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After yearing all the hype i went this year to both parts of the summer slam series.
If you just want to see a video of my catches in part 2 and no story click the link below. If not read the LONG entry below. Haha.
https://youtu.be/kxWxNQDO9CY
The first summer slam was cut short for most due to crazy weather changes in a matter of minutes causing the water to go from flat seas to 4 foot swells. Rogue waves everywhere due to boats rushing back to docks resulted in MANY yaks flipped and nearly sunk.
I only managed 2 juvenile Dolphin (mahi) which i let go and 2 cut wire leaders and half eaten gog before i ran into the final episode of the morning.
With wind pushing north and current pushing the same way i managed a steady .29mph to 2mph if i pumped full speed. Any break meant i would lose ground faster than i had gained. Half beat and while being tempted to make a dash for the beach instead making it back to the launch point i hear a sudden but short yell of some sorts. Through the heavy raim which i couod barely see 20 yds ahead of me i see a guy hunched over in his kayak. I paused to see if the guy was ok but i saw him wave his arm as if to say no worries. I wont lie, but for a second i battled myself inside. Half of me was saying to paddle over to check on him because something didnt feel right but the other half of me was saying you are already losing what you gained but if you go back then youll lost most of the water you gained and plus... I might not be able to make it back because i was already feeling exhaustion settling in. I knew the right thing to do was go back and check because of the unwritten rule that you leave no man behind on the water. I yelled over to see if he could hear me asking if he was alright and get a confirmation, but he responded with the same type of wave before. This time it seemed like smaller weaker wave and the fact that he didnt give me verbal confirmation and or make up ground to catch while i was just sitting there began to make me reassess the severity of the situation. Without hesitation i rushed over. As i drew close i noticed that he wasnt hinched over in his kayak but he in fact had turtled and was hanging off the side of his kayak in the water. His kayak was half suck with only inches of his pro angler still floatimg above the surface. It was clear that if he got in his kayak it would sink for sure. After making sure he was good for know i rushed around ttrying to collect any of his belongings that i could and returned to his side to make sure his kayak did not go under. To make matters worst at this time we had drifted back into tye center of the inlet where boats were rushing back in to safety. If i left him for ssure he would be at risk of being run over by these speeding boats that would not see him in these swells. I was hoping at least my flag and my yellow kayak would help. Another problem we had was that his radio was not working and i had forgot mine that day so there was no way to call the help boat. Now that i think of it us being in the inlet could have been what saved us. I flagged a passing boat down and told them to call our help boat over the radio. I gave them the channel and they made the call. Within a few minutes the help boat arrived. They helped get the guy on the boat and they towed his kayak back to shore.
Although i was left with the daunting task of trying to not only make it back but now even further than where i had originally started i made it back safe 2 hrs later going 3/4 of a mile to the launch point. Running into the guy on shore and him thanking made it feel all worth it. Still a few people caught great fish but quantities were few.
Summer slam 2
This even was full of action with HUGE fish being caught as well as large quantities of decent fish. The largest fish caught was a 71.9 lb wahoo.
The day was perfect weather was perfect but my day was mixed with frustrations and short moments of jubilation. Right off the start after already being on the water waiting for the countdown for the tournament start i realized i had left my radio in the car. If you read my story to part 1 you will know why i felt the need to get my radio. I beached my kayak got my radio came back and was about to launch again but i noticed my livewell pump was whining at a very high pitch and the water was not pumping. I primed the hose but water still was not pumping. I removed the case of the pump and realized what had happened. My pump had managed to pump and ton of sand and ended up clogfed. I went to remove the sand but poof... My motor burnt out. I was going to have to manually pour water into the livewell frequently to keep the sensitive bait alive.
Still trying to be positive i launched and waited for the count down . As i was checking my gear to make sure everything was good i noticed my fish finder had turned off. Thinking i had pressed the power somehow i powered up and it started fine so i resumed getting checking my rigs. After count down i started pedaling towards my spot. I. Looked down at my fishfinder to make sure i was heading to the right spot IT WAS OFF AGAIN. Ichecked the wires and they were all good so i powere it up and it did just fine but after a minute it shuts off again. So i continue to fiddle with my ff but i am distracted by a huge splash in front of me. My second cast at them whatever it was it kept missing my lure but finally i hook up. Good runs on my light tackle. Great fight but only ends up being a tiny bonita. A few minutes later i see huge pods of trigger fish and with them being notorious for chewing up baits i wimd one of my baits in to find chunks of it missing. Surprisingly it was still swimming. I let it out to see if i could get something to bite it before it died and as i am letting line out my down line hooks up to a nice king. I rebait and drop another bait but them the half dead gog produces a bite. After a good run i tighten the drag to start the fight but i feel a pop and the fish is gone. I wind up to fin the rig being untouched with only the bait missing. The stinger must have fallen off and the fish must have had the bait by its tail and the nose hook probably ripped out which gave me that poppimg feel. The way it was running and screaming line off my reel had to have been a similar size if not bigget than what i just caught. After that it went quite for some time. With 30 minutes left on the clock i was trolling my last 2 gogs behind me. On got bitten off without even a run which make me think it was a shark. Then the othet i had a big hit and run but again another pop. I wind in and fin only the gog head remaining with stinger cut off (wire leader ). With all my bait being gone i trolled a yozuri behind me and again another hit but no hookup. Feeling disappointed but still having a fish to wrigh in i decided to just call it a day. I didnt place but 10th place was only a few pounds bigger with us catching 1 fish each. I could have placed with the few missed fish but hey... Everyone can tell that story.
See you next year EKFT.
If you just want to see a video of my catches in part 2 and no story click the link below. If not read the LONG entry below. Haha.
https://youtu.be/kxWxNQDO9CY
The first summer slam was cut short for most due to crazy weather changes in a matter of minutes causing the water to go from flat seas to 4 foot swells. Rogue waves everywhere due to boats rushing back to docks resulted in MANY yaks flipped and nearly sunk.
I only managed 2 juvenile Dolphin (mahi) which i let go and 2 cut wire leaders and half eaten gog before i ran into the final episode of the morning.
With wind pushing north and current pushing the same way i managed a steady .29mph to 2mph if i pumped full speed. Any break meant i would lose ground faster than i had gained. Half beat and while being tempted to make a dash for the beach instead making it back to the launch point i hear a sudden but short yell of some sorts. Through the heavy raim which i couod barely see 20 yds ahead of me i see a guy hunched over in his kayak. I paused to see if the guy was ok but i saw him wave his arm as if to say no worries. I wont lie, but for a second i battled myself inside. Half of me was saying to paddle over to check on him because something didnt feel right but the other half of me was saying you are already losing what you gained but if you go back then youll lost most of the water you gained and plus... I might not be able to make it back because i was already feeling exhaustion settling in. I knew the right thing to do was go back and check because of the unwritten rule that you leave no man behind on the water. I yelled over to see if he could hear me asking if he was alright and get a confirmation, but he responded with the same type of wave before. This time it seemed like smaller weaker wave and the fact that he didnt give me verbal confirmation and or make up ground to catch while i was just sitting there began to make me reassess the severity of the situation. Without hesitation i rushed over. As i drew close i noticed that he wasnt hinched over in his kayak but he in fact had turtled and was hanging off the side of his kayak in the water. His kayak was half suck with only inches of his pro angler still floatimg above the surface. It was clear that if he got in his kayak it would sink for sure. After making sure he was good for know i rushed around ttrying to collect any of his belongings that i could and returned to his side to make sure his kayak did not go under. To make matters worst at this time we had drifted back into tye center of the inlet where boats were rushing back in to safety. If i left him for ssure he would be at risk of being run over by these speeding boats that would not see him in these swells. I was hoping at least my flag and my yellow kayak would help. Another problem we had was that his radio was not working and i had forgot mine that day so there was no way to call the help boat. Now that i think of it us being in the inlet could have been what saved us. I flagged a passing boat down and told them to call our help boat over the radio. I gave them the channel and they made the call. Within a few minutes the help boat arrived. They helped get the guy on the boat and they towed his kayak back to shore.
Although i was left with the daunting task of trying to not only make it back but now even further than where i had originally started i made it back safe 2 hrs later going 3/4 of a mile to the launch point. Running into the guy on shore and him thanking made it feel all worth it. Still a few people caught great fish but quantities were few.
Summer slam 2
This even was full of action with HUGE fish being caught as well as large quantities of decent fish. The largest fish caught was a 71.9 lb wahoo.
The day was perfect weather was perfect but my day was mixed with frustrations and short moments of jubilation. Right off the start after already being on the water waiting for the countdown for the tournament start i realized i had left my radio in the car. If you read my story to part 1 you will know why i felt the need to get my radio. I beached my kayak got my radio came back and was about to launch again but i noticed my livewell pump was whining at a very high pitch and the water was not pumping. I primed the hose but water still was not pumping. I removed the case of the pump and realized what had happened. My pump had managed to pump and ton of sand and ended up clogfed. I went to remove the sand but poof... My motor burnt out. I was going to have to manually pour water into the livewell frequently to keep the sensitive bait alive.
Still trying to be positive i launched and waited for the count down . As i was checking my gear to make sure everything was good i noticed my fish finder had turned off. Thinking i had pressed the power somehow i powered up and it started fine so i resumed getting checking my rigs. After count down i started pedaling towards my spot. I. Looked down at my fishfinder to make sure i was heading to the right spot IT WAS OFF AGAIN. Ichecked the wires and they were all good so i powere it up and it did just fine but after a minute it shuts off again. So i continue to fiddle with my ff but i am distracted by a huge splash in front of me. My second cast at them whatever it was it kept missing my lure but finally i hook up. Good runs on my light tackle. Great fight but only ends up being a tiny bonita. A few minutes later i see huge pods of trigger fish and with them being notorious for chewing up baits i wimd one of my baits in to find chunks of it missing. Surprisingly it was still swimming. I let it out to see if i could get something to bite it before it died and as i am letting line out my down line hooks up to a nice king. I rebait and drop another bait but them the half dead gog produces a bite. After a good run i tighten the drag to start the fight but i feel a pop and the fish is gone. I wind up to fin the rig being untouched with only the bait missing. The stinger must have fallen off and the fish must have had the bait by its tail and the nose hook probably ripped out which gave me that poppimg feel. The way it was running and screaming line off my reel had to have been a similar size if not bigget than what i just caught. After that it went quite for some time. With 30 minutes left on the clock i was trolling my last 2 gogs behind me. On got bitten off without even a run which make me think it was a shark. Then the othet i had a big hit and run but again another pop. I wind in and fin only the gog head remaining with stinger cut off (wire leader ). With all my bait being gone i trolled a yozuri behind me and again another hit but no hookup. Feeling disappointed but still having a fish to wrigh in i decided to just call it a day. I didnt place but 10th place was only a few pounds bigger with us catching 1 fish each. I could have placed with the few missed fish but hey... Everyone can tell that story.
See you next year EKFT.
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