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I put my orange 2014 Slayer Propel 13 up for sale a few weeks ago. I had not used it in a while and was looking to get a newer model. I have had a few lowball offers but no serious offers yet. I decided to use that kayak today. It is a good thing I did -- the kayak still has loads of fishing mojo left in it.
I launched from Goodhands Creek ramp about 6:45 am. On the Fly had already headed out. Whenican launched a bit later. I followed my usual path of trolling shorelines in 3-4 ft depth. The water level was already low and was dropping with an outgoing tide and a brisk breeze from the north. That meant that my preferred depth was much farther from the shoreline. The first 15 minutes was slow, then I found an area that produced double hookups on several passes. By the end of the hour, I had caught 15 stripers -- mostly small ones. I decided to move off and look elsewhere. I tried another one of my regular spots. I caught a few fish at first, then found a cluster of larger fish. In the next 45 minutes, I caught another 16 stripers in that area. I left there and headed to a third spot that had produced well at higher water levels. I caught another 6 stripers there -- not as good on low water as it is on high water.
I finished in 4 hours with 38 stripers (23", 20", three at 19", three at 17", and a bunch of smaller ones). Earlier in the summer I mentioned that I had bought some circle hook jigheads. I try to keep one rod with a circle hook jighead in the spread all the time. Today, that jighead with a paddletail caught several fish, including the 23" one.
After enjoying a morning in the Slayer Propel 13, I decided to take it off the market and continue using it. My take home lesson was that there are plenty of fish out there, but they are not everywhere. I had to investigate many small spots in several of my target locations before I could find them. Once I found them, I made a bunch of tight passes through the area and hooked up frequently.
I launched from Goodhands Creek ramp about 6:45 am. On the Fly had already headed out. Whenican launched a bit later. I followed my usual path of trolling shorelines in 3-4 ft depth. The water level was already low and was dropping with an outgoing tide and a brisk breeze from the north. That meant that my preferred depth was much farther from the shoreline. The first 15 minutes was slow, then I found an area that produced double hookups on several passes. By the end of the hour, I had caught 15 stripers -- mostly small ones. I decided to move off and look elsewhere. I tried another one of my regular spots. I caught a few fish at first, then found a cluster of larger fish. In the next 45 minutes, I caught another 16 stripers in that area. I left there and headed to a third spot that had produced well at higher water levels. I caught another 6 stripers there -- not as good on low water as it is on high water.
I finished in 4 hours with 38 stripers (23", 20", three at 19", three at 17", and a bunch of smaller ones). Earlier in the summer I mentioned that I had bought some circle hook jigheads. I try to keep one rod with a circle hook jighead in the spread all the time. Today, that jighead with a paddletail caught several fish, including the 23" one.
After enjoying a morning in the Slayer Propel 13, I decided to take it off the market and continue using it. My take home lesson was that there are plenty of fish out there, but they are not everywhere. I had to investigate many small spots in several of my target locations before I could find them. Once I found them, I made a bunch of tight passes through the area and hooked up frequently.
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