Although this was the NJ HOW Chapters third time hosting an event at the Port Monmouth venue it was my first time running one as the Event Coordinator.

Managing an event like this helps you appreciate how much work actually goes into the event and the time it takes to make the event successful. Then the great feeling once the event has concluded and to see the smiles from the people we do it for.

Its priceless and worth every second of my time. Its also great to hang out with fellow volunteers whom spend their time making these events possible.

The Port Monmouth Event at the Bayshore Waterfront park is one of the best bay events as the spring time this area typically has very good Fluke fishing.  Its scenery is also extravagant on a clear day as you can see the New York City sky line along with the Navy Earl Ammunition Pier & Waterfront Complex which is located about a mile south.

The sandy beach provides a nice drop in besides the soft sandy walk down. It becomes a true test for kayak carts of all shapes & sizes on the way back up after the day is over.

My day started at 4:30 AM as i arose from my slumber. I was out of the house by 5:00 Am to pickup a coffee and a bite to eat. After that it was off to the bay shore. Stopping on the way for 5 dozen Dunkin Donuts and 5 boxes of coffee for the event.

Arriving at the park at 6:15 some volunteers had already arrived. Sean redneck pointing to his watch as if I was late. Begun to unload as more volunteers showed up lifting plastic boats from their car top cradles and trailers. As they geared up their boats the trailers eventually showed up with the HOW gear and the volunteers were quick to unload and create a rig tying group a kayak unloading group and group to make up separate cups of bait for each veteran kayak. The land crew eventually came and the event direction signs were set up and a light breakfast was set up. Bagels Donuts and Coffee was on the menu.

Soon our Heroes arrived! The men and women whom were wounded while fighting for us. It was to be their day!

9:00 PM headed up a captains meeting and a quick launch as the wind was already starting to get strong by this time. After about 2 hours i heard over the radio that one of the Veterans Gene had landed a 26″ fluke (pictured right)! Nice fish!!

I heard of a few fish caught but the drift along with the wind was a challenge. One of our tandems ended up being blown way south and we had to pick up the duo by car. With the winds at 10-15 and lunch being cooked by Ed Danberry and Civic Duty Partners a charity group that supports Heroes on the water NJ Veterans and guides began landing on the beach.

Lunch was incredible consisting of Burgers Dogs and the famous sausages with all of the fixings paired along with cold sides and cookies for dessert. Great Job done by CDP once again!

After lunch concluded everyone was pretty much done fishing. This was completely understandable as it was most likely more paddling than fishing.  All the volunteers again grouped together to get the cleanup and pack up done. It went flawless. One of the volunteers had set up a whole cleaning station for gear boats and tackle.  Everything worked like a assembly line in reverse from the morning.

Im glad the vets had a great time despite the windy day on the water. I would like to tank all of the volunteers who attended the event. You all did an amazing job and I could not have asked for better!

See you all at the next event!

Another J-Bay Kayak Classic in the history books! As always a different story to go with the event. Weather good and bad. Broken gear and decent fishing!

As my previous post stated, the weather wasn’t predicted to be fish able Thurs night into early Saturday morning as a slow moving but very strong storm system was predicted to pass through the area. Thought about staying home Thursday night and leaving very early Friday morning to beat the traffic. I was unsure of what the weather would be like so the decision was made as soon as 5:30 came and work was done a day early for the week. Finished my packing and left the house a little after 8:00 PM to arrive at Floyd Bennett Field by 9:00. It was too windy for night fishing so a few brews and a little catch up and sleep for the morning.

Friday:

Around 7am it was still very windy. We hung out for the morning and awaited the captains meeting at 11 AM. After the rules were explained it was decided the tournament is to be postponed until 5AM Saturday morning. The video shows the morning before the captains meeting.

A group of us went fishing anyway. It was quite windy at least 10-15 with 20-25 mph gusts. Mill Basin was the only place sheltered from the direction of the wind. It seemed like a good spot for fishing. The area was loaded with bunker. Using 1 oz a weighted treble hook snag the bunker. Then reel it in and hook it up on a live line setup.

A live line setup consists of a Heavy rod be it a jigging rod or just good 7 foot 4-8oz rod. I use a custom 7′ heavy rod with a Abu Garcia 7000 C3 reel spooled with 65lb Power Pro spectra Braid  Terminal tackle consists of a 9/0-10/0 Gamakatsu Octopus hook with 50-60 lb mono or fluoro carbon leader a barrel swivel. For weight you can use a nylon slide on the main line with 12-16″ leader extension for a bank sinker or use an inline egg sinker with a bead at the swivel side.

For snagging bunker for bait. I use a Medium Heavy spinning rod with a Quantum Boca 40PT series reel. Also a 60lb fluorocarbon leader is tied on uni to uni. You may use a wire leader after that before the weighted treble hook. Just in case a bluefish inhales the bait you just snagged. Added protection against blues biting through your fluoro leader.

Fishing for me was uneventful after fishing the area being blown around for 3 hours. A few of us made the decision to get off the water. What a great decision it was. Not even 20 mins later the wind was intensified to easily sustained at 30 mph. Back at camp/tournament headquarters portable toilets were being blown over. Tents and shelters were knocked down and tables and chairs from the event tent were thrown over.

The weather ended the day and eventually cleared up around 11:30 PM after down pouring for about 2 hours.

Saturday:

Up at 4:00 am and getting ready for 5 AM tournament start. Trucked the BIg Rig Down to the launch. After Broke my cart I then broke my pliers. Realized i did not have enough rod leashes with tme so i ended up making 2 more. On the water about 3/4 mile from the launch first hook up trolling a Spro BBZ1 Thought it was a Striper at first turned out to be a 32″ bluefish. Thats a nice fish. Measured him for the tournament and released him alive. Caught 4 more around the same size one  20 inches. No bass. Was looking for schools of bunker but dud not see any. The amount of freshwater probably pushed the bait down.

Went back to the launch to get my net for fluke fishing. fluke fished for about 30 min wind against tide. Couldn’t even buy a hit.

After coming back to the launch a second time I noticed 2 police cutters and a helicopter. Looked like they were searching for something. Turned out they were just training. It was pretty cool watching them maneuver and pickup the divers.

After that i went back out for picking up winds against the tide. It got rough out there so i headed in.

A few hours later gave it another shot for Fluke this time paddling the Cuda 14. It was still rough out there and wind against the tide. Gave it about an hour and gave up with no Fluke being caught.

Sunday:

Sunday was a hard day to find fish. I was looking for fluke most of the day. Was able to hook up a few decent sized bluefish. Fluke were not easily found again. Off the water around 12 pm and loaded up just in time for the awards and lunch. Jackson Kayak donated a Big Rig for raffle which was really cool!  There were four other boats for the raffle too. The winners received a nice plaque with the chart of j-bay and the 4 targeted fish painted on it.

To the right were the results of the tournament. Brian Pickard was in our group and won 3rd place Grand Slam! Grand slam is 3 largest combined fish consisting of a Striped Bass plus Fluke Bluefish or Weakfish.

If you have never fished Jamaica Bay its a great place to fish. It is very kayak friendly and holds many migratory fish. I look forward to seeing everyone there next year!!

The first event for the New Jersey Chapter of Heroes on the Water was held on May 10th 2014 at Picatinny Arsenal Army Base in Rockaway New Jersey.  There was 79 total attendees registered and others that made an appearance.

The morning started out foggy as volunteers arrived and begun setting up unloading gear kayaks rods and setting up breakfast. By 9:00 AM all of the attendees were present. There was a brief introduction and tank you to the base and Civic Duty Partners for providing and cooking lunch for all.  Rod & reel combos were raffled off and given away to a few participating vets.

Everyone then met up at the boat launch area and the group photo was taken then systematically everyone was divided into 2 groups. They were matched up with guides. Launching the vets and guides went smoothly. Before you knew it the entire lake was speckled with 40 or more bright colored plastic boats.

Fishing was phenomenal. I saw one lady veteran catch 3 pickerel in the matter of 10 minutes! It probably couldn’t get any better than that!

It seemed all of the veterans their family’s and the volunteers had a great day!. I don’t think anyone left without catching fish.

Around 12:30 the wind kicked up. everyone headed off the lake for lunch. The motor boat came and helped a few boats in. Lunch was excellent!  By this time i had to pack up and leave to attend a family obligation. It was a good time to go as the sky was clouding up due to incoming thunder storms.