My 2020 Fishing Review

[J.A. Veil]

During 2020, I sold a power boat and a pedal drive kayak and bought a new larger paddle kayak. I fished a record number of days this year (208 total days), including 193 days from kayaks. I caught 42 species of fish (28 species in Maryland and 14 other species in Florida).

To see the details, check out my 35-page written review with more than 50 colorful photos of fish I caught. It is an easy read. To view or download that document, go to https://drive.google.com/.../1JLod1BSHP2blnYUfw4b.../view... .

[Big Mike]

That was a great read to start the year.

[ronaultmtd]

Agree with Mike, good read...And 2020 was indeed a banner year fishing...my best ever from a kayak...looking forward to 2021...stay safe, hope to see you on the water.

[LC3]

Thank for taking the time to compile and then share your 2020 fishing information.

[bignose]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing your adventures.

(for those who don't know it, John is my primary spinner jig tester) Lol.

[summersoff]

That is an impressive as hell year, especially on the reduced covid schedule. The snakeheads are one on my list, but like you, I don't really target them, but it would be nice they showed up. I cant believe you fit your yak in the van!?! I need a ten. I have fallen for the 13' and will never get rid of it, but that 10' looks like something i can put in my wallet and use when my wife wants to go shopping in Savanah or Charleston.
Congratulations on a great year, you have certainly earned your ichthyologist merit badge! Thanks for an excellent read.

[J.A. Veil]

That is an impressive as hell year, especially on the reduced covid schedule. The snakeheads are one on my list, but like you, I don't really target them, but it would be nice they showed up. I cant believe you fit your yak in the van!?! I need a ten. I have fallen for the 13' and will never get rid of it, but that 10' looks like something i can put in my wallet and use when my wife wants to go shopping in Savanah or Charleston.
Congratulations on a great year, you have certainly earned your ichthyologist merit badge! Thanks for an excellent read.

The paddle kayak I carry in my van is 11' long. The slope of the windshield (typically flatter in recent years for more aerodynamics) and how low the front passenger seat will recline (the seat in my previous van, a 2003 Honda Odyssey, folded almost flat; in the 2015 Sienna, it still angles up at about 30 deg, which pushes the bow higher and hits the windshield sooner) determine the length of kayak you can transport that way. In the Odyssey, I could orient the 11' kayak straight front to back, but in the Sienna, I need to angle the kayak to get the full length inside.

When I owned a Slayer Propel 10 pedal kayak, it too would fit inside. It looks like you already own a Slayer Propel 13. The SP10 has the same sized cockpit but because of width and length, is about 0.5 mph slower than the SP13. The SP10 is a remarkable kayak. The reason I sold mine was related to bad legs, not to a bad kayak.

Out of curiosity, I tried a Native Ultimate 12 and later an Ultimate 12 FX. The Ultimate FX did not fit at all. The Ultimate would fit if I turned it upside down as I slid it in (this was not easy). If you have any questions about how I arrange the seats, send me a message.

[MD Dore]

Excellent review, John. Informative and interesting as usual. I also liked seeing that photo of the Scout, though it was the reason my kayak trips were more scarce this year.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[J.A. Veil]

Excellent review, John. Informative and interesting as usual. I also liked seeing that photo of the Scout, though it was the reason my kayak trips were more scarce this year.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Jon - Thanks for purchasing the Scout last January. It served me well, but I was ready to leave boat ownership. I hope it gives you years of good service.

[MD Dore]

Jon - Thanks for purchasing the Scout last January. It served me well, but I was ready to leave boat ownership. I hope it gives you years of good service.

I hope so too! Thanks for including some of your fishing mojo in the purchase price; 2020 was a good year for me on the water, all things considered.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[Slobber Bob]

You had an excellent year, Jon! I really need to start keeping a log to remember all the details of my trips better like you do. I have all the general knowledge filled away in my brain, but sometimes exact details disappear.

[Slobber Bob]

In the spirit of keeping the forum active like you suggested, I'll add my short 2020 review to the bottom of yours. Covid, virtual learning for the kid, work, and life gnerally put fishing on the back burner for me for parts of the year, so when I did get out I had to make the most of it. Looking back, I made out fairly well.

I started 2020 catching white perch, yellow perch, crappies, pickerel, and some carp over a few trips in the winter months in the Pocomoke river and tribs. In the spring, I got a couple topwater bluefish trips in behind OC - although the blues were mostly small this year. I was able to swing a few successful bull red drum and speckled trout spring trips in the bay before transitioning over to summer species. Sheepshead was my main target in the summer and by trying a few new spots I've come to realize they can be found on any structure in the coastal bays in the summer no matter how far away from an inlet in the OC and Chincoteague area. I found a bunch of bonus black drum with the sheep too which was a great discovery for me. I didn't get many tog trips in this year, but I still caught a fair amount of them in OC. I caught a lot of stripers too, but I really only went out looking for them behind OC at night; otherwise they were just bonus catches while targeting other species like specks. I got to fish in 2 tournaments - 1) the fish n' paddle saltwater slam in OC, and 2) the tangier classic based in Crisfield. I highly recommend them and hope to at least do both again in 2021.

But the real treat this year was getting my 4-year old out with me. He sat in the back of my Ocean Kayak Trident 13 more than a handful of times in the late spring and summer. A mix of fishing or clamming with breaks on the beach to play and explore were a big hit with him. I'm hoping he'll still fit in the kayak with me this year. And with help from dad he was able to get his surf fishing merit badge this fall too!

IMG_0167.jpgIMG_0166.jpg

[dsaavedra]

John,

Cool post. I particularly appreciate your data-driven approach to logging catches. Thus far I have only kept a spreadsheet of the number of unique species I have caught by hook and line in my lifetime (to my recollection), but now I am inspired to augment this catalog as you have done here. I haven't taken a fishing trip yet in 2021 so now is a perfect time to start taking more detailed records.

I wanted to note that your picture of a "white catfish" actually depicts a channel catfish. I only bring it up because you mentioned that the white catfish was a new species for you in 2020, so you might want to update your records. White catfish do not have black spots or deeply forked tail fins, and they have much fatter, uglier heads. White catfish are in the bullhead genus, Ameiurus, while channel catfish are in the genus Ictalurus, along with blue cats.

[J.A. Veil]

John,

Cool post. I particularly appreciate your data-driven approach to logging catches. Thus far I have only kept a spreadsheet of the number of unique species I have caught by hook and line in my lifetime (to my recollection), but now I am inspired to augment this catalog as you have done here. I haven't taken a fishing trip yet in 2021 so now is a perfect time to start taking more detailed records.

I wanted to note that your picture of a "white catfish" actually depicts a channel catfish. I only bring it up because you mentioned that the white catfish was a new species for you in 2020, so you might want to update your records. White catfish do not have black spots or deeply forked tail fins, and they have much fatter, uglier heads. White catfish are in the bullhead genus, Ameiurus, while channel catfish are in the genus Ictalurus, along with blue cats.

Dave - Thanks for the clarification on the catfish species. The original identification was made by Capt Mike Starrett, who guided the trip that day. It is quite possible that I used the wrong photo for the white catfish in the write up. But I do trust Capt Mike to have given me the correct ID on the catfish I caught.

[J.A. Veil]

Several of the commenters noted that they liked the record-keeping I did. Here are the items I keep track of and how I do it. Some of you are far more comfortable using smart phones than I am. There are plenty of apps for tracking fish.

1) Species Caught - each year I start a new Excel spreadsheet. It has columns for Species Name, Largest of the Year (in inches), New-to-Me Species, and Personal Best. The last two columns are filled in as applicable.

2) Fishing Days, Location, and Fishing Technique - I buy a spiral-bound At-A-Glance monthly planner book each year. It sits on the desk in my office and keeps track of all my appointments, events, and fishing days. When the book is open, one month spans both pages, making the box for each day quite large. When I get home from a fishing trip, I circle that date on the calendar. I also add the information on where I fished and how I fished. The categories for how I fished include: kayak, boat, guide, shoreline. Where I fished gives the name of the creek, pond, or other water body where I fished that day. I do not record details on which holes or points I fished or how many fish I caught that day. There is merit to doing that, but I have not taken the time for it. Despite my advanced age, I still have a pretty sharp memory of the specific spots where I caught fish during most of the trips last year. That capability will undoubtedly decline in the future, but for now it works for me. At the end of each month, I count up the number of days fished and make a notation of the running total.

3) Photos - I bought a water-resistant Pentax digital camera in 2003. This was one of the first digital cameras designed for the consumer market. I liked the fact that I could use it on my boat and not worry about spray or rain. As I moved into kayak fishing, it became an ideal camera for me. Although I often get it wet and have even taken it snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef and in the Galapagos Islands, the darn thing still works. I carry it on every trip on a lanyard around my neck. It tucks underneath the PFD. If I catch a fish that it is interesting or new, I snap a quick photo before releasing the fish. When I get home, I download the images into a photo program on my laptop, which stores the photos by date. That is helpful too. I can scroll through a page of photo files to find a picture I want. The file name, corresponding to the date, tells me when I caught that fish.

This may sound like a lot of work, but once you get into the habit of doing it, you will find that it takes very little time on any given day. I hope to be able to prepare similar annual summaries in future years.