The Jersey Paddler Classic Demo Paddle is a demo day where $8 gets you a paddle and a PFD and the ability to just about demo paddle everything one of the largest largest kayak shops in New Jersey has in inventory.  Along with company reps and on my side fishing guys representing the products to answer any type of questions you may have prior to purchasing a kayak. The demo was for a full Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM – 3 PM.

Saturday Morning was a cloudy day. Not much of traffic early but as the day went on the sun eventually filled the sky and it was busy for a good 2 hours. There was a lot of interest in the Jackson Kayaks I had brought my brand new 2015 Kraken for demo. Not even paddling the boat yet and that’s what its for! I also brought my personal Big Rig with the Torqeedo Motor for people to demo which may or may not have been the best idea. There was a ton of interest in the Torqeedo as well as the kayaks.

Jersey Paddler provided me with a Coosa and a Cuda 12 demo. It seemed like a slow day but I was told they had over 180 participants registered. In all it was a good day. I packed up everything and went home to take care of the dog.

Sunday was picture perfect weather and it showed. The crowds rolled in in droves! I saw a few people from the day before whom were still undecided. A family strolled up looking for a Big Tuna and thinking they had stocked me with all demos from the shop i told them i didn’t have one but would check on it. They tested out the Big Rig for a little while and while doing that my request for a Big Tuna and a Coosa HD appeared upon request! The family was totally happy after running them through the seating positions the were headed back to the shop the purchase one!

The day went on and the Big Rig was in the water just about the entire time. I feel the kids riding it paid their entry fee just to cruise. It was hard to retrieve the boat. I was sidetracked by questions and all kinds of them.  As i sit back here and type this article i find the amount of experience over the years has equipped me with the tools to help those who look to get into the sport. I’m glad to help and share the info I learned by trial and error.

Love doing these days even though it takes up fishing time. To everyone whom I met at the event tight lines!

Every year is different at the Jamaica Bay Classic while other things never change.

The 13th Annual Jamaica Bay Classic now in the books as another great one. With 308 total registered it is one of the largest kayak specific fishing tournaments on the east coast.

Thursday:

The drive to J-Bay for me is usually a nice one. Sometimes I catch traffic due to an accident. Leaving in the late morning is the best time for after morning rush hour and before lunch time. Driving to Brooklyn and Queens has its positives though. I get to drive over two large bridges one being a the Outer Bridge which is a truss bridge that connects New Jersey with Staten Island crossing the Arthur Kill. The second being the Verrazano Narrows Bridge which is a suspension bridge that connects Staten Island with Brooklyn crossing the New York Harbor.

I arrived Thursday afternoon. The crew had already set up camp the day before and was just finishing up pre-fishing from the morning. Reports were as I had thought they would be with a lot of bluefish and a few bass. I decided due to the 15-20 mph winds to hang out and pre-fish the morning and then get back for the start of the tournament which was to kick off at 12 noon on Friday.  I used the remaining time to hang out with people i haven’t seen in a while unload  and prepare for fishing in the morning and enjoy the time. This year I agreed to the anti tub and worm guys i fish with and did not dip a single tube in the water this year.  Completely strategic fishing.  Jigging worked real well but only on blues I was hoping for a firs j-bay bass on a jig.

Friday:

4:30 AM came fast. Typically the first night is hard to sleep but not this time. Was able to get the longer bunk. Being 6’1″ tall this was awesome this time! The coffee was brewed and we all were ready for a day of fishing! The sun was rising over the horizon it was to be a warm day!. Launching around 6:00 am fishing seemed to be slow early. I saw a few small striped bass picked up and around this time quit trolling to begin jigging. Using a 1-3/4 oz Kalins jig and a translucent pink Zman 6″ curly tail grub. It seemed pink was again the color this year.  About 30 mins later felt a fish hit. Lifted the rod and set the hook! It was on! Landing a 28-1/2″  20# lb bluefish. Of course it is the Pre-Fish so the fish did not count in the tournament. I snapped a photo anyway for kayak wars and returned the fish back to the water.

It was now 11:00 AM and was time to head back for the captains meeting. A few of us decided to eat lunch and go back out around 1:00 PM.

Fishing seemed to be the same. I managed another bluefish at 27.5″ for the tournament on the same Jig. 5:00PM came around which closed out the first half day of the tournament. I entered my fish in and was in first place of the electric division.

Saturday:

The other guys made the decision to fish cross bay by JFK Airport for the morning. I agreed as I had done well here in the past. Plus its just fun to fish with your friends. A short drive in the AM after the tournament officially opened for the day.  The morning begun warm but stayed cloudy. Showers were in the forecast.

Launching from the beach of the cross bay causeway around 6 am I heard Mike already had landed a 43″ bass. I decided to start trolling. And trolled for a good hour and a half out to the radar pier. Finding schools of bunker and not a hit trolling I rigged up for live lining. Quite a few casts I was able to snag a few bunker. Hooking one up for live lining while drifting and jigging with another rod.  I just couldn’t seem to find the fish. Not marking anything on the fish finder making the decision to troll back to the train bridge where there was fish earlier. On the troll back it begun to rain and did so pouring at time over an hour and a half of time. Now cold wet and no fish and ready to pack it in. I chucked the bunker around the bridge and nothing. This was the first time skunked fishing this area.

It was now 11:45 AM and packing up to head back to the main tournament launch for lunch and to listen to the NY Rangers playoff game. After the game was over Rangers winning! I went back out fishing. It was going to be a short  after noon of fishing. I ran the Torqeedo wide open out to the spot where my friends were still fishing. Other anglers watched me speed by at 5.5 MPH! Finding my friends they were on a pod of bluefish.

It was dead calm waters so taking the advantage of the Big Rig I was able to stand and sight fish. First cast of a white 6″ bomber fish on! Another big blue! About 5 minutes of the fish taking drag reeling it back up and taking grad the hook pulled about 10 feet from the yak. Still an epic fight! The birds were now working on some bait nearby that the blues were pushing up. I perused them in the standing paddling position. A few more hookups and losing fish at the kayak. Remember to sharpen the hooks nest time out! At this time hunger has set in and captain Jim’s ribs were on the menu!

Prior to crashing out i set up my fluke rod for buck tail jigging. A thunder storm came through and everyone crashed out. I wasn’t tired yet and saw the glimmer of a camp fire inthe distance. I walked over there and met Dennis Dottie and Gabb hanging out! Good times as the fire and the company was very inviting and meeting new people was great! A few drinks and time to crash to get up early and do it allover again.

Sunday:

Arising after the sun rose stepping outside its really foggy. I took my time figuring id wait for it to burn off. It was dangerous out there with all of the power boats cruising around and 300 kayak anglers drifting in the fog. Safety is always a #1 concern.

I launched around 8:30 still foggy but manageable. About a half hour later the fog has all dissipated and i was in search of fluke. It was the last half day of the tournament. My bluefish had been run off the board by 3 30″ bluefish. I needed a nice fluke to pick up third. Three hours went by and I managed nothing Brian had a 23″ fluke. Time was up. Only thing left to do was pack up have lunch and hopefully win a raffle!

Mike won the Grand Slam with his 43″ bass. I unfortunately did not snap a photo of the leader board winners this year.

Jackson Kayak and Orion Coolers donated a nice 45 quart cooler to the raffle! The winner of it seemed excited to win it! I typically don’t win anything in the raffle but this year as different and won a nice St Croix Inshore Mojo Spinning rod!

It is great to be able to represent Jackson Kayak and get away for a weekend of fishing! Everyone looks forward to the J-Bay Classic every year! As I always say if you haven’t fished this tournament definitely do! Its a great place to fish this time of year! You wont regret it!

It begun with a 4 hour drive from my home to the destination of Camp Wright on Kent Island Maryland. Once past the beaten paths of NJ and onto Delaware after Route 299 (I will never go that way again) and onto Rt 301. Rt 301 was a desolate highway while driving within a group of 3 vehicles the entire way until hitting Rt 50 which is more heavy on traffic.

A first for me to be present at the Chesapeake Bay Kayak Angers tournament. I became aware of the event in the spring while at the Susky Jamboree while chatting at with NJ native John Foley one of the organizers. This year was the fourth annual. 

Camp Wright is a children’s summer camp that was gracious to host the CBKA on their grounds. The camps property is waterfront on the Chesapeake Bay and overlooks the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Upon my arrival I met up with Mullet Miller whom is sort of local to the area. We have known each other from other past tournaments and mutual friends. After talking with a few people that I have met in the past fishing the Susquehanna River Flats it was time to get registered. The captains bags were really heavy! They were stocked with some great stuff such as nice swim baits flukes and a ton of sponsors literature. The t shirts were nice I really like the safety orange color!

After rummaging through the captains bag i stepped out inside the back screened in patio area and there was 3 tables of food for the potluck. Some really good stuff. Im so glad i didn’t make chili because there was 3 other homemade chilies there!  The tables were fully stocked with cold salads Jalapeno poppers chicken wings chicken nuggets. Lots of food. To top it off there was 2 bushels of blue claw crabs for pickin. They were still hot too!! I love blue claw crabs with that Chesapeake Bay Seasoning and this was the first time this year I was able to enjoy them with a choice beverage.

Eight crabs later and a few hours of hanging out it was time to call it a night. My truck was the shelter of choice for the night. I did pack my tent but opted against pitching it as it was supposed to rain the next day and I was only staying the night.

The front bench seat of a Ford F150 isn’t the most comfortable but was able to manage about 3 hours of sleep between waking up uncomfortable and hot a few times. At one point during the early morning I woke up and turned on the vent.  This made it a bit more comfortable. was wide awake by 4:45 AM. Around 6:00 we were about to leave and i went to start my truck and the battery had died due to using the vent for too long. Thanks to Mullet Miller giving me a Jump it was off to the tackle store and 711 for coffee.

We arrived at the Kent Narrows boat ramp around 6:30 just before the sun rose. After rigging up yaks and heading to the boat ramp the sun was already into the overcast. The tide was incoming and we had about an hour and a half until slack tide. I was amazed on how much the tide actually ripped through the narrows being a three foot tide. I decided to start with an xrap on my Bull Bay Rod with the Lew’s SuperDuty Speed Spool casting reel.  Fishing this area is very different from what I am used to . Making use of all light tackle using small baits and plastics.

We fished the bridge for about a half hour eventually riding the tide in while fishing the bank. I ended up landing a small striper on the x rap casting underneath a small pier. It was early in the day and to have a caught a fish felt good! An hour later again caught another small bass that was the same size as the earlier catch. That was it all day. Fishing the Big Rig in this tournament  paddling a majority more than motoring. The Big Rig does paddle very well for its size. Turns on a dime and is pretty quick. A longer paddle is required.

It was a slow day but nice to get out and explore a new place. No better excuse for doing a little Yak Action!! See the video below for the full production. During this time i was also able to test out the new Sealect Designs footbraces I installed a few days proir. They worked flawless. Much better than the factory installed smart rudder footbrace track control. The gas peddal style is the way to go.

Around 1:30 showers moved in. It poured for about 15 minutes. Stuck in there for a little longer to get that last cast in. Wet chilly decided to call it a day around 2:30. Mullet Miller picked up a 14 inch needle fish just before we headed back to the boat ramp.

Back at the ramp we packed up and headed back to Camp Wright. Shower was first on my list then rinsing down my gear and the Torqeedo.

By this time it was awards raffle and dinner time. I had purchased a 5 pack of tickets but knew it wouldn’t matter since i have yet to pin a raffle at a tournament.

There had to be over 150 raffle prizes including a separate raffle for a Brand New Jackson Kayak Big Rig!! The raffle was started and winners were announced.

A 24″ striper took the largest bass along with a 13 1/4″ White perch that took the Junior and the White perch division. A 47.5″ overall leingth took the slam (White Perch Bluefish and Striped Bass) A lady angler won a yeti cooler for catching a 16″ needle fish.

I do recommend that you check out this tournament next year or in the future. It is very well run and there are many great people to meet. Overall its just a great time meeting new people with similar interests and to explore a different fishery.