My new work schedule in 2018 has been kayak fishing friendly! Affording the ability to fish TKAA and then the Columbus Day Weekend Boondoggle the week after. The Boondoggle is a kayak fishing camping social event created by the founders of Yak Angler and Kayak Fishing Radio back in 2010. With two yearly scheduled events falling on Presidents Day and Columbus Day weekends. My last attendance was the VA Beach event in 2013.

This years Columbus Day weekend Boondoggle located at Kiptopeke VA is an excellent location as its somewhat local to me. When it was announced in 2017 I booked my camp site that November! I was already thinking of the excellent fishing and fun camping with my fellow anglers.

Before I knew it the date was upon me. Joe and I headed down to the eastern shore Thursday night to set up camp and prepare for early fishing Friday morning. I took my 2014 Jackson Kayak Big Rig for this trip. Equipped with the Torqeedo Ultralight 403 this is my big game fishing setup. We hit our usual spot to find a ton of small speckled trout, flounder and one small bluefish. It was good fishing although all the fish were smaller.

The next day we set out for bull reds. Its October now so catching spot and croaker for live bait can be a task. It ended up taking us 6 hours to gather 10 baits keeping them alive in a mesh sack. 

I even tried throwing the cast net. This is something I had never done before but from the deck of the Big Rig actually isnt too hard. Next time in going out armed with a sibiki rig!

Finally we started live rig fishing for the bulls but only ended up with a bunch of brown sharks. Ironically the 10 baits we caught lasted a total of maybe 4 hours. Loosing four baits in the first 10 minutes.

The sharks were fun to catch although were not the target.That evening we went and hung out with the rest of the boondogglers and enjoyed swapping stories around the camp fire. Unfortunately we were starving after our 12 hour fishing day and made food at camp. The boondoggle pot luck looked amazing but was too full to sample.

The next morning we tried for the bulls again. Fishing was very slow besides pods of dolphins swimming by. Unfortunatlly had to cut it short as I had to leave to be back in Delaware to the next journey at Ohiopyle PA. Delaware Paddlesports team trip. One adventure to another. I missed the low country boil and fishing Monday but it was worth it to be on another trip of a lifetime!

Its August 2018 and the weather is hot! Stopping in at Delaware Paddlesports Dean Lokey passed on an invite to join him fishing the Eastern Shore. I love this area and its unique fishery so of course was down for the trip! We met up at 4am fueled up and headed out for the 2.5 hour drive off to Kiptopeke VA!

Traveling very early in the morning is a bonus.  Theres not many people traveling which makes driving much more enjoyable. The drive seems to pass by quicker although it tends to be the easiest route to travel. Pretty much a long streight flat road. Its literally three turns within the entire trek!

Arriving at Kipto around 6:30 and made a quick stop at Chris’s Bait and Tackle. I unfortunately left my fishing pants at home and didnt even bring board shorts. Luckily the Tackle shop had board shorts right out in front! To top it off they were 50% off. Win!! The guys working there told us that it was blowing around 20 on the water but it wasnt windy inland which was only a mile from the bay. The also told us fishing was pretty tough the past few days.

We then headed into the campsites to see what was available. Unfortunately it was tough to tell what was reserved and what wasn’t. So technology arose and I searched available campsites on my phone and booked reservations literally in front of the campsite. This was a first for me but was really cool!

We then headed down to the water. It was blowing but fortunately it was coming from the west/north west. The Kipto concrete Ship break wall is great to hide behind in these conditions! On our way out there was a pod of porpoises playing in the waves! It was a sight to see! Being on a kayak grants the ability to be up and close with this type of wildlife! Fishing the ships begun at slack tide. Which is key at this location. The tide always rips through here. You’ll find yourself using 3+ oz to fish the bottom in no time.

We met up with Dale and John. Maryland anglers that Dean knows. These guys were on vacation and asked us to join them! We fished the slack tide at the ships. Dale and John had caught a few fish including a small Cobia! Unfortunately small fish were tearing off our gulp tales so i decided to head out to open water around pound nets to see if i could find some trout. Well i found one little guy. It seemed a bit early for the specs but they were around.

The tide was now ripping out with the wind that had switched to a NW at 15 mph easy. We pretty much all gave up at the same time due to the deteriorating conditions.

Dean and I went back set up camp ran some errands and ate some RoFo Fried Chicken. Its sooo good!!

Around 3 we decided to head out again. Dean wanted to find the big bull reds. I wasnt set up for big fish so didn’t really care and tagged along. We arrived at the spot very early and it being so hot we all took a dip in bathtub like water. However we did find a few cool spots.

We headed to the bridge and fished the pilings catching small sea bass croaker and oyster toads. BEtter than nothing. The sun set and we decided to head in against the tide the entire way with the mosquitos feasting on us. The Torqeedo saved me as it would have been an 8 mile paddle back.

The eastern shore at night is pitch black besides the lights on the bridge. Typical night humidity will create a fog which a headlamp beam can barely pass through. We managed to find the cars and load up.

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The next morning we broke camp and headed back to the ships to find an awesome flounder bite! Picking thru the shorts I ended up with one nice fish for the table. This was keeper flounder in four total states for me this season! Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia!

It was a shorter fishing day but after packing up we took in the scenery and weather prior to hitting the road. These road trips are what I live for. Relaxing times fueling a passion that I enjoy most! Its important.

Fishing Journal 2015_08-21

Utilizing a 1:30 PM Friday departure from my day job I set out to arrive down the shore at Chips Folly Campground. Joining Ricky and his lovely wife Becky for a fun filled weekend of camping and Kayak Fishing Great Bay and the Mullica River! Having a few extra things to pack I was able to be on the highway at 2:30 after grabbing a sandwich and coffee at the local convenience store. Hoping to escape the dreaded Friday shore traffic following Waze. A major set back of living in the northern part of New Jersey is the hundreds of thousands of people that head south on the Garden State Parkway to the shore points. The 100 mile ride down wasn’t bad at all with pockets of traffic but not too bad. I ended up being early so decided to stop and pick up some snacks and drinks on the way.

Arriving at Chips Folly Campground stopped at the camp office to check in and as soon as that was completed Ricky and Becky pulled in. Perfect timing! Soon after we went out for dinner. Ricky and I had pizza which was really good. I haven’t had pizza on over a year. Becky had sausage and peppers which looked amazing! After we finished eating we went back to camp hung out for a little while and went to bed early in preparation for an early day of fishing. Although the wind forecast was not looking to be in our favor we were to go fishing anyway even if we were to cut the day short.

Saturday Morning:

The arrival at the beach around 6:00 am the sun was rising. I brought my new Canon Dslr with me and took a few snaps in the morning at the beach. A breezy but beautiful day had begun! Ricky and i started fishing top water lures first. We found some action with bait schools scattering and jumping. The Stripers were present!

Rod & Reel Setups:

The rod and reel setups i was using for the day consisted of a Spinning Setup and a casting setup. The spinning gear was a 7′ St. Croix Mojo Inshore Medium Power with Fast action Spinning Rod paired with a Shimano Spheros 3000 reel spooled with 20# power pro spectra in green. The casting setup was a custom 7′ Bull Bay Tactical 20# Medium Heavy Power with Moderate Action Casting Rod with Fuji K guides and an Abu Garcia Revo Inshore low Profile Casting reel spooled with 20# Cortland C16 Spectra Braid in lt blue color.

Tackle:

The Spinning rod was set up for top water with spooks poppers and plugs. The casting rod was set up with a Chartreuse DOA C.A.L. – Jig Head – SHORT – 1/8 oz. & 3″ C.A.L. Shad Tail with a pearl body and Chartreuse tail.

Fishing in 3-5 feet of water casting towards the bait fish had a few hits on the spook and popper. Changed over to the soft plastic couple casts and bam fish on!

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A nice 24″ Striper! Got my pose in and released him back into his natural habitat. Not exhausted at all swimming away with a flick of the tail. As the day went on the wind stayed 5-10 sith some gusts of around 15. Overall not a bad day. We called it quits around 1:oo PM with only the one bass caught and  a few missed.

Back at camp Becky had made a banging German Potato Salad and some salmon burgers for us! We devoured that then it was time for a power nap. I got about an hour and a half which was real nice. Ricky slept till 5PM. While he was sleeping I took it upon myself to assemble a fire before it got dark.

Ricky and I took a walk with our cameras in hand to photo the sunset! There is a point that juts out into the river which is the perfect spot for shooting photos of a sunset. Becky cooked dinner while we were out walking the dog and snapping photos.

Dinner was excellent Becky made up chicken and veggie kabobs and rice. We enjoyed the fire and when it died down it was time for bed and an early rising at 4:30 AM to find the Bass again. These times now enjoying entire weekends away from home I feel the true feeling of freedom. There’s nothing else really like it.

Sunday Morning:

4:30 AM comes quick.  Up and out stopping at Wawa for a quick bite to eat. We were able to drop in before sunrise. This we believed would yield a better Bass bite. The winds for the day were 5-10 N-NW which was to be lighter than Saturday.

Meeting Al ‘Yakman’ Stillman and his son Jake at the drop in. All setup with his tandem Hobie AI on the beach and ready. We dropped in and immediately started searching for bass pressuring bait fish. Fishing began pretty slow. The fish we found were finicky. By this point in time Al gave up and went sailing. I was feeling exhausted but eventually Ricky hooked up! He had a nice striper. About an hour later Ricky Hooked up again with a smaller Bass but still was a good day.

After a little break and a PB sandwich Croakers were on my mind! I went to deeper water to find some. I had a few hits but it was slow. Ricky came over and guided us towards even deeper water. Using a Fish Finder rig with a high low hook 1/0 Gamakatsu bait holder hooks and red beads a rig I had whipped up in Delaware baited with small cut pieces of beach clam i managed to find a Croaker! A rather nice one!  They were hard to find but managing a small Porgie around 9″ a bit later.

By this time the wind had shifted to a NE 10-15 out of our direction to the drop in. Managing to tow Ricky in most of the way while being soaked by the water thrown off his kayaks bow. The Torqeedo was a paddling for hours saver on this one!

It was a great weekend of fishing even though fishing wasn’t the best. Being out on the water with friends and good company is the real reward. I’m hoping for a few more weekends like this until the weather turns cold.