Jamiaica Bay holds a place in the hearts of many kayak anglers of the north east. A stormy reunion at Jamaica Bay wasnt the plan but became a good time after all.  Joh Shein started the Jamaica Bay Kayak Fishing Classic somewhere about 15 years ago. This year however the tournament wasnt carried over so a small group of anglers decided to camp and fish the same date as the tournament was always held. The tournament would draw 350+ anglers every year and was the Hobie Qualifier. Chris of The Kayak Fishing Store set aside a small number of campsites for a few via word of mouth. It was set to be the first of the Jon Shein Memorial Jamboree.

Jamaica Bay Camping & Fishing

Typical Jamaica Bay weather was slated for the date unfortunately a nor’easter had it targeted to rain for 4 days accompanied with high winds.  Some participants decided to stay home. I was in no matter what. Over the years of fishing I have learned not to put a lot of trust into a weather forecast. Just go to the water and see how it is. My trek to Brooklyn New York begun. What used to be a 45 minute drive is now 4 hours from my home.

Upon arrival it was blowing 15-25 mph East. It continued throughout the day. So we rearranged and built a canopy shelter with tarps and the campers to block the wind. Also set it up for the forecasted rain. We were able to block most of the wind and with a patio heater keep it pretty warm within our camp. There were 7 of us camping in the spot. Charlie LaBar hooked me up with a pad in his camper since the crew i was bunking down with bailed. I cooked every one some skillet chicken thighs Friday evening which I over salted. Oops. It still earned me the Camp Chef title Replacing ‘Bob Mullet’ Miller whom didn’t make it to the event.

Waiting out the weather

The Maryland crew and Wolfpack were also camping J-Bay regulars. It was great to see all of them. Saturday most of the day was heavy East winds that really chopped the bay up with 2 – 3 foot waves. The rain had begun early in the morning and poured throughout the day. A few of the Maryland crew braved these conditions as they were leaving that afternoon. We kept pretty dry at camp and just relaxed with some good old stories and busting each others balls. I remember the days waiting on the weather before smart phones and wondered how we used to make it through!

A group of Kite surfers gathered to take advantage of the stiff winds. I was able to get some killer shots of them harnessing the wind cruising on plane and catching air. Some of the surfers were able to do multiple flips while in the air. One had a board with a hydro foil. It was pretty cool to see him plaining 4-5 feet above the water’s surface.

The rain and wind finally let up Saturday evening. We were able to get out and fish for a few hours. Chris landed a nice bluefish and Gene got a nice striper for dinner. I came up with a skunk unfortunately. Only one blue hit the Da Tube. We all gathered back at camp Gene brought the striper and filleted it. I cooked it along with some sautéed shrimps onion and mushrooms.

It was excellent.

Great weather before packing up

It was around 5 AM when I awoke. Charlie was up and it was the start of a beautiful morning.  Carlie and i were the first to get out on the water. We trolled around for about an hour in search of Stripers  or Blues. Again nothing on the troll. By this time some of the others were on the water and we made the decision to bounce some jigs for flattys. Picked up a nice Sea Robin close to shore then decided to go into deeper water. The tide had just turned around and was now incoming. A bluefish then hit my rig on the teaser and took the entire thing except 12 inches of leader. Not having any more teasers with me i decided to tie on a 1/2 oz spro and fish it with spearing I had. Since the gulp wasn’t producing  it was a good move to switch to bait. Next fish was an on the nose 19″ fluke. Then the next was a real nice 12.5″er! THe next was a real nice 26″er! All of these fish hit within a 30 minute time span which was excellent for the short amount of time we had.

The wind picked up and the bite turned off. We headed in to break down camp. Hopefully the permit can be obtained from the J-Bay tournament directors and the gathering will continue next year with the large attendance there was in the past!