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I participated in the 2nd annual Fish N Paddle Saltwater Slam out of Ocean City this past weekend. I missed it last year because my wife works weekends in the summer, but this year she surprised me and registered me as my Father's Day gift. Talk about a great wife!
Even though state COVID protocols limited some of the extra activities surrounding the tournament they had last year like food, drinks, family events, and after parties, the tournament was still a huge success. And the number of participants even grew over the first year; it was up to 47. The organizers did a great job. It was an awesome group of participants too that were all willing to share information, tips, fishing spots, bait, rigs, etc. even though we were all competing for the top spot. The friendliness of competitors seems like a common thread in the few kayak tournaments I've fished over the years. It makes it fun win or lose.
As for the fishing, Day 1 was tough for me. I fished by Rt. 50 bridge, Martha's Landing, and the South Jetty and by the end of the day I had no scorable fish to weigh. All I could catch were stripers short of the slot and lots of tog - including a good number of would be keepers (tog season is closed so they didn't count). Bluefish seem easy to catch until you need to catch one and can't!
Day 2, I fished again by Rt. 50 bridge, Martha's landing, and the South Jetty, went out in the ocean, and also tried the Verrazano bridge. I caught a handful of short stripers again and tog, and finally got into some fish I could bring back to the scales with bluefish and a small sheepshead. In the end, I just missed out on the money, but did well with some nice calcutta prizes they had.
The tournament FB has the results. You may even recognize one of our own who took home the top prize! The lucky dog that he is...
https://www.facebook.com/fishnpaddletournament/
It's been a long time since I've fished from 05:30 - 15:00 2 days in a row, so I was sore Monday morning, but I had a lot of fun and highly recommend it for next year!
Even though state COVID protocols limited some of the extra activities surrounding the tournament they had last year like food, drinks, family events, and after parties, the tournament was still a huge success. And the number of participants even grew over the first year; it was up to 47. The organizers did a great job. It was an awesome group of participants too that were all willing to share information, tips, fishing spots, bait, rigs, etc. even though we were all competing for the top spot. The friendliness of competitors seems like a common thread in the few kayak tournaments I've fished over the years. It makes it fun win or lose.
As for the fishing, Day 1 was tough for me. I fished by Rt. 50 bridge, Martha's Landing, and the South Jetty and by the end of the day I had no scorable fish to weigh. All I could catch were stripers short of the slot and lots of tog - including a good number of would be keepers (tog season is closed so they didn't count). Bluefish seem easy to catch until you need to catch one and can't!
Day 2, I fished again by Rt. 50 bridge, Martha's landing, and the South Jetty, went out in the ocean, and also tried the Verrazano bridge. I caught a handful of short stripers again and tog, and finally got into some fish I could bring back to the scales with bluefish and a small sheepshead. In the end, I just missed out on the money, but did well with some nice calcutta prizes they had.
The tournament FB has the results. You may even recognize one of our own who took home the top prize! The lucky dog that he is...
https://www.facebook.com/fishnpaddletournament/
It's been a long time since I've fished from 05:30 - 15:00 2 days in a row, so I was sore Monday morning, but I had a lot of fun and highly recommend it for next year!
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