For a few years it has been a dream of mine to be present at the YakAttack tournament. Previous years unfortunately the tournament date conflicted with the J-Bay tournament. 2016 was different however! The 8th Annual YakAttack Tournament was scheduled for the following weekend on Saturday May 21st. I was in and so was Ricky Wolbert! Planning started months in advance as the tournament was capped at 180 total registered anglers. For me this was a road trip being that the tournament is located in the area of Farmville Virginia, A 6.5 hour drive from my residence.

Meeting up with Ricky on a sunny warm May afternoon at his pad in Philly we transferred my gear and my Jackson Cuda 14 to his SUV and kayak trailer. Three nights worth of camping and fishing an unknown area we had to be decisive on what to bring. Our gear and everything had just fit. We were on our way crossing our fingers that we we wouldn’t get stuck in the major waste of time we call Washington DC traffic. Along the way in Virginia we stopped at Wawa for gas and a quick lunch break. It was nice to stop for a few minutes but little did we know the traffic on I95 was building ahead. Ricky calls it a “Rubbernecker” with a drawl!

Eventually arriving at Burkville the home of YakAttack LLC  not knowing what was around understanding we were deep in the country we settled eating at a strange “family restaurant” for dinner. I have to say I think it was the most bland food I have ever had in my entire life. Some research should have been done but it is the way it is. After chowing down it was the race to camp to set up before dark. Upon our arrival the camp site was perched on a 30 degree slope. We knew there was inches of rain to fall the next night and were hoping the slope wouldn’t turn into a river. Pitched our tents in a way that we would be able to tarp both of them in preparation for the impending monsoon that was forecasted. Hung out with some of  the other Jersey anglers who also made the road trip. Enjoying a few beverages before getting into the sleeping bag. The night became cold and damp but sleeping wasn’t a problem.

Friday morning it was time to pre-fish. We awoke to a very cool and damp morning which was a chill to the bone. Taking it easy and in no hurry and we left camp around 8 am in search of coffee and some breakfast sandwiches. In the country gas stations seem to be the place for quick breakfast sandwiches and coffee. Ricky found a gas station that had some amazing coffee and decent breakfast food. From there it was onto fishing at Briery Creek Lake a nationally recognized lake for its record breaking  Largemouth Bass.

John Oast called in as he was on his way down from PA. He is a local to the area being born and raised nearby, He gave us some info on where to launch and I plugged the road into my GPS. 45 min later we were on a windy wooded dirt country road headed downhill to the lake. At the end we found a gate and no real access to the lake. It turned out the road number was the same on the other side of the lake!. So we circled halfway around the lake to the actual boat launch area. It was time to hit the water!

Briery Creek Lake is told to be one of the top Bass fishing destinations in the country. Loaded with timber or dead trees from when the Dam was built flooding the valley. Much of the timber resides just inches below the water line. Its easy to catch one of these in the kayak scupper and get stuck or have one hit the hull the wrong way and flip you right over. Caution was the #1 priority here. This timber is structure which holds a ton of bass. For me fishing freshwater is something that doesn’t happen often and it is always a learning experience. Fishing timber is one of those learning curves brought by this unique location. Attempting spinner baits and soft plastic worms not having any luck. Switched over to a crank bait in a shallow cove. At a sharp drop off from inches of water to about 6 feet I found the bass hanging on beds. I landed two fish up to 17 inches which is a record for me from the kayak. The bite only lasted a few minutes. By the time Ricky came over it was pretty much over. He missed one as it shook itself off his lure. By this time John Oast had arrived and we met up with him. He gave us some pointers and he ended up with a dink before we called it a day. On the way back to camp in search of a tarp for the tents since heavy rain was in the forecast. We located a Lowes where I purchased a tarp which would be very much needed for the night to come.

Back at camp we met up at the captains meeting. The ability to purchase raffle tickets was available for 3 different raffles. A general raffle which had pretty generous prizes such as an Orion cooler, an assortment of paddles, electronics, and just about any YakAttack product you could think of. Another raffle was for a nice fishing rod benefiting a local fellow (I forget his name) whom was a big part of the tournament and the sport. And the big raffle was for 4 different kayaks and a fishing SUP. The rules were discussed a prayer was said and it was time to feast. One rumor proven true is that the Yakattack tournament provided the best meals. Captains meeting dinner consisted of an excellent seafood soup, Rib eyes, T bones along with Ribs, hotdogs, and a ton of sides. The brownies were so good! They definitely eat well in the country and are generous to their guests!

Following dinner we went to back to camp to settle in for the night. It began raining late in the evening. Awaking to the sound of buckets of water being dropped on the tarp over the tent it poured for 3 hours non stop. Amazingly the tarp kept the tents dry. Opting to sleep in anyway and wait out the weather.

It was a damp cool and wet morning that eventually became an overcast day. Ricky and I left camp around 7:30 after the rain had ended. We attempted to find a gas station breakfast but didn’t have much luck. Ricky ate a questionable plastic wrapped breakfast sandwich as I opted to find something better.

Fishing wasn’t good. Couldn’t find the bass. Fished Briery Creek Lake for about 5 hours with really no luck. I threw just about every different color in my tackle box along with different lures such as spinner baits, crank, creature baits, baits and plastic worms. Nothing produced unfortunately. However I do feel the angler pressure from the previous day 4 inches of rain totaling out to a 1 foot rise in water level along with the cooling down of the water temps had a lot to do with the lack of fish caught there on tournament day. However it didn’t matter to Ricky and I. We were there to have fun which is what the YakAttack tournament is all about.

There’s no prizes for catching the biggest fish besides a fish print from Rob Choi and bragging rights. Typically the freshwater tournaments are money prizes. In this case the prizes were raffled out to everyone that was registered and all of the proceeds were to benefit charity’s such as Heroes on The Water and Project Healing Waters.

Back at the awards dinner the winners of the tournament were announced. Representatives of the respective charity’s spoke a little and raffles were read off in between. Dinner was then served as the raffles continued. Once again the food was excellent. It was a joy to be resent at the YakAttack tournament this year.IF you have never been do check it out next year! You will not be disappointed. Keep an eye out for future tournament announcements on the YakAttack Forums.

Thanks to John Hipsher, Luther, his family, and everyone else that worked so hard to make it such a successful event. The 8th Annual YakAttack Tournament was a great experience for us all.

My apologies this post should have been finished months ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwPsPYQvP9o&feature=youtu.be

Fishing Journal April 12, 2015

After getting to bed around 10 PM the night before my previous meal that consisted of Asian buffet food made it a rough nights sleep.  (As mentioned in Part 1) Unfortunately one of those nights where it was impossible to find comfort. From this experience I now recommend do not eat dinner at a buffet the night before fishing early in the morning.

Four o’clock AM the alarm woke me up. A quick shower and on the road tot he fishing spot. It was a cold morning 33F on the truck thermometer. Picked up a coffee and a breakfast sandwich on the way. Typically I enjoy a hot breakfast on the road prior to a days fishing.

For myself and my fishing buddies the NJ Kayak Fishing Season was officially underway! Was the first one to arrive at the beach at 5:30. Then came my fishing buddy’s for the day Sean and Justin within 10 minutes. We loaded our gear and hit the beach just before sunrise.

The bay was calm like a mirror. Not a cloud in the sky it was the perfect morning with a breathtaking sunrise. Not long after launching a breeze settled in.

I started trolling a tube and worm. A tube and worm is exactly what it is. A Tube and a Worm! The tube is 12″ in length. I particularly use Kayak Carl’s as his are proven to catch Stripers in the NY and NJ area. The worm part is an actual live sand worm on the hook that gives the tube more action and the scent of the worm. Use sand worms not the gulp alternative. The gulp does not work nearly as well as a live sand worm. Please check out Kayak Carl’s Tube and Worm at his website http://www.kayakcarl1.com.

Rigging the tube and worm you will need to use ball bearing swivels. This is very important as the tube is to be shaped to spin like a cork screw. That action is typically what makes the tube as deadly as it is. I will go over the tube and worm in more detail in a future article.

Trolling on the Jackson Big Rig equipped with a Torqeedo Ultralight 403 Electric motor system is a breeze! Trolling 2 rods one rigged with the Tube and Worm and the other rigged with a floating SP minnow that dives around 4 feet. Along with the stock RAM Mount rod holders angled outward spreads the lines out to prevent tangling.

As the morning went on it became windy out of the NW. Wearing dry gear it is tough to plan what clothing for the day. The daytime it was to be in the mid to upper 60’s at this point it was in the low 40’s but with a 5-10 MPH wind. Made it chilly. Gloves were a must and it would have been nice to have something more for my ears other than the Buff i was wearing.  The wind eventually died out and it became warmer. Still trolling from the morning with out one strike the decision to clam was ideal.

Justin and I drifted about 500 yards off the beach hoping for fish on the flat to be looking for the warmer water. Couldn’t seem to even find any readings of fish on my Lowrance Elite 5 Chirp.

Around 9:30 Justin had to bail so we took a break. Sean and I went back out again. Trolling for hours. By now the wind had diminished. The bay was once again like glass! Sean decided to drift clams again and came over the radio stating he had a fish on. I didn’t believe him at first. About 30 min later he came over the radio stating he had another. So I went back by where he was fishing and drifted some clam also. 20 minutes went by and I had a hit. Lifted the rod too fast and pulled it from the fish. Striped bass in colder water tend to mouth the bait rather than in hail it.  Another 15 minutes passed and tap tap line moving another fish! Waited 1 2 3 & set the hook. Boom!

A nice 23 inch striper and not skunked for the day! Points baby!! First on the board for kayak wars!

The fish was really healthy great color and very wet! In from the clean ocean waters. A very good sign. Bigger fish should be in very soon. The bay will be on fire within the next week or two!

Looking back to the planning of the day, next time it will include targeting winter flounder. Having yet to catch one from the yak and always wanting to give it a try. There probably were flounder on the flats. With a light rod and some cut clam it may have proved to be a successful day of catching winter flounders.

A great resource is the Asbury Park Press Zone fishing reports by John Oswald and Dan Radal. Check it out at the Asbury Park Press Fishing page!

If you have any questions about Striper Fishing in New Jersey please comment and ask!! I will be happy to answer your questions!!