Been stalking this forum for awhile finally have something to post. For anyone who is reading this who is new to kayak fishing like me the learning curve can be a challenge but keep working the reward is sweet.
I want to take a second to recognize the accomplishments of all the fisherman on this forum that do so well. It is not easy! After fishing my whole life it's been a struggle for me to adjust and put fish in the boat. Now to the report
Launched at 6:00am to relatively calm conditions. Cool air temps and low light I was sure the fish would be shallow. After an hour or so of casting to the various piers I was disappointed to not have a bite. Paddled around holland point and found some occasional fish boiling so I started to troll the area. Trolled for 30 minutes or so... no bites. Decided to head back shallow towards the piers and riprap adjacent to the area where I occasionally saw fish boiling. Went to crank in a trolling line with an xrap and a striper (keeper sized) chased it to the rod tip and missed boatside. Wow okay heart is pumping now. Praying that's not the only bite I get. Start fan casting mostly open water with the xrap. Nothing. Reposition kayak to better fish the piers and riprap close to where I missed my bite. First cast towards shore hooked up. 20" striper boated. New personal best from the yak. Kept fouling hooks on bottom and missing hits on the xrap so swapped for a chug bug. First cast new personal best for the yak. 23" rockfish. You haven't lived until you've attempted to land a good fish into the yak with no net or experience doing it. Ended up with 4 over 20" and 3 under all released. I also caught a new personal best 12" white perch. Interestingly all 4 keeper sized fish were caught on different lures. Had to keep switching lures after a few bites because they would stop hitting. Maybe because the water was so shallow and the fish were concentrated? Anyways thank you to all that post! I've learned so much just from reading!
This was the first time that I didn't wear my GoPro coincidence that this was my best trip I think not
-Shaun
IMG_6659.JPGIMG_6650.JPG
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I want to take a second to recognize the accomplishments of all the fisherman on this forum that do so well. It is not easy! After fishing my whole life it's been a struggle for me to adjust and put fish in the boat. Now to the report
Launched at 6:00am to relatively calm conditions. Cool air temps and low light I was sure the fish would be shallow. After an hour or so of casting to the various piers I was disappointed to not have a bite. Paddled around holland point and found some occasional fish boiling so I started to troll the area. Trolled for 30 minutes or so... no bites. Decided to head back shallow towards the piers and riprap adjacent to the area where I occasionally saw fish boiling. Went to crank in a trolling line with an xrap and a striper (keeper sized) chased it to the rod tip and missed boatside. Wow okay heart is pumping now. Praying that's not the only bite I get. Start fan casting mostly open water with the xrap. Nothing. Reposition kayak to better fish the piers and riprap close to where I missed my bite. First cast towards shore hooked up. 20" striper boated. New personal best from the yak. Kept fouling hooks on bottom and missing hits on the xrap so swapped for a chug bug. First cast new personal best for the yak. 23" rockfish. You haven't lived until you've attempted to land a good fish into the yak with no net or experience doing it. Ended up with 4 over 20" and 3 under all released. I also caught a new personal best 12" white perch. Interestingly all 4 keeper sized fish were caught on different lures. Had to keep switching lures after a few bites because they would stop hitting. Maybe because the water was so shallow and the fish were concentrated? Anyways thank you to all that post! I've learned so much just from reading!
This was the first time that I didn't wear my GoPro coincidence that this was my best trip I think not
-Shaun
IMG_6659.JPGIMG_6650.JPG
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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