Kayak Kings

The idea has been in my head since I heard about mother-shipping offshore. Several years have gone by with missed chances, bad weather, unfortunate scheduling, no funds, bad weather, bad weather, and BAD WEATHER. Then FINALLY, a trip that seemed perfect, a great forecast, money in my pocket, and five other kayakers ready to go. It was really going to happen! 

I worked the entire day before making the five hour drive down to Hatteras Island. When I got to the hotel at 12:30am, I thought I might be lucky enough to get three or four hours of sleep, but I should have known better. This was the trip I’d been looking forward to for years! I got in the bed around 1am and stared at the ceiling and my phone for the next two and a half hours. Christmas Eve was three days prior, but it sure didn't seem like it to this giddy dude. I stirred, flopped, and daydreamed about king mackerel for hours. I ended up with about an hour of broken sleep, but it didn't matter. When five o’clock rolled around, I was as chipper and as energetic as I could be. I had enough energy to easily paddle myself the 20 miles offshore!

We loaded our six kayaks into the roomy stern of The Runaway and headed out of the inlet in search of bait. It was a long and unfruitful process that ended with only a single bunker for bait, but we had plenty of frozen ballyhoo and we were told that they would work well. After a short run offshore to the spot, we were chomping at the bit to get out. Jack Daughtry was the first one in the water and it didn't take him long to show us that the fish were there and biting. Within five minutes of trolling his ballyhoo, he hooked up to a false albacore while pedaling to the boat to get his other rod. Soon after that, I landed my first ever false albacore. They might not be any good to eat, but they sure do fight hard for their size! I was so excited and anxious to get on some more fish that I didn't even take the time to admire my newly caught specie. I just grabbed it by the tail, un-hooked it, and dropped it head first like I’d seen so many times. Within 20 minutes of fishing, Mike Basnite hooked into something good - how could I tell? Because even though I was almost 100 yards away, I could hear him yelling, screaming, cussing, and whooping, as clear as if he caught it right next to me.

I immediately paddled after him to give him a hand or get a picture for him. As I got closer, he finally shouted, “It’s a freaking KING!”

 I was coming up on his kayak and had my hand on my camera prepared to take a picture, then as soon as I stopped and bumped his kayak with mine, my SG Release Reel started SCREAMING. I put my camera back and said, “Sorry, Mike! I gotta take care of this!” with a huge grin on my face. 

That fish ripped over 100 yards of line off my SG in seconds. The line started getting low in the spool and I  wondered if it was going to stop or if i was about to lose this fish. I slightly thumbed the spool but it didn't seem to help at all, then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. It went from screaming drag to a stop in just a matter of seconds…blood-pumping, adrenaline-filled seconds. 

The rest of the fight was not dull, but I could tell the fish was done. I cranked myself to the fish and fought it vertically for a couple minutes, careful to not pull the hook. It made one more attempt to run, but only made it 10-15 yards this time before going into a death spiral up to my kayak. I grabbed it by the tail and lifted it into my kayak (with its head full of jagged teeth pointing away from me) and let out a WHOOOOOOOOO!!!!! My first king mackerel, all fought from my kayak at that! That was it- I didn't even need to catch another fish all day… but I did. 

At first I was catching mainly kings, then later on in the day I was catching nothing but false albacore. They both fight extremely well for their size, but the crazy drag-ripping runs from the kings are addicting! I missed six to eight fish throughout the day, with some of my baits coming back chomped in half. One of my albies came up along with a small hammerhead on its tail. I pulled it away from the shark, but not before it got a nice slashing chomp on the bask section of the little scrapper. Throughout the day I saw a couple loggerhead turtles that let me get within ten feet of them, but wouldn’t hang out long enough for a good picture.

It was amazing being around five other guys that have never caught a king from a kayak and seeing each one of them land one. Their smiles were priceless. We fished the same area from 10am to 3pm and ended up catching twice as many fish as any other boat that day.  Each kayaker caught at least three kings up to 25-30 pounds and the false albacore were slightly more abundant than the kings. 

The drive home was not easy. I was running on about 1 hour of sleep for the past 2 days, but luckily I still had the adrenaline from the trip keeping me awake!

Life and stuff

So, over the past 6 months, I've moved twice and got a new job. The first place I moved had no good internet options, so I decided to use my phone as a 3g hotspot... It was not the best, but it worked. I am now in Reedville, Virginia. AKA the middle of nowhere. Internet options are the same...garbage. So here I am, using my smartphone as a hotspot and waiting forever to upload anything... It's pretty discouraging writing updates on my blog when I know it takes minutes just to post a picture or hours to upload video.

Although, other than the internet issue, things have never been better! I moved into a townhouse right on the water... and when I say "on the water," I mean I can walk to the dock without stepping on grass. It goes from my back deck, to a wooden walkway, to the dock! To some people that's no big deal, but to me it's halfway to heaven. I have caught white perch, red drum, spot, and silver perch, right off my dock, not 60 feet from my back door. I only have two full time neighbors out of the 10 units that are here. For the most part, old people show up on weekends from time to time. It is a very peaceful place to live. The fishing is slowing as winter closes in, but I'm looking forward to fishing the area this spring.

My first fish off my dock!

10-11" white perch

Perdy little drum 100 yards from my home.

                            

After bugging the guys at Release Reels for a while, they finally gave in and gave me a job! I went from busting my butt for 8 years doing tile work to working in a machine shop building fishing reels! How cool is that?!?!? Now I'm completely immersed in fishing! I work it, I live it, I play it, and I write it! (I dream it sometimes too.)

So far the job has been great! I have learned tons about CNC machining and keep learning every day. The reels are beyond amazing and I love thinking about how to make them better. We are not a huge shop (yet,) but we have a huge demand and are getting closer and closer to filling that demand every day. I can't wait until we are running 100% and the orders start flying out the door. I can't explain how excited I am to be a part of this great USA manufacturing business! 

Check out this stuff!

MADE IN USA!!!

Main gears

Pinion gears and thrust plates

Assembly table

Work table Kenny and I built.

Chop saw table I built (It has stain and poly on it now)

1st operation on the reel main case.

 I'm glad I have a new job.

SOLID GOLD!!!!! I mean brass cams.

2nd & 3rd operation on the main case...one more operation to go. Those things are a lot of work!

Finally!

     First off, I have to thank Kayak Kevin for all the tips and secrets divulged to us. I know I've told you again and again, but thanks Kevin!

On Saturday Night I felt like I was a kid and it was Christmas eve. I've been to the Shoals on the Eastern shore 16 times in the past 4 years, but every time I am excited to go. The target is always the same (Bull red drum) and the results other than once (one 38"er) have all been the same...NO Reds. I never let that get to me though. I go with the same positive attitude and determination as always. Even though I knew I had to be up at 6am to meet my buddy Mark Rioux, I couldn't sleep. I had thoughts of reds swimming in my head til about 1:30am when I finally got to sleep. At 4:45 I woke up before my alarm ready to go. After picking up Mark we headed to Grafton Fishing Supply to get some peelers and hard crab. One last stop at Wawa for kayak fuel (one chocolate filled muffin, one glazed cake doughnut, 10" turkey sub, turkey wrap, a bag of chips, and some water) and there was nothing left to stop us!

We arrived at Wise Point boat ramp around 8:30am. Rob Choi gave us a greeting from the water where he was already fishing for flounder. We got in the water and began the journey to our predetermined spot (Thanks again to Kayak Kevin). The paddle out is rarely an easy thing but this time was different. The wind was minimal and the current wasn't bad at all. We kept our eyes peeled for any sign of life, but our main concern was the bronze backs of  bull reds. After paddling for several miles without any sightings, my eyes started to wander and I started to pay less and less attention to the water around me. All of the sudden, Rob yells: "REDS!" Before he could say anything else, I saw a school of reds swimming all around my kayak. We were paddling right over top of at least a dozen huge reds! I took a cast as fast as I could, but all I managed to do was spook one as I rolled my swimbait over its back. Rob had one hit his swimbait but didn't manage to hook up.

After the school passed us, we tried to chase it but we couldn't seem to find it. I was going to be very upset with myself if that school was the only chance we had that day. For the next 2 hours or so my eyes were playing tricks on me...EVERYTHING was red. I wanted to see another school so bad I was hallucinating. Finally out of the corner of my eye I spotted 2-3 reds in some breakers. With my Release Reel at hand I immediately flipped a peeler crab right on top of the school. Within 5 seconds I cranked my line in slowly til there was a slight pressure then WHAM! I was hooked up and yelling like a little kid! The red started to pull me around and I showed Rob where the school was. After taking a very short video clip (I'm glad he decided to give up on it), he paddled over to the school, cast his swimbait, and immediately hooked up. We had 2 bull reds hooked up at the same time!!! After a 5-7min fight I landed my red and started to shoot video of Rob. Both fish were measured at a respectable 45". Just a mere 1" from making it a release citation.

The next 3 hours were uneventful. We beached the kayaks for a quick breather and ate lunch on an exposed sand bar. We tried to decide what to do next since we couldn't seem to locate another school. As we were trying to make up our minds, my buddy Terry Reece joined me, Rob, and Mark on the sand bar. After thinking about it we decided to try to find them in the same area. I met another kayaker (David Narr) that had seen a couple schools in the same area, but hadn't managed to land any.

I got to talking to David about fish of all kinds when all of the sudden he stopped talking and said "THERE THEY ARE! I WAS PADDLING RIGHT NEXT TO THEM!". He prompted me to cast in front of him so I threw my swimbait at them with no luck. On my second cast, I felt a heavy "THUMP!" I set the hook hard and it was on! I immediately knew that this was a heavy fish. It stripped a bunch of line til finally my boat was moving as fast as the fish and the drag stopped pulling. I was on the biggest sleigh ride of my life! After 5-6 good runs, I eventually reeled the kayak up to the fish til I was right over it. The fish was 4-5 feet directly under me but I could not lift its head! It was as if the line was a rigid pole that was attached to the fish and I was holding on while it dragged me around. After about 10 mins of fighting the fish I finally got it in the kayak! I got a few pics and a measurement then released it unharmed. WHAT AN AWESOME FIGHT! I LOVE IT!

 After the 2nd drum, I paddled around Smith Island to do a little exploring. I saw some dolphin and kicked up a couple of large sharks but didn't see any more reds.

At the end of the day the tally was Rob Choi with one 45" red and me with a 45" red and a 46.75" citation red! David Narr also landed a couple nice upper 30" reds after he helped me with my biggest Drum ever!

AWESOME!

Next up...Speckled trout...or maybe cobia? Sheepshead? So many fish, so little time :)