A New Journey For Two Of My Friends

OK, so I try to put up some stories and antidotes related to my time on the water, and this post will have some of that.  I had an amazing, fished some new water, learned more about one of my favorite fisheries (Ironically through observation and conversation more than actually fishing), and got away form the same ole grind. 

But... The focus of this weekend was to spend some time and celebrate the marriage of two great friends, Seth Goodrich and Kamaron Owens.  The ceremony and reception was great, and I wish them all the best... (of luck in their Hawaiian Offshore Charter)!

The Backdrop for their wedding (Birds were actually working a ball of bunker during their vows) 



The Happy Couple!


After the reception, I tried to get some sleep in my hotel room, but  for some reason I just couldn't.  After running to some tackle shops, I found a nice little launch I decided to try.  The tide was high, and the grass was flooded.  I didn't start finding fish until I was back in the grass.  I only got one hookup, but that was fine with me given how great the day had been.


An amazing way to end the day!

The following morning, I had to make up my mind on the events for the day.  "Do I fish for the first run of Cobia coming up the coast, or chase Reds and Sheepies on Topsail Island"?  When I looked at the wind, and easily 100 yards of breakers on the beach, I decided to take the easy way out and head to Topsail.  I arrived just as the tide started to retreat, to find light winds and lots of bait.  Unfortunately, I was a bit to far behind the tide to fish my honey holes, so my focus turned to finding fiddlers and hooking up with some convicts and Black Drum.



Best Warning Sign EVER!



Mill Creek (on the ICW)

 Once up the creek, I found a grass flat that was holding some solid fiddlers.  After a nice little chase, I got about two dozen fiddlers before I called it and hit the bridge.  Again, as my luck would have it, the current was now ripping through the ICW, and the water clarity was less than a foot.  That was not enough to deter me, and I made my drops.  On the second drop, I feel the unmistakable nibble of the Sheepshead.  I go to set the hook, and the fish was on for a few seconds before I lost it.  I continue to fish for the next hour, not just fishing for Sheeps, but also Drum, with no luck. 



Center hatch cup from the Skimmer is great for storing fiddlers!

 In the end, I learned about Cobia, False Albie, and Bonita fisheries through chatting with the guys at tackle shops and boat ramps.  Got some good intel, and I look forward to trying for all three species from the yak this year.

I have a bunch of pictures and trips to share as soon as I can get more time on the computer.

It was also a great wedding and I want to wish my friends, the Goodrich's all the best!

The Curse of Rev. Tickle

Since I had spent the last weekend in the mountains, it had been a while since I have last gotten on the water.  With a favorable evening forecast and no class, Russ and I decided to get out on the water.  We saw a lot of activity, and even found a few friends on the water prior to us getting out with fair success. The plan was for a quick trip, really to just recon the conditions for trips in the next few weeks.  The first few hours were fairly slow until Russ and I were in the same spot and we had a fish bust right between us.  I grabbed my topwater rod and that is when it happened.  The drag on the reel was fairly loose to protect it when off the water, so my bait ended up grabbing the flag on my VisiPole.  I was in a hurry, and wanted to get a bait in the water, and this is when it happened.  That all to familiar pinch of the hook point digging into the skin.  I looked down at my hand and saw that the barb was buried  so there was only one real option for me.  I push and push until I see the hook point poking back through my skin.  This wasn't a real problem until I tried to push the barb back out.  After what felt like way to long, I got it through and then proceeded to pinch the barb and back it out.  The hook didn't want to back out, so it was off to the cars to cut the hook and back the rest of the shank out.  In all, I was lucky that it did not hit a nerve.

A good looking bait!

A few lessons learned:

1. I should really pinch my barbs (even though I probably wont)
2. I should get rid of the trebles and switch to J's or Circles (a bit more likely)
3. Have a pair of cutters and a first aid kit on the water
4. Dont post the pic on Facebook unless you are willing to monitor the comments

Once Rev. Tickle left, I ended up catching a few decent fish.  Coincidence, I think not!

If you fish with the Reverend, just be prepared for a lot of laughs, and possibly some pain.

Dirtbag Weekend

Fly fishing is one of my favorite ways to fish, and really, the only way I fish for trout.  With the Fly fishing festival coming up, and my desire to spend some time up in the mountains, Russ and I decided to have a dirtbag fishing weekend.

It all started Friday night when a strong cold front came through, bringing with it some heavy storms and a 20 degree temperature drop.  This lead us to leave after the front passed on Saturday morning, when we wouldn't be fighting the rain.  Now our goal was to chase some wild brookies, but knowing conditions might be difficult, we made a detour in Richmond and met up with Alex and Seth to chase some warmwater species on the fly.  The four of us caught countless Bass, Bream, Redear Sunfish, and a few Crappie.  The fish were not super amped, but we still were able to get our fix.  While everyone else were catching fish on poppers and buggers, I decided to step up my game and tie a dropper under a small caddis.  This proved to be a game changer, as I was picking up fish on every cast.  I had enough fun and decided to share the wealth.  All three of my buddies caught a number of fish on the 2wt, and Im sure I heard Alex and Seth both say that they needed to get a 2wt for panfish fishing.  With lots of laughs and even more fish, we were ready for the second leg of our trip.

One of Russell's Bream on a Popper

As we departed, we got some Tog and Trippletail from Seth for our camp, and picked up a few other items and our trout stamps at Walmart.  One thing was painfully, and hilariously noticeable.  It dosent matter how nice the area surrounding a Walmart is, you will always find your people of Walmart patronizing the fine establishment.

After our interesting Walmart stop, we drove for a few hours and made it to our first spot, the Upper Rose River.  The only memorable parts of this spot was 1) the two guys on the parking lot carrying around rocks and vomiting by their car (kids, stay off acid), and 2) the fact that I left my wading boots at home (like a dumbass) and managed to slam my knee on a rock within my first 10 steps on the river. Besides that, a few fallfish were caught and we moved on.

The next spot was the Upper Rapidan.  This was the water I was really looking for.  We had a fun drive up the forest service road, and hit a few spots.  At our first spot, we had a small mayfly hatch, so I was focused on chucking dries.  With no love on some amazing looking water, we moved up to some really narrow, technical stretches where my Echo 2wt shined.  It was tough missing rises in this narrow, overgrown area so I switched to a small (sz 20) BHPT nymph.  Once I switched to the nymph, we only had about 20 minutes of fishing until we had to call it.  In that time I had multiple hookups with a few fish to hand.  Small, brightly colored wild brookies made the day amazing.

Russ and I met up to make our way back to camp to drink some rum and eat some food!

The Campsite

Russ insisted on these Plates

Tog + Trippletail + Potatoes + Asparagus = Best Camp Dinner Ever!

The Best Way to End the Day

Last view of the Camp

Now everything with the camp went well until the morning.  The temps dropped overnight and it was not warm by any means.  After breakfast, Russ asked for TP.  Unfortunately neither of us packed any so off he went into the woods as I wished him good luck.  Russ made it back alive but was missing an article of clothing.

We broke camp, got off the mountain, and made it over to the VA Fly fishing Festival where we met up and exchanged some stories with Tommy V and Lars.  We made our walkthrough, picked up some flies and materials, chatted with Cory and Kelly at the WRO booth, and left to hit the South River.  Now unfortunately the rain that was dropped on Friday night made the river tough to fish.  It was a bit murky, but very fast and high.  Tommy V, Lars, Russ, and myself hit a section of the river where I have had good luck in the past.  Lars was able to avoid the skunk when he found a small school of creek chubs.  Despite Lars' success, it was fishing real tough and we all decided to leave, but not after about an hour of laughing back at the cars.

Lars broke the skunk!

Tommy V, your casting the wrong way!

Looking for any sign of life.

On the way back, we decided to stop one more time to see what we could do with the Bass and Bream.  Russ and I fished for about an hour before we called it, ending the trip the same way it began.  The fly only weekend was a blast, and yet another experience that I wouldn't have had without the love for fishing I share with a number of other people.  Cant wait to get back up in the hills and get on 'em, but as the water warms up, my time is now going to be focused on the salt, so this may be my last trip chasing the low sodium fish until the fall.

I would also like to wish my friends Tom and Cory a Happy Birthday.  Fly fishing to celebrate your Birthdays cant be beat!

Fishin' from the Skimmer!

Check out a quick writeup I did over on the Hurricane Blog.

http://hurricaneaquasports.com/wordpress/?p=195

Planning a Sucessful Trip

I have been finding myself traveling more and more in order to chase tail (fish tails that is).  Many of these areas I fish have equated to great success due to a number of factors.  Of the two major factors (Luck and Planning), there is only one within my control.  Growing up, I used to fish a lake rain or shine without regard to all of the other factors that can equate to a successful day on the water.  While I caught fish, and some good ones at that, I never had consistent success, and rarely had success while fishing new water.  Now that I have grown up, I still fish whenever the bug hits.  The difference is how I approach these trips.  A little bit of planning utilizing some free (or low cost) resources can turn a normal fishing trip into a fishing trip that will stick with you your entire life!

Planning a trip utilizing the USMC 5-Paragraph Order

My time in the Corps taught me a number of different techniques to cope with challenges that may come my way.  When it comes to planning SMEAC is the way for me.  It is simple and helps me identify all of the different things that I need to consider when planning a trip.  SMEAC is the same technique that is used to attack the enemy with shock and awe, so it would reason that it would work just fine on the finned friends.SMEAC is: Situation, Mission, Execution, Admin & Logistics, and Command & Control.  Let’s look at this process for a recent trip.

Situation- A weekend where 3 of my fishing buddies got their kitchen pass.  The fishing in the salt has been slow, and the bug to chase smallies on a river growing each day.  River conditions were not great, but considering wind, temperature, tides, flows, distance, and availability of time and resources to fish together, we had a common location in mind.

Mission - To meet up and catch Smallmouth Bass on a section of river that was new to us.

Execution - Planned meeting time, location, and tackle needed to accomplish the mission.  Adherence to these factors is key to success.

Admin & Logistics - This includes listing the items needed, verifying their availability, and packing nothing more, nothing less.  Identifying how you are going to get where you need to go, and how you are going to get there (in this case, Alex and Seth carpooled, as well as Tommy and myself).

Command & Control - In a group, this means having a central decision maker.  The decision maker identifies the location, collects intel, conducts recon, and managing the flow of information to others.

On our smallie trip, we all had input and decision influence, but there was one person who made the decision.  For us, on a new body of water, we all caught nice fish, and worked together to make it happen.

Looking further, to identify the specific mission, the gathering of information was paramount in the success of the trip.  In order to protect the location and not hotspot, I will not go into specifics, but give you an idea of what I look at.

1. FInd a reliable weather source.  I utilize a combination of FishWeather, Intellicast, and while I am on the water, I monitor the weather through my WeatherUnderground app.
2. Use online forums.  If I can, I review any information posted on a body of water I want to fish.  I dont necessarily take the information I read as truthful if I only see one report, but I am focused on pictures or condition reports to help me learn about the spot.  If I see multiple reports, I try to make a pattern for success.  I look for fishing forums that cover the area I plan on fishing.  I feel that if I cant pre-fish, I can take advantage of the trends I see to help guide me to spots (i.e. oyster beds, drop offs, etc...) and determine the baits I want to start with.
3. Do location recon.  Search the net for launch spots to determine security, fees, effects of tides and weather conditions, etc.  Google Earth helps me identify landmarks, and determine those areas I want to travel to.  One thing to remember is not to limit yourself to this information.  If you find something on the water you didn't see from the imagery, stay flexible.  Another tool I use is my Navionics Apps for my iPad and iPhone.  This gives me tide information and a map of the underwater layout.  For $15, it not only helps me plan trips and identify fishing sports to further recon, but it helps me identify those locations while im on the water.
4. Collect human intelligence.  Befriend those who you admire.   Be honest and truthful in your interactions.  Know when someone dosent want you to fish a spot and respect that.  If you want to fish such a spot, dont be sneaky, but ask them for information.  Who knows, they might pass on intel they receive, or invite you to fish with them.

All of this helps me determine where im going to fish, and greatly enhances my chances for success.  Just look at the results of our most recent trip.  Without planning, we still may have caught fish, but not of this caliber.

One of three fish between 17.25" and 19"
Photo by William Ragulsky

Alex's smallie just under 20"
Photo by Tommy Dewitt

Seth's fish @ 18.25"
Photo By Tommy Dewitt

Tommy's VA Citation Smallmouth at 21"
Photo by Seth Goodrich

For a solid trip report, go over to Bent Rod Chronicles, and check out Seth's report for the day.

Good luck, and we'll see you on the water!

Product Review - Engel 13 Qt. Live Bait Cooler

Normally I prefer to fish with artificial lures, but there are certain situations when I fish with , or like to have fresh bait.   During those times, I would tote around a Frabill troll tank, but that had some issues.  During tournaments, if I spend the time to catch bait, if I decide to use it, I want it to be fresh and lively.  Unfortunately, during the summer to keep baits such as shrimp and mullet lively, that tank is in the water the whole day.  This slows me down, and makes me susceptible to the current and other factors.  To mitigate this, I decided to turn to Engel Coolers.  

Baitwell (between the seat and green box) rigged on the Skimmer 128

After hearing great things about their products, I figured that if the livewell didn't work out the way I wanted, at least I would have a quality cooler to take out on the water.  With a few trips under its belt, I have been pleasantly surprised by the results.  I went with the 13 Quart Cooler and noticed a few things before I even got it.

1. When purchasing items on line, I appreciate it when the process my order quickly.  I placed my      order on a Saturday, and by 0900 on the following Monday my order was purchased.

     2.  It was shipped the same day it was processed, and I didn't have to pay anything extra.

When I got the cooler, which was five days after the order was placed, I noticed the quality of the cooler.  I was excited and couldn't wait to get it out on the water.  My next trip I put it in use.  It fit rather nicely in my tankwell with a small box and rod holders.  It kept 5 dozen shiners lively all day.  I decided to test its water tightness, and when turned upside down, there was minimal leaking from the aerator hose port.  This area can be plugged from the inside when the hose is not in use.  The top seals were flawless.  

My for my next trip I decided to see how it would work on the Skimmer 128, with the Yak Attack BlackPak.  I was able to put it between the BlackPak and the seat, but was unable to secure it to the kayak.  I was however able to put the cooler between my legs comfortably without it getting in the way.  Utilizing the BlackPak, or full size crate, it fit nicely behind the crate, while being secured to the kayak.  This is the most likely scenario and option when im tournament fishing.  My fishing buddy commented at the end of the day on the liveliness and quality of the bait and said he would end up purchasing one himself.

As a cooler itself, I tested it with ice in my truck.  It held ice with minimal melt for a week, parked in the sun everyday.  It is extremely quick and easy to remove the aerator and hose (included with the cooler), if you decide to use it as a stand alone cooler.

At around $70 with shipping included, if you are looking for a live bait management solution when fishing, check it out.  Im sure you will be pleased!

Product Review - Shamano Crucial Spinnerbait Rod

So, I have been able to get a few trips on the water, and caught enough fish to write a confident review of one of my newer, more enjoyable purchases.

A few weeks back, I bought a 6'10" Shamano Crucial Spinnerbait rod.  Mainly fishing saltwater, I chose this rod for a simple reason, the exposure of the rod blank below the reel.  This exposure allows me to feel those subtle little ticks of non aggressive fish chomping on the lure.  I have thrown 1/2 oz jigs with trailers, 1/8 oz wacky work rigs, shallow crankbaits, and of course 1/4 oz spinnerbaits with this rod.  Even though it is designed as a technique specific rod, I feel comfortable using it in multiple applications, fresh and salt.

My favorite casting rod is a MH power, Fast or Extra fast action.  The rod that I chose was a MH/XF.  It allows me to wing baits a country mile, but still have enough backbone to get fish to hand as quickly as possible.

It is an IM-10 rod, and built with the same blank construction as my beloved Teramar's.  The rod itself is only 4 or 5 ounces, and paired with a Curado 200, the entire package comes in around a pound.  More than light enough for me.

Even though this unlucky pickerel was a nice test for the rod, I am anxious for my opportunity to chase some specks and reds in the near future.

Now to the money aspect of this rod.  I paid 150 for the rod, and pair that with another 150 for the reel, you would be hard pressed to find a combo that is as light, durable, and preforms as well as this does for 300 bucks.  So go out there, get you some fish, and enjoy!