Back in Action....

I've been out a few times without blogging, just been kind of busy lately. I really haven't had a ton of luck fishing recently, but I have been catching a few each time I go out. Way better than paddling home with a big ole skunk. I am so thankful that I have found the sport of kayak fishing. Not only have I gotten closer to nature, but I have made some friends that I never would have met. First off, Tim "Stew-rat" Stewart. The founder of Hardcore Kayak Fishing Team, the VP of Mt. Island Wildlife Stewards, and the self proclaimed "Only American Born Ninja" has become of the best friends I have ever had the pleasure of making. He has kinda taken me under his wing and showed me the ropes in this sport, as well as some of the things that go along with hanging out on the river. What a great guy. Can't forget about the rest of the Hardcore Crew. Bo, Barry, and the rest of the gang are probably the most diverse team I have ever been associated with, and I learn a ton of little tricks and secrets every time I paddle out with them. I have also met a bunch of fellow anglers on NCAngler.com. Darryl "Dbeam" Beam, John "H2Ohhh" Yvars, Raymond Wells, Scott "Bigbasshunter" Myers, and a whole mess of others have made fishing become absolutely more enjoyable. There is a lot of people on the websites that I have never met, but hopefully one day I will. The bottom line to all of this is that fishing is more about going out and trying to catch fish. When you add the paddling aspect into it, the fellowship aspect is even stronger. Kayak fishing is exploding in popularity, and I am glad I have hopped on board when I did. I only hope to be able to give sound advice, and help others fall in love with this sport like everyone who has helped me.
With all that being said, I'm gonna keep my report to a few simple photos this time around. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy reading these just as much as I enjoy writing them. Take care, and remember education and conservation are the keys to keeping our sport thriving.

A nice little largemouth caught under a dock.

Chunky bass for ya.

First crappie caught from my yak.

It was flipping cold.

Nice little spotted bass. He jumped nearly 2 feet out of the water.

'Nother little spot, put up a mean fight.

Bad Day Turned Good

Sorry for not posting in a while, been fighting some sort of bug. Seems it's rearing it's head a little harder now. Enjoy the story!

Started out this morning sick as a dog! Sore and achy body....sinuses draining....nose running.....headache.....sounds a lot like mr. flu! But as Stew-rat told me earlier, "if you are sick, you are gonna feel sick, might as well be fishing." So I met up with Stew at Bobby's at 8:30 for a little fishing. We had to dodge some showers first thing under the bridge. We fished around but had no luck. As soon as the showers faded off, we headed up to the creek mouth and fished for a while with no luck. Stew cast a little more shallow just past the creek and reeled in a nice Spot to start the day off right.

We fished up further, and I had no luck at all. Stew caught back up with me, and informed me had caught a crappie on a small jig...Looked like he was gonna wear me out again. I continued to bang just off the banks with my shaky head jig when I finally got a bite. I had been having issues with my Pfleuger reel and the drag system acting up, and it was back at it again. I was turning the drag knob something fierce, but the drag wasn't lightening. A couple of times I had to throw darn near my whole rod in the water to give some room. Luckily, I had just spooled some 15 lb braid on this reel, so that helped a lot. I told Stew that it was a good fish, but when she came busting up for an aerial, I realized how good it was. After a couple of minutes of a good fight, this is what hit my kayak.

Half on my bump board lays at the bottom of the river, pretty close to the spot where I caught this fish ironically, so I dont have a true measurement. Estimated at about 20-22" and 4.25 lbs easy, maybe pushing 4.5. Definitely made me forget about the flu for a bit.
Stew and I stopped for a little shore lunch and hung out for a bit. After another drizzle session came and went, we hit the banks again. Stew caught another 2 bass on a baby brush hog, and I caught one more LargeMouth

I was using a watermelon magic trick worm shaky head rigged all day. Only caught 2 fish, but one was excellent and the second was a good quality 1.25-1.5 lb'er. It was a great day all things considered, and I have to send a big thanks out to Tim "Stew-Rat" Stewart for hangin in there with me today. Couldnt have been easy to listen to the groans and sniffles and sneezes. Hardcore all the way!