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.

Arriving in the dark it was a warm morning however it was tournament day and there was a lot more activity at the drop in areas that access the bridge tunnel shoreline. Tournament participants were readying their gear and launching for a shot at the big redfish. Soon after launching the sun emerged a huge red globe emanating a warm hue of light. Beginning with another calm morning but just missing the slack tide by 30 min or so. We were in for a famous 4 knot tide day. Holding place at the bridge was near impossible. Every snag to retie cost about a mile paddle back to the bridge.  Not sure if it was just the amount of kayaks anglers pressuring the fish or the fish were just not there catching was slim. The same boat was there as the prior day and only saw them hook and land 1 fish. Fishing was dead and the winds were starting to blow. I decided to call it a day and move to another launch in behind Lynn Haven inlet. The paddle back was shaky as there were easily 3 – 4 foot waves and a following sea. We went to the drop in and it was un-land able up to the wall there. So we had to paddle back west to the beach that was rapidly disappearing. A text book surf landing was in store as the waves were rolling and crashing.

Kelly and I arrived at the launch soon after to fish the backwaters of Lynn Haven. It was nice to be back here as it had been four years. Everyone i talked to said fishing wasn’t great. I threw a spoon at first then swtiche to a DOA jig with a paddle tale. It took about an hour and by now the wind was way worse. I lost Kelly due to the shallow water. Her pedal drive just wasn’t working in the area. She eventually caught up and jsut as she did i had a fish in. The only red of the trip.

a 17″ Red Drum or Redfish

Fishing unfamiliar places is always a challenge. Managed a total of 4 more reds in the 14-16 inch range then called it a day too late to even make it back for the weigh in. We loaded up and were headed back to the hotel where the event HQ was. The food was great and hanging out with the jersey guys was awesome also. The tournament raised over 15,000 for charities in 2016 which made it possible to donate 14,000 to the Tidewater Chapter of Heroes on The water and 1,000 to the Portsmouth chapter of Project Healing Waters.  Over the past 9 years of the tournaments existence has raised over 100,000 for charity which is amazing.