Friday, December 31, 2010
The Mission
So i got a message from Rob Choi asking me if i wanted to go to the hot ditch...What a silly question! Of course i want to go fishing!
The mission for both of us was to catch a citation speckled trout to make it our 3rd citation for the year. (same species coincidentally...Sheepshead, Striper, and hopefully speckled trout)
I started the day a little late partially due to my kayak being covered with snow but mostly because i was being reelly lazy and got up late.
I filled a bucket with hot water and poured it on the yak...One bucket hardly put a dent in it. Two buckets after that it was enough.
I wasted a little more time going to 2 tackle shops looking for some 4lb test mono...evidently 4lb test is not popular around here because they didn't have any. Finally after being lazy, clearing snow, looking for tackle, and getting food I made it to the ditch nice and early at the crack of Noon-thirty.
I met up with Rob who let me know why its good to be earlier than later by telling me that he already caught several Specks up to 20". After fishing for an hour or so with only a few small specks to show for it we decided to move. We stopped at one of my favorite spots and again we caught some more dinks and i also got a good fighting 20"er
We paddled to the famous "Pond" and started fishing in the middle of about 12-15 boats...what a madhouse! I felt like i was on the HRBT at rush hour. I like how Rob put it " like paddling through a minefield of bobbers". Aside from 2-3 dudes there, I think we were the only ones using artificial bait. We fished for an hour or 2 and Rob got the first hook-up. He fought it for a bit but it spit the hook. After a few choice words he got back to it and hooked another bigger one. I didn't know it at the time but he was using 2lb test line! He landed the nice trout then paddled to shore so I paddled over to him to get some pictures (plus i had to pee reel bad). It was a fat 24.25" 4lb 4oz release citation trout! Mission...Success! 
Rob left me all alone after that but gave me his lucky mirrolure that he just use to catch the big one. Unfortunately It didn't work for me. I used it for an hour at least but it was worthless...I think he might have poisoned it...anyways when i switched back over to MY lure i hooked a heavy trout but lost it just when it boiled the surface. I had 3 more hits in the next 4 casts but could not for the life of me get one hooked. 3 hours of fishing at the pond and nothing to show for it!
I decided to go back to the truck for more clothes cause it was FREEZING! I got more gear and went straight to my favorite spot. It only took about 20 mins of fishing and i hooked something reel nice (Notice how I keep purposely misspelling real because it's a pun?...I'm hilarious.) I fought it for 5-10 mins on "my" 6' light action spinning rod. (its actually my wife's but I like it) It ended up being a 26" 5lb 12oz Weight citation speckled trout! Yay me! Mission accomplished!
I fished for another hour or so and caught a few small specks and decided since the mission was already a success I could leave happy. I ended the day with about 15 specks almost all of which were 15" and less. On my second to last cast i snagged a gizzard shad that reminded me of what might possibly be my next fishing trip...jumbo catfish on the James!
The mission for both of us was to catch a citation speckled trout to make it our 3rd citation for the year. (same species coincidentally...Sheepshead, Striper, and hopefully speckled trout)
I started the day a little late partially due to my kayak being covered with snow but mostly because i was being reelly lazy and got up late.
I filled a bucket with hot water and poured it on the yak...One bucket hardly put a dent in it. Two buckets after that it was enough.
I wasted a little more time going to 2 tackle shops looking for some 4lb test mono...evidently 4lb test is not popular around here because they didn't have any. Finally after being lazy, clearing snow, looking for tackle, and getting food I made it to the ditch nice and early at the crack of Noon-thirty.
I met up with Rob who let me know why its good to be earlier than later by telling me that he already caught several Specks up to 20". After fishing for an hour or so with only a few small specks to show for it we decided to move. We stopped at one of my favorite spots and again we caught some more dinks and i also got a good fighting 20"er
We paddled to the famous "Pond" and started fishing in the middle of about 12-15 boats...what a madhouse! I felt like i was on the HRBT at rush hour. I like how Rob put it " like paddling through a minefield of bobbers". Aside from 2-3 dudes there, I think we were the only ones using artificial bait. We fished for an hour or 2 and Rob got the first hook-up. He fought it for a bit but it spit the hook. After a few choice words he got back to it and hooked another bigger one. I didn't know it at the time but he was using 2lb test line! He landed the nice trout then paddled to shore so I paddled over to him to get some pictures (plus i had to pee reel bad). It was a fat 24.25" 4lb 4oz release citation trout! Mission...Success! 
Rob left me all alone after that but gave me his lucky mirrolure that he just use to catch the big one. Unfortunately It didn't work for me. I used it for an hour at least but it was worthless...I think he might have poisoned it...anyways when i switched back over to MY lure i hooked a heavy trout but lost it just when it boiled the surface. I had 3 more hits in the next 4 casts but could not for the life of me get one hooked. 3 hours of fishing at the pond and nothing to show for it!
I decided to go back to the truck for more clothes cause it was FREEZING! I got more gear and went straight to my favorite spot. It only took about 20 mins of fishing and i hooked something reel nice (Notice how I keep purposely misspelling real because it's a pun?...I'm hilarious.) I fought it for 5-10 mins on "my" 6' light action spinning rod. (its actually my wife's but I like it) It ended up being a 26" 5lb 12oz Weight citation speckled trout! Yay me! Mission accomplished!
I fished for another hour or so and caught a few small specks and decided since the mission was already a success I could leave happy. I ended the day with about 15 specks almost all of which were 15" and less. On my second to last cast i snagged a gizzard shad that reminded me of what might possibly be my next fishing trip...jumbo catfish on the James!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Friday 10th
The striper bite seemed to be on fire so i took off again in hopes of having another stellar night. I was entered in a local church tourney so i actually NEEDED to catch a good fish. I started a little later than the night before but it didn't seem to make a difference. I made it out to "the spot" and within 30 mins i was hooked up with a nice striper. I boated it and measured it in my lap...43" I figured it would be a good contender for the tourney so i started paddling back. After i got it to the truck i met up with Forrest and measured it again...45.5"! Much better! I couldn't just call it a night after just an hour of paddling and fishing so i headed back out with Forrest. By the time i got back Ashley Bishop had what he said was 40" striper in his boat. Later we found out it was 43.5". Its not easy getting a correct measurement from a flopping striper in the kayak! Ash caught one more soon after i got there that was in the upper 30 inch range and that was all for the next couple of hours. It was SOOOOOOOO cold i don't know how we kept fishing but we made it till around 2am then had to call it quits. Forrest did catch one striper that was about 25" or so but i had enough of the cold and had to head in.
I put the fish on ice and waited till Sunday. There was only 5-6 striper caught total out of 18 boats! Forrest was the only one to get more than 1 fish so he won the prize for the biggest 2 fish. My fish ended up weighing 39lbs even. That is my 3rd 39lb striper in the past 2 years. I just cant seem to break 40 for a weight citation. I won a nice trophy and a $150 gift certificate for bishops tackle! Not bad for a $20 entry:)
I put the fish on ice and waited till Sunday. There was only 5-6 striper caught total out of 18 boats! Forrest was the only one to get more than 1 fish so he won the prize for the biggest 2 fish. My fish ended up weighing 39lbs even. That is my 3rd 39lb striper in the past 2 years. I just cant seem to break 40 for a weight citation. I won a nice trophy and a $150 gift certificate for bishops tackle! Not bad for a $20 entry:)
Saturday, December 11, 2010
6 Big striper and missing sleeves
What an amazing 2 nights of fishing! First off i have to give the credit to Forrest for showing me the secret spots where i got these pigs. Thanks a ton Forrest!
So the night started with 3 kayakers Me, Ashley Bishop and Miles Wong. I finished my 32oz Monster energy drink then we paddled out to our spot around 8pm and dropped our slimy eels. Then we waited...and waited...and waited. Eel fishing is boring but just when you think "This can't be more boring" it is. We just sat and waited for that one moment of the "Zip ZIP!" of the clicker.
Ash was the first to get a hit...and the first to miss one. He was also the 2nd one to get a hit...and the 2nd miss. After about 2 hours of fishing there were a few hits and a couple hook-ups but none landed. Around 10pm Rob Choi showed up just as things were heating up...well the fishing was, not the air. It was in the mid 20's. After 2+ hrs of fishing Ash lost 2-3, Miles lost 2, and I lost 1. Around 10:30 I finally landed a nice striper at 38"!
I was totally stoked but the monster energy drink i had was hitting me hard...in case anyone doesn't know its pretty hard to pee out of a kayak. I just couldn't hold it any more. I had to GO. I paddled about 1/4 mile to the shore pulled my kayak up and immediately started shedding my layers...PFD, jacket, camera, phone, and finally pulled my waders down. I soon realized i couldn't go due to a severe case of rumble gut. I had no choice. I took off my t-shirt, ripped off the sleeves, ripped each sleeve in half, and did my business. It was not easy to do on the rip-rap but somehow i managed to stay clean!
I paddled back, dropped my eels back down, and then it was ON! Over the next hour or so i caught a 39", 40", 44", and a 45". The two biggest i caught were AT THE SAME TIME! I've never had a double like that before. I had an eel free lining on one rod and the other was near the bottom. I hooked the 44''er on the free line and got it right to the boat when the other one went off! I landed the one and snatched my other rod and set the hook. After a 10min battle i landed the 45" pig and had 2 citation sized striper in my lap at once! Let me tell you... Its a great feeling having 65-75lbs worth of 2 fish in a 12' kayak :)
After that things got pretty slow. We were getting antsy so we decided to move. Just when we started to move Rob Choi got his first hit and hooked up good. I was right behind him and he took off on a nice sleigh ride. I paddled after him and watched him boat his nice 44" release citation!
After that the night was pretty slow. Ash had the last hook-up but again lost it at the boat. After almost 10 hours of fishing in sub-freezing temps we had enough. Total for the night was 6 fish. 5 for me and 1 for Rob. It was my lucky night:)
So the night started with 3 kayakers Me, Ashley Bishop and Miles Wong. I finished my 32oz Monster energy drink then we paddled out to our spot around 8pm and dropped our slimy eels. Then we waited...and waited...and waited. Eel fishing is boring but just when you think "This can't be more boring" it is. We just sat and waited for that one moment of the "Zip ZIP!" of the clicker.
Ash was the first to get a hit...and the first to miss one. He was also the 2nd one to get a hit...and the 2nd miss. After about 2 hours of fishing there were a few hits and a couple hook-ups but none landed. Around 10pm Rob Choi showed up just as things were heating up...well the fishing was, not the air. It was in the mid 20's. After 2+ hrs of fishing Ash lost 2-3, Miles lost 2, and I lost 1. Around 10:30 I finally landed a nice striper at 38"!
I was totally stoked but the monster energy drink i had was hitting me hard...in case anyone doesn't know its pretty hard to pee out of a kayak. I just couldn't hold it any more. I had to GO. I paddled about 1/4 mile to the shore pulled my kayak up and immediately started shedding my layers...PFD, jacket, camera, phone, and finally pulled my waders down. I soon realized i couldn't go due to a severe case of rumble gut. I had no choice. I took off my t-shirt, ripped off the sleeves, ripped each sleeve in half, and did my business. It was not easy to do on the rip-rap but somehow i managed to stay clean!
I paddled back, dropped my eels back down, and then it was ON! Over the next hour or so i caught a 39", 40", 44", and a 45". The two biggest i caught were AT THE SAME TIME! I've never had a double like that before. I had an eel free lining on one rod and the other was near the bottom. I hooked the 44''er on the free line and got it right to the boat when the other one went off! I landed the one and snatched my other rod and set the hook. After a 10min battle i landed the 45" pig and had 2 citation sized striper in my lap at once! Let me tell you... Its a great feeling having 65-75lbs worth of 2 fish in a 12' kayak :)
After that things got pretty slow. We were getting antsy so we decided to move. Just when we started to move Rob Choi got his first hit and hooked up good. I was right behind him and he took off on a nice sleigh ride. I paddled after him and watched him boat his nice 44" release citation!
After that the night was pretty slow. Ash had the last hook-up but again lost it at the boat. After almost 10 hours of fishing in sub-freezing temps we had enough. Total for the night was 6 fish. 5 for me and 1 for Rob. It was my lucky night:)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)