Tutorial: Chasing Gators in the Cold

29 1/4" Speckled Trout caught on a Paul Brown Fat Boy

 

Let me start this out by saying that I love Kayak Fishing.  Its in my blood, whether its fishing open water for monster fish, long paddles to wrecks and reefs, or working the flats for your inshore slam species.

For the past two years, I have been chasing a 30" Speckled Trout.  This number is stuck in my head because, in my mind a 30" Speck is considered a true trophy anywhere you can find them.  I have probibly had a few fish at that 10 lb mark, but not the "dirty thirty".  In this chase, two things have become apparent though.  First, I have become what my friends call the stereotypical Speck fisherman.  Come the fall, Gators consume all of my free time.  Second, I have become pretty damn good at finding, and getting the big girls to bite when most people can't.  With that out of the way, I will first start off with the areas I target.

Locations:
In the fall and winter, when these fish become lathargic, I fish where I can find any amount of baitfish.  This generally equates to warmer water which are typically shallower flats.  Now when most people think of a flat, they think of an area with a set depth.  This is not always the case.  On these flats, even a 3-6" depression is enough for these fish to feel comfortable and ambush their prey.  I also focus on grass lines, submerged structure, and choke points.  For you hunters or military folk, think of a place that you would set up an ambush. 

The next type of area I focus on is what I consider an intermedate area... Dropoffs.  These big specks dont want to expend a lot of energy chasing down their prey, so if the current is sweeping bait off a flat or over a ledge, you can bet that youll find a speck or two waiting for an easy meal.

The final area is the depths.  These areas are sanctuarys for fish in the winter because they can find the most consistant water temperatures here.  Mainly, these fish will be suspended, and tougher to target, unless you have the right tools.

Other considerations can be made given the time of day you are chasing these fish.  For example, at night I enjoy fishing dock lights and light lines.  These are areas where something as simple as light can create artifical structure that hold prediator and prey alike.

Baits and Gear:

Tactical Angler Clip

I am not freezing my behind off, fishing everywaking hour for some spikes.  I am looking for the gators, and with that being said, I prefer gear that I dont have to worry about loosing the big one.  The following is gear that works well for me.

Leader - I fish with 20-30 lb Seguar Red or Blue Label, prefering the 25 lb Blue Label over all.  I only downsize my leader if I am having an issue getting the presentation I desire. 

Connectors - This is a must for a quick lure change.  I tried in the past the snap section from a swivel, but have had some heartbreaking losses because of tackle failure.  Also, they are a pain to work when your hands are cold, which happens to be 80% of the time.  Because of this, I have switched over to the small Tactical Angler Clips.  These dont seem to bother the fish, and facilitate quick and easy lure changes, even on jigs and ewg's.  Finally, I have yet to break one, even on fish well above the advertised breaking strength.  Without these, I dont think I would be getting the numbers of big ifsh i am fortunate enough to find.



27" Speck Caught on a TA Crossover Stalker

Photo Credit - Joe Underwood

Topwater - Keep these handy, because you never know when you will get that magical topwater bite in some of the craziest conditions.  High pitched baits like the Mirrolure He-Dog work well for active fish, while your one knocker spooks work well for more timid fish.  Personally, I love fishing the Rapala Subwalks, and the new crossover series baits from Tactical Anglers.  The bait pictured below got me my PB topwater speck at 27" just last week.

Tactical Angler Crossover Stalker

Soft Plastics - These can become extremely versitle baits that can quickly and easily be worked at either the top, mid, or bottom of the water column.  Again, go with the mantra of "Bigger is Better"  For me this means throwing a 5" Power Team Lures Swinging Hammer.  I will throw this on a 1/16 or 1/8oz EWG when I am fishing the flats, or pair it up with a 1/4 to 3/4 oz jighead or bucktail when I am fishing structure in excess of 15 feet.  The Swinging Hammer has a very large paddle tail on a fairly small body profile, with an action that can be best described as thumping.

PTL Swinging Hammer on a Weighted EWG and Jig Head.

Another plastic that has found a place in my tool box is the PTL JP Hammer Shad.  I like fishing this bait around ledges and in the depths.  It mimmics a prevelant baitfish this time of year, the Guedgon.  I pair it with either a Scrounger jighead for a very tight but agressive wobble that brings the fish in, or simply on a jig head working the depths.  This bait on the Scrounger tends to trigger very agressive strikes, whereas a regular head tends to attract fish on the fall, simply picking up the bait and hilding on to it.

Another Gator caught on a PTL Swinging Hammer

PTL JP Hammer Shad on a Scrounger and Conventional head.



A 26" Speck Caught on a PTL Swinging Hammer

Photo Credit - Rob Choi

Corkeys - These baits are my baits that I absolutely will not chase big specks without.  From top to bottom, the Devil produces a very erratic and faster fall rate when worked as a twitch bait.  This is great for those intermediate and deeper areas.  The Fat Boy is a great bait for flats and intermediate areas, with a very subtle action when worked.  The large profile screams "Easy Meal" for these larger fish.  It can be worked in deeper water as long as there is minimal current, otherwise it tends to stay near the top of the column.  Finally, you have the Soft Dine (and the Soft Dine XL).  These baits are producing well on the flats and intermediate areas as well, with the XL giving me a faster fall rate.  Both have an action that would fall between the Devil and the Fat Boy.

29" + Speck caught on a Fat Boy

Paul Brown "Corkeys" from top to bottom:
Devil
Fat Boy
Soft Dine

Hard Baits - As far as hard baits are concerned, I will fish these any time, any place.  Definately the most versitle baits for speckled trout in my aresnal.  I enjoy fishing the 17 and 18MR's, 52MR's, SSTR's, Catch 5's and Catch 2000's.  All of these give you different profiles, actions, sink rates, and depending on the series, colors.  I could go on and on about how to fish these baits, but either watching a tutorial or video would give you the best idea.  Going back to when I first started Speck fishing, I recall spending hundereds of dollars on baits, and not catching a fish on them.  Thankfully, once I learned how to use them I have a stockpile for years to come.  One thing to keep in mind is that you do not need to try to impose a crankbait or jerkbait type action.  Think twitch-twitch-pause, adjusting the cadience for your conditions.  Finally, I will lump the Egret Baits Vudu Mullet in this category because it has a much more agressive action and faster sink rate than the Corkeys.  With its articulated body, it is a great bait to cast and reel in deeper water, as well as cross current conditions.

52 MR's

Vudu Mullet and Heavy Dine.

Trolling vs. Casting

There is noting in the world like getting a gator speck to hit a twitch bait you casted to it.  The heavy thimp from the first second is adrennaling pumping.  However, there are times when the fish are scatered and you need to work larger areas to find them.  This is where the great trolling vs. casting debate comes into play.  I for one will utilize either technique on any given outting to help maximize my catching potential.  I will troll until I find fish in an area and/or a pattern, then start casting.  One thing to keep in mind is that you are still working and searching for the fish.  You have to get the right depth, color, presentation, and area to acomplish either.  Trolling also presents the challange of line management. which increases the complexity of this method.

Other Tangables

Current - current is one of the largest tangables that you will face.  The current helps give you an idea where the fish are going to stage, and it also moves bait into and out of areas.  The general rule is to work with the current, whether it be casting straight up current working down, or fan casting to 45* to find your fish.  If you are not catching fish working with the current, do not be afraid to go against common fishing conventions and work against the current.  This method is not a top producer, but going against the current has produced fish for me when going with the current has not.

Lure speed -  I have learned that the bigger fish tend to hit on slower, less agressive presentations.  With that being said, I will start off slow, and work my way towards faster presentations.  Many times, the smaller fish will hammer faster presentations out of instinct.  These reaction strikes are due largely to competition with other, larger fish.  If you're not catching the size specks you desire, slow down your presentation and hold on.

In closing, I hope that this gives you some insight into Gator Speckled Trout fishing.  Good Luck, go on out, and stick a pig!

28" Speckled Trout caught on a Fat Boy

Paying the Fish Gods

Over the past few weeks my fishing has been sporadic at best.  From my last post I had been getting into a decent class of Triggerfish, and some real solid bridge Spadefish.  Between now and then I had to switch up my summer fishing style to inshore tourney mode.  This led to some issues...

Trip one - My boy Tex and I went out to a spot to fish a real solid redfish pattern I had established this spring/early summer.  It ended up being one of those days where two extremely competent fishermen landed (1) small croaker and (1) small oystertoad between the two of us.

Angler 0 - Fish Gods 1

Trip two - Ben Hoover and I decided that with the slow bite the day before, we would try to change it up and hit the Eastern Shore of VA for some flatfish.  When we got out there we met the Kick-Kick MD crew (Jack Daughtry and Matt James) who had been catching some solid flounder to 20".  For us, it was oystertoad after oystertoad.  After hours of fishing, I managed to find (4) Flounder from 16.5" to 19.5"  A far cry from the work that had been done by others just days before.

Angler 0 - Fish Gods 0 (Draw)

19.5" Flounder

Trip 3 - A mid week excursion on the SUP yielded no fish, but plenty of views.  This trip wasn't all about fishing as much as it was about getting used to reading inshore waters.  I was able to regain focus and center my soul in preparation for the first tourney of the year, so in that aspect I was fine without catching.

Angler 0 - Fish Gods 1

Trips 4 & 5 - After being down to the fish gods 2-0, traveling 260 miles and no sleep, I finally made it down to Cape Fear for some tournament action.  This was the weirdest tournament weekend I have ever had. On the drive down I saw over 150 deer along the road (in downpouring rain), a running car in a ditch with 4' of water (nobody inside), and drank 4 Monster energy drinks, just to wait on early morning thunderstorms to pass.  While I was waiting, I made acquaintance with a crusty old Korean War era Marine (Semper Fi you old fart), and a swarm of fire ants.  I will just say this, don't think that you can drown fire ants to get them off of you, because you will lose.  I also learned that fire ants bite to ensure they have a solid hold on your skin, then they sting.

After a crazy energy drink fueled morning, I got on the water in search of my 3 target species (Specks, Reds, and Flounder).  I managed to find the specks about halfway to my target location, and left them be.  I then proceeded to soak mullet at my destination while finding a pattern on artificials.  While my mullet was on a flat swimming under a cork, I see a large wake making a b-line towards the bait.  It hits, and turns right for my yak.  I was thinking shark as it charged me, but when it hit the yak, I saw a solid 23-25" Jack.  Unfortunately, the cork got buried in the grass before I could get my line back, and the hook straight up bent.  Now my blood is pumping and I move around more looking for some solid Jacks (screw the tournament fish).  I didn't find any more jacks in the area, but saw reds around 30".  I established my pattern on some mid 20's reds, and while I was doing so, I had a storm bearing down on me.  Being 8 or so miles from the launch, I left and made a strong effort to get off the water.

This is where it gets really fun!  The tide was super low, and I didn't realize the wind was pushing the remaining water out until it was too late.  I made my way deep into a cut, and dealt with an impass.  At this point, I tried to turn around, but there was nothing to turn too.  So I had one choice, risk lightning strikes and wait for some water, or get out and drag.  I chose the latter and soon realized, I chose wrong.  The first 30 or so yards were fine with hard bottom, then the fun started.  At the beginning I was sinking to mid calf, then to my knees, and finally my nuts.  This is when I realized I had made the wrong choice.  When I was Balls Deep in fluf mud, my fears turned from lightning strikes to drowning. It gets better though, for about 500 yards i'm anywhere from balls to tits deep, dragging the yak.  Over an hour and a half later, I am covered in mud from head to toe, thinking i'm going to have a heart attack before I make it to hard bottom.  I will say this, one of my sponsors ASTRAL makes some of the greatest gear, in this case the BREWERS.  Solid water shoes that (1) didn't come off my feet when stuck in the mud, (2) kept my feet and ankles safe from submerged oysters, and (3) still remained comfortable to wear after all that.  From now on I will not flats fish without them! (No pictures, but I changed close before going to the HLP captains meeting, and everyone asked me why I was covered in mud)

To finish that day, on my way in I for the Captains meeting I see some amazing topwater action.  At first I throw a Skitterwalk and get smoked by a 15" Jack.  After another in the same class, I switch up to a chatterbait and landed 3 in a row.  Being so ubsurdly late, I decided that when I had an unproductive cast, I would leave.  I guess threes company, fours a crowd.

Tournament day, I woke up late and called my tournament partners Seth and Kam it was a no-go, id get there as soon as I could.  After making it to the launch 30 minutes late, I paddled out and met up with them.  Kam had a 14" speck in the bag, so Seth and I sent her for Flounder while we netted some bait.  I took off my PFD and glasses, and got a few dozen mullet and spot.  When it was time to go, I put my PFD on and realize the splash next to me was my Maui Jims.  After 30 minutes of looking, I was able to find them and we were on our way.

Kam Goodrich Photography with this sick sunrise shot!

As we moved to the speck spot, I tell the team to start focusing on the area.  I managed a 19" red, but no specks.  We move on and I get the unmistakable hit of a speck.  I missed the fish and made another cast.  This time "Bam Bam Bam" and weight.  I knew it was a good tournament fish, but it never made it to the boat.  In hindsight, it was at least a 3rd place fish, if not a 2nd.  Damn!  We move again, and I make it to the spot that I patterned the reds the day before.  My first red was 25.5" and I gradually upgraded to a 26.5" to end the day.

Historically this would be a real competitive fish, so after a bit more fishing we head in.  Now keep in mind the low tide fiasco I had the day before.  I check Navionics and my track from the previous day and come up with a plan out, while staying in some water.  Kam is not psyched with our path, but after showing Seth the plan, we keep going.  At this point, every 5 minutes Kam says "I think were lost".  This is not what a Type A male wants to hear so I kept going, and going, and going.  On my last turn, I see a blessing and a curse.  A landmark that I knew without a doubt, but also I knew how far from the launch it really was.  At this time, we had about five miles to the launch and two hours to the weigh in. Kam later asked me "Did you know where you were going"?  My response, "Of course", to which she said, "Obviously not, because you got us F'n lost!"  Not my proudest moment.  Sorry Kam!

Fast forward one long paddle and now I have less than 10 minutes when I walk in.  the time is called, 3:55.  Five minutes but I feel good.  The Tournament Director Chris looks at my card and his eyes said everything.  BUMMER!

On a brighter note, my boy Bob aka Toba, killed it with a 33" red and a ginormous lam to bring home to yaks!  To boot, I got to chill with my fellow Teammate Drew Camp, and All Out Kayak Fishing Contributors Mike Eady and Seth Goodrich, not to mention the other great anglers and folks from Hook, Line, and Paddle and NCKFA.  For me, I am giving myself two points for a new species, and surviving the marsh with a quality fish!

Angler 2 - Fish Gods 0

So this evens it up.  Hopefully it pays off!

It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This!

Well, it has been an amazing few days!  On Thursday, I got invited to join the Team Malibu Pro Staff.  It had been a dream of mine for years to be a part of a pro staff.  I thought my day couldn't get any better, I was wrong.  I was fishing with Mark Lozier at the HRBT for early season Rockfish.  I will say that if you are looking for a guided trip in Hampton Roads, Mark and Cory are class acts!  Anyways, I picked up a 18" Rockfish and a small Grey Trout at the end of the incoming.  It was slow!  We did see Rob Choi, and a few other members of TKAA and Pirates of Lynnhaven.  Rob is a great guy and boy he can fish.  He had a huge following on the water, teaching some newbees the ropes of Striper fishing the light line..  Mark and I let them be About 1230, we decide to hit the road.  On our paddle in, I see some fish breaking the surface.  I make the perfect cast with a 4" Marsh Works Bayou Thumper.  Bam... Fish on!  Mark and I worked the school for about 45 minutes picking off fish after fish.  We leave the school, still feeding to head back in.  We meet up with Derek and Mike from TKAA.  Whaile Derek was finishing up, I am siting back, waiting.  I see a fish chillin' behind a pylon and make a cast with a Killa Squilla and hook up!

Killa...  Squilla

We make it back at around 2am.  I make it to sleep at 3-ish, to be at work at 7:30 am.  It was a great, long day!

Friday I felt like death wormed over at work, but I was looking forward to the Poquoson Seafood Festival Tournament captain's meeting.  Other plans (i.e. replacing the starter in my car) made it for an interesting night.  I got a reprieve for the meeting, got the starter replaced and I was off!

Saturday morning I head to VB for my tournament day fishing.  I was fishing with Mark again.  I try for Reds, while Mark is hammering the Specks!  I join him and catch a few, but nothing notable.  I leave Mark to fish in the Atlantic.  I see one Red caught, but it was way to busy for me to fish effectively.  I head back to my morning spot, and start to pick up the Reds.  The Killa Squilla did them in.  My large fish was 28" (above Slot).

I caught more fish, and weighed 2.  This was a catch-kill tournament so I kept my 3 fish, largest about 24".  Total weight of the 2 fish I weighed was 7.34 lbs.  Good enough to win the Kayak Division!

Sunday, I went fishing again with Mark and his girlfriend Kris.  Probably some of my favorite people to fish with.  The morning was slow for Kris and I, but Mark caught a Slam(Red, Trout, Flounder), with the big fish being a 22" speck!  Great job Mark.  In the afternoon, I met up with Seth (BowedUp804) with the goal of putting him on some Reds.  His girlfriend is the accomplished fisherman and has been messing with him on his inability to catch a Red.  While I was waiting for the water to get right, we were working some Oyster Beds for Reds/Trout.  Seth hooked one on a Squilla, but it came unbuttoned.  While he is working, I throw my castnet and hook up with some Bunker and Mullet.  I hook him up with a "Big Poppy" and we go after some Reds.  I catch a few, but Seth isn't hooking up.  I stop fishing, and work with him for a few.  Seth starts hooking up.  He caught over 20 reds, with his PB set right at 26".  I had one or two over slot.  I got bored with the mullet, and started catching fish on the Squilla!  I even caught a juvenile Black Drum.  This makes Redfish, Speckled Trout, Grey Trout, Flounder, Black Drum and Striper all caught on the Squilla this week! 

Seth's Multi Spot!

Love those colors!

It was great fishing with you Seth.  You and your girlfriend are welcome to fish with me anytime!

Monday I had planed to chase Bull Reds down off VA's False Cape.  This was going to be a nice relaxing day.  As I go to pick up bait, I talk with "Kayak" Kevin.  We have a nice talk, and he convinces me to go fish for Togs, Sheeps and Bull Reds.  What was going to be a nice relaxing day ended up being a busy day covering over 10 miles.

The Launch

I launch, and have a nice calm paddle to my spot.  I fish some of my favorite spots, but have no luck.  Once I make it to the spot, I hook up in no time!  Fish is on and snap!  I fight through the anguish, and a dozen oyster toads to my next fish.  I hook up again, and snap!  Now I am frustrated and borderline angry.  I didn't paddle to what seems like the end of the earth for this.  I fight through and am rewarded with tiny Black Sea Bass stealing all my fiddlers.  Somethings got to give. At this point, I move to the locations I caught my summer togs and Bam... Tog on!

I continue to fish and catch a number of togs up to 17".  I kept a 16" fish for my troubles and head back.  This is where I have my "Lesson Learned" moment.  If you paddle far, or an area you know to have strong tidal flows, make sure you know the tides.  Even if it is an unplanned trip, it takes less than five minutes to keep you pain free the next day.  I did not do what I should of.  It seemed like my trip back was at least 5x tougher than the trip in.  To make matters even worse, I left the launch at 6:55pm to make it to class at 7:00pm.  Even with that being said, it was a great weekend.  Thank you to everyone that helped make this weekend great!

REDFISH!

Saturday 10-2

I met my buddy Mark at Rudee Inlet at 0700.  Shortly after, we hit the water in pursuit of reds and specks.  We were going to hit a spot outside the inlet, but the seas were so nasty that 40'+ charter boats would not leave.  Definitely not a place for us.  We hit a few other spots and had a few small trout grace our presence.  We did some exploring, talked about the Corps, and had a great time on the water.  Unfortunately after Mark left, the reds showed up in places that we were targeting.  I threw my cast net, and picked up 20-30 nice shrimp.  I knew it was on.  Fishing live shrimp under a cork is not something we get to do a lot of this far north.  It is a blast!

The bait...

Mmm... Shrimp.

The result...

Multi spot

I picked up some specks that were not picture worthy.  I fished one rod with the live squilla, and another with the Killa Squilla.  The Killa Squilla did just as well as the live shrimp.  The fish were thick!  I also caught a red that was a bit bigger on a spinnerbait.

Sunday 10-3
After sleeping through my weather window to fish for Stripers in the light line at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, I decided to go against the forecast and all logic and target trout and reds.  I was on the water at 0545 am and it was on.  I fished some lights and picked up a bunch of small specks.  Once the sun rose, the wind picked up and the rain began.  I moved into some protected waters and it was on.  I picked up a few small specks and a 16"+ striper.  I had fish attacking left and right.  The problem with the spot I was fishing was that I was getting broken off consistently by fish wrapping me up around barnacle encrusted pylons.  I lost my last Marsh Works popping cork in this matter, as well as some jigs.  It is kinda funny and frustrating to watch your cork taunt you, swimming all around.  I did end up getting it back at the end of the day.

I rigged up some killa squillas, and it was game on.  I picked up a 23" Striped Bass...

Then...

25" Redfish

Then, my personal best Redfish.  I hit the 30" mark once before in Lynnhaven.  This fish was at least 30".  If conditions were better, I could have got a better measurement.  It could have been 31" or 32"  Using a Redfish Calculator, I estimate it at approx. 11 lbs, if not a bit more.  This fish was one of the best fish I have ever fought.  It tried to wrap me around pylons, flip the yak and give me a heart attack.  When I got out in the open, it took a bunch of hard, deep runs.  I am normally a quiet person on the water but since nobody else was on the water I let out one of the loudest hoot's ever.  It was so loud that aquarium staff were looking out the windows.  Either that or they enjoyed the fight.   Today, and this fish will remain in my memories for quite some time.

Release...

                                    

In all it was a great, horrible, rainy, windy morning, but always a good time.  I look forward to my next meeting with Mr. Red.

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!

Fall is here

Well, studying and work commitments really kept me out of the water this weekend.  I was able to make it out to Lynnhaven for a few hours this afternoon.  I hooked up on a few Speckled Trout and a Croaker.  The Trout all hit spoons, while the Croaker hit a jig and spinner.  Not much to report on other than that.  It was a wet and windy day.  Good practice and learned a lot today, that I can hopefully apply for the TKAA Tournament on the 25th.

Small Speck

Croaka!