Kayak Trips and Fishing Reports 2013

[J Barbosa]

On Saturday my brother and I took a buddy out for his first kayak voyage ever. We headed into the bay to look for all the big bluefish that have been around and sure enough since I invited a friend along not even one bluefish showed up for our party. A lot of happy bunker around thanks to those prominent winds we have been having. We also tried for fluke but came up empty handed.

On Sunday the three of us headed to a different location where we picked at short fluke until a school of nice sized weakfish decided to show up and save our day. Most were cookie cuter fish in the 16-18" range with one bigger fish in the mix.

[J Barbosa]

Took the kayaks out yesterday and both my brother and a friend had brand new shiny 2013 Hobies.

Got to the water early in the morning and the fog was so thick you could barely see the 30' yacht moving 20 yards away. We took our time to unload the kayaks and rig everything and waited for the fog to start thinning.

Once the wind shifted the fog thinned and we launched staying a few feet from the shore line. About 15 minutes later the fog was completely gone and we moved into the channels and drifted for fluke. Right away the croakers show up along with some fluke. Barley into our first drift I saw a few birds working far out so we decided to go check it out.

Get there and its bluefish practically everywhere feeding on the surface in only 6-8 feet of water. We had double and triple hookups for over 3-4 hours all mixed sizes but most were smaller in the 5-10lb size and some pushed 10lbs.

I still have no clue as to what they were feeding on. I didn't see any bait and none of them spit anything up. My best guess is that they are feeding on all the croakers that are around.

I have some great footage of my brother trying to keep a pencil popper away from the bluefish but unfortunately the video clearly gives away where we were fishing so I won't be posting it.

With our arms tired we decided to leave the blues and try for some fluke...buddy managed a 22" fluke and then we called it quits.

So much for all the bluefish being offshore

First cast out there I did manage to open up another 5H Rasco split ring...this is starting to get old really quick.

[DarkSkies]

You can't fish the Ambrose Channel in a kayak that's a major shipping lane!

I know you and others may find it hard to believe, but some of us really have screws loose, and get tired of the usual places most yakkers fish...after awhile launching at the small handful of popular spot just doesn't do it for us anymore, and we look for new challenges....
I'm not saying that everyone should go out now in their yaks and fish Ambrose, but it has been done....
These are the reasons I would rather do it at night and pick the nights when the shipping traffic is much less.....so at most you will have one or 2 ships a night you have to worry about....
Again, I don't want to encourage anyone out there to do this...it's really not for the beginner, and you have to have a sober understanding of the consequences....not being aware could mean your death.....That's too much of a risk to try to explain to others....and the reason I would not encourage it....

However, you can see from the attached pic, that Eli was out there....
Attachment 17391


**(This shot is not as severe as it seems because of the angle the pic was taken at)....he is actually further from the ship's path than he appears to be...anyone who knows the deep channels that Zig Zag back through the border of Staten Island would understand what I'm saying here.....
I feel more comfortable doing it at night...but have had some close calls......


**You really have to gauge how far away the container ship is and make sure you are completely out of the zone when they pass by.....There is no 2nd guessing or waiting till the last minute...
For this reason I would never encourage any others to try this as a mistake could lead to your death....

Eli and I have been yakking for years.
I want to stress that if your skill set for any activity is such that it causes you to question if you will be able to to it successfully, you should not do it.

[bababooey]

Sorry I agree with seamonkey. You guys are mental. Does the term death wish have any meaning here?

[dogfish]

bababooey its not a death wish if you know the risk and execute a careful plan. Sometimes the fish aren't on the flats they are deep in the channels. Here in Ma we have some rip areas where if they are not careful folks can be washed off and killed. In fact some have drowned there over the years. Does that mean they should not be fished? Heck no.
You just have to have an understanding of the tides and the stage of the moon. Some are too dangerous to fish during a full or new, but fine to fish other times. Know the waters you fish. Know the risk. Balance your fishing against your level of acceptable risk. There is nothing mental about that.

[cowherder]

Dogfish you have more balls than I do because that looks pretty dangerous to me. To each his own. Good luck and be safe out there fellas.

[Shorelady]

Just got back from a trip to Salem Ma. Attended the Striper Shoot Out for the fifth year. What an absolutely beautiful area to fish. And a great Fun tourney! All about fishing and having fun.... Laid back group, and some wonderful folks up there. Fished Friday thru Sunday. It was so nice to take a break from bottom fishing. Friday was excellent with all shorts, but the fish are on steroids up there. Great fighting fish. Sat, a little slower and Sunday we found some bigger fish. If you ever get the chance and enjoy camping and launching a couple hundred yards from your campsite, give Winter Island in Salem a try. GREAT TRIP!

[dogfish]

Dogfish you have more balls than I do because that looks pretty dangerous to me. To each his own. Good luck and be safe out there fellas.

as dark mentioned its not about having balls or being the craziest one out there. Those who have that mentality end up dead or in trouble. These are calculated risks. You have to understand the tides and current very thoroughly at your launch and the areas you will be fishing. This is not for the kiddies, it is for advanced yakkers only. Every year some one gets in trouble by pushing their limits beyond their skill set. I like fishing at night because it is a lot more peaceful and I don't really like to fish in a plastic navy with others. But you have to have all your safety issues covered, cell phone, VHF radio, float plan, safety gear and lighting, etc. Be careful out there and you will be likely to come back safe and sound.

[J Barbosa]

Went kayaking with my brother and friend yesterday looking for something actally capable of pulling drag.

When we launched at a southern location in the RB the water was dead flat . Launching in the surf was not a possibility with the forecast of 15-25mph winds predicted.

We started by splitting up and trolling around for a while with no hits. Lots of smaller bait around including spearing, peanuts and mullet. I also saw some scattered bunker around. We ended up just shy of the coast guard station at the hook about 5-6 miles from where we launched before we decided to turn around.

After a while we switched over to some bottom fishing. Spots and croakers were coming up with spots greatly outnumbering the croakers for once.

I ended up getting a nice weakfish and buddy caught one as well.

Wind was kicking up and we started to make our way back against a 15-20mph wind and a full moon tide. The waves were pretty bad..took a few dozen over the bow and go totally soaked. I had 4-6" of water in my hull that I'm not sure if it was from taking water over the bow or a leak. I've suspected I may have a small leak since two trips ago but I never got this much water.


Attachment 17597

[Monty]

Real nice weakfish JB

[storminsteve]

Nice going on the weakfish JB! Question when you were getting the croakers and spot were you using clams or worms and what worked better?

[J Barbosa]

Question when you were getting the croakers and spot were you using clams or worms and what worked better?

Sand worms.

I was getting severely out fished by a friend at first and took notice. The difference was that he would jig his bait occasionally.

I started to do the same thing and noticed that often when I went to lift (jig) the bait the spot was already on the hook but I never felt the fish take it. I'm not sure if this is a "spot" thing or if the fish were just lethargic.

[ledhead36]

Seems like the weakfish are thinning out too. Spot and croaker in the Navesink seem to be less. The harbors and places near deep water still do hold some nice ones though. Nice weakie JB.

[DarkSkies]

Eli's latest....pic and report courtesy of Eli......



*********
Decent pick of Bass this morning into mid 30 inch range. Lots of fish around not that active just yet.



Nice weather at least.

[storminsteve]

nice!

[DarkSkies]

Eli's report from this morning.....pics and report courtesy of Eli.



***********
Excellent Bass fishing for this time of year still. Best September for Bass and Weakfish I have ever seen. Managed a bunch of fish on the last two morning tides up to 20 pounds.





Can't wait for Blackfish season.

[jigfreak]

Good catching guys.