seamonkey
08-18-2008, 02:07 PM
Kite fishing: Results can be a breeze, even without the wind
By Lee Tolliver (http://hamptonroads.com/2007/10/lee-tolliver)
The Virginian-Pilot
© August 17, 2008
Tell Wayne Seymour to go fly a kite.
Then watch his eyes light up. And when he sprints to his truck, don't expect to find him later at Mount Trashmore looking skyward with a ball of string in hand.
Seymour won't be doing anything of the sort. He'll be out on the water, setting up an elaborate system that only a few Virginia anglers employ.
And Seymour will be doing it successfully.
Using kites to deploy live baits isn't anything new. It's just not a technique many in the mid-Atlantic use.
The method uses a kite that is sent up into the air, with a clip on the line similar to one on a boat's outriggers. Line from a fishing rod is attached to the clip, and the kite draws the baited line out away from the boat - all the while keeping the live bait splattering on or extremely near the surface.
When a fish hits the bait, the line pops off the clip, and the fight is on.
It's a technique used often farther south for white marlin, tuna and any other species prone to attacking bait on the surface. It's a favorite with serious king mackerel anglers.
"A lot of people can't stand to kite fish," said Seymour, 57. "It's a lot of work, and things need to be just right.
"But it does work."
That was evident last week when Seymour was fishing with Ray Heim and Bill Pallette. They were targeting kings, an aggressive, yet elusive species that has been putting on a pretty decent early-season showing along the Virginia coast.
With baits out on kites, floats and submerged, the crew was ready for just about anything - and got it.
When the first knockdown came, Seymour grabbed a rod that had been rigged to a kite-flown bait. The three never saw the fish hit, but it didn't take long to figure out what it was.
Big kings are lovingly referred to as "smokers" because of their lightning speed and ability to make long runs.
"My reel had 400 yards of Power Pro line and 50 yards of backing," Seymour said. "It seemed like in an instant I could see the backing.
"It never jumped, so we weren't sure. But a tarpon would have jumped, and a cobia would have only made a few hard, shorter runs. I figured it was a big king."
Seymour finally was able to turn the fish and get about half his line back on the reel. But that didn't last.
"He took about half of that off on another constant run," said Seymour, a Virginia Beach resident who works at a boating and fishing supply store. "The anticipation during the fight was killing me. I thought it was a big king, but I couldn't be sure until we saw it."
Once near the boat, the fish decided to circle the vessel and got tangled up in lines that were left out in case another fish bit. But Seymour's crew avoided a mess and got the fish to the side of the boat.
It was a king. A big one.
"When it rolled on its side and I saw how wide it was, I started shaking," said Seymour, who said that in 25 years of fishing for king mackerel his biggest prior fish weighed 30 pounds. "I knew it was my biggest king ever."
The fish weighed 61 pounds, the third-largest king ever caught in Virginia. The biggest is a 63-pound, 1-ouncer caught last year by Susan Smith of Virginia Beach. The second biggest was a 62-3 caught earlier this year off the Little Island Pier by James McDonald of Virginia Beach.
The fact that his fish was so close to a state record doesn't bother Seymour.
"It's fine," he said. "A long time ago, I was on the boat when Bryan Trax caught a 49-pounder. I've been fishing hard every year to get one like that.
"If you are going to king fish, you have to be very patient. I've been out a dozen times this year and only caught two. But one was my dream fish. I finally got it."
And nobody had to tell him to go fly a kite.
By Lee Tolliver (http://hamptonroads.com/2007/10/lee-tolliver)
The Virginian-Pilot
© August 17, 2008
Tell Wayne Seymour to go fly a kite.
Then watch his eyes light up. And when he sprints to his truck, don't expect to find him later at Mount Trashmore looking skyward with a ball of string in hand.
Seymour won't be doing anything of the sort. He'll be out on the water, setting up an elaborate system that only a few Virginia anglers employ.
And Seymour will be doing it successfully.
Using kites to deploy live baits isn't anything new. It's just not a technique many in the mid-Atlantic use.
The method uses a kite that is sent up into the air, with a clip on the line similar to one on a boat's outriggers. Line from a fishing rod is attached to the clip, and the kite draws the baited line out away from the boat - all the while keeping the live bait splattering on or extremely near the surface.
When a fish hits the bait, the line pops off the clip, and the fight is on.
It's a technique used often farther south for white marlin, tuna and any other species prone to attacking bait on the surface. It's a favorite with serious king mackerel anglers.
"A lot of people can't stand to kite fish," said Seymour, 57. "It's a lot of work, and things need to be just right.
"But it does work."
That was evident last week when Seymour was fishing with Ray Heim and Bill Pallette. They were targeting kings, an aggressive, yet elusive species that has been putting on a pretty decent early-season showing along the Virginia coast.
With baits out on kites, floats and submerged, the crew was ready for just about anything - and got it.
When the first knockdown came, Seymour grabbed a rod that had been rigged to a kite-flown bait. The three never saw the fish hit, but it didn't take long to figure out what it was.
Big kings are lovingly referred to as "smokers" because of their lightning speed and ability to make long runs.
"My reel had 400 yards of Power Pro line and 50 yards of backing," Seymour said. "It seemed like in an instant I could see the backing.
"It never jumped, so we weren't sure. But a tarpon would have jumped, and a cobia would have only made a few hard, shorter runs. I figured it was a big king."
Seymour finally was able to turn the fish and get about half his line back on the reel. But that didn't last.
"He took about half of that off on another constant run," said Seymour, a Virginia Beach resident who works at a boating and fishing supply store. "The anticipation during the fight was killing me. I thought it was a big king, but I couldn't be sure until we saw it."
Once near the boat, the fish decided to circle the vessel and got tangled up in lines that were left out in case another fish bit. But Seymour's crew avoided a mess and got the fish to the side of the boat.
It was a king. A big one.
"When it rolled on its side and I saw how wide it was, I started shaking," said Seymour, who said that in 25 years of fishing for king mackerel his biggest prior fish weighed 30 pounds. "I knew it was my biggest king ever."
The fish weighed 61 pounds, the third-largest king ever caught in Virginia. The biggest is a 63-pound, 1-ouncer caught last year by Susan Smith of Virginia Beach. The second biggest was a 62-3 caught earlier this year off the Little Island Pier by James McDonald of Virginia Beach.
The fact that his fish was so close to a state record doesn't bother Seymour.
"It's fine," he said. "A long time ago, I was on the boat when Bryan Trax caught a 49-pounder. I've been fishing hard every year to get one like that.
"If you are going to king fish, you have to be very patient. I've been out a dozen times this year and only caught two. But one was my dream fish. I finally got it."
And nobody had to tell him to go fly a kite.