Wicked Pissah Guide Service with a quality inshore Redfish
This greedy lil' guy fell for a Chatterbait with a PTL JP Hammershad
Following this trip, I had a 5 day hiatus in which I met up with Kevin and Lee for a fishing/fight podcast.
Late during the week, my boy Ted Crumb and I decided, "What the hell, lets do it again". Another night of driving found us at the fishing spot in just enough time to get unloaded, rigged, and on the water at sunrise. Sunrise services consisted of Topwater and Trout Tricks, resulting in a good number of aggressive, healthy Speckled Trout.
A feisty fatty fell for a Tactical Anglers Crossover
This weekend ended with some keeper founder coming off the flats, and a crap-ton of reds between 20-24" coming from a cut through an oyster field.
The third weekend was the weekend of the 2015 Hook, Line and Paddle TJM tournament out of Wilimington NC. This is an event that I fish every year, and has become one of my favorites. I would miss Christmas before I would miss this. So, I had a 4 day weekend to get out and really hit it. Friday morning was forecasted to be calm and clear. Everything was supposed to be perfect, except it wasn't. Winds were NE at 10-20, pushing the tides out, making things difficult. The Trout Trick ended up being the skunk buster, bringing a few flounder to 17" and some spike specks to hand.
Flounder on the Trout Trick
After a less than encouraging pre-fish, Seth Goodrich and I decided to change things up, with the plan of being "Hero's or Zero's". A paddle across the mouth of the Cape Fear resulted in some beautiful cuts with lots of oyster mounds, and clear, moving water. When we first saw the area in person, our mouths dropped as it was one of the fishiest areas we had ever seen. Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving, and this was not the case. In looking for reds, Seth and I both saw a fish pushing 30" that would have made for a great day. This fish didn't mind us being there and looked as if "I'm going to stay here and watch y'all make fools out of yourselves trying to catch me." We saw other small reds, that just weren't in the eating mood. I ended scratching an insignificant speck, but the fish of the day was the flounder. Seth and I both lost flounder that would have put is in the top 3, with 4 of mine being 2nd and 1st place fish. I was sickened, but at least we brought home a few for the frying pan and found some new water. Youngblood Drew Camp really did some work with a 30 1/4" red that brought him home 1st place and an awfully large bag of donuts. I'm super stoked and honored to be able to call him a teammate!
At least the tournament day view was plesant.
With two days remaining, I drove a bit further north, and fished with the Wicked Pissah himself. We went out to two spots that produced fish for us the previous two weeks, but were fighting strong North winds and falling tides again. The first day, we expanded our search area after only finding flounder in the oyster fields, As we worked our way south with the wind, we started getting into flats filled with large mullet and some reds. I ended up getting out on a grass island to find a better vantage point and could see 5lb mullet spooking mid 20" reds. Our problem was that we were spooking mullet, which in turn spooked the reds. In 10-20 mph winds, we gave it a good try, but only had a slot red and a few flounder to show for our efforts. On our last day, we decided to go back into a spot along the ICW in which canals would lead us into ponds and lakes in search for reds. This was a good choice! On my 3rd cast I landed a red just shy of 29". Hopes were high, and the fishing didn't disappoint!
1st fish of the day
As we progressed we found more solid pumpkins. It was also an opportunity to test out fish shots with the DSLR. I still need some practice but all of these shots came from the camera on a tripod, and remote.
Notice the "selfie" setup back in the marsh.
Had over a half dozen quality fish in the morning, with some shots that I am extremely happy with.
The trip ended as uneventful as it started, with a long drive back home. As I write this, I cant help but wonder... When 1600 comes around on Friday afternoon, will I be Carolina Bound again?
I thought I would share for those who are unable to attend tonights talk, and all of you not in the Hampton Roads VA area. Thank you Kayak Kevin for use of your lightline pic.
