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I realize this isn't entirely, or even mostly, a kayak report, but I thought some might find it interesting.
I spent last week in Holden Beach, NC. Aside from a couple of evening thunderstorms, the weather was great. The fishing was average at best...but hey, I was on vacation so I really didn't care.
I got up early most days and threw topwater lures from the beach from sunrise to about 7:30 am. I pulled in specks from 15-17" and one at 20". Caught early morning snapper blues as well in the surf. Surf fishing at night yielded a mix of kingfish, and small croaker and pompano. One guy next to me pulled in a 4' hammerhead. All fish (except a few specks) were released.
I spent one day in the kayak BBTB (barely beyond the breakers) chasing schools of baitfish but couldn't get anything to bite. I spent time practicing my surf entries and landings.
Perhaps the most noteworthy experiences while fishing didn't involve catching fish. On my first day fishing from the surf, I was standing in ankle deep water about 10 yards from the breakers. As one 3-4' wave reached its peak just in front of me, I saw a long, distinctive shadow in the break. It was there for a split second and then disappeared with the wave. Ten minutes later, in roughly the same spot, I saw one of his friends, except this one wasn't as bashful. It was a 6-7' shark cruising the surface about 10-15 yards from where I was standing in the water. It didn't show itself long enough for me to identify the species, but needless to say, I took a couple of steps back at that point.
The other interesting thing that happened occurred while throwing topwater plugs. Not surprisingly, I attracted the attention of a number of sea gulls. As they do here in MD, they have no problem picking up the lure and flying off with it. However, they typically drop it within seconds after realizing that it is merely plastic. This time, however, a gull lifted my lure from the water and caught its beak on one of my hooks. He descended and landed peacefully in the water. I then gently retrieved the line and the bird flew toward me, as if it knew what I was trying to do. When it got close, I held it with one hand and extracted the hook with the other. The bird, not happy with its situation, let me know how displeased it was by pecking at me, flapping its wings, and squawking like it was begging for a french fry in Ocean City. When the hook was removed, the bird took off as though nothing had happened. Although the beach was empty, I heard the faint sound of applause from some of the beach home occupants who were on their decks enjoying their cups of joe and, undoubtedly, enjoying the morning's entertainment at my expense.
I spent last week in Holden Beach, NC. Aside from a couple of evening thunderstorms, the weather was great. The fishing was average at best...but hey, I was on vacation so I really didn't care.
I got up early most days and threw topwater lures from the beach from sunrise to about 7:30 am. I pulled in specks from 15-17" and one at 20". Caught early morning snapper blues as well in the surf. Surf fishing at night yielded a mix of kingfish, and small croaker and pompano. One guy next to me pulled in a 4' hammerhead. All fish (except a few specks) were released.
I spent one day in the kayak BBTB (barely beyond the breakers) chasing schools of baitfish but couldn't get anything to bite. I spent time practicing my surf entries and landings.
Perhaps the most noteworthy experiences while fishing didn't involve catching fish. On my first day fishing from the surf, I was standing in ankle deep water about 10 yards from the breakers. As one 3-4' wave reached its peak just in front of me, I saw a long, distinctive shadow in the break. It was there for a split second and then disappeared with the wave. Ten minutes later, in roughly the same spot, I saw one of his friends, except this one wasn't as bashful. It was a 6-7' shark cruising the surface about 10-15 yards from where I was standing in the water. It didn't show itself long enough for me to identify the species, but needless to say, I took a couple of steps back at that point.
The other interesting thing that happened occurred while throwing topwater plugs. Not surprisingly, I attracted the attention of a number of sea gulls. As they do here in MD, they have no problem picking up the lure and flying off with it. However, they typically drop it within seconds after realizing that it is merely plastic. This time, however, a gull lifted my lure from the water and caught its beak on one of my hooks. He descended and landed peacefully in the water. I then gently retrieved the line and the bird flew toward me, as if it knew what I was trying to do. When it got close, I held it with one hand and extracted the hook with the other. The bird, not happy with its situation, let me know how displeased it was by pecking at me, flapping its wings, and squawking like it was begging for a french fry in Ocean City. When the hook was removed, the bird took off as though nothing had happened. Although the beach was empty, I heard the faint sound of applause from some of the beach home occupants who were on their decks enjoying their cups of joe and, undoubtedly, enjoying the morning's entertainment at my expense.
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