Wrap Up: 9th Annual Point Pleasant Beach Elks Kayak Fluke Tournament

The 9th Annual Point Pleasant Beach Elks Kayak Fluke Tournament again was a success this year. With 50 registered anglers topping previous years numbers by about 15 anglers! It was a hot day in the 90’s but definitely late July fishing weather. Since Jersey Paddlers closing The Kayak Fishing Store agreed to sign on as the kayak division main sponsor. Without them and a few other sponsors such as Orion Coolers, Yak Gear, and Yak Attack it would not be possible to have prizes for those who entered and also benefit the selected charity. Heroes On The Water was the 2016 charity the tournament benefited.

See the results at www.KayakFlukinNJ.com!

Save the Date for the 10th Annual in 2017! Hope to see you on July 22nd 2017!!!

Wrap Up: 2016 Jamaica Bay Kayak Fishing Classic

Every year the tournament season opens with the Jamaica Bay Kayak Fishing Classic. This year the tournament brought together 330+ anglers to fish one of the best locations for the chance of catching large stripers, weakfish, and bluefish. The fluke season had not opened yet so being illegal to even target the species it was omitted from the tournament. The absence in abundance of weakfish over the years has made the tournament more challenging. If you catch a weakfish the chances of completing a slam or grand slam and placing in the competition become very high.

This year was to be a kind of special year as a majority of the crew I used to fish with were planning on fishing the tournament. It had been 2 years since Lunchbox last fished it and longer than that for some others. It was set to be a good ole time with practical jokes, camping, and excellent food along with a few brews.

Arriving on the Floyd Bennett Field tarmac around 11:00 PM on Thursday May 12th. The moon in its third quarter onto waxing gibbous was on its way setting in the west against the orange glow of the night urban sky.  The city that never sleeps rustling and bustling. The camp was pretty quiet besides a few loud conversations here and there. Everyone else had gone to sleep early in anticipation of early morning fishing. Captain Jim, Gary and Kevin were still fishing Mill Basin. They informed me that fishing was slow so instead of gearing up I went to take some night photographs. Night settings on a DSLR camera are one of the most enjoyable times of photography for me. Long exposures create the ability to capture low ambient light. After a few photos of around the tarmac i drove down to Mill Basin to get a few photos of the bridge at the basin and my friends as they cane in.

The next morning out of the camper by 7 AM we all had decided to sleep in. It was to be the best day weather wise so instead of waiting for the guys to go to the tackle shop and come back I went out fishing. Trolling SP Minnows for hours looking for bait and fish marks. Also learning and modifying settings on the new Lowrance Elite 5 TI. About 2 hours of fishing finally hooked into a fish. It ended up being a big bluefish at 28″ which I took a photo of and released. Before i knew it I was surrounded by Hobbies which is incredibly annoying but they actually didn’t stick around this time. The winds were increasing and the clouds building and building. The front was about to hit within an hour so I was going in.

Many were still going out. I advised some newer guys that were paddling they may want to stay in and wait out the front. It was good advice that one fellow thanked me for.

About 30 min later the front was upon the area. Heavy rain and winds I hung with the guys of The Kayak Fishing Store. They were all setup for the rain. Brews and a heater blasting from the trailer door! It felt like camping! Good times hanging out with the crew.

A few hours later the rain had passed. A good fishing buddy of mine Brian was on his way to the camp. Once he arrived we were set to go night fishing. It was a cool calm and clear night.The water was like glass. We launched at the Floyd Bennett field ramp and trolled across to ruffle bar. Along the way trolling 2 rods a fish took my SP minnow and ran with it. The reel screamed. I grabbed the rod from the holder and set the hook. It fought like a bluefish and upon fighting and reeling it in. It was a big bluefish. 30″ + with acrobatics!  While attempting to boga grip the fish it was able to escape the grasp. Again after that another fish hit screaming reel. Spinning my kayak around. The fish jumping and then off.

Fishing became slow but the fish finder revealed fish everywhere. Jiging trolling casting baits. Nothing mattered. IT was now 2 am. The moon had become a yellow hue as it became larger setting in the west. The hill was getting to us. Trolling back into base Brian hooked up. Another blue to close out the early morning. Landing around 3:30 am we rinsed down our gear and passed out.

An hour later however it was time for everyone to get up that was fishing the morning. At this point sleep had ceased for me. As they left I decided to zippp out of my sleeping bag and capture a few photos of the sunrise. It wasn’t the besst sunrise due to low lying clouds of the front from the previous day but was able to take some great photos! It was a spectacular launch from the ramp with over 100 Hobie’s and Noriel with his Big Tuna commanding the launch.

After the sunrise I put the camera into my Dry Case bag and wheeled the Big Rig to the ramp. Fishing was on! I immediately got on the radio once on the water. Looking for my buddies. I should have been fishing the entire time but meeting up with them was important to me. I was trying to find Capt Jim but after texting him for his location he didn’t get back to me. To learn later he dropped his phone and Romano’s camera in the drink. Dropped Something.

Fishing wasn’t good in the area we were fishing. I saw a swirl in the shallow water but was looking for my buddies. Finally finding Charlie ‘LUNCHBOX’ Labar his son and Bob ‘Mullet’ Miller. Fishing was no good unfortunately. Gave it a few more hours and Capt Jim said he was calling it a day and going to grill up some steaks. On the way back in trolling we marked a few fish and decided to give it a shot. Capt Jim ended up with a blue and that was it for the day. I remained skunked for the daytime fishing.

An hour or 2 later the wind kicked up again and made it pretty much un-fishable for the rest of the day. A few showers blew through as most of us took a power nap to later get up and grill up some chicken. The might didn’t last long with the cold wind i was in bed by 11:30.

Sunday morning was very windy and the Tournament Director cancelled fishing for the day. A majority of anglers had already packed up and left the night before as many were leaving in the morning.  I hung out to help with anything needed at the camp then ended up leaving by 11 am.

Looking forward to next year! Jamaiaca Bay is one of those locations every kayak angler should fish one day. I hope to see you and everyone again next year!

Wrap Up of the 5th Annual CBKA Tournament

On the road again on Friday September 11th 2015. The tires are burning the road up three and a half hours to the venue of Kent Island Maryland to participate in another weekend of fishing the Chesapeake Bay for Stripers! Along the way on Rt 50 there were ladder engines hoisting 16 foot American Flags to symbolize this day remembering what happened and their brothers and sisters on this very day.  Being one of the larger salt water kayak fishing tournaments in the Mid Atlantic region the  5th Annual CBKA Tournament had a great turn out once again! With over 100 anglers registered it was sure to be competitive and fun at the same time.  This was personally my second year present. The drive through the countryside of Delaware and Maryland to the foot of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge which connects the Eastern Shore of Maryland to the Western Shore is impressive. The sheer beauty of the farm lined country roads how they meet the sky in such a way that its America!

Tenting it at Camp Wright a children’s summer camp/events location is right on the water of the Chesapeake Bay. The ability to launch is on the property or you are allowed to take advantage of other drop in locations also. My arrival was right on time at 4PM for the opening of check in. Receiving a captains bag full of goodies! Deciding to set up camp utilizing the daylight making the trek around 300 yards to the camping area located in a field. There was a large canopy setup and with rain in the forecast i made camp under it.  Mingling with people awaiting the potluck my buddy Leonard arrived. He came to camp and hang out for the weekend. We set up his tent then walked back to the tournament HQ.

Deciding to get a few snapshots of the area. The Camp has a great view over the Chesapeake Bay and the Bay Bridge. Prior to eating dinner from the potluck I was able to shoot some killer photos of the sunset over the Chesapeake Bay! They say “Red sky and night sailors delight.” Meaning the weather should be good in the morning. The forecast for Saturday during the tournament was winds 5-10 increasing later int he day and thunderstorms in the mid to late afternoon. Enjoying the massive food anglers brought for the pot luck and meeting fellow yakkers. It was getting late and time to sleep a few hours.

The morning came fast. Taking my time on this overcast morning. Dropping in around 7 am. The Lowrance Elite 5 Chirp reading a ton of bait and larger fish i decide to cast a DOA jig with a DOA 3″ swim bait. First cast a fish hit. Upon retrieval the paddle tail was bit off. Unfortunate that was the only one in my arsenal of tackle deciding to make a second cast with no tail. Reeling in hit and fish on! It was a small striper around 12 inches. Next cast fish on again catching around 10 ranging from 10 to 13 inches. Making the decision to venture out further to find larger fish.

Set on a course to rendezvous at the bridge trolling a Seabile hard Swim Bait the reel starts screaming. I grab the rod and set the hook. It’s a sleigh ride! Landing a 18.75 Striper  knowing I was in the game. I trolled to the bridge and wasn’t marking any fish there. A few casts and the birds were working back where i was previously. Back casting into the birds a few small bass. It was now getting dark. The judges were on a boat taking photos of everyone and warned us that there was an incoming storm. It looked pretty bad coming in and on the radar. Not before long it was pouring. Rain on and off growing darker set a course back to land. Rained for a good hour. Submitted my fish and it looked good. Most people were done for the day. Wind was around 5-10 SE so the island blocked a good amount of wind until off about 400 yards. Time to get back out there fishing. Dropping back in and looking for fish trolling on the 20 foot edge where i picked up my last fish prior to the storm. It seemed the fishing had turned off after the storm but the wind was a completely different story. It was fortunately still blowing from the south east but it was now 15-20. Located in the middle of the bay it was rolling 2-3 feet and these are the days when the Torqeedo Ultralight 403 is needed. It was noticeable as I was the only one fishing that far off the shore but its where the bottom dropped off an edge the fish were hanging on earlier. Continuing to troll around not marking any fish for 2 hours finally making it back closer to shore. A few casts and small stripes were abundant in this area. I was now looking for white perch and bluefish in an attempt to enter the SLAM division. Unfortunately all I could manage was small bass.

As 2:00 PM approached and it was time to call it a day.  Photo submission ended at 3:00 and wanted to get a shower in. After a refreshing shower and a change of clothes walking in for photo submission at 2:57 but they did not need to see my photos. Close but unfortunately not a winning day.

They handed out the awards and did the seemingly never ending raffle. Taking home a nice UV shirt some rigs and jigs from the raffle. See the results of the tournament on the CBKA website. The tournament benefits the Mid Atlantic Make a Wish Foundation which does great things for children. We ate dinner and another storm came through.  Leonard and I decided to stay another night and build a fire. There were a few others staying. We had a great group hanging out at the fire. A warm wind of about 10 mph was blowing all night from the NW. Some of us planned to go fishing the following morning but had a feeling it was to be way too windy.

And we were completely right about that. We had to be all loaded up by 8AM anyway which we were not. I snapped the photo to the left before heading out.

If you have never fished the CBKA tournament you are missing out!! Hope to see you all there next year for the 6th Annual!!