Chickahominy Lake

I started my 4 day weekend off with a trip to Chickahominy Lake and a new convert to kayak fishing. It sure was a good thing I took my friend because I've never been bass fishing and I'm quite sure the way I was planning to fish, I would not have caught anything. Once out of the creek my friend hooked up to a nice bass in the middle of the channel.

 

I paddled over to take a picture and scope out his rig. He then lent me the necessary supplies to make a few Carolina rigs and explained the idea and I was off. The wind was blowing pretty hard on our side of the lake so we decided to paddle over to the lee side and see if it was better. We could see the fish jumping all around us but just couldn't get hooked up on any. I worked my way into a little creek with a bunch of lily pads and had a few bites then wham! This 16.5 bass slammed down hard. Suddenly I understood the draw of the bass. 

I had a few more bites but didn't catch anything else. My friend caught a couple more small fish but no more big guys. All in all, it was still a great day. I caught a fish, made a kayak convert, and learned a ton. Not to mention a great day on the water. 

CBBT (again)

The day started much like the last time with a few croaker hits around the pilings and a couple of black sea bass. I was using clam on a really small 1/8 jig head on a standard Carolina rig with a 2oz egg sinker about 18 inches up behind a swivel. I'd seen Kayak Kevin do this but it just wasn't working for me. My buddy, Smiley and I meandered up through the bridges to the first island where I started to work the rocks along the east side. Suddenly I found myself staring into the eyes of a big ol triggerfish. I gave him an offering of clam on the little jig which he ate right off without even considering the hook. He was so close to the surface I could see exactly what he was doing so I knew that the jig was still too big. I pulled everything off my line and tied on a red1/0 hook with no weights and gave it another go. Down went the clam drifting gently on the end of the line. I could see it hovering just within view, then all of a sudden, wham!  My rod bent over and I reeled in the first triggerfish that I had ever seen. I had to dig out my phone to figure out what it was and if it was regulated. My little hook and the clam worked so well that I gave it another shot and pulled in 4 more in a row. As I pulled the fifth one into the yak it was suddenly apparent that my time had come to an end. A large wave from one of the passing ships caught me off guard. I was pushed onto the rocks just enough to spill me and anything that wasn't tied down into the briny depths. I didn't loose too much, just the remainder of my clams and mole crabs, my sunscreen, and a few other odds n ends. The rod I had been using was still attached to that last fish and lucky for me I was able to locate it bouncing in the rocks. I deposited it and the fish in the yak though the little fellow decided he didn't like riding so high and dry and abruptly flopped off the hook and out of the boat.  Surprisingly, the rocks on first island seem to be covered in some sort of surface consisting of very sharp shells and barnacles. After scraping away some bits of flesh and pride, I climbed back into my kayak, took stock of what I had lost, and grabbed a clam from Smiley and tried to go back to pulling in the trigger fish. Alas, my swimming escapade must have turned them off for they were no where to be found. I returned home with a decent catch and

I hear these leather jacketed fellows taste quite good. Even with the spill I still will call this a CBBT success. Check out the video here!

Catfish on the Chick

Tried my hand at trolling around the Chickahominy in my new Ocean Kayak Trident 13. Caught a big ol' catfish by surprise off Blank Point as I rounded the point headed South. The tide had just changed and I coul see the channel in the center of the river start to really move. I was trolling a bass assassin 4" Paddletai. Once the cat took the bait i thought i had just snagged up again for the 10th time or so but when I checked my line it pulled back. I knew it was on then. The cat pulled me back North East into the channel but I mannaged to pull him up slowly but surely. 13lbs and 27"