Canon Rebel T6i DSLR Camera bundled with the EF 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens and additional Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 lens

This camera is really bad ass compared to most on the market right now. This camera packs a punch with all of the options and the power it offers. Paired with a Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 lens this camera takes crisp photos up close and from a distance. Use of this lens with the camera will limit the amount of times when I have to change lenses.

In addition I have also purchased a few filters such as UV protectors, Circular Polorizers and Neutral Density for some effects! Although the camera has a WiFi remote that I can control with my smart phone i purchased a separate wired remote controller to conserve battery life on those days of taking many many photos especially long exposures at night.

I am looking forward to exploring the world of photography through my many travels of fishing, camping and all other trips planned on doing for the remainder summer/fall!

Also for the past week I have been learning Adobe Light Room on a recommendation from a friend. I feel that it is a much needed piece of software for processing developing and editing RAW files.

Lightning from the front porch of my house.!

A Sunset at Chips Foly Campground.

A photo at the Manasquan River of Kayak Fishing.

Fishing Journal 2015_08-15

Some fishing trips stand out more than others. These are the epic fishing days with good company and non stop action. August 15th 2015 was one of those days.

It was a later morning than normal awaking at 7:30 AM. The tide was to be high around 9:00 am so sleeping in was an option i took. Brian called me around 7 and told me he would be at the drop in within an hour. This was perfect timing. Loaded the cooler picked up some breakfast and was on my way to the drop in.

With some strong reports of keeper Fluke being caught in the back bay this was to be the Back Bay Fluke Fishing Day!
Arriving around 8:30 it was already warm and sunny. Brian was on his way and arrived about 20 mins later which gave me time to slowly unload and rig up. We launched as the tide had started moving out. The water was a warm 82 degrees at the surface with an air temp around 84 degrees to start. We had a slight S-SW  breeze around 4-5 kts. This was perfect conditions. Not hot all day with no breeze it was a picture perfect day.

About 5 mins after dropping Bucktails with teasers tipped with Berkley  Gulp to the bottom in 10 – 20 feet of water hugging the edge of a channel boom Brian landed the first fish and first keeper. Not too long after that my rod is bent in half but missing that fish due to the new dead stick rod holder setup. The RaAM Adapt-A-Post Track Mount with the  Ram Tube Jr has a bait caster and a spinning reel side to lock in the rod. The Abu Garcia Vengeance casting rod I was using has a larger trigger grip which seems to get stuck in the hole that locks the rod in. After a few fish and working the rod from the holder it took a little getting used to but was manageable. The second fish hooked was a really nice fluke.  It was a good fight pulling drag  landing a really nice fluke measuring in at 21.5″.

Picking through short fish which were nice fat ones that put up a great fight. The dead stick rod seemed to be producing more.

By now the drift was moving fast. We were drifting almost 2mph. Still picking up fish riding out the drift until fishing slowed up then making the decision to go back to where we started find the fish and drift again.

Back at the beginning of the drift we were running out of tide. Finding a pocket of fish every time we would go over the spot fish would bite on both rods! Brian had one jump out of his cooler and somehow netted it before it got away. I lost a keeper measuring it for Kayak Wars and decided not to take anymore KW pohots for the day after that. A few more keepers and shorts we made the decision to call it a day at 3:00 PM.

Wish all fishing trips could be as good as landing 25 fish in a 6 hour day!

8th Annual Point Pleasant Beach Elks Kayak Fluke Tournament Wrap Up:

The 8th Annual Point Pleasant Beach Elks Kayak Fluke Tournament was held on July 25th 2015. Both relieved and happy that we had great weather and a great turn out! For me the tournament started back in February when the planning begun. I feel getting everything going early really helped make the tournament run better although the absence of Pat Whooley made it more of a challenge as Paddler still wanted to stay on board as the main sponsor. I would like to sincerely thank John and Wendy at Jersey Paddler for the time and the prizes they donated to support the winners of the tournament this year. Also would love to thank Crhis Mckee for the help on JP’s side and donating the really cool canopy this year. Also on display there was a Jackson Cuda LT, Jackson Kraken, and a Jackson Superfishal which was being raffled off at the awards dinner.

Arriving Friday morning and literally threading a needle backing the camper trailer to its home for the weekend my decision to go fishing since it was a day off work and also beautiful weather.

I went over to Glimmerglass as its an easier drop in with the Big Rig. It was already busy in the river and the inlet. After a few hours fishing and landing only one thirteen inch fluke dealing constant boat wakes was getting old. There were a few other kayak anglers out there and none of them had any fish.

Back at the Elks Lodge getting ready for the captains meeting which was to begin at 7:00 PM. There were a few late entry’s. Some guys showed up to camp. Gary ward and got everyone checked in and entered in the Calcutta’s.

There were some great prizes this year. Including a 65 qt Cooler from Orion Coolers! A nice paddle from Bending Branches some gear from Yak Attack, and a really nice S&S Bucktail prize pack containing 14 bucktails! The only thing I hoped for is that the fishing was to be better than my experience pre-fishing.

A total of 38 anglers were registered and ready for the 5 AM start the next day. Gary Ward Sean Gavin and myself decided to fish in the Manisquan River back by Treasure Island while most were fishing the Atlantic Ocean and Raritan Bay.

We covered alot of water only to catch short fish. They were mostly close to 18″ keeper fish but none were had in the River. We fished from 6am – 3:00 PM. There was a ton of boat traffic and we were rocked around pretty much all day. It was great to get out fishing although Gary and I did not fish in the tournament.

Around 3:30 the anglers started to arrive with the intent to submit their catch photos. It ran pretty smoothly besides forgetting a USB hub so i could use my keyboard mouse and the camera card reader simultaneously.  In all the guys who fished at Sandy Hook and out in the ocean did well. Chris Baggott ended up cleaning up again as he did in 2013. He took all of the prizes and calcuttas besides the most unique combined species.  See the tournament results and photos here.

The BBQ was great as always and the Elks even had some micro brews on the beer truck this year which was really cool!!

The new date has been set next year  for July 23rd 2016! Hope to see everyone there!