Kayak trips & fishing reports 2010

[DarkSkies]

For any other kayakers out there, feel free to jump in here and post your detailed reports and stories.

If it's just a quick fishin report from the yak, you can post in the regular regional fishing reports forum. Or post it here.


Post wherever ya want, all welcome here. :HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

I'll try to post some of my trips this season too. I feel kinda lame because I haven't even been out on the yak yet. Too many things in the way so far. :embarassed:

[LennyD]

I will. as soon as i have time to get out, next week! :d

[LennyD]

I got out this afternoon with my buddy. In 2 minutes i hooked up a nice 32" bass on a Rapala, 20min later bang, hooked up again.
In a little over an hour managed 3 bass, 2 of them was keeper up to 32".
Almost non-stop fish was swirling all around us.
It was a great season opener trip!!!

[rip316]

Looks like fun. Might want to try it someday.

[DarkSkies]

Nice work, Len, were you trolling the Rapalas or just casting? WTG. :thumbsup:

[LennyD]

Hey Rich, i was trolling.

[crosseyedbass]

Nice fish Lenny!:clapping:

[DarkSkies]

Kayak fish 5-2-10
Here's a shot I got of a guy in a yellow yak where we were. He had a decent tail-walking large bluefish but I didn't get that shot in time. Here he is with a smaller fish, nice fight he had. :fishing:

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[jigfreak]

Nice bass LennyD.

[hookedonbass]

Launched today in nomoco. I had the first cast curse. Caught 1 bass on a bunker head, then :skunk:.

[DarkSkies]

Ran into BillDude last week. I haven't seen him in awhile, and I bumped into him just as he was coming back from a successful moco trip.

He had been out for 12 hours, and had just timed the day right that he had a lot of action and only a reasonable amount of boat traffic.

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It was good running into ya again, Bill, nice fish! :clapping: :thumbsup:

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We didn't weigh it, but it looked to be 20+ lbs.

[voyager35]

Ran into BillDude last week. I haven't seen him in awhile, and I bumped into him just as he was coming back from a successful moco trip.

He had been out for 12 hours, and had just timed the day right that he had a lot of action and only a reasonable amount of boat traffic.

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It was good running into ya again, Bill, nice fish! :clapping: :thumbsup:

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We didn't weigh it, but it looked to be 20+ lbs.


Very nice fish from a kayak. We saw some kayakers when we were out yesterday, one of them got into a good fish that towed him. Nice catch.

[hookedonbass]

Launched from nomoco early this morning. Three blues and a bass.

[hookedonbass]

Went out at the Highlands early this morning. At first I wasn't going to go. I had a lot of setting up to do since the last time I decided I need to change my set-up around.

Got up early made my changes and headed on out. Came across a buddy of mine so we decided to hook up.

After about an hour we came into some bass on bunker. I got a 32" inch and he ended up with a 34". Way to go Man.:thumbsup:

[hookedonbass]

Hey Lenny have you been out lately? I fished out of somoco after work yesterday. Had a great time catching some nice fluke.

[strikezone31]

Headed out again with my buddy. Getting closer to buying one of my own. We fished near JI and I was lucky enough to get me a small bass on a shad. What a trip. It's like having freedom to roam the bay or ocean without the hassel of a boat.

[hookedonbass]

Haven't been out lately so finally decided to go yesterday afternoon. I heard they have been catching some nice size stripers while out in their yaks.

I launched from AH and spent a few hours moving around. Got a few taps but could not land any. Maybe there are shad around? I was fishing bucktails and sub surface swimmers, got 2 short fluke as well.

[hookedonbass]

Didn't have to go in to work until 12 today so I went out in AH. Had great time. Met up with a buddy of mine I have not seen in a while. Sometimes it's not just about the fishing, but who we meet along the way.

Didn't catch much but my old friend, and some short fluke.

[DarkSkies]

Met up with a buddy of mine I have not seen in a while. Sometimes it's not just about the fishing, but who we meet along the way.

Didn't catch much but my old friend, and some short fluke.


That's a great outlook, hookedonbass. :thumbsup:
Thanks for keeping the faith, guys. :HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

I feel so lame not getting out till now. I wanted to take some other people yak fishin this year. Spent some time figuring out how I was gonna set up 2 yaks for transport without breaking the bank or spending $300 for the Thule setups. Although beautiful, that isn't in the budget right now.

So, my procrastination in that kept me from just grabbing everything, tying it down, and getting out there. Last year I was in JBay in April, so this year I felt I was 4 months late. It kinda made me mad at myself, and yesterday I decided to finally change that outlook. :lookhappy:

Took the yak to a relatively new (to me) piece of water last night with a lot of structure. I had been getting reports of double digit bass catches and wanted to make it out for a while.

Short version:
I didn't make the double digits, but I did manage 4 bass to 27" and 2 sea robins using sandworms. Had a great time, first yak trip of the year, good to finally see some stripes in the hot summer.





Long version:
I missed the high tide, got there at the end of the ebb. A friend had given me a lot of intel on the area, and I'm grateful for that. :clapping:

Even so, the spot he suggested for put-in was crowded, so I searched around. Found one other place on my own, and 2 more after talking to locals for current fishing intel. They're getting bass up to 34" every day on bunker.

I had sandworms, wanted to set up a T&W for trolling. I put in at one of the places the locals suggested, pretty secluded, close to the water. The only downfall was I had to climb down to the water a bit with the yak, got to practice balancing for a few secs. Other than that, it was very close to where I wanted to be, and will be available until construction is done at the place. Good deal. :)

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Since I missed the top of the tide, the most productive part for that area, I decided to paddle to a lighthouse 1 1/2 miles out. My plan was to find a way to secure the yak in the calm water, and fish for the dinner plate porgies.

By the time I got out there, the tide started coming in again, and the current was an issue. The mild W winds turned into steady 15, gusts to 20. The waves were pounding the rocks. Even though I found a little mini-harbor for the yak, it was still getting pounded. I grabbed some crabs from the rocks, and made a safety decision to not risk putting any deep gouges in the yak and go back to shore.

Needless to say, I was real disappointed. That place was holding fish, and I had to bail. :beatin:
The wind was still steady as I neared the shoreline it didn't let up till much later. I targeted a place where there was a lee from the wind.

I decided to try for porgies at some structure close to shore. After 15 minutes of no action I was feeling down, and like I had forgotten how to fish. ;)

Moved a bit more, and a few minutes later I had a short bass on the porgy rig in about 15' of water. :plastered:


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I was pumped. Even though only a short, I hadn't seen stripes for so long I was beginning to forget what they looked like. :rolleyes:

I continued fishing the porgy rig, 2 hooks, with sandworms. There was a long 2 1/2 hour lull in activity, dead water, where I could do nothing. I tried artificials, shads, bucktails, etc, not a tap. Finally as the tide filled in, I started catching again. Landed 3 more bass to 27", 2 sea robins, and some dropped fish.

During the lull in activity I moved around a lot and paddled several miles. Found some incredible rocks, pilings, and ships moored. Positioned myself to drift past them because that's where the fish live. :d

The problem was the wind, which in that area was blowing steady. The drift was too fast, and I could have used a drift sock.

I did have one bass on on a tsunami shad, but only shortly, dropped it. I think he mouthed it as I was drifting rapidly by. When there is less wind, I know that structure will be killer. :dribble:

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As I said, I went back to the area that provided the lee, and caught the rest of the fish. The bite was sporadic and the fish were not stacked up. They were also a little skinny. My opinion is the rocks hold them there, but they need more forage fish. Anyway, just to be in a place that has produced double digits of bass for some was a treat. Only 37 miles, not a bad trip to make.

On a side note, there were lot of people partying close to shore. A few asked me if I weren't afraid of the sharks. The conversations were amusing ;) just people having a good time on a Thur night.

It also seemed many don't yak fish that area at night. I saw very few boats out fishin at the rocky area, and not one other yakker.

I'll be back again on the right tide, and do more trolling.

[rip316]

Nice job Dark. Happy for you man.

[Monty]

Dark, great report, sounds like a real good time :thumbsup:

[speedy]

dark going to get the thule bar to day for ya you will be able to
take two yaks your next trip that way if some one wants to go
i will call ya sat. some time when i get up and around bro
:HappyWave::HappyWave::HappyWave::HappyWave::Happy Wave::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thum bsup::plastered::plastered::plastered::plastered:
p.s. glad you had a good night with dinner .. talk to ya sat . some time bro:thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

I don't know what path brought you into our lives Speedy, but you're like family. Thanks for always lookin out. Count on me for life, bro. Thanks. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

Take care of that back.

[hookset]

Enjoyed the report and play by play, dark, felt like I was there. Nice to hear about someone getting kayak bass with the water so hot.:thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

G and I went fishin, he from shore, me from the yak. The area where he was had some good structure and current. I fished some different areas from the first trip I made, because wind and tide were different. It wasn't bad, but with wind against tide I had to figure out the best way to present to the fish. I tried trolling for a 1/2hour before dark, didn't work out.

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I resigned myself to pedaling and learning the new structure I hadn't fished before. I pedaled out to a huge rockpile. Here's where the electronics setup would have been useful. I anchored on the rocks not knowing how deep it was around them. A channel was nearby, so I assumed it would be relatively deep there.

Bad assumption. :beatin:

As I was fishin in the dark, I gradually discovered the area around it was like a lump in the deep. That would have been ok, but there was a very shallow/ flatter area of mussel beds that extended out for about 30'. I didn't want to anchor in deep water near a channel as my anchor isn't designed for that, and I kind of view that as risky behavior for a night kayakker. So I stayed close to the structure, caught 3 short porgies using sandworms. I think I would have gotten bigger porgies near this spot if I could have fished deeper water.

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Before sunset, I had also tried another place where the water flowed through, tying up to a rope on the structure, but the water was dead at the time I fished it.

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Eventually I realized I could probably do better than that and pedaled to a place where there was kind of a point sticking out.

I set up there, originally intending to fish and jig for bass. I started catching porgies consistently. As long as I had a fresh piece of worm, I was getting hit.

It died to no action at all soon after as the tide was dropping. I continued to catch porgies by casting out with a very light sinker and a slow retrieve, instead of the previous top to bottom jigging.

I got a text from G saying he got a short bass. I thought to myself, "I'm only 1 1/2 miles away from where he is, I should be able to get a small bass or 2 with the sandworms." :don't know why:

But I struck out with the bass, my intended target. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon11.gif

G had the hot hand with the bass, managing one short, and a dropped bigger fish later on. :thumbsup:

I managed 14 porgies, most shorts, and 1 large oystercracker. Haven't seen one of those in a while. :fishing:

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For the PETA people/ fish handling police, the oystercracker is dead here, as I kept and ate it. :lookhappy:
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It ended up being a calm night as the wind dropped out, but it was just enough to keep the bugs away.

I was a little late getting back to where G was. :HappyWave:I have trouble leaving as the fish are biting, and I couldn't stop till the bite finally died down. :(


What we learned about that spot:

1. The best bite really seems centered around the top of the tide, both before and after. Higher water and current makes it happen.

2. There are a lot of baitfish gathering, spearing and possibly small peanuts or butterfish, as they were jumping out of the shallows getting chased by snapper blues.

3. The daytime bite might be better. In any event, it seems the traffic there at night is low, good for kayak safety, so I might try to learn more about the night tides and the drains. The bass are around, mostly schoolies, with an occasional bigger one mixed in. A plus is the cooler water, maybe strategically beneficial later on in the season.

[rip316]

Glad to see that you are getting out Dark, congrats on the catchin.

[hookedonbass]

How is the new yak going for you dark? It seems as if you learned quickly. You had a successful night what more could one ask for. Great pics, love that oyster.:clapping:

[DarkSkies]

Hookedonbass, the pedal yak is one of the best investments I ever made. I did my time with a paddle, and will still use it when I take the cheap tandem out for Pebbles and I to fish together.

However, there is nothing in the industry today like the efficiency one gains in a pedal yak. I have been moving against current and wind with ease, and the strong tide no longer intimidates my choice of fishing location. It's an amazing feeling. :lookhappy:

I got a sweet deal on my kayak. A lot of the issues buying a Hobie are financial. You can get deals if you're patient and diligent in searching. The Hobies retain a lot of their value, so it's harder to find them during the peak season.

Moving past all that, the freedom to go where you want, not be constrained by current, and the ability to move quickly if a big boat comes your way and you need that speed, :scared: IMO nothing comes close to a Hobie.

As I said, I'll still use the budget yak for doubles, and when anyone wants to come along. I'm completely sold on the pedal system and it's efficiency.

Freedom and peace of mind, that's the best way I can sum it up. :thumbsup: :fishing:

[DarkSkies]

Pebbles and I fished the 1st half of the incoming in the tandem kayak yesterday. We were targeting porgies, bass and bluefish. Great day, but despite a smorgasbord of bait I brought along we got skunked. Even the area that produced for me so well a few nights before was totally dead. Go figure. :huh:

I really wanted to put her into fish. We started at the bottom of the flood, fished about halfway into incoming. I knew the lower water might be an issue, to we took our time getting OTW. We hung out on land and ate a great picnic lunch made by Pebbles. Awesome, I'm a lucky guy to have such a great girl. :heart:

We watched a few others out there where we ate, not doing much, even with the fluke. There was also a building S wind, 10mph steady, gusts to 15 or so. We needed to find a lee from the wind to fish at.

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We launched, and soon after I realized the steady wind and incoming tide was pushing up some swells to 2 ft. For that reason I didn't want to take her out to deeper water and risk dumping. We stayed relatively close to shore and some structure. At one point I found a nice channel but the swells were too intense, so we anchored on the lee side of some rocks. Not much there except a missed fish for each of us. :(

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We did have a cool surpise as I maneuvered the yak into a safe area near the rocks, and some small bluefish became momentarily trapped by the yak chasing tiny (1/2" baitfish).


The place I like to get my sandworms was all out. I planned ahead and brought some fresh dug garden worms, salted peanut bunker, clams, and we also got some fresh clams.

I filled a chum bag with 5lbs of crushed mussels we found, dead crabs I crushed up, and clam pieces. I tried to think of everything to get her into fish. I know guys do well on porgies with clams, but to me the key ingredient that seemed missing was those sandworms, they can be magic at times. I've see guys pull bass out of the surf on sandworms when nothing else gets touched, they're a great bait.

We couldn't therefore troll the T&W, so I substituted a rigged eel and large rattletrap, no dice. We also fished clams, peanut bunker, and the garden worms, even though they wash out quick, you need to change up every cast.

On the way back, we made a few stops at spots I know held porgies at all stages of the tide a few nights ago. Not even a tap.

This kind of dismayed me. I don't care if I catch, but if I bring someone out I kill myself to put them into fish. It didn't work this time.




What may have happened:
1. S wind made the water colder, maybe low to mid 70's. That really shouldn't affect a porgy bite, IMO.

2. Porgies moved into deeper water. I stayed away from the channels and deeper water because of the swell. I read some Sunday reports trying to figure it out. It seems not many people slammed the porgies in our area yesterday, most of them were caught in other areas or deeper water. There was another tackle shop report that said porgies turn on and off according to whim. Well, yesterday was definitely an "off" day.

3. I hardly ever fish clams, not really a clam lover. ;)
King Neptune may have been offended by my lack of reverence for the clam :wow: :laugh: and decided to punish me.

Dear King Neptune, I don't care if ya punish me, but for Pete's sake please don't punish Pebbles next time. :) She had her Finchaser rod all ready to do battle, and handled co-paddling of the choppy waters well. Please reward her with a fish or 2 next time, and I'll try real hard to show clams the respect they deserve. :rolleyes: :moon:

In all, it was a good day on the water, another safe kayak expedition, with no fish. :embarassed:

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[Pebbles]

We had a great time even though no fish were caught. He brought me out into the middle, and then we paddled back to take cover from the wind. The swells were 2' but not was not my issue. I had trouble with some of the boaters who saw we were right there and they did not even bother to slow down.

We came across two men and two boys asking us if we knew where a certain island was. Somehow they got off-course. I hope they made it back ok.

This got me thinking, don't boaters know how to use a compass?

[jigfreak]

^Pebbles were you in a no-wake zone? If so they should be slowing down. If not, they can go as fast as they want. I know it sux but that's the way it is.
Liked the report, especially the King Neptune prayer. Keep em coming.

[DarkSkies]

I took Pebbles out on the tandem kayak for a pre-storm fishing and scouting trip. We stayed close to the harbor trying to beat the weather, but it was getting ugly. We found porgies pretty quickly. Only had 5 minutes before a fierce squall came ashore, and we had to high-tail it back to the launch. At least she caught a porgy with sandworms on her Finchaser rod.

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It seems every time I take the poor girl out we run into rough water. She's a trooper, don't know any other women that would trust me with their lives like that. :kiss:

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So far we've erred on the side of caution. Today we found some rocks that were a lee from the wind only a 1/2 mile paddle from the launch, so we drifted past them and she nailed the porgy. I really would have liked to stick around, because the fish were there. Last time we paddled all over for only a few missed hits.


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This time we had fresh sandworms, the water was a little colder, and I was pumped for some good fishin. Better safe than sorry, we'll gettum next time. :thumbsup:

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Speaking of porgies, Rip-plugger has been spinning tales of guys catching 24" porgies in the Mid-Sound. Great fishin, but kinda hard to paddle out 2 1/2 miles out to the grounds in a kayak unless it's like a lake with light wind. No shame in catchin summer porgies, though, especially when they're getting them up to 24". :drool:

[Pebbles]

Yes I went out in the bad weather again. By the time we got there the dark clouds were rolling in. I ended up with one fish, and a lot of learning about who I am and the courage I can achieve.

[DarkSkies]

After the morning NE swell, I packed it up and went to some water where I thought there would be a lee from the wind. It was a little sheltered, but not much. Wind was steady 20-25mph all day, with few breaks in between. At least the swells were slighlly smaller than the ones I ran into in the morning.

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I fished most of the ebb. The area I picked was different than one I usually fish, and I spent some time learning the structure. I started with the T&W. Nothing doing, so I switched to a porgy rig with sandworms. Managed a few porgies.

Later on, I found out a kayak guy I know was there a few hours before me and got into double digit T&W bass catches. :o The best I could do was one fish that became unbuttoned on the T&W, after trolling for a while.

I hate the learning curve when you're first learning something and you're not good at it yet. Yesterday felt like an epic fail for me. What that does for me is to inspire resolve to discover my mistakes, learn from them, and do better next time.

Or....maybe I'll never be able to escape my googanism. :plastered: ;)

[DarkSkies]

Yes I went out in the bad weather again. By the time we got there the dark clouds were rolling in. I ended up with one fish, and a lot of learning about who I am and the courage I can achieve.

No one has more courage than you do, sweetheart. Who else would have the courage to put up with me all these years?
Ya done good out there, I'm proud of ya! :heart: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[plugcrazy]

I can't believe you were out in that weather yesterday, the rain was coming down in buckets in our town.

[wish4fish]

dark u r twistded i saw the water in the bay it was nasty. :kooky:

[DarkSkies]

^^ It was much better late yesterday, guys.
I fished T&W for a few hours in the morning, managed 11 bass to 26". I'll post the rest of the report when I get a chance.

[DarkSkies]

Some pics

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A bass on the tube Finchaser made for me. The cool thing about this tube was that he put the weight inside the top of the tube to make it more streamlined. He also put circle hooks on them. Every bass I got on this tube hooked itself in the corner of it's mouth. This made for a quick and easy C&R. :thumbsup:

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One of the red translucent tubes I already had. This is a 23" tube. I had a 1 oz weight on this, and a 3/4 oz on the black tube, about 15".
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[DarkSkies]

Another bass on the Finchaser black tube.
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11992


Still more...
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11994

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When I first started I wondered if the red or black would produce more. It seemed pretty equal for that day. :fishing:

[DarkSkies]

Double header -


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Frank had been commonly catching double headers. I saw him get at least 1 that day.

(This technically wasn't a double header, but close.) I hooked one bass, and as I was drifting and fighting it a bass hit the other tube as it lay in the water.

These tubes (with sandworm) are like crack to bass, they're amazing fish catchers. :dribble:

The most exciting thing to me about the tubes is I'm an action junkie, and this type of fishing fills that requirement in my brain. :viking:Even though most were small fish, they still hit hard, like a ton of bricks. I lost one on the red tube that may have been larger because my mind was somewhere else when it hit. :bucktooth:


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A big debt of gratitude to Frank, the maniac kayaker who can outfish mostly anyone out there, without using a pedal yak. :clapping: :thumbsup: He's using a small SIK kayak with a paddle to slay these fish, consistently scoring double digit catches every time he launches. He invited me to fish with him, and I got to see all the stuff I had been doing wrong. I'll write that in another post to help the new guys out there.

In the meantime, thanks for the hospitality and advice, Frank. It was a blast to catch schoolies in the middle of a bright day in the heat of summer. :drool: :plastered: :HappyWave:

[Monty]

Great report Dark, lots of action, lovin the pics!!!

[surferman]

Nice report dark, great photo's.:fishing:

[rip316]

Yes indeed. Congrats Dark.

[DarkSkies]

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Fished last night in the yak trying to get a jump on the forecast Earl bad weather conditions. Got 4 bass 24-26" on the T&W before it got dark, then spent a few hours playing with slab porgies to 14".


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[DarkSkies]

Same drill again this morning. Slept in the yak on the beach. Up at 6, long paddle, hour long paddle to the first stop.


Nice fat bass
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First bass by 8AM, 30" on T&W, released. Rounded out the morning with an 8#bluefish and a 27" bass, plus some more slab porgies I managed to find, and a few short ones.


Angry bluefish, got on yellow tube in open water
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The weather really did not turn out as bad as they forecast for the bay area I fished. I could have stayed there for another night but had things to do. The T&W is becoming a very addictive thing for me. :dribble: It magically draws bass to it, even when it appears there are none around. You still have to work to keep the presentation right, but when everything comes together it's a definite high.



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[Monty]

Dark, another great report. Great pics. Had you fished the T&W before these last few outings? You seem to be doing great with it.

[DarkSkies]

I'm a newbie googan to the T&W world, Monty. :bucktooth:

I tried it on my own because I hate to ask people things when I want to learn something.

A maniac kayaker and friend showed me some of the fine tuning he was doing. It helped a lot. Basically you troll along structure, keeping tight to it wthout getting too deep or too shallow.

A depth finder would help tremendously in this effort. However, my friend doesn't use electronics and nails 20 or more bass every time he's out there. So I'm inclined to follow in his lead.

When I first started I was a little sloppy and missing fish. :o

Finchaser also deserves some credit. He heard I was on a T&W kick, and waddya know, he made me up some killer tubes, thick ones, thin ones, different sizes, with circle hooks. :clapping: The circles are great if you consider that a lot of bass are under 28". It really bothers me to release a bleeding fish, so the circles are perfect.

Another talent Fin has is to make the tube based on the natural curve of the coil. There's a lot of articles out there about wire tubes and the right bend. That's important. But with Fin, he starts with the right bend to begin with, just like he does when he makes a rod "splining the rod". IMO it makes all the difference in the world. :lookhappy:

So again, I owe much gratitude to those who have extended their helping hands, even if the hand belongs to a Grouchy Bassturd. :ROFLMAO :HappyWave: :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[vpass]

Hey Dark, how's the Kayak on your back? How long do you stay out on the Yak?

[DarkSkies]

Not bad, Vpass. I ain't in the best shape in the world, but used to win kickboard contests in the pool with my legs. They're still strong, so I can pedal for a while without a break. And when you compare pedaling with paddling, all I can think of is how easy it is out there, no matter what the weather. :fishing:

As for my back, I've had issues when sitting for hours at a time, but have since reclined my seat slightly more back, and it seems easier. The good thing to do is find a place to stretch your legs every now and then when ya hit the shore or rockpiles to take a leak.

That's what works for me.

Let me know if you guys want to test drive the Hobie sometime. If you have a rack to hold it on top of your vehicle, that would be even better as I'm still working on bringing 2 out there.

It's so effortless that when I get in the paddle yak with Pebbles, I'm a little disappointed now. :( I've been spoiled by the Mirage drive. The only thing that brightens it up on that yak is her sunshine smile. :lookhappy:

[finchaser]

Not bad, Vpass. I ain't in the best shape in the world, but used to win kickboard contests in the pool with my legs. They're still strong, so I can pedal for a while without a break. And when you compare pedaling with paddling, all I can think of is how easy it is out there, no matter what the weather. :fishing:

As for my back, I've had issues when sitting for hours at a time, but have since reclined my seat slightly more back, and it seems easier. The good thing to do is find a place to stretch your legs every now and then when ya hit the shore or rockpiles to take a leak.

That's what works for me.

Let me know if you guys want to test drive the Hobie sometime. If you have a rack to hold it on top of your vehicle, that would be even better as I'm still working on bringing 2 out there.

It's so effortless that when I get in the paddle yak with Pebbles, I'm a little disappointed now. :( I've been spoiled by the Mirage drive. The only thing that brightens it up on that yak is her sunshine smile. :lookhappy:


In a bottle of coarse:D

[storminsteve]

In a bottle of coarse:D

Yeah, a message in a bottle.:eek:
Just kidding, great report and pics. You were out there when everyone else was ranting and raving how bad it would be, and you were catching fish. I'm jealous, looks like you had a blast.:thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

^ Steve, you guys are welcome to come along, I'll bring another yak. But ya gotta have a way to transport it.

The offer starts after G comes out with me on the yak, cause I owe him a trip first. :fishing:




In a bottle of coarse:D

Of course, I would never advocate public urination in the wilderness. :d

[fishinmission78]

Nice report, good action Dark.

[DarkSkies]

I took Pebbles for a quick yak trip today before all the Holiday boaters and fishermen would be out there. It was a little too sunny and I think extra traffic put the fish off the bite.

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She still managed 3 bass on the T&W, on one of Finchaser's tubes.

We only had time to fish 2 hours of the ebb. The tide was pretty high today, we passed through some nice water. I wanted to take her to a good spot 2 miles away, but today we tried an experiment and put 2 of us on a 1 person Hobie. :scared:

I didn't want to chance it with a long trip and have us dump the yak. The last 2 times I had her out, we've been in storm or high wind situations, and pushed her boundaries. She's a brave girl, but I want to keep her interested without putting her in danger. :kiss: So today we hung close to the launch spot, traveling at most a mile round-trip.

It seemed that even though we trolled a productive area, lots of bait and rocky bottom, I couldn't find a fish for her. I was getting a little embarassed as I promised her a fish.

Murphy's Laws of Fishing....never promise anyone a fish, no matter how good the fishing has been, unless you like embarassing yourself. :o

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After an hour of trolling the T&W, a 22" bass hit her T&W. Mission accomplished, everything is easier after you hit the first one. :lookhappy:


12023

[DarkSkies]

(continued)

Still more trolling with no action convinced us that area was not loaded up with schoolies like it usually was, so we decided to bag it and head for the put-in spot.

I had nailed one bass on the way back last week when I was out, by carelessly trolling the T&W on the way back to the put-in. We set up for the troll, and she nailed 2 small bass in the space of 5 minutes. That tells me the smaller bass were a lot closer than we imagined today.



Pebbles' bass #2
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12026






So, for the day, the score was Pebbles 3, Dark 0.

I spent a lot of time maneuvering the yak for good trolling runs and positioning us for good structure (and taking pics). Still, I did fish, and she kicked my azz fair and square. :beatin: :skunk: :wow: :thumbsup::thumbsup:

I'm proud of her, her first time yak bass fishin the T&W, and she nails 3 bass. What a girl! :clapping::clapping::clapping: :heart:

Pebbles' bass #3
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And she got them all on the Finchaser black tube w/ circle hook for quick release. :thumbsup::thumbsup:


This is a pic of some MEGA SWANS! We saw these, they were about 15lbs apiece, bigger than any we've ever seen since we've been "chasing" them. She dared me to take the pic and put it up as a present to Finchaser. :moon: :kiss:

She also wanted to thank Finchaser for making up such great tubes that got her her first-time T&W bass. :clapping: :HappyWave:
12029




We got back to the launch, loaded up, and were back in time to avoid all the traffic, a definite bonus for Labor Day.

[finchaser]

(continued)

Still more trolling with no action convinced us that area was not loaded up with schoolies like it usually was, so we decided to bag it and head for the put-in spot.

I had nailed one bass on the way back last week when I was out, by carelessly trolling the T&W on the way back to the put-in. We set up for the troll, and she nailed 2 small bass in the space of 5 minutes. That tells me the smaller bass were a lot closer than we imagined today.



Pebbles' bass #2
12024

12025

12026






So, for the day, the score was Pebbles 3, Dark 0.

I spent a lot of time maneuvering the yak for good trolling runs and positioning us for good structure (and taking pics). Still, I did fish, and she kicked my azz fair and square. :beatin: :skunk: :wow: :thumbsup::thumbsup:

I'm proud of her, her first time yak bass fishin the T&W, and she nails 3 bass. What a girl! :clapping::clapping::clapping: :heart:

Pebbles' bass #3
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12028



And she got them all on the Finchaser black tube w/ circle hook for quick release. :thumbsup::thumbsup:


This is a pic of some MEGA SWANS! We saw these, they were about 15lbs apiece, bigger than any we've ever seen since we've been "chasing" them. She dared me to take the pic and put it up as a present to Finchaser. :moon: :kiss:

She also wanted to thank Finchaser for making up such great tubes that got her her first-time T&W bass. :clapping: :HappyWave:
12029




We got back to the launch, loaded up, and were back in time to avoid all the traffic, a definite bonus for Labor Day.


Gotta love it Pebbles with her bass:plastered: and Dark with his swans :heart:what a way to end summer

Pebbles your very welcome,anything you need let me know

[jigfreak]

It seemed that even though we trolled a productive area, lots of bait and rocky bottom, I couldn't find a fish for her. I was getting a little embarassed as I promised her a fish.

Murphy's Laws of Fishing....never promise anyone a fish, no matter how good the fishing has been, unless you like embarassing yourself. :o



Or don't count the chickens before they hatch!:laugh:
Happy for Pebbles, sucks to be you, Dark. :d

[vpass]

Nice report Dark,:thumbsup: You got me more interested in the Yak. I watched a few video on youtube, the Mirage drive is amazing. I'm saving up for one. :kooky::eek:

The Tube and worm how long are they? They seem longer then a foot in your Pixs.

[rip316]

Congrats on the fish Pebbles. Way to go.

[DarkSkies]

Or Happy for Pebbles, sucks to be you, Dark. :d

Jigfreak, I'm never embarassed if someone catches more, I'm happy to put them into fish. Pebbles is a pretty good and patient fishing partner. There have been times when we've been at an inlet fishing and she would catch the biggest fish of the day. :wow: Gotta give credit where credit is due. It's all good. :thumbsup:




Nice report Dark,:thumbsup: You got me more interested in the Yak. I watched a few video on youtube, the Mirage drive is amazing. I'm saving up for one. :kooky::eek:

The Tube and worm how long are they? They seem longer then a foot in your Pixs.


Vpass, the T&W that a lot of guys use is around 23". I have a few that size, all the way down to 15", some of the ones that Finchaser made up. I like to play around with the different sizes and colors to see which ones work better for that day.

For example, last week in front of hurricane Earl, I was using yellow as one of the tubes. It worked well in the choppy water. Yesterday red and black were the colors. I had red, Pebbles had black. You might make an assumption that black out-produced the red yesterday. They had different weights on as well.

So the broad answer is I play around with weights, colors and lengths until I see what seems to work better for that day, and then try to concentrate on that.

[finchaser]

.


So the broad answer is I play around with weights, colors and lengths until I see what seems to work better for that day, and then try to concentrate on that.

:clapping::clapping:

[rip316]

That is one of the main things that I have learned so far as far as plugging is concerned. To experiment with all different types of lure presentations, types, retrieves, speed of retrieves. All kinds of things that I have never tried before. I used to cast out an AVA and reel it in as fast as I could like a retard and go home with soar shoulders and no fish. (what a retard) Please guys, never get tired of teaching us newbies. We want to be as good as you sharpies some day.

[DarkSkies]

:clapping::clapping:

Some :clapping::clapping: from the ZenGrouchyBasstardMaster himself! :wow:
I'm honored, but you gotta take some of the credit for those awesome tubes you made. :HappyWave:






That is one of the main things that I have learned so far as far as plugging is concerned. To experiment with all different types of lure presentations, types, retrieves, speed of retrieves. All kinds of things that I have never tried before. I used to cast out an AVA and reel it in as fast as I could like a retard and go home with soar shoulders and no fish. (what a retard) Please guys, never get tired of teaching us newbies. We want to be as good as you sharpies some day.

Rip, it's all about presentation right now. There are scattered bass around, concentrated on structure areas, both from a boat and from the surf. There is a lot of small bait, so Avas with teasers, bucktails, small bombers and thin spearing profile plugs (when the wind is in your favor) and rubber should get you into a fish or 2.


There are also guys pulling in bass on sandworms and clams. Nothing wrong with that. :thumbsup: However, plugging forces you to think a little more, it's like a game of war. If you don't present something very similar to the bait profile, and at the level of the water column the fish are feeding at, you'll never know the fish are there. And, in the case where you were fishin with Monty, sometimes that area is stacked with fish, other times it's like a desert. Think rocks and structure this time of year, or a spot in the surf where there are strong currents, or outer bar/inner bar cuts and sloughs, and a good amount of bait passing through.

If you hit up a place and see scattered bait, give it a shot, if nothing move on.

Eventually, you'll run into an area that has significantly more bait than the other places you hit up. When you reach that place you'll know it because the fish should be actively feeding. :fishing:


****************



Vpass, you were asking about the T&W. Here's a thread that goes into a little more detail.

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=7017

[DarkSkies]

Took the yak out last night, fished the high slack, and 4 hours into the ebb. When I got there it was ok. I started pedaling to a far spot, but the clouds got ominous, so I had to hang close to shore. It took me about an hour before I started catching bass on the T&W. 2nd stop got a doubleheader, it's still a thrill every time that happens. :bigeyes:

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Doubleheader

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The thunder and lightning moved in, but the lightning wasn't close to where I was, so I fished in the rain. Fish didn't seem to mind and hit through the storm. Where I was, the rain ended right before sunset.

I had been using one of Finchaser's black tubes, and a yellow tube I picked for high visibility in the weather. Nonetheless, the black tube outfished the yellow one last night. At sunset, I was still using the T&W, but the bass action died down.

All throughout the time trolling, I had been getting light taps from porgies, so I knew they were around. I wanted to concentrate on bass or bluefish first, though. Because of the porgies, I was only using very small pieces of worm on the hook, and amazingly they got hit anyway. Around sunset I got a slab dinner plate porgy on the yellow T&W, so I went with the flow and continued. Got 1 more slab that way. :drool:

12045


Then it was on to drifting worms and bunker. I really wanted some big bluefish. I miss that insane action, but the bluefish were nowhere to be found last night. :don't know why:

I continued my drifts in the dark, working different areas that I hadn't worked before. I managed the biggest bass of the night on a bloody bunker chunk, and some more porgies on sandworm pieces.

12046

In retrospect, I should have stayed where I got the first 2 slab porgies. It seems they like the mussel beds that are on the bottom there. I wanted to scout a lot of other areas close by, so I kind of did a circular route. By the time I came back to the original area that held the slabs, the bite had died.

Total:
11 bass to 28"
7 porgies to 13".
1 oystercracker, the world's smallest. :o

Coming back the wind shifted back to the W/NW, and the water was like a lake. I covered the usual amount of ground in half the time.

[DarkSkies]

It was a beautiful sunset. I also got to watch the remnants of the storm in the distance. The lightning looked like a scene from "War of the Worlds" :scared:




Heaven

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I couldn't get the lightning shots as they were too far away. Here's some shots of the angry clouds.

and Hell.....

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[cowherder]

:dribble:Awesome report Dark!

[ledhead36]

The lightning looked like a scene from "War of the Worlds" :scared:




Like this?:HappyWave:
IO6c07v8kfM

[DarkSkies]

^ Yup, it was pretty intense. :scared: :HappyWave:

[plugcrazy]

Nice going Dark!

[DarkSkies]

Thanks Plug. :HappyWave:

9-24 kayak report:

The dead water at then beach this morning was depressing. The whole area was covered in pea soup fog, so I decided to find some better water and take advantage of the cloudy conditions.

As I was driving there, I was racing to get in the water, hoping it wouldn't burn off. The fishin during that time was better than it had been, after that it was a slow pick and I had to work for every fish.

My target for the day was bigger bass and porgies on the T&W. For that I needed deeper water and deep rocky structure, about 2 miles from the put-in.

Just for the helluva it, I trolled the T&W in the bay where I launched. That turned out to be the best fishin of the day, with 3 24" bass landed in the first 10 minutes. :lookhappy: I move with the tide, and had to make it to my first stop before the tide turned, so I reluctantly set out for it.

12109


Turns out the rest of the day I had to work for each fish. I moved a lot and covered a lot of ground. The first stop out at deeper structure I got 2 dinner plate porgies around 14".


12111


The thrill was getting them on the T&W. :wow: I got hit by a lot of smaller ones, and had to re-bait often. I was only using a 2" piece of worm at a time, so they lasted a while. I found frequent changing of the worm to be the key in getting consistent action.

The problem with T&w very rocky structure is if you're presenting it right, bouncing the bottom, you get hung up a lot. Not that much of a problem in the yak as you just maneuver to the front of the snag and pull from the opposite direction, usually effective about 95% of the time. Today my luck wasn't so great. I ended up losing 2 T&W setups on those rocks, one of them being from Finchaser. :(

The sun came out with a vengeance, and it was hot. That slowed the bite a bit forcing me to move around.

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Eventually the T&W action died, and I got the rest of the porgies drifting worms over mussel beds.

I was delayed in getting back because the winds were pushing up to 25mph, kicking up a big swell from the direction I was headed. I had to stick close to shore just to make headway, but eventually I made it back.

12110


Total for the day:

-11 bass to26"
(Note, even though these are small bass, most of them were 24-26", a lot bigger than the ones we had been getting. No keepers in the mix, although these bass were fatter and healthy than the little babies in close.)
-10 porgies to 14"

I had a great day and 9/25 is the last day of porgy season up there. I'm rapidly becoming addicted to going there, and will find it hard not to be crabby when weather and life prevent me from making that trip. :dribble: :fishing:

[hookedonbass]

I headed out early this morning and fished in nomo. I caught 2 small bass and used Dark's T& W suggestion.

[Rip-Plugger]

Thanks Plug. :HappyWave:

9-24 kayak report:

The dead water at then beach this morning was depressing. The whole area was covered in pea soup fog, so I decided to find some better water and take advantage of the cloudy conditions.

As I was driving there, I was racing to get in the water, hoping it wouldn't burn off. The fishin during that time was better than it had been, after that it was a slow pick and I had to work for every fish.

My target for the day was bigger bass and porgies on the T&W. For that I needed deeper water and deep rocky structure, about 2 miles from the put-in.

Just for the helluva it, I trolled the T&W in the bay where I launched. That turned out to be the best fishin of the day, with 3 24" bass landed in the first 10 minutes. :lookhappy: I move with the tide, and had to make it to my first stop before the tide turned, so I reluctantly set out for it.

12109


Turns out the rest of the day I had to work for each fish. I moved a lot and covered a lot of ground. The first stop out at deeper structure I got 2 dinner plate porgies around 14".


12111


The thrill was getting them on the T&W. :wow: I got hit by a lot of smaller ones, and had to re-bait often. I was only using a 2" piece of worm at a time, so they lasted a while. I found frequent changing of the worm to be the key in getting consistent action.

The problem with T&w very rocky structure is if you're presenting it right, bouncing the bottom, you get hung up a lot. Not that much of a problem in the yak as you just maneuver to the front of the snag and pull from the opposite direction, usually effective about 95% of the time. Today my luck wasn't so great. I ended up losing 2 T&W setups on those rocks, one of them being from Finchaser. :(

The sun came out with a vengeance, and it was hot. That slowed the bite a bit forcing me to move around.

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Eventually the T&W action died, and I got the rest of the porgies drifting worms over mussel beds.

I was delayed in getting back because the winds were pushing up to 25mph, kicking up a big swell from the direction I was headed. I had to stick close to shore just to make headway, but eventually I made it back.

12110


Total for the day:

-11 bass to26"
(Note, even though these are small bass, most of them were 24-26", a lot bigger than the ones we had been getting. No keepers in the mix, although these bass were fatter and healthy than the little babies in close.)
-10 porgies to 14"

I had a great day and 9/25 is the last day of porgy season up there. I'm rapidly becoming addicted to going there, and will find it hard not to be crabby when weather and life prevent me from making that trip. :dribble: :fishing:

Dark,

thats a fine haul M8,great shots!


R-P

[albiealert]

Nice report Dark, looks like you are really getting into them! PM me if you ever come fish the waters of CT.:HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

Thanks R-P and Albie. :HappyWave:

Hookedonbass, congrats on the striped ones. It's addictive when you're able to find bass with them. They can't resist attacking that if presented properly. WTG! :clapping: :thumbsup:


***********

9-26-10

I posted today's report in the Dirty Water Anglers thread, 1 microbass, and tiny blue. I'm posting the link here to make it easier to post everything in my fishing log.

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?p=42272#post42272

[LennyD]

Took a trip to Montauk this weekend.
Arrived saturday 5am, we launched at Camp hero by daylight, right away bird action, my first cast a 31-32" bass, the next 15 minutes i already had 3 bass, all keepers. The blitzes stayed on till 8-9 am, the boats pushed them too far away, then went to the room, took a shower, and nap. Afternoon we started at 3pm and we had instant insane blitzes all over all evening, we left them blitzing at 7pm. All together i had 20 bass and 5 bluefish. :banana:
This morning we started a bit earlier, around 6am, again, instant blitzes all over, not as packed like last night but good action, died out by 8-9 again, today i had 6 bass and 1 blue. out of 26 bass maybe 2-3 were under sized, all between 28-32".
As Danny said before, "there is nothing like MTK" !!!!!

Gpyty3RV6iw

[Monty]

Lenny, wow, that's incredible action. Great pics. What were you catching them on?

[rip316]

congrats on a great weekend.

[DarkSkies]

Awesome action, Lenny, glad ya go into em! :clapping: :thumbsup:
The action is intense, and ya couldn't have picked a better tune for background. WTG! :fishing:

Did ya fish with Danny V?








**************
Kayaking report NJ 10-11
My report pales in comparison to your M report Lenny, they have some insane action there right now.

I fished RB to see if any fish were on the edges this morning, as opposed to the few strategic places that they have been holed up in. Hit one place before I launched, waiting for the tide to rise. Managed 3 small blues on metal.

Then I launched the yak. Bit of a tough time, trolled slack tide and 1 1/2 hours of the ebb past prime structure with the T&W, nothing. :o I decided to give it a rest for awhile and hit the channels, jigging bucktails and rubber. Covered a lot of ground to find productive areas. Nothing in the channels for me.

Finally made it back to shore and gave the T&W a shot again, this time using a whole worm on each tube, as opposed to the 2" pieces I was using while fishing the LI Sound. So, in a way, it's cheaper for me to fish LI :d.

I also have to rant about the NJ sandworms. Nothing comes close to Big John's monster sandworms at Jack's B&T City Island. I'm spoiled by the size and the great prices of $4.50/dozen there. :(

I think the clearer water up there makes it easier for the bass to center on the worm, whereas in our NJ bays the water is a little dirtier. Once I had that figured out I started catching bass. :learn: I also had to make sure I bumped bottom or I got no action.
I managed 5 bass to 24" in an hour once I found a piece of structure they seemed to be thicker on.

All on the Finchaser tubes with circle hooks, which make C&R pretty simple. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

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Overall, it was tough finding that. I trolled past many areas of shore that were perfect points, or cove openings, and not a tap. :huh:

After awhile you get a sense of where the bass should attack the T&W if you're trolling it right. Much dead water, little productive water. Yet, the bay water is perfect, close to 60, prime bass temps.

Total:
3 small bluefish
5 bass to 24"

On the way back I checked out the bait situation. A lot of the mullet have left, save for a few key areas. What's left are peanuts, in most areas scattered except for a few places, as mentioned, where they're thick.

Everything is primed for a good surf run, but if the large bodies of bass stay offshore in NJ, a lot of guys will be disappointed. Hey that's fishin. :fishing:

[hookset]

Lenny that was a way cool report. It must be amazing to fish out there. How was the swell in the surf, was it rough?
Dark, great report as usual, it seems like those tube and worms are a bass homing device. Keep em coming guys!

[bababooey]

:thumbsup:Good job guys.

[wish4fish]

kick some *** dudes i wanna get a yak so bad!

[jigfreak]

Way to catch em up. men.
Lenny, great report wish I was there.

[c4charlie]

Took a trip to Montauk this weekend.
Arrived saturday 5am, we launched at Camp hero by daylight, right away bird action, my first cast a 31-32" bass, the next 15 minutes i already had 3 bass, all keepers. The blitzes stayed on till 8-9 am, the boats pushed them too far away, then went to the room, took a shower, and nap. Afternoon we started at 3pm and we had instant insane blitzes all over all evening, we left them blitzing at 7pm. All together i had 20 bass and 5 bluefish. :banana:
This morning we started a bit earlier, around 6am, again, instant blitzes all over, not as packed like last night but good action, died out by 8-9 again, today i had 6 bass and 1 blue. out of 26 bass maybe 2-3 were under sized, all between 28-32".
As Danny said before, "there is nothing like MTK" !!!!!



Excellent Report Lenny!!! Hope to be in a kayak by next year!

[DarkSkies]

Only had an hour to fish before dark. Wanted to try a new place with the yak, the water was cold and relatively clear for NJ. Fished a few rocks, but the wind made it tough to present. No fish, just an exercise in paddling against 30mph NW wind.

Wunderground had the wind minimizing to a steady 20mph by 4pm. Not bad, I've been out in that before. Only today the "King of the googans" :o forgot his Mirage drive, so I had to paddle. This forced me to be more safety conscious, and I only worked an area within 1/2 mi of the put-in. I wanted to fish today because on the weekends the boat traffic puts the bass down, and I think the T&W fishin would suck.

Try as I might, I couldn't present the T&W right. Best results are trolling around 1mph and bumping bottom. With the wind pushing me along at 3+mph, there was no way I could keep it in the strike zone.

Hey, I gave it a try, and got pushed around like a piece of paper in a windy schoolyard for my efforts. As I was paddling back, a guy called out from the shore and asked if I needed help. :eek: I must have looked funny as I was paddling against the wind, and probably appeared to be standing still. At that point I ramped it up and paddled like a demon to get back. Probably burned 2000 calories in the process.
Trolled a 3 oz spoon on the way back to the put-in, nothing.

I'll be back when the wind tunnel shuts down. Good water and big bass are starting to filter into there. :fishing:

[LennyD]

At least you tried it Rich!
Im planning to go out front (MB) tomorrow am, wind permitted.
Can you PM me your phone # , my phone got damaged, i lost all my numbers!
Thanx

[DarkSkies]

I'm thinking you should go S, Lenny, let me know how ya did. :d

[hookset]

You can't win em all, Dark, right?:don't know why:
I took my kayak out yesterday and launched at an ocean county beach. I did find pods of adult bunker and tried jigging a47s underneath them. Managed one 15lb blue.

[BillDude]

Was out in the Yak on tuesday @ Seaside and got into some Gator blues. Man, It was so much fun watching those fish beat the snot out of a popper.
A couple of days earlier was at Monmouth Beach and got some Taylor blues and an Albie.. still not seeing a lot of bass caught. Water was clear and calm, great for anybody who is a little nervous about launching out front.

[VSdreams]

That's great news Billdude, I thought the albies were gone for good. Maybe us surf guys will still have a chance at them. Thanks for the report.

[DarkSkies]

^ WTG Bill, I'm living my albie dreams this year vicariously through you, Farrell, Danny V and the others who got out there and got some. I regret not having the time to get out there when I should have, and am glad some of ya's are still into em. :clapping: :thumbsup:




***************
Kayak T&W trip 10-23

12389


Hit a bay yesterday in the yak, try as I might I couldn't get out till the last of the ebb.
It started out with some humor. As I launched, some guys came up to where I was, and said: "Hey are you Thaistick?"

They said they were from Noreast, and although they didn't know him, he was a semi-legend from his reports on there.

If Thaistick were rich and famous, and instead 2 lingerie models came up and asked me the same question, my answer would have been: "Sure, why not come up to my mansion after I'm done fishing and we can hang for awhile..."

Unfortunately, Thai is just a poor mook like me, trying to work hard and make ends meet. So I had to answer honestly, and say: "No, sorry I'm not the famous Thaistick!"


12390

The wind was intense, caused me to fish unfamiliar areas to find a lee. It presented some difficult challenges. Fished the last 3 hours till slack, managed 9 bass to 26" on T&W,
and 2 porgies to 13".
12391

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12393

The wind really kicked my azz a bit. However, anytime I'm forced to fish something new or differently, that can't be all bad. Doing that sharpens your skills as a fisherman, and keeps you ready for those times when you're stumped as to your next move. :thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

Thu 10-28
Took the kayak to a place I hadn't yak fished before. The weather reports were way off for yesterday. Fought 25mph steady winds for hours. Tough to position and present as I ran into bunker with some quality fish under them. None for me.

I did find the pod as mentioned. They were getting blasted by big fish. The wind died down to about 10-15 for a few minutes. As I pedaled over to them a bunker netter saw them also, and made a beeline for them. By the time I got over there, the wind had kicked up again, and because of the way he had to position himself, he got nothing in his net. So we both lost out, him on more revenue, and me on a 30# bass or mid-teen bluefish that have been following those schools. :burn:

I have no qualms about a guy's right to make a living, but some of the netters are so greedy it baffles the mind. Later in the afternoon, I watched one netter scratch his head as there were only a few pods of bunker left. They had been netting them hard all day. And he wondered why he couldn't find any more???? :don't know why:

Get a clue dude, you guys are part of the problem. And I believe it won't stop until you (collectively) are held to strict interpretation of the statutes. More on this after I make some DEP calls and find out if there's anything that can be done.

[lostatsea]

I guess you're not afraid of the wind out there ds. Sorry to hear about the bunker netters, they can be very greedy sometimes. Nice report, I hope I can be in a kayak doing that kind of fishing someday.

[fishinmission78]

I did find the pod as mentioned. They were getting blasted by big fish. The wind died down to about 10-15 for a few minutes. As I pedaled over to them a bunker netter saw them also, and made a beeline for them. By the time I got over there, the wind had kicked up again, and because of the way he had to position himself, he got nothing in his net. So we both lost out, him on more revenue, and me on a 30# bass or mid-teen bluefish that have been following those schools. :burn:



Nice report Dark, next time I want to hear how you slayed em. Try getting out in the night, that's probably the only way to get away from the netters. If the bunker are around you should be able to find them when the wind dies down. Catch em up.

[DarkSkies]

Debated about whether I was going to make the trip today. The last time I was out on the yak was 10/28. I caught some bass and porgies on the T&W in 25mph sustained winds. It was a little hairy out there, and the water was a lot warmer, almost 60 degrees.

I decided not to go today, too much risk. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png

I'm dying to catch some bass on artificials before the end of the year. However, I had to temper that desire with a voice of reason inside my head. Since not many people are fishing the northeast salt waters in kayaks now, I thought I would share some of the planning and research with you people....


1. Develop the intel -
I had been hearing about a great bite of bass and other species at a backwater place outside of NJ. I know people who live in the area. Could I have called them right away, and said - "Where are the fish?" :huh: Absolutely.

To me, half the fun of a new place is learning it. I don't always catch fish when I hit a place for the first time, even in a yak. I do appreciate the learning, though. I was talking to a friend on the phone today. We were talking about scouting. I mentioned I love to be out there seeing how things are, through my own eyes. He does the same thing, and was out scouting earlier in the week for some sweetwater winter fishing locations. :HappyWave:


2. Do your homework-
I literally spent many hours on the internet researching these waters I wanted to fish. Knowing nothing about them but the name of a river system, I obsessively looked at Google maps, and some other resources. I saved copies of the areas I thought might be productive. I researched names of electricity producers and others in the area that might be adding warm water to the area and drawing fish to the region.

Then, once I had a sense I knew what I was talking about, I set out a plan to make the trip. I sent a friend maps of places I intended to fish and asked him what his thoughts were. Since I had already done some homework, I didn't feel like such a leech when I was talking to him. :cool:

His knowledge helped me immensely, and I'm sure I'll be into fish because of it. I owe him a debt of gratitude. :clapping: My point is I didn't go to him looking to be spoon fed. I did my research, and learned as much as I could to try to make myself a valid part of our conversation.

3. Look for the window-
I looked at short-range and long-range temp and wind predictions. The next few weeks should be getting progressively colder. I was waiting for some 40 degree days. When I realized that's not likely I decided to shoot for some 35 degree days. I knew I would be ok with the layers and protective clothing I wear, but the 20+ mph sustained winds concerned me. I didn't want to put myself in a position where I would be in danger or put someone else in danger by having to rescue me.


4. Plan the trip -
I did some careful planning. I knew where I was going to launch, where I wanted to fish, and where in general I would go to seek shelter in case I got in trouble out there.

I had an alternate launch site mapped out in case the water was running too strong that day, (Hint - islands and points usually have eddies and places to hide from the wind and rough water.)


5. Don't be too proud to re-assess -
With visions of catching double digits of striped bass and other fish on a cold winter day, I had to ask myself if my reason was being clouded over by my need to catch, the addiction. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.png

Last night I was set on going. I reasoned that today and tomorrow were going to be the warmest 2 days of a long cold spell we're in for. Tomorrow is actually better,as the winds will be half as strong as today. Today was the only day that fit the time requirements for that trip.

When I got up, I checked the hourly weather forecast once more. No change in the predictions, bummer. So I reluctantly called off the trip, and here I sit writing about the trip that never materialized.




But in my mind I was out there. :kooky: I visualized me driving there, launching, what gear I would use, and thought about catching and releasing double digit numbers of bass. I was stoked! :drool:

My point here, no fish is worth your life. We lose too many of our fishing brothers each year because they decide to push the envelope. There are those who judge the "stupidity" of the guys who lose their lives out there. I posted up this post to maybe give people a window into seeing why we do what we do. :fishing:

And also to tell you guys and gals that safety should always be your #1 priority. :thumbsup: If you value your friends and family at home, please think of that before making choices that can remove you from their lives permanently. :learn:

Be safe, and Merry Christmas to all! :HappyWave:

[jonthepain]

I'll be yakking Belize next week - wish me luck!

Never fished for permit or bonefish before, but always wanted to.

Oh boy!