Kayak Trips and Fishing Reports 2012

[DarkSkies]

Anyone who wants to post a kayak report or any intel that can benefit the yakkers..feel free to post up....:HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

Guys crushed the bass in the bay Sun night.

Several people texted me the pics. One of my friends got 10 bass to 20#, fishing all by himself.

The yakkers also did well on Sat and Sun daytime, although in relatively cloudy conditions.

Based on the above reports, a friend from Brooklyn came over for Monday. I took off from work. We launched our kayaks in the dark and fished the whole ebb tide in the bay.

It was dismal as it was too sunny out (last 2 days prior were overcast) and we barely avoided the skunk.
He fished some bunker pods with live bunker. He raised one nice fish with no hookups, and I think had some other activity but nothing solid.

I worked about 4 miles each way in the yak, roughly 8 miles total. I trolled some deeper water, 7-12' and only managed a short 20" bass that hit a 9" shad.

In reality, we had gone out to find some of the larger bass.
In that respect I feel we failed.
Hey, that's fishin....
In all...... it was a successful trip because we didn't get skunked.




It was one of those days...
great for fishin, bad for catchin....:don't know why:

I'll take the lousy snotty days..or the night bite..the bass don't seem to mind...

I won't be going back to fish the bay by yakking the daytime until we have a few overcast days, as I have been finding too many fish in the ocean, for less effort.
The bay night bite has been interesting, though, may give that a few more shots....

till next time...:fishing:

[wish4fish]

dark you got bad timing the bunkies came to visit last nite! come back out

[cowherder]

Dark it is part of the game. If you got big fish every time we would all hate you. Maybe I wouldn't because of all you have done for me but I would be jealous. At least you got out there and got a fish. Good luck and be safe,

[finchaser]

Saturday and Sunday were both sunny your loosing it DS no excuses. Your coming off a probably once in a life time winter those conditions aren't going to last for ever:HappyWave:

[storminsteve]

Yeah dark into every life a little rain must fall, or in your case some dark skies, lol.
No one bowls a 300 game all the time, and as finchaser said the winter spoiled a lot of us. We may not be happy with catching 5 fish in a night ever again.

Nice report though, was it your first yak trip of the year? At least you got a fish. I myself would have given up after about 2-3 hours, you are a fishing maniac.:fishing:

[finchaser]

DS mottos=

everynight all night keeps my numbers up
:fishing:
nothing sleeps like a car seat
:boring:
wind and rain is a soapless shower
:HappyWave:
oh thank heaven for 7/11 :clapping:
home cooking gotta have my WAWA:drool:

[DarkSkies]

Saturday and Sunday were both sunny your loosing it DS no excuses. Your coming off a probably once in a life time winter those conditions aren't going to last for ever:HappyWave:

The yakkers did well Sat and Sun big guy.... :p it was overcast on the water in the bay....(and I know the high from catching fish in the ocean this winter isn't likely to be repeated)

I completely agree with you and your assessment, Fin....
I doubt if we'll have the conditions to produce Winter bass like that in my lifetime....maybe, but it's unlikely....unless it becomes a new seasonal pattern.

That's why I was out there hitting it hard in the ocean every chance I got....
Whether I caught or not I felt it was a rare once-in-decades opportunity...and as you inferred I'm still on an incredible high from that.....:drool:

[DarkSkies]

Steve, Cowherder, and others, it was the first trip of the year...and we avoided the skunk....
Thanks for the words.

The friend I was fishing with, was in 2nd place in the Jbay tournament last year till he got knocked out of the box the last day....he is one of the most persistent and dedicated fishermen I know....and the only one in recent time to successfully yak fish under the Verazzano Bridge in 90 feet of water and get some bass and cod with his jig tactics. :clapping: :viking:
He consistently crushes the fish by yak at the mouth of the Jamaica Bay even when no one else will brave the cold and crazy current....so I knew that between the two of us we should have been able to find some fish,,,,

When you have a good season I think it's very humbling, and good medicine, to not do so well for a change....









I'm always suspicious of folks who seem to catch all the time and never get skunked....

In the fishing community we have special names for some of these internet heroes...each one of them has a name that describes the amount of padding we think he does to his count...but that's really private. because they're in the minority......the guys who catch consistently and are out there a lot don't need to pad their catches....
:thumbsup:
Even the folks here, I'm grateful they post their skunk reports because you can tell there are nights where the fish just ain't active for many reasons...and a skunk report helps us to all understand, that fishing, ain't necessarily a night where you're catchin....

Sometimes I feel fishing from a yak isn't a fair comparison...if you are willing to work and pedal, you will most likely find at least 1 fish...trolling a T&W is almost foolproof for finding scattered fish....but the T&W did not produce this time....








When the fishing is easy you don't have to think that much....
A lot of the yakkers IMO get into that pattern..some of us will catch,,,,and others come along after and think they only have to repeat what the others did, to score big.....

That strategy hasn't panned out this week, as most of the guys out there, after the initial fish up to 25#, are only getting fish 24-32"....while any catch is a good catch, you can catch fish that size from land. For me, I'm yakking to get to the fish that I can't get from land,,,,and my goal is always a 20# or better.

Granted, it doesn't always happen, but IMO pushing yourself like that, is what works for me.





The yakkers who continually get my attention are the ones who are not afraid to think out of the box...to run different than the rest of the herd runs....those are the folks who will consistently pull in bigger fish....and they earn every one of them.....:fishing:

Hope to be back out there soon.

[albiealert]

Nice going dark. Look forward to your reports when you fish the Sound this year. We have had bass action in the rivers for a good part of the winter. Contact me ahead of time if you are driving up this way.

[DarkSkies]

DS mottos=

everynight all night keeps my numbers up
:fishing:
nothing sleeps like a car seat
:boring:
wind and rain is a soapless shower
:HappyWave:
oh thank heaven for 7/11 :clapping:
home cooking gotta have my WAWA:drool:


Just wanted to thank you for that, ya grouch! :moon:
You're a poet, and don't even know it.... :clapping: :laugh:

[DarkSkies]

Kayak report 4-6-12
Short form....
2nd trip of the year, 25# bass.....
Still had a few hours of darkness....made a drastic move and got on the road to a different area.
Launched the yak and managed 2 bass in the same size class. Dropped one, but the one I landed was 41" and about 25#.
My nicest fish of the Spring so far. :)

[finchaser]

Very nice :plastered::HappyWave:

[vpass]

Very Nice, it only gona get better:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

Thanks guys, pics and detailed report....4-6-12 AM

The surf bite never came together for me last night.
My plan B was a kayak launch. I have had my sights set on a certain big fish spot for 2 weeks now, and the conditions didn't permit a night paddle out there.

Last night was the same old story, winds prevented me from launching and working this one spot. I raced in my mind thinking of a reasonable alternative that would yield some quality fish....
This is why sometimes you have to be prepared with plan C, D, and E....

I launched in the pre-dawn light. It was pretty cold out there and the water was no more than 50 degrees, maybe less.
Paddled out to where I wanted to set up.
Along the way I trolled a stretch plug on one rod, shad on another.
Withiin 5 minutes I get banged hard on that first rod...so hard that I convince myself I'm snagged on the bottom.

I get my other rod (with a shad) out of the way. The snag seems to come undone, when I realize it's a fish, moving toward me.....
The sun was now coming up. A boat's engine nearby caught my attention at that second....I lost concentration, and dropped the fish....:beatin:

The rod that fish hit is a Conventional bridge rod with a Penn 965,,,big enough to handle a 50#...a hit from a 15# bass won't even put a bend in it....knowing I had lost a quality fish, I was pretty angry with myself....



15090

Worked a lot of different things for the next 2 hours, T&W, other diiving plugs, all varieties and sizes of shads, tailored to the depth of water I was in....

Finally decided to really focus on the Stretches, trolling 2 of them at once...
This ain't that easy from a yak if the bottom has different depths....IMO a challenge to do effectively...especially at night without a fish finder....

On the way back to the launch I get banged again on the bridge stick with the Penn 965....
This time I know it's a good fish...takes a minute or so before I can see her shape....
And boy, she was a beauty......If I was a male striped bass I would have shot all over myself....:drool: :laugh:
That fat belly, broad tail....and clean stripes got me all a-tingling....

Got her in, few quick pics, and then the release back to make some babies....

15091

[storminsteve]

Beautiful fish. Look at the belly on her. Great job dark!

[DarkSkies]

I want to document that the head on this fish in post 15 is the smallest of the bigger fish I have caught since Dec 2011.
There's a reason for this documentation here.

Over the Winter I've been catching fish of similar lengths, with different size heads and tails.

At first I was theorizing that these were Hudson fish mixed in with the Chesapeake fish.
I've had similar conversations with friends and some members here,,,,,and I thank you for your input...
:HappyWave:

There are lots of folks who might dispute this....
But after seeing a few hundred fish in a compressed time period, I feel differently.





Lately I've been getting some feedback from some old-timers that there are some additional spawning biomasses, different than the Chesapeake or Hudson strains. (and different from the fish in the Northern rivers of the LI Sound.)

As time permits, I'll be developing an article on my findings and posting the results in a different thread.
Some may think it's ridiculous or delusional. That's OK, I have thick skin for the folks who want to disagree with me....:HappyWave:

At this point I think there's enough anecdotal data, to at least explore the possibilities.
Stay tuned, people....

[albiealert]

fantastic catching Dark!

[Monty]

Awesome report Dark, great catch.

[DarkSkies]

Thanks very much, all....:HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

15104


The strong 20-25mph wind conditions caused me to re-think my strategies for launching and fishing in the next few days.

I went to a place I hadn't been in awhile...and had never kayaked.
Did the Dark Skies Grandstand Circus and Promotional tour....:laugh:

Re-connected with a lot of the old-timers,,,
And met quite a few new people.
Some of them were hardcore fishermen. Others were about as mentally stable as Charlie Manson....:scared:


Found a slight lee from the wind.....launched before dusk on the 2nd trip with the stretch plug experimentation...

This time I covered more ground and trolled a lot of open water....it was tough, to say the least.
I covered about 4 miles total, and lots of varying depths.

The spot I chose to fish is a big fish highway,,,,but it's primarily a bait area,,no kayaks fish there and no one fishes artificials.

My first and only fish came after about an hour of trolling....a small legal-sized bass, released.
Continued to pedal another 2 hours after that until my toes were partially frozen in the 48 degree water.

When I got back to the launch area, I saw that guys had been doing pretty well on bait.

Overall Analysis...
1. I didn't reach my goal of hooking a migratory bigger breeder...
2. but I did catch a fish in a place where they generally don't fish artificials....
3. I think the water being 48 degrees made it difficult to attract the fish to artificials, where I was.
4. They are feeding, but are still sluggish nonetheless.
5. I think in the next month or so this area will be red hot.

Back at it soon, the clock is ticking for the fish migration...:drool:



15103

[ledhead36]

Don't feel bad dark. You were out 3 times so far in the kayak and got fish all 3 times?
Who cares if they weren't all monsters. Man I need to get a yak! I read how much time you put into it, so congrats. That 25lb bass is a beaut.

[storminsteve]

Yeah you're batting 1000 so far. I'm jealous Catch em up!:HappyWave:

[bababooey]

Finally got a decent fish, eh ds?;)
Just kidding, nice going.:clapping:

[wish4fish]

duuuuuuuude! i want a yak!

[DarkSkies]

Easter Sunday report 4-8-12
Skunk report....

I had some time to fish late afternoon. Wanted to go back to where I got the bass yesterday. Got there and the 25mph winds made it unfishable.

I talk about finding a lee from the wind all the time, and will go into more detail on that in another thread.
It took me almost 2 hours to find a place where it seemed like I had a shot at good trolling, the land structure giving me a lee from the wind.








Part 1:
The plan was to paddle out to some areas of structure and deeper water, and troll. I launched on the flats near a fish highway. Had never fished these locations before from land, and never ventured out there in a yak. The challlenge would be the new territory, and what the wind and current would be like once I got out there a mile or more.

I launched and fished the bottom stages of the tide for good reason. The full moon current was extremely strong and I didn't want to get caught up in it.

Got out there, and soon lost the protection of the land-- the lee (I kind of knew that from the beginning.). What I didn't anticipate was how quickly tbings get snotty in 25mph sustained winds. It was a lot of work and I have had much better fishing days. I managed to get into a trolling routine once I reached the structure. Couldn't get to exactly where I wanted to go because of the wind. I did manage to troll some deeper water, as well as some flats near some shoals.

Also, the swells were 2-3' with a duration of every 4 secs. That made moving any distance difficult. I really feel it hampered my trolling as well. When fishing the T&W, I never do great when the conditions are like that. I'm now seeing that can affect the trolling of deeper plugs as well.

Normally, at this time of year, I should have been covered up with bass. It was puzzling.
Even though I don't use electronics, they would have been helpful in seeing just how many fish were below me.

I do a lot of fishing without electronics because I would rather be like the hunters of prior times....scouting out the area, applying what you know, fishing standard ambush points, and taking your knowledge from past seasons and visits, and putting that knowledge to use in new places....


Anyway, got nothing for my efforts except to learn optimum time and tide to return to that area. Should really be heating up in the next month.









Part 2:
I wasn't ready to give up. Got the yak back to shore, packed up, and made a drastic move to another place. Caught the last 2 hours of the flood there. Full moon cycle current was strong but diminishing.

A normal indication of potential is if I get there and the bait guys are catching from shore. They weren't. I wanted to give it a shot anyway. Got out there. The current was winding down a bit, However out in the open the wind was still pretty strong. Trolled for 1 1/2 hours with plugs, rubber, and also jigged.

Another indication of whether it will be a good night is the presence of bait. For some reason there wasn't much bait there last night. I gave it my best anyway, believing the opportunity for a bigger fish was there. Yeah I caught the skunk both times, but that's fishin. :fishing:

Got back to shore just in time as the winds after the tide change were building to 20+mph.

I touched base with a few friends, die-hard fishermen, who were out in other locations. Some of them were crushing the bass last night. I was going to make the 3rd move with the yak, but was too worn out and called it a night.








I still say now is the time to be out there, people.

Whether you catch or not, the fish are moving through.
Position yourself in a place where they are likely to pass by, and you may end up with a happy smile on your face. :)

[DarkSkies]

Overall (General) Analysis:

1. Cold water - definitely puts a damper on fishing for bass with artificials from the yak.
2. You could get discouraged this way.
3. If you cover lots of ground you will see guys from the shore have been doing very well with bait. I know guys right now who are absolutely crushing bass from the yaks. However, they are using bait, and generally anchoring up in deeper water that is adjacent to the flats.
4. I feel it's worth it, as in the next month some areas that are only spotty for the artificial bite, will be red hot after the spawn. Now is the time to work the water and do the scouting by fishing with the yak. The fish are an added bonus.
5.. I think I've mentioned this previously...in General, if the fish are chasing bait or the forage is thick, AND the water temps are 50 and above, you will be more likely to get greater numbers from the yak on artificials.

Colder water, 50 and below, impedes that action. Although the fish may be there, they tend to be more sluggish.

6. Once the water temps trend upward to around 55 degrees, the catching from yaks on artificials is much more consistent.
7. Again, this analysis doesn't take the spawning areas into effect. If you are fishing in one of those areas, the fish will be much more aggressive and hit plugs with ferocity, even with water temps 47-49.

[finchaser]

Bummer guess the fish went out of town for Easter factor that in next time you fish on a holiday

[hookset]

They weren't on holiday where we were last night finchaser. you guys need to come to the dark side and fish bait. Like dark said the water is cold and they don't want to work too much for their supper. Nice pic of the 25 dark. I think that yak is like 33" across, that was defiinitely a good fish. You should bring some bunker with you next time. If you anchor in deeper water you could catch them all night now on bunker.

[finchaser]

Fish bait and smell like Dark I don't think so.Many times when there on bunker they hit shads with a vengeance over cut bait. Plus the other day I had 18 fish to 23# on jigs and rubber all released. But congrats to you guy's

[Monty]

Fish bait and smell like Dark I don't think so.
My #3 reason not to fish bait.:thumbsup:
:HappyWave:

[storminsteve]

:clapping: :clapping:

[DarkSkies]

4-10-12 AM Quick trip 2 hours

Still moving around a lot in these yak trips trying to fish places I haven't fished from a yak before.
As mentioned, the fish are moving around like a game of musical chairs in the back areas. If you have good logs and have documented seasonal migration patterns, now is the time to be out there.

I launched around sunrise today. Still haven't made it to the area holding bigger fish as I need more time to plan and do that trip.

Wanted to get out earlier. I put my head down for a snooze and slept most of the night, while everyone else was fishing hard. :beatin: Congrats to all those putting in their time right now. :thumbsup:


The day's wind was forecast to be steady 20mph, so I wanted to be off the water within 2 hours of the launch to get back and make it to work on time.

Got out there, trolled the plugs over quite a distance.
No action at all.


The mark of a good fisherman is the ability to adapt and think it through when the catching ain't so great.
Rubber and bucktails are the premium cold water profiles, so I put the plugs away, and trolled and jigged them.

Just when I was about to give up, I get hit by a bass on the rubber.
34" and 15#.
I kept her because she was bleeding bad.

15108












Overall analysis:
1. The water where I was fishing this morning was closer to 50, but still cold enough to make the bass sluggish.
2. The water was also pretty dirty.
3. Chartreuse plugs usually work pretty well in those conditions, yet they didn't today.
4. I look forward to trolling some big blues on plugs.....the fight in them is like being on stage at a Slayer concert, back 20 years ago when they really tore things up.....:headbang:




I don't like fishing rubber from a yak if you're trolling it.

If you're jigging, IMO you have better control over the hookset and can hook them in the mouth. When trolling, sometimes they inhale the rubber. That presents a problem for C&R if it's down their throat.

Anyway, with the nightly presence of bluefish now, my nights trolling rubber are limited.
That's why I had the foresight to troll the other plugs. Today they produced nothing despite varying the speed and depth I was trolling them at.

[DarkSkies]

Fish bait and smell like Dark I don't think so.Many times when there on bunker they hit shads with a vengeance over cut bait. Plus the other day I had 18 fish to 23# on jigs and rubber all released. But congrats to you guy's





My #3 reason not to fish bait.:thumbsup:
:HappyWave:



I want ya's to know....
The next time I'm out pedaling the yak.....
and I come across some massive schools of bunker......

I'm gonna get one for Monty, and one for Finchaser,,,,maybe one for Steve too...
I'm gonna call some of my friends who fish clams...and ask them to save some rotten ones for me....

Once I get them, I'll take one rotten clam, and put them in each of the bunker mouths, shutting them and freezing them in my freezer....
:upck:

And the next time we end up somewhere fishing together,,,,,don't be surprised if I "accidentally" leave said present behind, hidden in your vehicle....for your savory enjoyment.....:kicknuts::laugh: :2flip: :moon: :HappyWave:

[skinner]

Good job dark. No bunker in my car please.:kooky: :HappyWave:

[finchaser]

now you want us to believe you can snag not 1 but 2 bunker:ROFLMAO

[Monty]

now you want us to believe you can snag not 1 but 2 bunker:ROFLMAO
Not to worry, I heard the "Save the Bunker group" is still laughing after Dark's post.

[storminsteve]

^ Yeah DS you were like a madman in some of those threads. no compromise at all. To hear you tell it, PETA and PEW are secretly programming us as robots. Kind of like the premise of the body snatchers. Hope you aren't upset at me saying that, you know I'm only kidding. I think it's crazy how half the guys out there cannot catch even one fish without being right on the bunker pods.
Oh, and please don't put any bunker in my car. As grateful as I am for presents, that's one I can do without.:ROFLMAO :HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

^^ Gee some of you mooks are really stuck on saving that bunker, aren't ya's? ;) :HappyWave:

If you don't want to take my urging to check out the financial contribution trail for some of these "pro-angler" groups, contact Finchaser in private....he'll be glad to share his candid views of the scenarios should all bunker be protected....

And to go into detail why PEW and PEW trust groups or groups funded by those monies are bad for fishermen.

Personally it won't affect me...as I haven't used bunker this year ...

I will tell you that right now, in the bays and rivers, as a general rule bait is outcatching artificials better than 2:1...a friend managed 19 bass last night (Thu) on bait. The best I could do Thur in the pre-dawn trip was 5 bass...the work getting those bass in the cold 50 degree water was far beyond what most kayakers would have done......

[DarkSkies]

4-12-12 How to turn a 3 hour trip into a 6 hour one....


I had a quick 3 hour trip planned before work Thu. If all went well, I would have been able to fish, get 3 hours of sleep at home, and get up well-rested for work. It didn't happen that way because the winds and rough water blew me way off course.

I knew what that potential winds would be in the morning from Wunderground. I would suggest to all kayakers to consult Wunderground for the "Hourly Forecast" for times like this. You need to have not only a few backup choices, but also an escape plan if that water kicks up and you have difficulty making it back to where you launched. With water in the 50 degree temp range, this is especially important, and could mean the difference between a successful trip and one where you come home in a body bag..

When I launched, the winds and water weren't bad....
Shortly thereafter they built up a bit...rather than stop fishing I decided to work toward a place where there was a lee.

Trolled for a solid 3 hours, structure and deeper water.
No activity at all for me in the dark.

Right around 6am I began getting fish.
Had a decent period of activity from 6-7:30 till slack tide.
As the tide slacked, the wind changed, becoming steady 20mph and blowing me way off course.

(Actually, this had started while I was catching fish, as each fish brought me into trolling deeper water and further offshore)

When I finally decided to get back into the groove and start on my way home, it was a formidable challenge. Gave my legs a good workout as it took me twice as long to pedal the same distance. I was grateful that my original plan took the tide into account, and coming back I was helped by the tide as well.

Total:
Managed 5 bass to 35" and about 17#
All similar in size (same 2 year classes).
Nothing on rubber today, all on the plugs.


All fish released.

[Monty]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Hi Dark, great report. 5 bass sounds great.

[chas527]

fished the hook yesterday morning.windy day got 8 skates 1 big cow nose ray.and a small black fish

[DarkSkies]

^^ I copied Chas's post to here give folks a further illustration of colder water slowing a fish's metabolism down.

In addition, I previously wrote:

Overall (General) Analysis:

1. Cold water - definitely puts a damper on fishing for bass with artificials from the yak.
2. You could get discouraged this way.
3. If you cover lots of ground you will see guys from the shore have been doing very well with bait. I know guys right now who are absolutely crushing bass from the yaks. However, they are using bait, and generally anchoring up in deeper water that is adjacent to the flats.
4. I feel it's worth it, as in the next month some areas that are only spotty for the artificial bite, will be red hot after the spawn. Now is the time to work the water and do the scouting by fishing with the yak. The fish are an added bonus.
5.. I think I've mentioned this previously...in General, if the fish are chasing bait or the forage is thick, AND the water temps are 50 and above, you will be more likely to get greater numbers from the yak on artificials.

Colder water, 50 and below, impedes that action. Although the fish may be there, they tend to be more sluggish.

6. Once the water temps trend upward to around 55 degrees, the catching from yaks on artificials is much more consistent.
7. Again, this analysis doesn't take the spawning areas into effect. If you are fishing in one of those areas, the fish will be much more aggressive and hit plugs with ferocity, even with water temps 47-49.



If even skates are pecking at the bait and not that aggressive, you know the water is cold.
With the ocean temps now at 48 degrees, cooled down by the days of N/NW winds, anglers need to be aware of that when fishing.

[UrbanFishingMan]

I'm in the western sound
been getting bass for 3 weeks.
At first it was all schoolies, then last saturday
in chocolate milk water & 30 plus mph winds
i connected with a 15#. my largest so far
I've been using white Al gag's whip it eels & pearl storm shads.
I use a 7mm wetsuit & hobie revolution yak with the largest turbo fins & sailing rudder.
I been following bunker pods.
Yesterday I tried surfcasting in two western bays & got SKUNKED!
South shore was much colder H2O than north shore!
The reason i got off the yak was Simms repaired my waders for free & i wanted to try em out.
15119

[cowherder]

Dark and Urban, love those pics. Urban I particularly love that bass eye, staring right at you. Great work guys!

[Monty]

Dark and Urban, love those pics. Urban I particularly love that bass eye, staring right at you. Great work guys!

What he said, that eye pic is special, great shot.

[plugginpete]

Great going guys. I check into this thread every day and think you will hit even bigger ones soon. Keep up the good work.

[CharlieTuna]

Nice work guys. Save some of the bigger ones for us. Believe it or not we are catching schoolies already. Crazy year.

[DarkSkies]

4-15-12 Sun predawn

I got out on the yak this AM before dawn and had a slow pick. 2 bass to 34", 15#. Both released.

I covered an insane amount of ground and once the sun came up a lot of people seemed to be fishing and not catching.....starting to see the fish are really concentrated around certain areas, with a lot of dead water in between.

What worked for me was trolling plugs. I passed by a few yakkers who were not catching. Noticed them jigging or casting plugs in deep water. With the water temps as cold as they are, you need to be deeper in that water column.

Lots of boats out there as well, not much catching after the sun came up.

When I launched it was like glass, later on the winds got to be 20+ mph and I got off the water.
During my travels I went through an area of bunker that was about 1 mile in diameter, lots of feeding bunker in those windy conditions. The thing is..every time a boat came near they would sound and not feed until the boat noises went away....
Therefore the boats never had an idea they were there.

The conditions this week are prime for good fishing as the water has heated up a few degrees and the bass and bigger blues are making more of a presence.

Will try to D/L pics when I get a chance, one of the computers we use is getting an upgrade....

[ledhead36]

DS I think I remember you saying once the blues come in the bass will head for deeper water. I think you are on the money with that. The bass are still hitting but in certain areas the blues have taken over. I think you will nail the bass big time a little further out in the kayaks now. Good luck guys and keep the reports coming.

[plugcrazy]

I covered an insane amount of ground and once the sun came up a lot of people seemed to be fishing and not catching.....starting to see the fish are really concentrated around certain areas, with a lot of dead water in between.

.

All the more reason to get a kayak or boat. I spent 4 hours on the beach this morning and nothing but one runt bass to show for it and skates and dogfish. I could see some kind of bird action but it was like a mile out. You guys in kayaks can def reach them bass, good luck this year.

[DarkSkies]

DannyV was at it again this morning....:HappyWave:
His report and pics, courtesy of MSGDan.....:fishing:


"Here are a couple pictures from this morning. Landed 3 bass, 5 monster blues, all live bunker."


151941519515196

[Monty]

That Gator in the pic above looks BIG to me. Great pics!!!!

[jigfreak]

Good job, Dan.

[Shorelady]

Tucked away today to avoid the wind. (I'm such a fair weather kayak fisher) It was another bluefish fest today..... They are so much fun out of a yak. Downright scarey at times as they do their gymnastic moves right at the boat and want to get in your lap! Fighting them at eye level is a treat! There was no counting them again today. Mixed sizes and it was a topwater day!!!!!! I hate to admit it but, teasing them over and over and watching the smack the plug again and again is sometimes more fun than catching those yellow eyed demons. Back at it in the am, if I can move my upper body.:lookhappy:

[DarkSkies]

Awesome report, Judy. :clapping: :HappyWave:

It seems that out in deeper water is the place where a lot of them are holding.

This morning I discovered one of the reasons why....there were quite a few birds diving on grass shrimp on the bay flats.
When those grass shrimp gather en masse. the blues come in and will hold for awhile. Not many were catching this morning from shore as the water is a bit cold and dirty in the shallow areas. As I said, a day or so of extreme sun and it will turn around to where everyone is catching them...glad ya had a blast!

[Shorelady]

Had a repeat today of yesterday, but not much on the top water action. Set a kayak fishing record today. There were 5 of us to start the day and the women out numbered the men! I haven't heard that much laughing, screaming, hooping and hollering in a long time! The blues continued to put on the show. One of the guys decided it was time to test his new yak and his balance skills and fished most of the day standing in it. (not an outback).
Lesson learned today: If you don't want company in your yak, when you do not have a fish on, reel the plug in at the front of the yak, not the side. Never know what lurks below.:scared:

[storminsteve]

Lesson learned today: If you don't want company in your yak, when you do not have a fish on, reel the plug in at the front of the yak, not the side. Never know what lurks below.:scared:

Did you get hit by a blue when you least expected it?:scared: Awesome story btw. Were you trolling or throwing metal?

[Shorelady]

Did you get hit by a blue when you least expected it?:scared: Awesome story btw. Were you trolling or throwing metal?

Another inch and it would not have been pretty. The fish came up out of the water after the plug as I was pulling it out of the water. Most of the fish caught today were casting with a very fast retrieve. Thunder sticks and crystal minnows. (modified for blues) They didn't seem interested in the metal at all today. Poppers yesterday.... Fly guys did pretty good as well.

[seamonkey]

Poppers yesterday.... Fly guys did pretty good as well.

So the guys were fly fishing from a kayak or the shore? I always wondered how they would fly fish from a akayak, and that is why I am asking. Great report, glad to hear the blues are hitting plugs and poppers..

[baitstealer]

Another inch and it would not have been pretty. The fish came up out of the water after the plug as I was pulling it out of the water.

You are pretty brave. If that happened to me and I was in a kayak I would have screamed like a girl!
I like bluefish but not when they can get close enough to take a bite out of you!

[DarkSkies]

Great report and good times Judy. :HappyWave:
Was Dee out there yesterday too?

[clamchucker]

I enjoy your reports and experiences on the water shorelady. Thanks for sharing them with us.

[Shorelady]

So the guys were fly fishing from a kayak or the shore? I always wondered how they would fly fish from a akayak, and that is why I am asking. Great report, glad to hear the blues are hitting plugs and poppers..

They fly fish from the yaks. They make it look easy somehow.

[Shorelady]

Great report and good times Judy. :HappyWave:
Was Dee out there yesterday too?

No Dee couldn't make it this weekend.

[storminsteve]

They fly fish from the yaks. They make it look easy somehow.


How do you fly fish from a yak? Don't you have to stand up to do that? How about the backcast, or do they call it rollcast. It must be hard as hell to do it sitting down.

[Shorelady]

How do you fly fish from a yak? Don't you have to stand up to do that? How about the backcast, or do they call it rollcast. It must be hard as hell to do it sitting down.
Sorry, not a fly fisher. All I know is give them plenty of room!:wow:
When the water warms up I know of few of them sit side saddle. They make it look so easy!
Weekend was pretty slow overall considering the amount of hours the yakers put in. There were some beautiful 20-30 pounders caught out front and some fluke and blues in the back. Only fished for a few hours on Sat. out back and got one skinny short fluke.

[Shorelady]

Haven't been out front since last Sept. Finally it looked like a great weekend! Managed a few run offs Friday and Finally came up with a 42 inch on Sat. Had alot of help from my friends. It's been a long time getting out front, so that is just one special fish.
http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac181/Shorelady/usethisone.jpg

[Monty]

Managed a few run offs Friday and Finally came up with a 42 inch on Sat. Had alot of help from my friends. It's been a long time getting out front, so that is just one special fish.

Congratulations on the catch, great pic.

[wish4fish]

wow wat a pig that is! grats do u kno how much she weighed?

[cowherder]

Awesome catch Shorelady!:clapping::clapping:

[Shorelady]

wow wat a pig that is! grats do u kno how much she weighed?

I have no idea what the weight was. It is too hard for me to weigh them in the yak. (can't lift them out of the water high enough) So I just measure them and use that as my guage. She was very fat however.

[DarkSkies]

Beautiful fish Judy. :HappyWave:

[jigfreak]

Nice work there shorelady.