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!

RAM Camera Mounts:

RAM Camera Mounts for kayaks are some of the best mounts on the market for mounting to a kayak. Like most other mounts RAM has adopted the YakAttack Gear Track System for some of their mounts and being that the RAM ball was developed. RAM mounts are made in the USA and carry a lifetime warranty.

Ram Flex Arm:

One of the best stationary camera mounts I have used. The unique aluminum rod is easily malleable to bend the shaft in different directions. The rod is rigid enough to hold position. IT does take a bit of force to bend the rod into the desired position. Along with the RAM ball top which you can add YakAttatack or Ram extensions. The Ram flex arm is easily mountable with a flush mount or a track mount system.

RAP-B-200-1-TRA1-18U With Gear track base

RAP-B-200-1-386-18U With flush mount base

RAP-B-200-1-114P-18U With post spline mount quick release (mouthing base not included)

RAM Composite Flat Surface Mount with Custom GoPro® Hero Adapter:

Much like the YakAttack Panfish Portrait, besides the swivel ability this mount is handy for low profile mounting to a track or flush mount. The mount is inexpensive compared to others that have the same function. This mount can also be created if you already have the GoPro RAM ball adapter and a 1″ base mounted or screw ball for track mounting.

RAP-B-138-GOP1 $24.59

This mount can also be paired with accessories like the RAM Tough-Claw™ for mounting to railings or the RAM Tough-Clamp™ for clipping to anything else. The Tough clamp is great for quick camera angles.

Ram Medium Tough Claw RAP-B-404U $35.80 (these vary in size from small to large)

Ram Tough Clamp RAP-B-397-2U $21.02 (these vary in size from small to large)

RAM Telescoping Pole Mount:

This is one of my favorite cam mounts from RAM. One end of the mount clamps to a broom stick or telescoping painters pole. Personally I attached one to a telescoping boat hook with over 7′ in distance! The other using a RAM link and the 1″ RAM ball for GoPro or a 1/4-20 threaded ram ball connects to your favorite action camera.

RAP-B-218-1-GOP1U $24.94

Understanding Kayak Rigging – Mounting Base Options

Mounting bases are an essential part of rigging and personalizing your fishing kayak for your needs. A mounting base is typically and after market install for adding mounts for rod holders, fish finders, and other personalized accessory’s.  In this article ThePlasticHull.net covers basic and typical mounting hardware and bases along with track systems.

Fasteners:

There are 4 main types of fasteners typically used for rigging plastic kayaks.  They are as follows.

1. Thru Bolt: (Best Mounting Solution. This includes metal backing plates used in track system mounting.)
2. Rivets: (Second to the best method)
3. Well Nut & Bolt (Typically used with no inside access)
4. Self tapping screw (Has its uses)
5.  Factory molded threaded inserts (Becoming more common. Standard on Jackson fishing Kayaks)

Accessory Bases:

These fastening methods are used to install a mounting base. Depending on the accessory there are choices on base options. For a long time mounting a spline base or a flush mount spline base was the best method of installing rod holders and safety flags. With the evolution of kayak fishing and innovative accessory companies like Ram Mount,s Scotty, and Yak Attack new mounting options have been invented. To cover a few of the main mount base options.

1. Scotty base
2. RAM Ball Base
3. Rail Blaza Deck Mount Base

Gear Tracks:

The most widely used deck mounting solutions in recent time are track mount bases. Track mounting works just like track lighting. Simply by turning the accessory it can be located and secured in any location on the track desired.  I believe Wilderness Systems were the first to incorporate track mount systems into their fishing line of kayaks. Luther Cyphers of Yak Attack developed first the mighty mount which accepted a T style bolt that also is compatible with a track system.  Later he developed the gear track. The gear track really made rigging possibility’s endless. Also created the ability to slide accessory’s to different positions on the fly.  For paddlers the ability to move rod holders out of your paddle sweep on the fly.

In recent time many other fishing kayak manufacturers are incorporating the Yak Attack Gear track or similar track system into their fishing line of kayaks. Along with the tracks came “T Bolt Accessory’s” . The Screw ball was one of the first solutions for mounting accessory’s to the tracks. The ability to have a RAM Mount accessory on a sliding track made options endless. From mounting Rod Holders to Fish finders and camera mounts.

Scotty and RAM Mount spline bases can be adapted to work with track systems by utilizing the Yak Attack MightyMount Post Mount kit. Check it out here!

For 2015 Yak Attack has done it again with a new innovative track system that enables mounting accessory’s from any point on the track. No more sliding from one end to another. Mount between already mounted accessory’s! This is going to make it easy!

For more information on GearTrack Mounting Hardware go to YakAttack.us!

Disclaimer:

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