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!

Looking Back and Ahead

Its the time of year I like to reflect on what has occurred, the goals I have met, and my goals for the future.  In retrospect, 2012 was a stellar year with many of my goals being accomplished.  This has made me excited for what 2013 has in store.

In 2012, some of my proud accomplishments include:

• Catching my first Citation Redfish
• Placing in the TKAA tournament
• Placing in two other tournaments
• Having input on the design and release of a kayak (The Hurricane Skimmer)
• Traveling and learning new fishing spots
• Fishing at least once a month with nothing but a fly rod
• Catching personal best Cobia, Spadefish, Largemouth Bass, and Redfish from a kayak.
• Catching a personal best Rainbow trout from a kayak
• Catching the largest number of different species in a 12 month period
• Besting my Kayak Wars placing
• Our team making the top 10 in total length for the North East in 2012

In 2013 my goals include:

• Fishing both Atlantic IFA division events
• Having two top finishes in Kayak Tournaments
• Catching a Citation Largemouth Bass, Crappie, and Perch
• Finishing in the top 3 (division or slam) at the 2013 TKAA tournament
• Finishing in the top 10 for individual kayak wars points in the North East
• Helping our Kayak Wars team finish in the top 5 of any category
• Catching more species in a 12 month period in 2013
• Catching a VA slot redfish, speck, and flounder slam on the fly
• Participate in one pure kayak event/race
• And finally, post at least twenty four posts to the blog in 2013

I realize that I have some fairly lofty goals, but without something to strive for, I dont feel like I can improve as a kayak angler.

2013 is looking to shape up to be my best year yet, and I look forward to sharing my experiences with everyone who looks at my blog.

Good luck, and bring on the warmer weather!

TKAA 6th Annual Tournament supporting HOW/PHW

Best view in the house!

Well, it has been a busy week.  Took Wednesday through Friday off work.  Unfortunately, Wednesday was spent taking two exams, doing homework and chores around the house.  It was on for Thursday-Saturday.  I fished Lynnhaven inlet.  I spent my time Thursday looking for the reds, which I was unable to find.  I managed some small Specks and a 15" Flounder.

Baby Speck!

Friday was a better day.  I caught a small speck right off the bat.  I spent quite a bit of time looking for reds, and I finally found them.  I had a knot fail and lost a fish.  Saw the dreaded pigtail on the end of my line.  After working the area, I had my cork go down and this time I had a 20" red.  I had another fish about the same size hit a Redfish Magic spinnerbait with a Salt Water Assassin plastic.  Not what I wanted, but I was awaiting a shipment from Marsh Works.  Thankfully it came just in time for the tournament.  I can say that the quality, action and price cant be beat.  Sorry Strike King, but as the great Kenny Powers would say, "Your F@#%ing out!".  I finished up the morning wit this small flounder.  It was my first slam of the year!  I did have the satisfaction of helping set up for the tournament, that is why my day ended so early.  I sold tickets at the Capitan's meeting and met quite a few members doing that.  Good times!

Baby Flounda!

The 2010 tournament started at 3 am.  I made it to Lynnhaven at 3:45 and got set up.  Last year, I made it there at the same time and the parking lot was almost full.  This year was not the case.  Fishin time was 6:05 am and the first car showed up after 5:00 am.  I went out for specks, but in retrospect, I should have fished the light line of the Lesner Bridge for trout and stripers.  I scratched a few 16" Flounder (I thought one was bigger but i measured it wrong), and a bunch of small trout.  Marsh Works were the go to baits for the day.  I could not find a red to save my life.  I dont think that a red was caught there all day.

The dinner at the weigh in was great.  I was lucky enough to win quite a few items in the raffle.  My thanks goes out to the following sponsors:

Surf Rider Restaurant - $50 Gift Certificate

TiCa Kayak Rod

Penn Captiva Spinning Reel

Diawa Procyron Rod - Oceans East II

Diawa Cobalt Spinning Reel - Oceans East II

MTI Solaris F Spec PFD

MTI Calcutta PFD

Numerous Items in the Captain's bag.

I want to thank all of our sponsors, notably those I listed above.  Thanks goes out to Mark Lozier - TKAA President, Wayne Bradbry - Tournament Director, the club officers ant those that volunteered to make this event a success.  Cory Routh and Ruthless Fishing for all their work to get the vets out on the water.  PURE SWEETNESS!  Congrats to all of the winners.  I hope to join your ranks next year!

Catchin' for Kids, and Catching Up

8-29-10

This post seems to have a common theme (searching for redemption after a tough Saturday).  I hit some local water with the president of TKAA Mark Lozier and his girlfriend Kris.  It was a beautiful morning on the water and the company was second to none (thanks guys)!  On the way to our morning destination, Mark hooked up with a nice red (approx 26-27'').  Working the water and the incoming tide, Kris hooked up with a mid 20" red.  I am feeling the pressure now.  Next thing I know Kris has a nice red on again.  This one was 27 1/2".  All fish were over the VA slot size of 26".  It is nice to have these quality fish in the area!

On another note, Mark is a pro staffer for a number of different companies as well as a local guide.  Mark gave me some plastics and corks form a company called Marsh Works.  Their products are sweet.  The plastics have a nice shape (Bayou Thumper, and the Killa Squilla) and are durable.  One of my favorite presentations for reds are throwing spinnerbaits with paddle tails.  The problem I have with other baits is the plastics ride down to the bend of the hook.  The Marsh Works plastics did not have that problem.  Running over oyster bars, crab's clawing the baits, and the infamous croaker biting the tails off your plastics are not a problem.  I fished with one plastic all day.  The action is second to none.  I recommend taking a look at their site and support a American company (products made in the USA).

8-28-10

I headed out to Lynnhaven via Crab Creek looking for some reds.  The water in the system is getting better, but is still a bit murky.  I got to my "usual" spot looking to hook up.  I had a few short hits, but nothing i could do anything with.  It was a tough day of fishing, but was nice to get out none the less.  I left the water with the black and white striped kitty on my back.

8-21-10

After feeling down in the dumps about not scoring any points for the club the previous day, I hit the Old Dominion University (ODU) Reef.  The reef is man made, about a mile off shore in the Chesapeake Bay.  The weather was threatening all morning.  After realizing that I was in the clear, I paddled out.  I saw one Cobia, but was unable to make a cast.  The water was like glass, and the tide just started to ebb.  I was fishing a "Big-eyed Bucktail" flounder rig with a 5" finger mullet.  On my first pass over the reef, I nailed a 23" flounder.  It was a nice fish and a nice fight.  I was on my way to let a new TKAA member paddle my X-Factor, when I hooked up with a ribbon fish.  It was definitely a first for me.

8-20-10

I had the pleasure to fish in the 2010 Catchin for Kids Angler Club Challenge.  I was fishing with Cory Routh, and two other members from TKAA.  Fishing was slow for us, catching small sea bass, spot and blues.  Cory caught a nice little 15" flounder to make us feel a bit better.  It was a tough day, but in the end, TKAA took 5th place in the tournament (not bad for being the only club without powerboats).