Wrap Up 5th Annual CBKA Tournament September 10th 2016

Another Chesapeake Bay Fishing Tournament in the books. For me it was great to be out on the water with my kayak after two and a half months due to relocating and my truck having mechanical issues. Living now in South Eastern Delaware it was a pleasure to have half the driving distance to the venue on Kent Island Maryland. This was my third year to be present at this beautiful venue.

Preparation:

It was the first kayak haul for my new 2016 F150. I took the Friday off from work which worked out as I was able to get my new truck bed cap installed at the ARE Dealer, Trick Trucks in Millsboro DE. Previously had removed the Thule rack in anticipation of installing it on the new cap asap. It took me around an hour to drill and bolt on the rack to my new cap. It was now pretty set for kayak hauling. I loaded up and let around 3:50 PM to arrive at the venue around 6:00 PM.

Arrival:

Upon my arrival meeting up with Joe Hostler. Checked in and received my captains bag stocked with goodies. Then awaited the captains meeting. After sitting trough that went to the field to set up my tent. The day was a scorcher at 95 degrees and high humidity. As the sun set during the potluck dinner which I provided some tuna mac with crab salad. All of the potluck food brought by others was excellent as always. Joe’s mac salad was amazing along with various other items such as jalapeno poppers, chicken wings, and a crab mac & cheese dish.

As the evening set in the temperature leveled at about 86 degrees as the humidity shot through the roof. The conditions were not the best to be camping but made the best of it. Sat in the truck air conditioning for a bit. Finally going to the tent around 12:00 am. Some of the guys were still up hanging out and apparently were until around 3 am.

Tournament Day:

The morning came fast. Sounds of alarms and others waking from camp. It was still dark but not for long. I went over and met Joe at his cabin grabbed some coffee and rigged up a few rods. We were probably the last to launch but it worked out because driving to the drop in was simple. Rather than loading up the kayaks and walking then there on kayak carts. Hitting the water we immediately started fishing for bait. In these areas Spot are an excellent source of bass bait. Spot can be gathered using a small 1/0 Octopus hook a small bit of weight and a fish bite or small piece of blood worm.

After about a dozen or so spot and catching small white perch at the same time we trolled over to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in search of solid fish marks on the chart plotter. By this time the wind had kicked up from the southeast and it was rocking and rolling out there. Live lining for bass was non eventful after a few hours. The stripers just didn’t seem to cooperate on the live bait.

Attempted trolling for hours catching one small striper around 17″. We went back at catching perch with an attempt to place in that category but could only manage fish up to 8″. We fished the entire time and missed the weigh in but were sure we had nothing that qualified for placing in the tournament anyway. It was a great day to be out on the water doing what I love the most.

The awards ceremony commenced and as always is very well put together. A representative from the make a wish foundation was present and spoke a little bit about the charity followed by a tear jerking video of a boys wish to take a trip on a US aircraft carrier. They really do amazing things for these kids whom unfortunately endure a lot of pain and suffering. This is what we do it for!

If you have never attended the Chesapeake Bay Kayak Anglers tournament come next year and check it out. Hang with a bunch of friendly kayak anglers.

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

Wrap Up: 2016 Jamaica Bay Kayak Fishing Classic

Every year the tournament season opens with the Jamaica Bay Kayak Fishing Classic. This year the tournament brought together 330+ anglers to fish one of the best locations for the chance of catching large stripers, weakfish, and bluefish. The fluke season had not opened yet so being illegal to even target the species it was omitted from the tournament. The absence in abundance of weakfish over the years has made the tournament more challenging. If you catch a weakfish the chances of completing a slam or grand slam and placing in the competition become very high.

This year was to be a kind of special year as a majority of the crew I used to fish with were planning on fishing the tournament. It had been 2 years since Lunchbox last fished it and longer than that for some others. It was set to be a good ole time with practical jokes, camping, and excellent food along with a few brews.

Arriving on the Floyd Bennett Field tarmac around 11:00 PM on Thursday May 12th. The moon in its third quarter onto waxing gibbous was on its way setting in the west against the orange glow of the night urban sky.  The city that never sleeps rustling and bustling. The camp was pretty quiet besides a few loud conversations here and there. Everyone else had gone to sleep early in anticipation of early morning fishing. Captain Jim, Gary and Kevin were still fishing Mill Basin. They informed me that fishing was slow so instead of gearing up I went to take some night photographs. Night settings on a DSLR camera are one of the most enjoyable times of photography for me. Long exposures create the ability to capture low ambient light. After a few photos of around the tarmac i drove down to Mill Basin to get a few photos of the bridge at the basin and my friends as they cane in.

The next morning out of the camper by 7 AM we all had decided to sleep in. It was to be the best day weather wise so instead of waiting for the guys to go to the tackle shop and come back I went out fishing. Trolling SP Minnows for hours looking for bait and fish marks. Also learning and modifying settings on the new Lowrance Elite 5 TI. About 2 hours of fishing finally hooked into a fish. It ended up being a big bluefish at 28″ which I took a photo of and released. Before i knew it I was surrounded by Hobbies which is incredibly annoying but they actually didn’t stick around this time. The winds were increasing and the clouds building and building. The front was about to hit within an hour so I was going in.

Many were still going out. I advised some newer guys that were paddling they may want to stay in and wait out the front. It was good advice that one fellow thanked me for.

About 30 min later the front was upon the area. Heavy rain and winds I hung with the guys of The Kayak Fishing Store. They were all setup for the rain. Brews and a heater blasting from the trailer door! It felt like camping! Good times hanging out with the crew.

A few hours later the rain had passed. A good fishing buddy of mine Brian was on his way to the camp. Once he arrived we were set to go night fishing. It was a cool calm and clear night.The water was like glass. We launched at the Floyd Bennett field ramp and trolled across to ruffle bar. Along the way trolling 2 rods a fish took my SP minnow and ran with it. The reel screamed. I grabbed the rod from the holder and set the hook. It fought like a bluefish and upon fighting and reeling it in. It was a big bluefish. 30″ + with acrobatics!  While attempting to boga grip the fish it was able to escape the grasp. Again after that another fish hit screaming reel. Spinning my kayak around. The fish jumping and then off.

Fishing became slow but the fish finder revealed fish everywhere. Jiging trolling casting baits. Nothing mattered. IT was now 2 am. The moon had become a yellow hue as it became larger setting in the west. The hill was getting to us. Trolling back into base Brian hooked up. Another blue to close out the early morning. Landing around 3:30 am we rinsed down our gear and passed out.

An hour later however it was time for everyone to get up that was fishing the morning. At this point sleep had ceased for me. As they left I decided to zippp out of my sleeping bag and capture a few photos of the sunrise. It wasn’t the besst sunrise due to low lying clouds of the front from the previous day but was able to take some great photos! It was a spectacular launch from the ramp with over 100 Hobie’s and Noriel with his Big Tuna commanding the launch.

After the sunrise I put the camera into my Dry Case bag and wheeled the Big Rig to the ramp. Fishing was on! I immediately got on the radio once on the water. Looking for my buddies. I should have been fishing the entire time but meeting up with them was important to me. I was trying to find Capt Jim but after texting him for his location he didn’t get back to me. To learn later he dropped his phone and Romano’s camera in the drink. Dropped Something.

Fishing wasn’t good in the area we were fishing. I saw a swirl in the shallow water but was looking for my buddies. Finally finding Charlie ‘LUNCHBOX’ Labar his son and Bob ‘Mullet’ Miller. Fishing was no good unfortunately. Gave it a few more hours and Capt Jim said he was calling it a day and going to grill up some steaks. On the way back in trolling we marked a few fish and decided to give it a shot. Capt Jim ended up with a blue and that was it for the day. I remained skunked for the daytime fishing.

An hour or 2 later the wind kicked up again and made it pretty much un-fishable for the rest of the day. A few showers blew through as most of us took a power nap to later get up and grill up some chicken. The might didn’t last long with the cold wind i was in bed by 11:30.

Sunday morning was very windy and the Tournament Director cancelled fishing for the day. A majority of anglers had already packed up and left the night before as many were leaving in the morning.  I hung out to help with anything needed at the camp then ended up leaving by 11 am.

Looking forward to next year! Jamaiaca Bay is one of those locations every kayak angler should fish one day. I hope to see you and everyone again next year!