Day1
After leaving the Baltimore area at 4 am, I arrived at Kiptopeke State Park around 8 am only to find very windy conditions. From what I've heard, normally, Kipto is ok in the wind because you are able to hide behind the ships. On this day, that was not the case because the wind was blowing right down them.
The waves looked a little daunting so I took my time getting ready and finally hit the water at 8:30. I headed out toward the southern most ship and found the waves to be tolerable. From seeing others videos of Tog fishing at the ships, I remembered that it seemed like many were cathing them around the holes in the ships. So, I decided to drop my blue crab quarter next to one of the holes in the ship and almost immediately started getting bites. Well after missing the fish atleast 10 times and actually feeling the weght of the fish a couple of times, but losing it, the fishin decided to stop biting. I moved to another hole in the ship and immediately got a bite again, but this time I hooked up and managed to get the fish all the way to my yak. My first fish on the new yak and first ever Tog at 15"!
I was ecstatic and being that it was only about 1/2 hour into my time on the water, I thought I had finally figured out hooking the Tog and would continue to get lots of bites. However, I went back to the same hole where I caught the Tog and could not buy another bite. A little while later, I was still trying at the same spot and CBkayak and Tufnik arrived and I told them I had one Tog and missed another.
Eventually I decided to venture to the other side of the ships. On the outside of the ships the waves were much larger, however they were smoother, so it didnt seem as bad. I tryed various spots along the outside of the southern ships and didnt get a nibble. The waves on the outside of the ships were approaching 10 feet, so I decided to head back to the other side of the ships. I selected another hole and decided to try fishing inside the hole by sticking my rod inside the ship. Almost immediately I started getting bites. I probably missed this fish 6-7 times because it was very difficult to set the hook, but eventually I finally got him to stick. I pulled im out the hole in the ship and took a deep breath as I layed him in the kayak. My second Tog of the day!
I fished the North ships a little while, but did not get any other bites and called it quits around 12. Here's a shot of some Pelicans sitting on the North set of ships.
In the afternoon, Rick (Memorymaker) provided us with shrimp salad sandwiches for lunch and gave us a little tour of the area. There are definately some other fishy looking spots around.
Day 2
I was originally not planning to fish on this day, but with winds forecasted to be not as strong and after being stricken with Tog fever, I decided that I would have to give it a go for a little while. I arrived at Kipto around 7 am and was on the water at about 7:15. I decided to head directly for a couple of the holes in the south set of ships that I had not fished yesterday. I made a couple of drops on the outside of the ships with no luck and decided to fish the inside of the ships by sticking my rod inside the ship. Immediately I started getting bites. Finally, after about 7-8 misses I hooked up and pulled up a short 12" Tog. I let him go and circled back to see if he had any bigger friends in there. Right away I was getting bites again and finally was able to connect with a 15" Tog. So, again I went back wondering if there were anymore left and got bites right away and soon had another 15" Tog. After this Tog I continued getting bit, but could not manage to connect. I decided that I had to leave and made my way in with two keeper Togs for my short morning on the water. Sweet! I have more pictures, but my wife took them with her camera when I got home and I am currently in Chicago on business. Hopefully she will send me them soon, so I can share those too.
In summary, Tog fishing is freaking awesome and they are some hard fighters for sure. I can't wait for next year to fish for them more!
PS sorry for the long post....
PSS Thanks again to Memorymaker for the hospitality
After leaving the Baltimore area at 4 am, I arrived at Kiptopeke State Park around 8 am only to find very windy conditions. From what I've heard, normally, Kipto is ok in the wind because you are able to hide behind the ships. On this day, that was not the case because the wind was blowing right down them.
The waves looked a little daunting so I took my time getting ready and finally hit the water at 8:30. I headed out toward the southern most ship and found the waves to be tolerable. From seeing others videos of Tog fishing at the ships, I remembered that it seemed like many were cathing them around the holes in the ships. So, I decided to drop my blue crab quarter next to one of the holes in the ship and almost immediately started getting bites. Well after missing the fish atleast 10 times and actually feeling the weght of the fish a couple of times, but losing it, the fishin decided to stop biting. I moved to another hole in the ship and immediately got a bite again, but this time I hooked up and managed to get the fish all the way to my yak. My first fish on the new yak and first ever Tog at 15"!
I was ecstatic and being that it was only about 1/2 hour into my time on the water, I thought I had finally figured out hooking the Tog and would continue to get lots of bites. However, I went back to the same hole where I caught the Tog and could not buy another bite. A little while later, I was still trying at the same spot and CBkayak and Tufnik arrived and I told them I had one Tog and missed another.
Eventually I decided to venture to the other side of the ships. On the outside of the ships the waves were much larger, however they were smoother, so it didnt seem as bad. I tryed various spots along the outside of the southern ships and didnt get a nibble. The waves on the outside of the ships were approaching 10 feet, so I decided to head back to the other side of the ships. I selected another hole and decided to try fishing inside the hole by sticking my rod inside the ship. Almost immediately I started getting bites. I probably missed this fish 6-7 times because it was very difficult to set the hook, but eventually I finally got him to stick. I pulled im out the hole in the ship and took a deep breath as I layed him in the kayak. My second Tog of the day!
I fished the North ships a little while, but did not get any other bites and called it quits around 12. Here's a shot of some Pelicans sitting on the North set of ships.
In the afternoon, Rick (Memorymaker) provided us with shrimp salad sandwiches for lunch and gave us a little tour of the area. There are definately some other fishy looking spots around.
Day 2
I was originally not planning to fish on this day, but with winds forecasted to be not as strong and after being stricken with Tog fever, I decided that I would have to give it a go for a little while. I arrived at Kipto around 7 am and was on the water at about 7:15. I decided to head directly for a couple of the holes in the south set of ships that I had not fished yesterday. I made a couple of drops on the outside of the ships with no luck and decided to fish the inside of the ships by sticking my rod inside the ship. Immediately I started getting bites. Finally, after about 7-8 misses I hooked up and pulled up a short 12" Tog. I let him go and circled back to see if he had any bigger friends in there. Right away I was getting bites again and finally was able to connect with a 15" Tog. So, again I went back wondering if there were anymore left and got bites right away and soon had another 15" Tog. After this Tog I continued getting bit, but could not manage to connect. I decided that I had to leave and made my way in with two keeper Togs for my short morning on the water. Sweet! I have more pictures, but my wife took them with her camera when I got home and I am currently in Chicago on business. Hopefully she will send me them soon, so I can share those too.
In summary, Tog fishing is freaking awesome and they are some hard fighters for sure. I can't wait for next year to fish for them more!
PS sorry for the long post....
PSS Thanks again to Memorymaker for the hospitality
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