The first event for the New Jersey Chapter of Heroes on the Water was held on May 10th 2014 at Picatinny Arsenal Army Base in Rockaway New Jersey.  There was 79 total attendees registered and others that made an appearance.

The morning started out foggy as volunteers arrived and begun setting up unloading gear kayaks rods and setting up breakfast. By 9:00 AM all of the attendees were present. There was a brief introduction and tank you to the base and Civic Duty Partners for providing and cooking lunch for all.  Rod & reel combos were raffled off and given away to a few participating vets.

Everyone then met up at the boat launch area and the group photo was taken then systematically everyone was divided into 2 groups. They were matched up with guides. Launching the vets and guides went smoothly. Before you knew it the entire lake was speckled with 40 or more bright colored plastic boats.

Fishing was phenomenal. I saw one lady veteran catch 3 pickerel in the matter of 10 minutes! It probably couldn’t get any better than that!

It seemed all of the veterans their family’s and the volunteers had a great day!. I don’t think anyone left without catching fish.

Around 12:30 the wind kicked up. everyone headed off the lake for lunch. The motor boat came and helped a few boats in. Lunch was excellent!  By this time i had to pack up and leave to attend a family obligation. It was a good time to go as the sky was clouding up due to incoming thunder storms.

For the past 2 years Jersey Cape Kayak Fishing (JCKF) a New Jersey based kayak fishing club has organized a Jamboree for kayak anglers to get together have fun while camping and fishing the Susquehanna River Delta at the Chesapeake Bay in Havre de Grace Maryland. The Jamboree’s format is not that of a tournament but much like the boondoggle except an entry fee which supports a roast pig dinner with sides an event shirt and all funds left over benefits Heroes on the Water Chapters of Maryland, Central Pennsylvania, Western Pennsylvania and New Jersey. As always there is a few calcutta’s which are voluntary. The class is Striped Bass, Large Mouth Bass, Catfish, and Slam. Longest catch photo release wins entire pot per category.

This year Jim Dolan president of the Heroes on the Water organization joined us. It was an honor to have him spend the weekend with us and also have a few veterans from previous HOW outings join in too.

Fishing was uneventful for most during the event. The photo of Gary ‘Fishenfool’ on the left describes it well! The lack of fish or fish that were feeding was blamed on the amount of water flowing through the Conowingo Dam and as a result the 48 degree water temps on the flats.  It was expected after a cold winter. A few catfish Large Mouth Bass & Small Mouths were reported. Only four total Striped Bass were reported to be caught and released. Although the Calcutta weigh in board stated one cow was 46 inches.  The raffle was immense this year with many sponsors donating product and swag to benefit HOW.

For me it was just relaxing to get out on the water with a fishing rod for the first time this season. Wake up call was at 4 am. Ended up being the first one out of camp as the gate wasn’t even open yet.  On my way to the park where the decision was made to be the launch I made a stop at Royal farms for coffee and ice. Arrived at the ramp around 4:50 and there were a lot of bass boats showing up. Parked close to the boat ramp and begun to gear up the Big Rig. Being this was the first time taking it fishing I had to figure out where all of my gear was to be stored and also attach a few Ram Mounts here and there. It took me about 45 minutes to figure everything out and finally drop into the water. Must say everything went smoothly. Although missing the sun rise was a bummer.

The Torqeedo on the Big Rig performed well for trolling. I did paddle for about an hour though to get used to the size of the Big Rig. It seems the Torqeedo will run all day at slow trolling speeds. I fished from 7 AM til 12 PM and only used 40% of the battery! I need to figure out how to export the GPS tracks on my Lowrance chart plotter. Trolled 2 rods with Xraps Yo Zoris Bombers Ratl Traps you name it. Should have dragged that tube and worm behind me. Two feet of water 10 feet of water marked massive carp in the channels and also saw them jumping.

It was great to see those that fish these events and meet new people as always! Looking forward to the upcoming mid-Atlantic saltwater season. The Striped Bass should be off the shore and in the back bays of New Jersey soon.

Thanks to JCKF for all of the hard work to put this event on in elite style!

It was a great time representing Heroes on the Water raising funds and awareness of the program. We had a great group of volunteers at the booth the entire time! Some of us have not seen each other since October so it was great to get together and kick off a new season! There were so many people interested in what we are doing and eager to volunteer. Thanks to all who donated and hope to see those whom would like to volunteer at the future outings.

For myself at Paddle sport it was good to see sponsors industry professionals and friends. I did miss the Jackson Kayak crew this year unfortunately.