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Intro and thank you
It's a bit late for an intro, but with the year ending, I thought I'd finally introduce myself. I'm so glad I found this board. I have found you all to be smart, knowledgeable, well-spoken, friendly, encouraging and more helpful than you can imagine.
My name is Mike, I'm 36 and I've lived in the DC area my entire life. I'm a Web developer. When I was a kid, my best friend's parents had a 42-foot Sea Ray on the Bay, and I tagged along on many of their weekend outings. My 2 most awesome memories are catching a big blue on a spinning reel while casting into breaking schools from the front of the big boat in really rough waters, and riding the zodiac at night through the phosphorous jellies, creating a trail of light behind the dingy. I owe my love for the bay to Sean and his family.Besides that, Sean and I fished for large and smallmouth bass in the Potomac and the C & O Canal (you'd be surprised how many nice largemouth there used to be in the canal before they started draining it all the time). After high school, we kinda lost track, and I hadn't been out on the water until...
In August 2011, I went to Hawaii with my girlfriend. She had to go for business. I figured I'd tag along for fun. Man, it was awesome. But one the most gratifying things I did while I was there was rent a SOT kayak. It was my first time on the water in 20 years. I loved it. I felt at home. A huge storm came as I paddled between Oahu and some small islands offshore. As I battled the waves and the wind and the rain, i thought to myself: "Why am I not doing this ALL THE TIME?!?" As soon as I returned home, I did some research and bought a Hobie Revo 11. As soon as I saw the Mirage drives, I knew that was going to be my boat.
So I went out in a couple reservoirs around town, and after learning how to float again, started venturing into the bay. I bought a $100 rod/reel combo at BPS just in case, and like 3 lures, one of which was a silver popper. I got the popper because it was what I had caught a breaking blue with 25 years earlier. On one outing near Chesapeake Beach, i saw birds diving. I knew what that meant. I pedaled as fast as I possibly could towards them. Yes! splashes! Fish were breaking! I tied on my popper and casted. First cast... fish on! Holy crap! I've got a fish! It was a 2 inch striper (ok maybe 8 inch). I was so happy. I caught 3 more tiny ones.
I was a fisherman again. I started looking for info about fishing the bay. Nothing really stuck. Got skunked on my next several outings. Bummer. Maybe I'm not a fisherman after all.
While on the Hobie forums, CB Kayak 02 pointed me to MKF. I checked it out and you guys started teaching me a whole bunch of stuff. 5 days later, I caught a HUGE 24" rockfish at Harbor Hospital. Now I was a fisherman again!
Since then, I've met a few of you in person (kevinfry, ictalurus (that's a catfish in case you're wondering) and toadfinger (i dont wanna know what that is) ). I've also indirectly met a bunch of you through the site, who have helped me out, or shared experiences and ideas. Thank you!
My goals for 2012 are simple. get out there as often as possible. Catch a lot of fish. But mostly... I wanna catch a HUGE fish! Like a tuna, or a Jack... or a whale. (what? that's not a fish? what'ev)
Happy end of 2011 and thanks to all of you, especially those who make this site possible.
My name is Mike, I'm 36 and I've lived in the DC area my entire life. I'm a Web developer. When I was a kid, my best friend's parents had a 42-foot Sea Ray on the Bay, and I tagged along on many of their weekend outings. My 2 most awesome memories are catching a big blue on a spinning reel while casting into breaking schools from the front of the big boat in really rough waters, and riding the zodiac at night through the phosphorous jellies, creating a trail of light behind the dingy. I owe my love for the bay to Sean and his family.Besides that, Sean and I fished for large and smallmouth bass in the Potomac and the C & O Canal (you'd be surprised how many nice largemouth there used to be in the canal before they started draining it all the time). After high school, we kinda lost track, and I hadn't been out on the water until...
In August 2011, I went to Hawaii with my girlfriend. She had to go for business. I figured I'd tag along for fun. Man, it was awesome. But one the most gratifying things I did while I was there was rent a SOT kayak. It was my first time on the water in 20 years. I loved it. I felt at home. A huge storm came as I paddled between Oahu and some small islands offshore. As I battled the waves and the wind and the rain, i thought to myself: "Why am I not doing this ALL THE TIME?!?" As soon as I returned home, I did some research and bought a Hobie Revo 11. As soon as I saw the Mirage drives, I knew that was going to be my boat.
So I went out in a couple reservoirs around town, and after learning how to float again, started venturing into the bay. I bought a $100 rod/reel combo at BPS just in case, and like 3 lures, one of which was a silver popper. I got the popper because it was what I had caught a breaking blue with 25 years earlier. On one outing near Chesapeake Beach, i saw birds diving. I knew what that meant. I pedaled as fast as I possibly could towards them. Yes! splashes! Fish were breaking! I tied on my popper and casted. First cast... fish on! Holy crap! I've got a fish! It was a 2 inch striper (ok maybe 8 inch). I was so happy. I caught 3 more tiny ones.
I was a fisherman again. I started looking for info about fishing the bay. Nothing really stuck. Got skunked on my next several outings. Bummer. Maybe I'm not a fisherman after all.
While on the Hobie forums, CB Kayak 02 pointed me to MKF. I checked it out and you guys started teaching me a whole bunch of stuff. 5 days later, I caught a HUGE 24" rockfish at Harbor Hospital. Now I was a fisherman again!
Since then, I've met a few of you in person (kevinfry, ictalurus (that's a catfish in case you're wondering) and toadfinger (i dont wanna know what that is) ). I've also indirectly met a bunch of you through the site, who have helped me out, or shared experiences and ideas. Thank you!
My goals for 2012 are simple. get out there as often as possible. Catch a lot of fish. But mostly... I wanna catch a HUGE fish! Like a tuna, or a Jack... or a whale. (what? that's not a fish? what'ev)
Happy end of 2011 and thanks to all of you, especially those who make this site possible.
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