Sheepshead Surprise

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 day fulfilled both parts of the definition!

Finding the Right Kayak Fishing PFD - Astral Seawolf and Ronny Fisher

I have been fishing since before I can remember, and fishing from a canoe or kayak for a majority of that time.  Growing up in the 80’s, I wore your typical coast guard approved orange floatation device.  While it served its primary purpose, it lacked one thing… comfort.  If you are not comfortable on the water, you’ll either cut your trip short, or your PFD comes off.  For your typical fisherman, the PFD will leave your body before you leave the water.  This can lead to some very bad things.

 

As I got older, I started to realize that like many teenagers and 20 somethings, I was invincible.  I was very fit and lived a warrior’s lifestyle.  I never wore a PFD because they 1) were not functional for my style of paddling, and 2) I was in great shape.  If anything were to happen to me my physical abilities would have mitigated my need for a PFD.  Boy was I wrong! 

One day I paddled out for a surf session over a reef in the South China Sea, and experienced a commonality shared by many surf kayakers…  I flipped.  When I went over I got caught in the hydraulics of a breaking wave, while my body was tossed like a ragdoll over the coral below.  I couldn’t tell you how long I was pinned, but I can say that my paddling partner was surprised to see me surface under my own power, and not unconscious.  I got lucky, and this experience stayed in the front of my mind from that point on.

On that note, let me say that PFD not only stands for Personal Floatation Device.  It also stands for Personal Fu*%ing Decision for many folks.  While I understand both trains of thought within the kayak community, I do not want to start the debate on the use of PFD’s.  I have my personal feelings and experiences that drove me to the decision of wearing my PFD when I’m on the water.  Ill talk about what I have found to be my key factors when choosing the right PFD for my style.

NRS Chinook PFD

When I started kayak fishing a lot, I started off with an older Lotus Designs PFD, then NRS Chinook, as it was one of the best reviewed fishing PFD’s at the time.  I fished that PFD for a few years and liked a few things about it. 

Pros:

1. It is a high back PFD, making it more comfortable with SOT kayak seats. 
2. It has large zippers don’t tend to get off track when fouled with sand or mud. 
3. It is fairly adjustable.

Cons:

1. I was not a fan of the material it was made from.  While it was rip-stop, I found that it did rip easier than it should.
2. It was not breathable at all.  There are no vents and I would find myself soaked with sweat to the point that I looked like I just went for a swim.
3. The pockets are soft sided, and allow the contents to get wet way to easy.
4. The Velcro on the front pockets loved to eat… eat my favorite fishing shirts.

http://www.nrs.com/product/21501/nrs-chinook-mesh-back-fishing-pfd

The Chinook lasted me a few seasons, but I felt the need to upgrade.  So my next PFD was the Stohlquist Fisherman.  I again fished this PFD for a few years, loving some of its advantages over the NRS Chinook.  Coming in at a few dollars more, I was happy to spend the money for what I felt to be a superior jacket for my style.  The first thing I came to love was the fact that it was missing Velcro (which my shirts loved)!  Next it had hard sided pockets which afforded my gear greater protection on and off the water.  There were still some cons though, that made me continue to search for that perfect jacket.

The Stohlquist Fisherman

Pros:

1. It is a high back PFD, making it more comfortable with SOT kayak seats. 
2. Hard sided pockets
3. Lack of Velcro
4. Padded shoulder straps
5. Unique gear attachment options

Cons:

1. The zipper systems are dainty, and often I found myself conducting field repairs because the teeth were stuck or didn’t grab properly.
2. Again, it was not breathable, and being soaking wet was a common theme
3. Not as comfortable or easy to wear as the Chinook was when wearing lots of layers or waders.
   

   

   
   

   http://stohlquist.com/life-jackets/fishing-pfds/fisherman.html

I would have probably stayed with my Stohlquist had it not been for a series of unfortunate events in which my jacket and I parted ways (and states) for a few months.  So, instead of traveling out of state, I decided I would upgrade and that is when I went over to Astral.  If you remember I started out with a Lotus Designs PFD.  For the life of me, I cannot remember which model it was but I appreciated its comfort and simplicity. 

In searching for that jacket that model I had on the internet, I learned of a company called Astral Buoyancy, which had in all reality replaced Lotus designs in the PFD market place.  I found a company with some bomber jackets, amazing style, and based somewhat locally (in Asheville - the mountains of North Carolina).  They had just launched the Seawolf, and there was some buzz about how amazing this jacket was in the whitewater and touring community.  I looked at it and immediately knew this was a jacket I wanted to try.

Photo Credit: Werner Paddles

Upon trying it on I found some amazingly awesome features that I never thought about in a fishing jacket before. 

Pros:

1. The PFD is based to tectonics.  The waist is your anchor point, and the rest of the jacket moves based on your movement.  When paddling hard, fighting that big fish, or even reaching back to grab your gear, the tectonic body is super convenient (and comfortable).  There is also an added benefit of a fleece hand warmer at the torso.  Not a must have as much as a nice to have feature.
2. There is no Velcro (again, my high dollar technical fishing shirts are thankful)!
3. The clam shell pocket offers plenty of hard sided storage, without getting in the way of your paddle stroke.
4. It is light weight, and more breathable than the NRS Chinook or the Stohlquist Fisherman.
5. It is easy to wear over bulky clothing.
6. The Denier material is super durable.  With a simple wash, you would be hard pressed to tell that it has been a primary PFD for 3 seasons.
7. Side buckle closures lets you don the jacket quickly, and makes for easy adjustment depending on the clothing you are wearing.
8. Super comfortable shoulder padding.

Photo Credit: Rob Choi

Cons:

1. The back has padding throughout, which is contradictory to what the market tells you for a SOT.  While not initially as comfortable as a high back PFD, I find that the movement the PFD has, coupled with a proper paddling posture and quality seat alleviates this concern for me.

http://www.astraldesigns.com/products/Seawolf.php

This is by far my favorite PFD for 95% of my trips.  For those of you that wear your PFD, and paddle hard, this jacket should not be overlooked.

The Ronny Fisher and a 49" Redfish

I was fortunate enough to be invited to join the Astral fishing team in late 2013, at which time I was sent a Ronny Fisher to test out.  Being a hard headed individual, I resist change when I find a product I love.  Initially, I didn’t want to wear the Ronny Fisher because I loved my Seawolf so much.  As I took it out of the box, I gave it the once over and though, “this is kinda cool”, then it sat in the corner overnight.  When I woke up the next morning I found it staring at me, sucking me in with its intrigue.  That morning I found myself late for work because I was going through all of its features.  It is the SUV of fishing PFD’s that can go anywhere and do anything you ask it to do. 



Photo Credit: Rob Choi



Although it is not my go to PFD for my style of paddling, it has many features that are designed especially for the kayak angler.  For starters, it has an integrated hood.  At first, I was not a big fan of this feature, but one day I got caught in a pop up rain cell.  Putting the hood on helped keep my glasses relatively spot free, and while everything I would have used to clean my glasses was unusable, I was ok.  Its this type of thinking that makes me honestly believe that the Ronny Fisher is quite possibly the best fishing PFD for most kayak anglers out there today.

Photo Credit: Rob Choi

Pros:

1. It features and integrated hood that while it won’t replace your rain jacket, it will keep your head dry.
2. 2 fold down hard sided zipper pockets that provide ample storage for tackle boxes, phones, and other amenities.  Both flaps fold down plat to provide you a solid surface to work off of if needed.
3. A can/bottle holder that zips back into the jacket.  While I do find it cumbersome to paddle with a can of Monster in the holder, I do find it extremely useful for a VHF radio or even a camera on a retractor.
4. A tool area that has elastic loops for your tools, and is secured with a Velcro strap that is out of the way.  The Velcro is located so it doesn’t eat up my fishing shirts like other PFD’s.
5. 2 elastic loops on both sides of the jacket that allow for easy gear attachment.
6. Solid zippers that seem impervious to sand and grit.
7. A thin, vented back that helps cool you, while making the jacket extremely comfortable to wear on a SOT.
8. Thick webbing on the shoulder straps that doesn’t dig in like thinner, flimsy webbing.

http://www.astraldesigns.com/products/RonnyFisher.php
 

Cons:

1. It almost has too much storage, and I can quickly find myself bogged down by all I can put in the Jacket.
2. I enjoy the side buckle closure that is found on the Seawolf more than the front zipper on the Ronny Fisher.

Photo Credit: Jack Daughtry

While I admit that I am on the Astral fishing team, and may have a little bias, that bias comes from wearing what I am comfortable putting my name and reputation on.  A company that has high standards of quality, listens to the paddler, and actually solicits input from the community when designing new products.  While brands like NRS, Stohlquist, and Kokatat make some amazing products, my search for the ultimate paddling and fishing specific PFD’s has ended with Astral.

Do yourself a favor and go to your local paddle sports shop.  Ask about the Seawolf, Ronny Fisher, or any other jacket in the Astral line.  Try them on, move around in them, and ask the sales reps for feedback they have received.  If you still have any questions, drop me or any of your local Astral fishing team members a line.  We are dedicated to helping you find the best product for your style!

Ronny Fisher - 29" Speckled Trout

Redemption

From my last post I was tallying my fish totals and points from within the previous trips and determined that I had broke even.  Lots of cool catches, and other fun little mishaps were what memories were made of.  The following is a continuance of the the last post I made.

Trip 6 - This trip was one that was not planned, and just kind of snuck up on us.  On a random Friday night,  Jay Brooks and I were having a few drinks at a local watering hole and the wind was howling from the NE with gust up to 35 mph.  We both wanted to catch some fish, but we knew it wasn't going to happen...  That is until Jack Daughtry gave me a shout.  He was in the process of making the trip down from MD, and was trying his hardest to convince us that the next morning was going to be a go.  We drank a few more beers and decided to call it a night, and see if the weather gods would let us move forward.

Fast forward a short six hours.  I wake up to a phone call from Jay telling me that the weather was going to work in our favor.  After getting situated, we launch to find Jack and Matt already on the water.  After a nice paddle out, we meet up just in time to see Jack get the solid hook up and bend of our targeted quarry... Mr. Sheep.  The bad guy in me was saying "Really, Jack?  Give us a break dude!"  The other guy on my shoulder said "Good, the fish are chomping... Today is our day!"

We move on and make the paddle to the spot that I had been hooking up to nice Spadefish all summer.  The action started out slow, and Jay moved on to triggerfish.  I left my phone in the car, and wouldn't you know, once he got out of shouting range, the bite turned on BIG TIME.  I hooked up to a number of solid fish in the 14-16" range, like this one

16" Spadefish
Photo Credit - Jack Daughtry

 We hooked up to some really solid fish, and I stated my goal for the day... a 18"+ Spade.  We knew they were there and were chewing.  I ended up with some solid bites that never became catches, and some huge losses.  One of which was an 18" Spade.  We found this out the following day, when Jack caught the same fish I lost with the same hook, swivel, leader and blue powerpro I lost the fish on.  After I lost the fish, my focus started waning and I found myself engaged in combat fishing with three of my good friends.  As I was pushing and shoving my way back to the spot, I decided I was messing around too much, and not fishing enough, so I moved on and this is what I was rewarded with...

First Citation Sheepshead of 2014
Photo Credit - Jack Daughtry

On my first piling after leaving the spade honey hole, I hooked up with this beautiful 24" Sheepshead.  On my next piling, I managed to hook up with another solid 23" Sheepie.  At this point, we called it a day, and went our seperate ways!

Angler 1 - Fish Gods 0



Trip 7
After a few trips on the SUP chasing reds, and landing some beautiful upper slot fish, I found myself at the Tidewater Catching for Kids club challenge.  I have fished this event for the last five years, and each year we (TKAA) have placed very high with a top finish and tournament record point total and winning margin in 2013.  This year, there were some rule changes that were focused on the kayak anglers.  We did what yak anglers to best... Adapt and Overcome.

My team consisted of Seth Goodrich, Lee Williams, and Jay Brooks.  Jay covered the event well on his site.  Ill leave you with the clif notes.  We got to the spot where we had patterned fish the whole summer and almost immediately got on spades.  As I was prepping bait, the unthinkable happened, a cham shell had sliced my thumb open.  it was deep enough that I could see my heartbeat through the blood that gushed out of my thumb.  None of us had brought a first aid kit, so I had a few options.  First I could put pressure on the wound and hope the bleeding would stop enough to fish.  The second option (which I should have taken) was to paddle in and go to get sutures.  The final option was to wait for a boat to pass by, see if they could assist, and fish on.  As I waved at the first boat I saw, he kept moving on.  It wasn't until I raised my hand, which was covered in blood that I gained his attention.  Luckily, he found his first aid kit so I could tape my thumb and fish on.  The rest of the day I missed lots of fish due to a loss in dexterity, but managed some small spades, and what ended up being the 3rd place trigger.  Seth, Lee, and especially Jay got work done and put up a but load of points for the team, to include Jay's 1st place Citation Sheepie!

Brooks "Cheesin' it Up"

We knew with the work we did, and what the rest of the club had done, it would be close.  Just how close we were unsure.  In the end, we ended up with 17 points for second place, and missed out by a measly 2 points.  I know that I left points on the table that would have put us higher on the board, but fishing is fishing, and knowing what TKAA and all the other clubs did for Catchin for Kids was enough to make it all worthwhile.

The CBBT team... With Joe Underwood as my photo stand in.

Posing with the Club Challenge trophy until next year with my
Werner Paddles teammates Kris, Mark, and Drew 

Kayak Kevin Podcast with Lee, Jay, and Myself covering the tournament

With the days events into account, even though I lost scoring fish and sliced my thumb open, we still had a respectable showing, a great time, and I put up a scoring fish so ill call this...

Angler 1 Fish Gods 0

So the way I see it, over the last two posts, I came out ahead and finally got my REDEMPTION!

Pulling the Trigger on some Spades

As the seasons come and go, so does our extremely diverse fisheries in the South East.  For me, the springtime allure of Specks, Reds, Flounder, and Bluefish fades to our harder fighting species as the mercury rises.   For me, the summer means one thing...  Its time for the CBBT!

As I spent early summer chasing Cobia as they entered the bay with my friends (see Richie Bekolay's Mr. Brown Clown), I couldn't help but feel like something was missing.  It wasn't until late June that I made my first trip after the glory species.  My first and second drops of the year boasted the bounty of the season to come!

The Convict Gets Captured

Sadly, after the first two drops I have been cursed with pulled hooks and poor sets in my pursuit of The Sheepshead.  The good thing is that there is plenty of time left in the season for these bay bruisers.

Another target of the CBBT is the Triggerfish.  Triggers are super aggressive, tenacious bait stealers that frustrate the most seasoned anglers.  For me, they are a tasty, willing fish that loves to grace my diner table.  I drop either a dropper loop or a carolina rig to bring these bad boys to the diner table!

Finally, the fish that completes my trips is the Spadefish.  Spades are pound for pound the toughest fighters of the three target species.  While the Sheepshead makes bulldogging runs and have fins like railroad spikes, the Spadefish is like hooking into the drum of a spinning washing machine.  While the smaller fish run in circles while shaking your rod to high heaven, the bigger spades take you on drag peeling runs, trying their damndest to take you into any structure they can find.  Oh, and I failed to mention, they too try to shake the rod out of your hands too!  In my last few trips with Rob Choi, Kayak Kevin, Seth and Kam Goodrich, and Ted Crumb, I have been extremely fortunate to find a very solid class of in (and near) shore spades!

15" Spade
Photo Credit Rob "RMFC" Choi

16" Spadefish

15.5" Spade

Thankfully, the fight of the spades can help ease the pain of my Sheepshead Struggles!  Until the next adventure!

Ted with one of his first Kayak Spade at 15.75"

Kam with a solid 13" Spade

Ted with his first Black Drum

Seth closing it out with another solid spade