Wrap Up: 6th Annual Cape May Kayak Fishing Jamboree

Its hard to believe 5 years present at this gathering! Missing the first occasion in 2010 due to the weather. Great times and this year topped the rest with good weather and excellent tog fishing. The 2015 or 6th Annual Cape May Kayak Fishing Jamboree is run by Jersey Cape Kayak Fishing and The Kayak Fishing Store benefiting Heroes on The Water New Jersey Chapter.

Thursday:

My adventure began Thursday night as the plan was to meet Ricky at Chips Folly Campground. The camp is about 2/3 of the way to Cape May NJ. After my work and dentist visit I headed straight south arriving at the camp just at dark making great time as Ricky had also arrived about 10 mins prior. Ricky began to get things together for fishing the next day and then we were off to the shooting range. Unfortunately we didn’t know the range hours were till 8 PM so there was about a half hour enough time for me to take the safety course that the range requires then left back for camp and dinner. Becky being awesome once again had prepared dinner that Ricky brought to camp. It was excellent she made mac salad and Buffalo Chicken sandwiches! MMMM so good! We hung out for a bit more then crashed out early anticipating a long day.

Friday:

Arising at 8 am had some coffee. Ricky had to finish loading up. We wanted to be in Cape May by 11:30 to catch the slack low tide. I tried to help out loading up as much as I could splitting firewood and loading that into my truck. Finally around 10:00 AM we left camp to hit the Bait Shop in North Wildwood then to the Kayak Fishing Store where we planned on fishing for the day.

The bait shop had plenty of green crabs for us to purchase as Blackfish (Tautog) candy. Also decided to pick up a pint of shucked clam since we were to be fishing in the ocean the next day. Also picked up a few tog rigs and some pink soft baits.

Off to the Kayak fishing Store. We were to launch asap but as it goes you have to say hi to everyone.! Not that that’s a bad thing. IT was great to see Chris, Bob, Lunchbox, and Seaflea part of the crew that volunteers to run the Jamboree. Among others whom haven’t seen in a while. I begun to gear up my yak and prepare for fishing. I had a lot to do as i didn’t rig any rods or anything prior.

Finally out fishing. By this time it was a bit rough and the tide was screaming in. It was warm and sunny though with no clouds in the sky. I motored out against the tide with the Torqeedo on the Jackson Big Rig. The area of North Wildwood and Cape May due to the strong currents having a electric motor or a hands free propelled kayak can be clutch! I’m not saying paddling is impossible but for keeping stationary over rocky areas that it is easy to be snagged its either anchor up or suspend your kayak.

Togging the Rock Wall at Hereford Inlet NWW

Anchoring can be acquired by using a 3lb anchor tied off to the nose and line zip tied to the top. Along with minimal  100 feet of anchor line this will be used to anchor the stern of the kayak away from the rock wall or jetty. A disposable weight such as a 20 oz soda bottle with the top cut off and filled with concrete and a looped coat hanger or an actual jetty anchor made of light gauge rebar with the ability bend out straight to allow unhooking.

Togging the Pre-Fish

My attempt to anchor up failed due to not having enough rope and plus the heavy wavy conditions the anchor probably would have pulled anyway. There for trying to suspend with ton of current and a lot of waves was impossible. The effort yielded no fish but a few nibbles. I decided to haul back to the creek Ricky was fishing for bass. He was about to give up anyway and my buddy Brian had arrived.

Back at the ramp I decided to give it another hour and fish the bridge with Brian for Blackfish (Tog). The entire hour went by with only 2 hookups that unfortunately resulted in snags. Blackfish once hooked will dive hard into the structure that they typically hang around. The only way to avoid this is set the hook and reel as fast as you possibly can to hold them away from the structure. If not the fish will get you snagged up. They are masters at de-hooking themselves also. Best thing to do is let the line slack wait them out Sometimes they will swim away from the structure or others they will drop the hook allowing you to un-snag your rig. Then sometimes your just completely snagged. Best thing to do is cut retie re bait and add new weight.

Skunked on the pre-fish and for the first time in 2015 fishing season. With that called it a day loaded up our kayaks and gear. Back at the campground by the time my tent was pitched it was time to sign in. After the captains meeting we all hung out and ate food along with some beverages. Ricky had brought pulled pork which was awesome and the Chamberlains brought venicin that they cooked int heir camp fire which was amazing! Time flew by getting to bed a little late around 11:30, 4 am was to come way too soon.

Saturday:

The 4 AM alarm sounded. It was a cool wet morning. Some people were up and getting ready to go. I woke Brian up and he met me at WaWa for coffee and breakfast. We then made it to the drop in around 5 am. After rigging up and launching in the dark we proceeded to fish the bridge lights. The tide was ripping out to the ocean. My first cast with a paddle tail soft bait small hits revealing a shredded swim bait we knew it was small bluefish. I switched rods to one rigged with a small cast master metal lure. Casting into the bridge lights 2 cranks and fish on. Small Bluefish up to 13″. Fun to catch. Unfortunately leaving the WiFi function on the GoPro turned on the prior day the camera battery had died right after taking the photo on the left.  Morning twilight was soon to be upon us. Brian was looking for tog on the bridge as I fished the sod banks for Stripers.

As it became dawn it was time to head out to the ocean. The 4.5 knot tide was ideal as it was outgoing. Basically you get sucked out! Casting plugs and jigs on the way out the inlet but no hits unfortunately. Upon crashing through the waves into the ocean wasn’t reading many fish so switched rods for trolling. Trolling for about an hour and a half  managing 2 bluefish up to 14″ a small striper at 22″ and a dogfish. The sun had risen fully but was blocked by large clouds. Combined with the damp NW wind it was actually pretty cold out for most of the morning. Fishing was slow. By this time there were approximately 10  kayaks togging the South side of the inlet jetty. One guy already had landed a 21″ Blackfish.  Joining them within a minute I had a fish on. Another dogfish on crab. Was able to manage a good position and next fish was a nice one! 18.5″ Blackfish! Managed around 12 landed and 3 snags that couldn’t be shook loose. We even had a ton of entertainment with a boat trying to anchor to the jetty for at least 2 hours. Charlie loosing his paddle then someone finding it! Amazing!!

Had been drifting clam for over an hour in hopes to pick up a bass or a bluefish which resulted in a bunch of small dogfish.Around 12 noon looking around it seemed everyone had left.  Brian and I were the only 2 left in sight. The tide had turned to the incoming and the ocean suddenly became big. I was ready to cruise back in. Brian took a few more casts and then retreated. It was a quick getting back riding the tide in. Reaching the launch it everyone had landed and was packing up. Brian and I left with a Blackfish apiece as the limit is one per angler.

Almost the last to leave the launch we headed out and since it was my birthday after grabbing a bite to eat Brian and I proceeded to the Cape May Brewery!  Upon entering the tasting room was packed! Music was playing and people were having a good time! We took the “Self Guided Tour” while starting off with the IPA.  Then we moved on to purchasing the tasting kit which allowed 5 4 oz samples along with a souvenir glass for an extra 5 bucks. It seemed they actually may pour around 5-6 oz when you get the glass. The line to the bar was long due to the crowd there. We made a system to get our sample fill then get back to the end of the line. By the time we would get to the bar we were ready for another sample. Particularly I enjoyed their Belgian Double and the IPA on Nitros. I never had an IPA that had the smoothness like a Bodingtons Pub ale or Guinness porter.

It was now getting late as we left the brewery around 4:30 and the dinner was to begin around 6:00 back at camp. Upon our return a bit of socializing and it was time to eat and run off the dinner and raffles. The all familiar Tader Salad, Roast Beef Sammiches, and the famous Seafood Pasta was on the menu again! There was in total an estimate of around 70 people for the dinner! The Calcutta winners announced and the raffle commenced. I found out the hard way why measuring and snapping a photo of every fish caught is a good idea. A 12″ fish won the Bluefish Calcutta pot. Caught a 14″ fish that I had neglected to photo! Lessons learned.

During the Raffle Brian Swingle of Manley Rods Prostaff Raffled a nice Manley Rod off to a veteran. Frank Patla a US Veteran and Kayak Angler won the rod respectively! The raffle contained a ton of donated prizes such as rods, reels, kayak gear, tackle, and a ton of swag.

The Wolfpack put on their annual craft beer raffle again this year. To enter you need $5 and a six pack. Winner takes all of the beer home and the $5 is donated to HOW NJ! Rory won the raffle this year and donated the beer to everyone!

In all a great time. Everyone went to there respected campsites for camp fires beverages and to reflect upon the day of fishing. It was great seeing new faces at the event to add that the sport continues to grow in good fashion. New friends were made and life long fishing partners.

Hope to see you all there next year!

With Saturday’s weather forecasting gale force winds out on the Atlantic Ocean Delaware Paddle Sports was forced to cancel its final tournament of the saltwater series. Unfortunately the two dates I was able to fish were both cancelled due to wind. This opened me up to stay home and volunteer at the final weekend NJ HOW event of 2015.

The venue was to be Merrill Creek a reservoir located in Washington NJ. A 45 min drive for myself it was to be a nice close one! I arrived late around 8:00 am due to vehicle problems. Just about everything was unloaded and it didn’t seem like there were a ton of people there. I figured since it was a cooler morning and the forecast was for high winds people would cancel. It was nice to see people there I haven’t seen in a few months. Always finding joy hanging with Val whom volunteers at the events taking photos for the chapter.

It was sunny and quite warm by the time we started launching the attendees and volunteers. After taking a few photos and loading my gear onto my Big Rig it was time to get out fishing. This was my first time at Merrill Creek. It is a large reservoir about half the size of Round Valley. It is probably a mile across at its widest part but a much deeper lake at over 250 feet. After launching and riding the wind out the harsh realization of the 15-20 mph wind became real. It was actually too windy to fish. I paddled over to a group of guys who were trying to fish but were pretty much paddling the entire time.

It was already 11:30 so we decided to begin the trek back to the launch for lunch. From reports over the radio unfortunately there were no fish being caught due to the conditions and the guys had a head in paddle directly into the wind. I stayed back and ran the sweep behind to make sure anyone who would need a tow could get one. These guys were fast though they paddled hard back. Once reaching the launch lunch was already out which was donated by the BMS Veteran Group whom also provided volunteers to help with the day. Lunch was jersey mikes assorted subs which were very tasty!

After eating some lunch a few of us got into a game of corn hole! The object of the game is two teams consisting of 2 people each the first team to reach 21 points first wins. Your team is awarded 3 points per beanbag in the hole and one per landing on the game board. The other team can then knock your bean bag off the board or score the same to cancel out points per round.  It is definitely a bar game such as horseshoes and Bocce Ball but is just as much fun! 

After the lunch break concluded quite a few vets their families and volunteers went back out on the lake. By this time the wind had subsided enough to be able to fish for a little while. It was now enjoyable to be out there on the calmer more surreal lake.

It was a great season for HOW in 2015 with over 15 events completed! The new Mid-Week events were a big addition to the chapter and thank you to all whom made those events possible by volunteering!

Prefish Day:

It all begun with a 5:30 alarm. It was to be mini tournament time at Lake Denmark at 7:00 am. Lake Denmark is located outside the wire of the Picatinny Army Base about a 45 minute drive north into the mountains. After arriving I made my donation to the tournament pot. I say this because typically I do not fish freshwater lakes. Although the times fishing them the tendency to catch fish is there.

After waiting for the guys who stayed at the cabins the night before to get back from breakfast we all launched in the lake around 8:00 am. I opted to paddle the Big Rig as it is the bass anglers dream kayak due to its stand-ability and stability for standing site fishing all day long. The guys wouldn’t let me compete with my Torqeedo although pedals were aloud which I felt was not at all an advantage. Next time I think everyone paddles.

I tied on an inline spinner bait and first cast fish on its a pickerel. It was pickerel all day long! Fun to catch those toothy critters. Inline spinners seemed to work best but i do believe if i had some top water poppers they would have been hooked and landed on those also! Around 11:30 I paddled my Big Rig back to the boat ramp and loaded it back up as it was time to catch the Rangers hockey game at the cabin! The 2 bedroom and loft cabins are really nice! Fully furnished with amenities such as Flat Screen TV with cable, Internet, a full kitchen, and hot showers!

We enjoyed assorted salami and cheeses that Larry  brought and some venison sausage Dave Mormak brought along with some killer empinadas that Sam Callalo’s wife made! After lunch and the Rangers beat the Caps in game 3 we all went back to the lake to fish for a few more hours as the tournament apparently went on until 5:00. We ended up fishing until around 6:00 and by that time I was really hungry so loaded up and went back to the cabins for some beverages dinner and just to hang out with other fellow volunteers. Ending up going to bed after the fight of a life time that was actually not a good fight.

I ended up taking a shower then going to bed late around 1:30 am and didn’t not sleep much due to strange noises in the night.  I think i got an hour and a half just before it got lite out.

Event Day:

7:00AM I’m up feeling a bit tired but pack my gear up and head to the lake where I will be running the check in electronically. The sun is shining not a cloud in the sky. It was a cool morning but the forecast was calling for mid 70’s to 80’s in the mountains.

Volunteers begin to show up and its great to see the familiar faces. Its been quite a few months since most of us have seen each other.

 The check-ins went smoothly. It seemed there was 10 people in line at the most. So everything went pretty quick. From here the need is to get rid of the paper which I am working on.

Most of the volunteers were down at the boat ramp which was about 100 yards down the road. They were unloading and setting up the kayaks for the event.

The veterans started to arrive and enjoy a light breakfast! It was now time to kick off the event. Matt Williams gave his speech and then was a nice giveaway to veteran.  There was a gift card to Ramsey Outdoors and also a nice fishing rod Sean Gavin custom made in his fishing rod shop that he donated.

It was now time to give our guests a great day on the water! After a safety briefing the participating veterans were paired up with guides and set off onto Lake Denmark. Pat Od was the ramp commander for the day and did a great job! It was a picture perfect day on the water. Sunny a few small clouds made it completely comfortable. Quite a few fish were caught while Civic Duty Partners volunteers were preparing lunch that consisted of burgers dogs and sausages with various sides. Lunch was called around 1 PM and was excellent as always.

The event was a great way to kick off the 2015 season of fishing and HOW events. Keeping up with our great weather record once again!

After lunch the event was extended to 3:00 PM by the event coordinator. We wanted to end at 2 PM due to it being Sunday but it was just too picture perfect to pack it up. A quite a few people went back out fishing after lunch and had to be rounded up at then end. A couple hours later we were all packed up trailers loaded to be transported to their home base for another day.

Thanks again to all of the volunteers who take up a beautiful weekend day to fulfill taking out veterans fishing and helping them rehabilitate back to the civilian life or just have a great day.