A Little Mahi Mayhem

A couple months ago, Lee, Howard and I decided to go on a spur of the moment offshore trip out of Hatteras, NC. When the fish are biting, you've got to jump at the chance to make it happen.

We had a few lines out at different depths, trying our luck at a couple different species along the spread. At first, we got a deep bait hit, but it cut off pretty quick - must have been a wahoo.

Soon after, we started getting some good action on our other lines and were able to reel in some gorgeous mahi. 

The bite stayed pretty solid throughout the day, but the weather eventually forced us back to shore.

Definitely worth the drive...

may have to make the trek back to the Outer Banks soon for some AJ action.

Crushin' the Cobia

We've been crushin' the cobia up here in VA with Brian of Stretched Out Fishing. We'll just let the photos speak for themselves...

We were even able to break Meghan's cobia curse, helping her to land her personal best!

And a couple smaller ones...

The Ron Z always gets the job done. Didn't even want to look at the live eels.

We decided to put our skills to the test the other day on the Kencraft and weren't disappointed! 

Now time to get back on that water and keep putting meat on the table...

Shoal Searching

 Photo Credit: William Ragulsky (AllOutKayakfishing.com)



After a week of really good reports Tex, Billy and I decided to give it a shot with a cold front headed our way. We thought we could launch early, get to the shoals, look for them, catch them and be on our way in before the storm hit, or at least hit hard. Well the storm showed up early, but we were there so lets do it..

Ok lets keep looking...

After hours of cold wind, mist and short bouts of rain we were all questioning our sanity. We knew the fish weren't where we thought they were and were paddling around in kayaks during a cold front...we are not normal. Some say we are driven, some say it's ego...who knows...but there is definitely something off with us when we choose to be on the water away from families looking for a fish only to let it go. We should take up golf and be normal...but that wouldn't be any fun, the more pain, the more joy in success.

Just before heading in, the cloud cover lifted for a quick moment and I look at Billy and Tex and yell there they are. I saw a school of fish, so we worked together and launched our baits. None of us hooked up, Tex yells it's striper -- they tend to be real picky at times. Billy hooks up and is dragged through the school, then I catch one off another nearby school, then I hear Tex cussing and I know he just broke one off. We get together and take some photos and call it a day.

 Photo Credit: William Ragulsky

 Photo Credit: William Ragulsky

 Photo Credit: William Ragulsky

 Photo Credit: William Ragulsky

 Photo Credit: William Ragulsky

Tex and I went out the next week after the air and water warmed up a bit, and Tex managed to land one on the outside of the shoals. I looked but never found the school and ended the day with the skunk. 

I have been getting a lot of questions about the Wilderness Systems Thresher 140, I have now had a couple months getting to know her. I will post up a full review next week on Wilderness Systems new offshore kayak.

Tight Lines Ya'll!

Shake Down and a bonus

BOAT

Break
Out
Another
Thousand

Everyone know kayak fishing is my passion, but since buying a boat, I have broadened my horizons. Which also means I have been spending an ungodly amount of money on upkeep. So after the yearly maintenance was complete, I felt I needed to get out and use the beast despite a lot of success in the kayaks. Lee and I picked up bait at Oceans East Bait and Tackle then made a quick run to the Smith Island to fish the tide change for reds.

It was slow going at first, but then we get a screaming run and Lee yells that's no Ray -- our biggest fear. I hammered the drag down and quickly break off the beast even though I was using 40lb power pro. Hey that's fishing...

About ten minutes later Lee gets a screaming run, but his comes unbuttoned. Ok that hurt.

Then..... Drum Whammy, the other three rods get taken at the same time. Sheer pandemonium ensues! Lee puts his rod down to land my bull red, then I return the favor. We check the other rod but it holds only a bare 8/0 circle hook. Take some quick pics to remember my first "Drum Whammy."

The next day we decided to head out on our first Cobia trip of the year with Brian Olszyk -- a great follow on Instagram @StretchedOutFishing. Brian is an amazing fisherman and really excels at Cobia fishing in particular. We went out on his 28ft Master Marine. The day is kind of a blur, but lets just say Lee and my own bad luck really tested Brian's skill. We broke off a few 40lb class fish and a bull red only to find that two of the rods on the boat had broken eyes -- the broken ceramic was cutting the braid with ease.

Lee yells down from the tower to get ready, we were bout to hit a giant school of Bull Red Drum. Once in range Brian says if you can reach them, go. I cast close to the edge and hook up on a bucktail, Lee hooks up but it comes unbuttoned, Brian hooks up on a Ron Z Lure but it breaks off (our second rod with a broken eye). I land mine while the new guy is messing with a wind knot as the bull reds swim under the boat.

The new guy on the boat broke one of Brian's custom made rods while landing a smaller size keeper. So now we are down to two workable rods. I hand my baby -- a Shimano Terez / Stradic -- combo up to the tower and its not long before Brian says "Jay get ready your about to land the best cobia you have ever caught." Brian puts me within casting range, and I make a good cast right in the path of the monster, only to have her swim up to it and reject my offering. Brian's confidence isn't shaken and he throws the Ron Z lure in and hooks up. He hands the rod down and the fight is on. I have fought lots of fish, but this one didn't care I was putting 20lbs of drag on her. Brian keeps the fish on the left side of the boat and we play her until she is ready to meet Lee.... and his gaff. Lee nails the gaff shot and he stops half way and I know its a good one, I reach over and help pull in the monster.

Brian starts hunting and quickly finds another which we land and release. Then I get up top after 20 min of hunting and see my combo had somehow fallen off the tower and into the Chesapeake. It turns out the rodholder worked its way loose. We keep hunting, because while that hurt, what are you going to do? Brian spots a pair on a ray and the first fish of the day rejects the Ron Z but Lee gets the second fish under the ray to eat an eel. I climb down to gaff the mid 40lb class fish only for it to spit the hook just before gaffing...

Brian looks at me and says "we just came out here and threw a bunch of gear into the water."

After all of this Brian still had a good attitude, maybe its his confidence in his skill or maybe he is just very optimistic, but either way its something I definitely should work on myself.    

Photo Credit: Mark Lozier



At the dock the cobia weighs in at 71.5 lbs. Good enough for my second species citation for 2015, and my biggest fish caught yet. Thanks Brian!

My Turn

This spring has been filled with high winds and cold weather, so when the weather gave me a chance, I knew there was one place I had to be...on the Eastern Shore chasing Bull Reds. I took my new Wilderness Systems Thresher 140 in hopes of testing out its ability to handle the breakers and be maneuverable enough to fight and land big reds. Well we got on 'em...I was first with a 47" caught on a paddle tail with Billy Ragulsky capturing some photos. So far the Thresher is quickly becoming my favorite kayak with a good mix of speed, stability and storage, but I will wait until I put some more miles on the her before I write a review as I want it to be thorough. Billy got a Citation, but I'll let him tell the story on www.AllOutKayakFishing.com. Thanks for the phenomenal photos Billy!

Photo By: Billy Ragulsky

Photo By: Billy Ragulsky

Photo By: Billy Ragulsky

Photo By: Billy Ragulsky

Photo By: Billy Ragulsky

One Hell of a Story...

I was lucky enough to catch the tail end of bull redfish season in Virginia last fall, landing quite a few in the 40-50" range and my new personal best at a whopping 53"! However, I wasn't able to get out on a kayak to try my luck and was promised a shot at making it happen when they came around again.

So, when Jay said the temps were starting to warm up and he had a good feeling about getting on the water, I made the trip up ready to catch my first big fish from a kayak. After a nine hour drive and four measly hours of sleep, we got up and jumped in the truck ready to try our luck.

We started the day trolling a large paddle tail, looking for movement in the water to indicate they were in the area. Early in the morning, Jay got a huge tug on the line, but it wasn't meant to be. The fish just spit out the lure and hightailed it out of the area.

Beautiful start to the day

After trying a couple different locations and a variety of techniques for about six hours, we decided to take a break and post up with some large chunks of crab in a spot they had been spotted the previous year. Mind you, this is VA we're talking about here, and this Florida girl thinks weather less than 85 degrees is freezing. So after about another three hours of waiting them out, we decided that if we hadn't had any action in the next 20 minutes, we'd call it a day and head in.

We aren't in Florida anymore...

Like it always happens, whether you're taking a bite of your food or swig from your drink, once you decide to let your guard down, they strike. All of a sudden one of the rods doubles over and the line takes a big leap forward. The hook is set and Jay grabs the other rods to start reeling them in while I get pulled off after the fish. 

With the water temps still a little low, this red wasn't really fighting hard. I was bummed when she only made one good run before easily being reeled in next to my kayak. However, I should have knocked on wood because this big girl wasn't done with me yet. 

I kid you not, she is maybe a foot to the left of my kayak, looks up, sees me and decides to bolt. Not forward like a nice fishy, nope -- diagonally under the boat and backwards. As I was clearly instructed by Jay before we set out, I was determined to keep my rod tip straight in front of me so that I don't get pulled sideways and over by allowing my line to turn. If only I had known what was to come...

Either the rod wasn't flexible enough or the drag was a tiny bit too tight, I'll never know. But when that fish took off I did my duty and kept the rod pointed to the bow of the boat waiting for it to turn me, but it never did. Within five seconds, my rod broke not in just one place, but two!

Guess who owes Jay a new rod?

I'm not giving up that easy, so I continue to fight the monster with half a rod, managing to reel it back up to the kayak. She clearly had a plan to get me in that water, because she did the same exact thing again...floats next to my boat for 30 seconds about a foot down, looks up, sees me and bolts diagonally across and behind my kayak! This time, there was no keeping the rod tip in front, as I didn't really have a rod tip anymore. So my arm goes left, and I go over.

If she thought she had me, boy was she wrong. I wasn't going to let my trophy go without proving I had done it. So while trying to keep it together in waders full of water and kayak bobbing around upside down behind me, I manage to reel the fish back in and next to where Jay had jumped in beside me to help out. He puts my Lucid Fishing grips on her and secures it tight, and we set off towards shore towing our boats and walking (also swimming) in cold, windy, overcast weather all the way to an oyster-laden stretch of shoreline -- pics or it didn't happen right?

My waders are full of water and every layer I had on is soaked weighing me down, so I strip down to the basics and brave the temps to get our shots. Luckily, this was the only time my fish decided to cooperate, so despite the not-so-ideal conditions, we got a few good ones before safely releasing my 45" bull redfish healthy and ready to take on the next angler -- good luck whoever you are, this one is crafty!

At the time I was cursing life, but looking back on it now...well it's one hell of a story, and I wouldn't have it any other way. :)