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.

[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.

[LennyD]

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

[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.

[LennyD]

Hey Rich, i was trolling.

[crosseyedbass]

Nice fish Lenny!

[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.





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.

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.






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.






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."

But I struck out with the bass, my intended target.

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

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



For the PETA people/ fish handling police, the oystercracker is dead here, as I kept and ate it.


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. 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.

[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.

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, 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.

[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.

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.

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.







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.




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 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.

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