Wrap Up: 2015 MAKBF Series Championship Tournament

A Mid-Atlantic Kayak Bass Fishing free entry I had acquired in a charity raffle at the 2015 CBKA Tournament opened the door to the another side of kayak fishing. A side myself am not too familiar with. The freshwater kayak fishing Bass tournament series. As a primary saltwater angler my focus is always on the tournaments that focus on targeting saltwater species. Fishing freshwater lakes about 3-4 days a year this was to be a challenge. I wasn’t in any way a threat to anyone in the series but sometimes luck is just on your side!

After a 3.5 hour drive from my home in New Jersey arriving at Delaware Paddlesports in Lewes Delaware to check in and receive the tournament unique Identifier. It had just become dark and the cool air was settling in. A few guys were hanging out near a nice warm fire in the back lot. Enjoying some brews talking kayak fishing and even kayak rigging this was my crowd! It was great to meet Matt Baden the tournament commissioner and see the guys Chris Alan and John! At this point the attempt was to maybe find a fishing buddy or get some intel of where to fish. It didn’t seem anyone was willing to give up locations being that it was the Championship round and was expected although as stated I was no threat.  It was around 9PM when I left DPS and was to stay with my parents for the night. They live a short distance away. Beats camping in the cold plus get the chance to spend some time with them.

Arriving at my parents home after enjoying a sandwich I resumed my prior research on where to fish. The pacific warriors kayak fishing TV show was on which I have mixed feelings on. Although it was good background noise. Previously at home I had scoured google maps on satellite mode looking for a pond that wasn’t incredibly weedy but had the potential for bass. Also was looking for a fishing location that was close to the tournament HQ. The conclusion was to fish Wagamonds pond in Milford DE.

The tournament venue was the entire state of Delaware. Any public fresh body of water was within the boundaries. A total of three bass was needed to qualify. The tournament is linked to the online TourneyX system as all KBF affiliated tournaments  do. This allows catch photos to be uploaded to the internet and submitted in real time via Cell Phone.

Arriving at Wagamonds Pond at 6:45 am after a WaWa breakfast wrap and a Signature Blend Coffee. The sun had risen but it was really cool morning in the high 30’s. There were bass boats in line to launch at the ramp. I figured this was a good sign! Talking to one of the anglers they apparently had never fished the pond but were hoping for the best. Rigging up my kayak as all of the other boats launched dropping in shortly after.

Paddling away form the boat anglers I went directly to a point that had pads and some vegetation. Ton of casts and changing up baits finally on a weightless texas rigged motor oil colored soft plastic worm strung on a Penetration hook a hit and ending up with a pickerel @ 21″.
Kept casting that plastic and more of the same. It was great catching fish but I was looking to catch bass. Moving around on the Big Rig using my Aqua Bound Challenge SUP paddle. Several other kayak anglers showed up fishing the pond but none came close to me to say hello or anything. The wind had picked up around 9am and didn’t stop. Along with overcast that rolled in 15-20 steady with 25-30 gusts. Pond white caps is something different for most but the little wave action almost brought me back to home.

The 8′ Yak Attack Park n Pole saved the day for me. Able to paddle to a location then lance the Park N Pole stick into the lake bottom using my anchor trolley to stay put stand and cast. A much quicker system than anchoring with a traditional anchor. Luckily this pond wasn’t very deep in most areas!

Throughout the morning with overcast, cool temps, plus the wind that began around 8:30 am; it was actually pretty cold. At some point I had posted online to the event Facebook page hoping they had the fire going for when we got back.

Around 11:30 the clouds finally broke and let some sun warm up the body. The bite had died off. Another 2 hours of fishing and nothing. With the wind still howling decision to pack it in had been made. Only a half hour from DPS parking there around 3PM. The smell of burgers grilling and the sound of music playing was very inviting. It was soon to be awards time! Receiving a nice tournament bag packed with nice socks from Farm to Feet and other nice swag!

The awards began. Being the championship there were many! The awards were given out for the day and the entire series. Most of the guys and gals whom fished the series were present to accept their prizes. There were over $8,000 worth in prizes and a total of $7,875 money distributed to winners in the entire series which consisted of a number of events that were hosted in multiple states such as Delaware Maryland Pennsylvania Virginia and West Virginia. The tournament also donated a total of $620 to the local chapters of Heroes on The Water! For Official Results Check out MAKBF.

If you are located within the area of this MAKBF Tournament series please do check it out! The official website is http://www.makbfseries.com/ and on facebook.

2015 MAKBF Final Results

Final Event Standings

1st Place: Louis Martinez 53.25″ – $330, Power-Pole Micro Anchor System, YakAttack Prize Pack
2nd Place: Aaron White 52″ – $198, Farm to Feet “Sock Drawer Makeover”
3rd Place: Danny Schanne 49.25″ – $132, Smallie Stix Rod
4th Place: Chris Rios 48.5″ – Astral Kayak Shoes,
5th Place: Noah Tomasik 48″ – $50 Butter It Baits Gift Card
6th Place :Julie Tomasik 48″ – PowerTeam Lures Kit
7th Place: Jedediah Plunkert 46.5″ – Bass Assassin Lures Prize Pack, Cablz Eyewear Retainers

Top 20 Angler of the Year

1. Jedediah Plunkert – 61*
2. CJ Espey – 51+
3. Matt Eikenberg – 36*
4. Peter Manthos – 33*
5. Michael Chaney – 32+
6. Matt Campbell – 28*
7. Josh Evans – 23*
8. Matt Yuschak – 23*
9. Dave Adlington – 21*
10. Joe Deisvaldi – 21*
11. Chris Watts – 21+
12. Jeff Little – 21@
13. Dave Thompson – 14*
14. Shane Clift – 11*
15. Louis Martinez – 10
16. Danny Schanne – 10
17. Aaron White – 9
18. Jeremy Savage – 9
19. Alberto Tabian – 9
20. AJ Morton – 9

*Qualified for KBF National Championship
+Previously Qualified for KBF National Championship
@Passed on qualification to next angler

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!

This New Torqeedo Video that illustrates the Ultralight 403 electric kayak outboard motor paired with the optional Torq Trac module & app.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3jDHrnvKcU

For more information visit Torqeedo.com