Kayak fish of a lifetime - August striped bass 48 1/4"!!

[DarkSkies]

This has been a great year for kayak bass, with some guys hitting the 40 and 50 mark from their kayaks. A kayak puts you in the middle of the action. Some guys think it's easy as opposed to shore fishin'. They may think that, but the mis-perception fishing the bunker schools without a motor is easy is not always true.

1. Even if you have a pedal-yak, the bunker move, and the bass move with them. You might have to move N or S along the coast as much as 5 miles a day. That's pretty tough when you have rough seas or an offshore swell.

2. In addition, in a kayak your field of vision for seeing the bunker schools is limited. There have been several times I've been on the jetties, seen the bunker 1/2 mile offshore, and pointed out to a yakker on the water to go to the left or the right to intercept them.

These challenges all make it difficult for a yakker to consistently nail big bass. Yet, this summer, in the ocean, bays, Montauk, Block Island, LI sound, and Cape Cod, guys have scored big-time with bunker and live eels.

Hat's off to these guys who are so obsessed with big bass they constantly push to position themselves where the fish are.

[DarkSkies]

JeffKess is one of our newest members here. I was supposed to post this a few weeks ago but got sidetracked.

His story is an exciting one. Jeff is an avid fisherman who fishes from LI to Fla. He's relatively new to kayak fishing, but if you talk to him his enthusiasm shows.

Each time he tries to challenge himself a little more to get into fish. Balancing safety with our addiction to fishing is important, too. I found Jeff to have just the right combination of wisdom and excitement about kayak fishing.

I haven't yet fished with him, but hope to hook up this year. In the meantime, here's his story, reprinted with his permission:

[DarkSkies]

"Caught a monster striper this afternoon from my Kayak off the beach in Fire Island. Caught by live-lining a bunker under a school of blue fish. The bunker in this school were pretty big at about 14 inches. This bass just inhaled it along with my treble hook. Believe me when I tell you that this fish took some drag and dove deep. I was pretty scared when I saw the fish come up because on the kayak your only a few inches above the water. This thing was huge. It caused quite a stir when I brought it in as the beach was full of people at 2 o'clock on a beautiful Saturday. Great day!!!"






This is my personal best

48 inches long

27 inch girth


approx 50 pounds - my scale doesn't go that high





**Jeff didn't weigh this officially, but the range for a fish like that is:

min. weight would be 37.0

avg. weight 44.0

and a max. weight of 51.0 Lbs.

and would be about 17 years old.



Way to go on the fish of a lifetime, Jeff!

[DarkSkies]

Tom Schlichter from www.newsday.com picked up the story and did an article on it:


Kayak angler scores a huge striped bass

Originally published: August 5, 2010 7:44 PM
Updated: August 5, 2010 7:52 PM
By TOM SCHLICHTER. Special to Newsday

It seems that kayak fishing is all the rage these days, and why not? After all, the sleek, lightweight and portable vessels allow anglers to get off the bank for a minimal investment, patrol shallow flats that bigger craft can't, and easily cover several miles of water using nothing more than people power.

"Many models are also designed specifically for fishing," said Captain Jerry Collins of Captain Kayak in Sayville. "Kayak anglers used to pile all their gear in a mesh bag and tuck it away in the cockpit, but these days kayaks designed for sport fishing have rod holders, dry storage compartments and comfortable seat backs. We can even rig them with portable fish-finders.

"One kayak, the Hobie MirageDrive, features foot pedals for hands-free operation. That leaves anglers ready to cast at will or battle lunkers without ever needing to lift a paddle."

About the only thing left to figure out with these versatile watercraft, it seems, is how to get a huge fish into the boat. That's what Jeff Kessler faced last Saturday when he hooked a 48-inch striper weighing about 50 pounds while casting from his 15-foot ocean kayak. The lunker bass struck just 600 feet beyond the Saltaire surf line.

"It was just an incredible experience," said the 48-year old Brooklynite, who owns a beach house in the popular Fire Island seaside community. "I had been casting tins for blues around some bunker pods without much luck, so I decided to tie on a treble hook and snag a few baitfish."

It was while reeling in a 14-inch adult bunker that Kessler felt a heavy bump at the end of his line. He paused his retrieve, and then watched in dismay as the 20-pound braided Spectra line started peeling from his reel.

"I wasn't expecting anything that big, so my drag was set pretty loose," Kessler continued. "When that bass hit, she headed off like a freight train."

Within minutes, Kessler could see the spool of the reel beneath a few remaining wraps of line. Risking a break-off, he tightened the drag, gained back some line and eventually fought the huge bass to a standstill beneath the boat. The hefty cow then made one last run, exhausting herself as the line held firm.

"My heart was racing when I first saw the size of that fish in the greenish water alongside my kayak," continued the lucky angler. "It was four feet long and I had no idea how to get it into the cockpit."

Fortunately for Kessler, another kayaker happened by and lent a hand. With the big bass wallowing between the two vessels, Kessler grasped the fish's lower lip and pulled while his assistant hoisted the tail and pushed - firing the fish torpedo-style onto the angler's lap.

I'm guessing the maneuver wasn't pretty, and it certainly wasn't as safe as tying a rope through the fish's gills and towing it back to shore. Still, it worked, and who can blame Kessler for needing to improvise on such an occasion. After all, the huge fish was the first striper he had ever caught from a kayak and, by far, his biggest bass to date.

"I'm hooked on kayak fishing for life," he said. "It's more thrilling than I could have ever imagined."

E-mail: outdoortom@optonline.net

[bababooey]

That's a beautiful catch, congrats Jeff!

[hookset]

What a cow! Nice report.

[dogfish]

Awesome fish, dude!

[jigfreak]

Whoa, niiiiiiice!