Saturday, July 7, 2012

Catching Up....

Between work, a new puppy, and the brutal heat wave that has set in over the southeast US, I haven't posted in a while. I figure I'll post a general writeup encompassing the last few outings that I have had.

One of the most rewarding parts of kayak fishing is introducing new blood to the sport. I have had the luxury of paddling with some of the o.g. paddlers from this area and also a few that I have gotten in a kayak for the first time myself. Kayak fishing isn't for everyone. It can be a lot of work sometimes, fighting wind, current, rocks, trees and heat. If you don't think it's that big of a deal, come on out and paddle with us hardcore boys this summer. 100 degree heat and fighting current on the lake because someone decided they needed to open the dam at 9:00 am. Makes for a tough day of fishing. But you hook into that one good fish. That 6 pound largemouth, or that 2-3 pound spotted bass, or maybe that 8 pound catfish. You hook into one of those, and it makes all the work worth while.

What about those secluded honey holes? The ones where you have to walk a mile and a half through briar patches and thorn vines, through a forest that has seen no more than 5 people in the last 2 years. You know what I'm talking about. You know there are 7 pound plus fish in there. You have caught them once or twice over the years, but you know if you get a boat in there, it's gonna be on! You drag a kayak and gear back there and you are sweating before the sun comes up, but the end result is a great day on the water. Add in a friend who doesn't kayak fish often and gains a new found respect for it, and you've got yourself one hell of a weekend.








Small waters can be a blast! We had a great time and got on some fish. This was the day after we had a good run on the Catawba down in South Carolina. We headed down to Landsford Canal State Park for some afternoon fishing in the moving waters around some shoals. We put the yaks in and started to paddle through the rocky section to the center of the river when we saw a minnow or shad skipping across the water. Scott cast twice before he landed a good 3+ bass. Second cast of the day and we had boated a good bass, looked like it was gonna shape into a fantastic day. My first cast was to the same area but 50 or 60 feet upstream at the start of the rocky run and I landed a keeper as well.

On the very next cast Scott lands a 4+ and we thought it was gonna be lights out. We fished the eddies and holes around this section for 20 or 30 minutes more and just had no luck. We paddled upstream against the current and fished banks and shoals for a few hours total. We decided to go up stream so we would have that easy paddle on the way back. I had next to no luck until we came up to a downed tree on the west bank. The sun was past the treeline so there was some shade on this side of the river. Scott mentioned he never really fished this stretch because they hadn't caught much through there. I pitched my worm into the end of that tree and felt that "bump." When I set the hook I thought I had snagged a limb, until I felt that pull. Scott thought I ripped a limb out of the tree when I was reeling that fish in. Ended up being a good 3+ bass and even got a little airborn show on the way to the boat.


That was it for the rest of the day. We fished our way up and back to the launch, and the heat just had these fish tucked in tight to cover. But we had a great day nonetheless.

I will be putting forth a better effort to get more posts up and going as I get more fishing time in. I have been really slack about it but I need to get my butt in gear. One of my goals is to get into larger tournaments and spreading the word about kayak fishing and bass fishing in general. One of my inspirations is Takatoshi Murase. He is an awesome bass angler out of Tokyo Japan. Check out his page and look at all the love and passion he is spreading worldwide for our sport and fishing in general. He is also an elite angler for Bass Brigade, who I am a HUGE fan of. And today 7-7-12 they are releasing their new line of apparel. Their line is designed by anglers for anglers who want to show some style while bassin. Kind of a street scene style meets bass fishing, and its completely kick ass. Check 'em out at Bass Brigade

Working Setups: 
 Field and Stream Tec Spec Rod 7'MH Fast Spinning
           Pflueger Trion GX-7 Reel
           PowerPro 15 lb Braided Line
           Texas Rigged Green Pumpkin Magnum Finesse Worm

6'6" Quantum Bill Dance Combo M Fast Casting Setup
         BPS Excel 12lb Test Monofilament
         XPS Squarebill Crankbait - Shallow Crank in Blue Gill