Oceangrip Deck Padding

I wanted to customize my PA14 a little more beside the regular stuff everyone has on their boats. I wanted to go the route of deck padding and there were two choices guys were using, Seadek and Oceangrip. It seemed Seadek was on a lot more boats but with some research I found some guys who installed the Oceangrip and were happy and they said it was the same as Seadek. My buddy Chris has the Seadek in the Army Camo and is very happy with it.

There was quite a bit cost difference between the two. Seadek costs $150.95 for the front half of the boat and Oceangrip was $130.00 for the entire boat. To me it was a no brainer especially if the padding was the same. Oceangrip also seemed to have more colors already cut and ready to ship then Seadek who only have two colors at the time.

I ended up speaking to a employee of Oceangrip on facebook who answered my questions and I ordered up the full deluxe kit in storm grey. Three days later the padding arrived and I installed it in my shop. Chris helped me, as he had already installed his Seadek, and he said it was pretty much the same products. Fitment was good but some areas it was a hair off, like around the rear hatch. It was fairly easy with tow people and it could be a one person job but the extra hands help, especially with someone who knew what to do.

Overall I am very happy with the product and also it was priced right. It changes the whole look and feel of the Pro Angler and can't wait to bloody it up!

Dry fitting all the pieces

A Bittersweet Day

Today was a bittersweet day. I sold my Hobie Outback, but she went to a good home. I spent the past 3+ years with her and I fished her hard, very hard. From togging bridges, road trips to far away fishing grounds, and catching monster stripers she has never let me down.

But with every door closed and new ones opens and I am happy to say that I am now a Hobie Fishing Team Member! A big thanks to Pat at Jersey Paddler in Brick, NJ for hooking me up with a brand new 2014 Hobie Pro Angler 14 and getting me on the team!

I spent Sunday morning fishing the Manasquan River for fluke and blues with some fellow Googans. Chris and I drove up together and planned on swinging by Jersey Paddler on the way home to say hi. We caught some flatties on bucktails and gulp and a bunch of blues on plugs and poppers, which was a blast. My only regret was not having the GoPro running when a chopper blue jumped at Chris's popper a foot next to his boat!

After the fishing frenzy we stopped by to talk to Pat and he surprised me by saying I will drop the Pro Angler off tomorrow at my shop, unless ya wanna take it now. I said sure! We loaded the new rig up, still in her shiny white bubble wrap and strapped my Outback on top for the half hour ride home.

I got her home and it was time for the unwrapping. It was pretty straight forward and easy to get everything together. The wife and kids were down the street at the lake so going out fishing was out of the question. Next best thing was taking the kids out for her maiden voyage!

Peddling was a dream and I think it was easier then in my Outback. Standing was great too and there was so much room. I am 100% happy with the boat and can't wait to get her slimed up! 

I put the Outback up on a few websites and had some interest in it. It sold 8 hours after I listed it for a price I was willing to let her go for. She was going to a good home to a good fisherman. She has lots of mojo and a ton of fishing left to do with her new owner!

Heroes on the Water - North Wildwood

Many of you may have heard of Heroes on the Water and that I am a volunteer for this wonderful organization. I have met a lot of awesome people, both vets and volunteers, and many of them I fish with on a regular basis. If you have never of hear of HOW, simply put we take vets out kayak fishing. We supply them with a kayak, paddle, safety gear, rod & reel, and all the tackle and bait they will need. They also get lunch, water, snacks and drinks for their day of fishing and everyone helping is a volunteer and everything is 100% free to the vets and their families.

All the gear rigged up

This past Sunday was the first saltwater event of the year. The Kayak Fishing Store in North Wildwood was gracious enough to host us again and Chris and his crew do a  great job. Chris and I left at 5am to head down and arrived around 6:30am or so. There were already a few guys there setting up and prepping kayaks, rods, bait, and lunch. A while later we had our meeting, the vets showed up, and we got everyone on the water.

Chris, Kevin, and I were paired up with the Cooper Family from PA. There were 6 of them and they were a great group and we had tons of fun fishing with them. Brian was the high hook with a 23"er and a short all on a white S&S Bucktail tipped with squid.

Fishing was slow but some fish were caught. Most of were using S&S Bucktails tipped with Gulp, squid strips or mackerel. Everyone had a great day on the water and a few keeper fluke were put in the coolers, but most importantly we got some vets on the water for a day of relaxation.

Kevin, Bob, Me, Chris, and Yim

Dennis and Paul

Congrats to Dennis "Homer" who put the whole event together. He did a fantastic job and put a lot of time and effort into it. Nice job Homer!

Fluke Opener 2014

Summer flounder, fluke, flatties, flounder, whatever you call them, welcome to the 2014 season!

I hit a local back bay hotspot today at first light with fellow Googan "Bobby Drama". Bob's original nickname is "scrapes" but he will now be know as Bobby Drama. Bob is a dramatic fellow and give him a new Daiwa Triforce Shorty Rod and the drama will certainly unfold and hilarity will ensue! 

We headed out at dawn even with the foggy conditions. The taste of fresh fluke fillets teased my taste buds. We headed right to one of our most productive spots last season and soon the fish were on. I was rigged up with a 1 1/2oz S&S Rattletail in the chartreuse and white flavor tipped with a Nuclear Chicken 6" Grub. Bob hooked up first and put a fat 24" fluke in the boat released her unharmed. 

Bobby Drama hooked up with a nice flattie - 24" to be exact.

A few minutes later my rod doubled over and I followed with a 24 incher of my own. Mine went on the stringer headed for the dinner table. We made several more drifts with a few bumps and taps and moved to another nice hole. We picked away a few more fish here and there but the bite was slow. I lost two keeper sized fish at the size of the boat and caught a few shorts as well. After a while with nothing we headed back to the original spot, close to the launch.  I managed another flattie measuring out at 21 1/2" and more fillets for the freezer. 

I had to head to work early but Bob stayed a little later and he managed 17 fish total with some keeper size. All in all it was a pretty good day with great conditions and good company and even some fish cooperated!

Moral of the story
"Never leave fish to find fish"

A Whole New World

Last week I headed to "a whole new world" to do something things that really haven't been on a kayak yet in a place unfamiliar to me. That world was Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn, NY and my goal was to trolling bunker spoons from a kayak and catch striped bass. Many said can't be done, but I think I proved them wrong and many fellow yakkers are now adding a bunker spoon to their arsenal.

THE TRIP:
Chris "foot" Fuller and I loaded up the trailer and gear around 9am and after a few mishaps (including the trailer falling off the truck on the GSP, swapping trailers, forgetting my mirage drive and cart, the list goes on), we arrived at Floyd Bennett Field around 1pm. The trip should have taken around 2 hours but turned into 4 hours. We laughed, cried, and learned a few new tricks along the way. Bob "scrapes" Stempek and Dennis "Homer" Reinknecht were already setup at  the campsite, right on the famous tarmac where Amelia Earhart and Howard Hughes made their famous takeoffs from. JBay is a huge wildlife refuge that is part of Gateway National Recreation Area and I would recommend taking a visit there to fish, bird watch, or just to check out the plane museum in the park. We unpacked, rigged up, and headed for the water wasting no
time.

Our camp all set up

Headed to the launch

I've never been to Jamaica Bay or JBay as many call it. It was a brand new area to me, but I went in with confidence and used the same tactics as back in Jersey. We trolled around some channel edges near the launch and fished a bridge close by with little to show. As we got closer to dinner time I finally put the first bass in the kayak near the bridge.

We trolled a little more trying to find some good cuts. Most of the areas we were fishing were around 5-7' or water and the fluke were arresive hitting our plugs. I managed to tag and release two flatties before we found deeper water. 

I was in only a few feet of water when Scrapes yells "there is deeper water over here". I peddled over and let some line out when I saw the drop and BAM, fish on and put a fat 30"er in the yak that hit a Rapala Xrap in the glass ghost color.

Scrapes and I worked the spot and called the rest of the guys in. We picked away at more fish into the dark on the plugs. Right was we were headed in I had another hit and thankfully it was a solid bluefish that gave the trifecta I was looking for. 

Homer on the troll

Scrapes hooked up

Foot with a nice fattie

Over the next day and a half we fished several more spots and did well at all of them. We all caught fish and slimed up our boats and had a great time doing it with some good people. In total we fished over 20+ hours and traveled over 30+ miles each. We had a  great time and eat and drank well each night. All fish were released to swim off and hopefully make more stripers.

As for my goal of trolling bunker spoons on a kayak, that will require it's own post, but I'll leave a pic...

Can't beat good fishing with some good friends!

Thanks Bob, Dennis, & Chris

"Weak" in Review

I fished five times over the past week or so with not much to show. Trying to get out in between the hard east wind and rain was difficult, but I managed a few fish and a some surprises. My usual spots have been more crowded than usual due to the weather, late start of bass in the ocean and blues in the bay, and word of mouth. I feel mugged to say the least...

I've been picking up schoolie bass here and there on bubblegum Zoom's Super Flukes and white ice Paddletail Zoom's. Most have been 17-20" but the trend seems to be they are getting smaller as the season progresses. The outgoing seems to be producing better but I've caught fish at all tide stages so far this year.

My smallest schoolie of 2014 - 13" caught on May 2nd

 One eyed bass tagged and released, hopefully I get a return on this guy

Night fishing has been prodcuing some fish as well and finding the right lights have been paying off. My buddy Captain Jim finally slimed his new Slayer, the other night.

Some other supirses over the past week were to return of some decent sized weakfish to Barnegat Bay. Guys have been picking them up near the Sod Banks by the Inlet on pink Fin-S. We have been regularly getting into them each trip with the biggest so far close to 26". Should be picking up as the water warms up.

Freshwater Fishing 3/30/14

Today I had a few hours to kill while the wife and kids were at a birthday party. Instead of heading to the salt, I hit the lake a block from my house because it was a bit windy and rainy. This lake is not very big and not deep, it used to be an old cranberry bog. The depth is around 3-4' and once it warms up it's full of weeds. I also don't fish to much freshwater as this lake usually holds small pickerel, largemouth, sunnies, and crappies.

I trolled a Rapala F11 in silver to the corner of the lake I wanted to fish. Right away I hooked a small bass I didn't even bother to measure. He barely fought but it was probably due to the colder water.

After an uneventful half hour I moved closer to the corner and the line came tight. At first I thought I had a big pickerel and it was pulling some drag pretty good. I got it closer and saw the bigger body and realized it was a nice large mouth. I was able to flip her in the yak and grab her with my fish grips. She was pushing just over 19 1/2" and was my biggest bass yet. Also the biggest I have seen or heard out of this lake. Snapped some pics and released her back in the cold water. As she swam off she covered me in a cool shower of water but it felt good to get a bass this big. Especially from a small Jersey lake.

I managed two small pickerel on the way back to the truck.

Pretty good rainy day if you ask me!