Congrats Michael (Redfish12) on the awesome fish.
Not just Kayak Fishing, a Lifestyle....
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Picture of the Day 4/15/12 - It's Trophy Time
My fellow CBKA Leader and Hobie Fishing Team Member caught his personal best and a MD citation size striper yesterday on the Susky Flats.
Congrats Michael (Redfish12) on the awesome fish.
Jack (Pinch) also caught/tied his personal best at 33" so congrats to him as well.
Congrats Michael (Redfish12) on the awesome fish.
The Release!!! Pro Angler 12
Hobie released today the newest model to be added to the mirage drive line up, the Pro Angler 12..
The features seem to be awesome with some minor improvements from the classic Pro Angler, which will now be the Pro Angler 14 model.
The features seem to be awesome with some minor improvements from the classic Pro Angler, which will now be the Pro Angler 14 model.
Here is the link to the Hobie Site with a lot more pictures. I'm super excited about this boat. They we be available later this year and will hopefully be demo'd soon at your local dealer!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Picture of the Day - 4/14/12 - Walleye?
That's right!! My buddy Ryan (Shadyfisher85) and Kayak Wars teammate caught his 1st walleye on the kayak today!! Congrats to him... Check it out below!!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Product Review: Yak Attack GunnAll Skin PART 2
Gave the GunnAll Skin a run for its money this weekend while at the Kiptopeke Concrete Ships and it stood up to the test.
***Remember this product is still in the final testing stage***
I still got some gashes in my kayak, but only in areas that didn't have the GunnAll Skin. It truly is tough!
Protection Score : 10/10 (Don't really know what else to say...ITWORKED!!)
My only issue with the product is most likely due to the fact that Yak Attack's manufacturer is still working out the kinks of producing a consistent mass product, or maybe Luther intentionally sent out strips with different thickness for testing... I'm not too sure... but anyways I had put the thicker strips at the bow of my Pro Angler.
When applied they conformed to the curve and contour of the kayak, but after letting the kayak sit for 2 weeks the top of the fold had come off the kayak. I think it was due to the thickness and it just wasn't that flexible. I still fished with it this way, but it didn't look very good.
After my return home I pulled these sheets that had become unstuck, for the lack of better terms, off the kayak. It is good to know that the strips can be pulled off without any residue, even after two weeks of being applied and after a fishing trip. I trimmed off the top which had lost their stickiness after exposure to the salt water and barnacles and reapplied the skin that was still good and sticky back to the side of the yak. It reapplied perfectly.
Production Score : 7/10 (Remember it is just being tested and will most likely be improved greatly before final mass production)
Tyler also had some GunAll skin on his Tarpon 16 and I think we was very happy with the way it performed as well, minimizing the amount of gashes in the plastic.
Overall, I'm convinced this is the product you want to use to protect your investment!! It will only get better from here too. Props to Luther on the new product, which I definitely think will be a hit!!
***Remember this product is still in the final testing stage***
Protection Score : 10/10 (Don't really know what else to say...ITWORKED!!)
My only issue with the product is most likely due to the fact that Yak Attack's manufacturer is still working out the kinks of producing a consistent mass product, or maybe Luther intentionally sent out strips with different thickness for testing... I'm not too sure... but anyways I had put the thicker strips at the bow of my Pro Angler.
When applied they conformed to the curve and contour of the kayak, but after letting the kayak sit for 2 weeks the top of the fold had come off the kayak. I think it was due to the thickness and it just wasn't that flexible. I still fished with it this way, but it didn't look very good.
After my return home I pulled these sheets that had become unstuck, for the lack of better terms, off the kayak. It is good to know that the strips can be pulled off without any residue, even after two weeks of being applied and after a fishing trip. I trimmed off the top which had lost their stickiness after exposure to the salt water and barnacles and reapplied the skin that was still good and sticky back to the side of the yak. It reapplied perfectly.
You can see here on the left the skin has peeled on the top of the yak.
Production Score : 7/10 (Remember it is just being tested and will most likely be improved greatly before final mass production)
Tyler also had some GunAll skin on his Tarpon 16 and I think we was very happy with the way it performed as well, minimizing the amount of gashes in the plastic.
Overall, I'm convinced this is the product you want to use to protect your investment!! It will only get better from here too. Props to Luther on the new product, which I definitely think will be a hit!!
Fishing Report - 4/7 + 4/8 - Kiptopeke, VA
Kiptopeke definitely has to be one of the coolest places to kayak fish in the world. Not every fishing spot do you get to fish next to or even inside of old ships from the World War era. A pretty surreal experience at least the 1st two trips I've made there.
Day 1:
It was my 2nd time there, with my first trip only being last December where I caught my 1st Tautog ever, let alone a from a kayak. This trip I met up with my friend Tyler "MDFishin", whom grew up down the street from me and we went to grade school together up through High School. We planned to fish all Saturday, camp that night, and fish the morning on Sunday. Also, met up with Don "Shield" who was gonna fish for just Saturday.
Saturday- Tyler got on the water around 8am, welcomed by stout winds and waves from the north, creating a solid chop all around the ships. I showed up around 11:30am along with Don, also greeted by some wind and waves, but it had died off some from earlier and was supposed to decrease into the afternoon. We hit the ships hard, both literally and figuratively, testing my new Yak Attack GunnAll Skin and fishing every crack with our hand tied Rob Choi rigs and Blue Crab quarters.
On the way out we ran into Pinch, Grilled Sardine, and Yakfisher. They had caught some fish in the morning, but it was relatively slow.
It continued to be slow for all three of us, as well as the other yakers on the water. We got nibbles but just couldn't seem to connect. "Must be all baby fish down there!"
Tyler and I eventually found a hole where we were both getting consistent bites, and........ BAM finally I hooked up. Tyler was yelling and I was yelling, but I think he might have been more excited than me. Got it up to the surface and it looked huge, but it only ended up measure 16.5 inches, but I we were STOKED regardless of size. One of has had finally caught one.
The day ended so calmly with a beautiful sunset and we both were able to get some cool shots of the sun setting on the ships!!
Day 2:
We both hit the water at about 7:45 am and fished until about 11am. A lot shorter day and a little more succesful. Hit all the holes again and Tyler was able to catch his 1st Kayak Tautog!!! I was able to catch my 2nd of the weekend and small female.
Day 1:
It was my 2nd time there, with my first trip only being last December where I caught my 1st Tautog ever, let alone a from a kayak. This trip I met up with my friend Tyler "MDFishin", whom grew up down the street from me and we went to grade school together up through High School. We planned to fish all Saturday, camp that night, and fish the morning on Sunday. Also, met up with Don "Shield" who was gonna fish for just Saturday.
Saturday- Tyler got on the water around 8am, welcomed by stout winds and waves from the north, creating a solid chop all around the ships. I showed up around 11:30am along with Don, also greeted by some wind and waves, but it had died off some from earlier and was supposed to decrease into the afternoon. We hit the ships hard, both literally and figuratively, testing my new Yak Attack GunnAll Skin and fishing every crack with our hand tied Rob Choi rigs and Blue Crab quarters.
On the way out we ran into Pinch, Grilled Sardine, and Yakfisher. They had caught some fish in the morning, but it was relatively slow.
It continued to be slow for all three of us, as well as the other yakers on the water. We got nibbles but just couldn't seem to connect. "Must be all baby fish down there!"
Tyler and I eventually found a hole where we were both getting consistent bites, and........ BAM finally I hooked up. Tyler was yelling and I was yelling, but I think he might have been more excited than me. Got it up to the surface and it looked huge, but it only ended up measure 16.5 inches, but I we were STOKED regardless of size. One of has had finally caught one.
The day ended so calmly with a beautiful sunset and we both were able to get some cool shots of the sun setting on the ships!!
That evening Tyler and I camped (we really just slept in our SUVs) there at Kiptopeke, cooked up some hamburgers and our two Tog filets and rinsed it down with the quality taste of Natural Light Bottles!!!!
Day 2:
We both hit the water at about 7:45 am and fished until about 11am. A lot shorter day and a little more succesful. Hit all the holes again and Tyler was able to catch his 1st Kayak Tautog!!! I was able to catch my 2nd of the weekend and small female.
Tyler's was a keeper sized female, but his fish was realeased along with my smaller lady.
We hit the rode eventually to head back to the western shore of the Bay Bridge for me a solid 4 hour drive. Tyler stopped off at Assateague to do a little surf casting before he headed back to Salisbury.
Overall it was a great weekend on the water. Caught a few fish and I didn't get skunked either day so that was good and I was able to catch up with a friend I hadn't seen since High School... I think we'll defnitely be fishing a lot more these days!!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Kiptopeke Trip Prepping
So I am getting ready for my fishing trip this weekend at Kiptopeke, VA. Tying up a bunch of extra tog rigs (follwing the Rob Choi method found here). I also stopped at All Tackle to pick up some extra lead just in case I have some snags which is common while Tog Fishing.
My set up :
Rod 1 - 6'3" Shimano Tevala S MH paired with a Penn Battle 3000 w/ 50lb Power Pro
Rod 2 - 4'8" Ugly Stik MH paired with a Okuma ABF30 Avenger w/ 30lb Power Pro
I will be using 3/0 Mustad Octopus Hooks and J Hooks
Also, I will be getting a solid testing of my new Yak Attack GunnAll Skin. I plan to really put it to the test and will have a full report after the weekend.
I will be meeting a few other MKF anglers there and few other's may be there as well depending on the wind forcast.
I really can't wait to hook into these powerful fish after my 1st taste of fishing for them last December!!
My set up :
Rod 1 - 6'3" Shimano Tevala S MH paired with a Penn Battle 3000 w/ 50lb Power Pro
Rod 2 - 4'8" Ugly Stik MH paired with a Okuma ABF30 Avenger w/ 30lb Power Pro
I will be using 3/0 Mustad Octopus Hooks and J Hooks
Also, I will be getting a solid testing of my new Yak Attack GunnAll Skin. I plan to really put it to the test and will have a full report after the weekend.
I will be meeting a few other MKF anglers there and few other's may be there as well depending on the wind forcast.
I really can't wait to hook into these powerful fish after my 1st taste of fishing for them last December!!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Picture of the Day - 4/2/12 - Striper Time
Picture here of my buddy Tyler's (MdFishin) first kayak caught striped bass. Measured in at 24"...
Congrats on the first of many more...
Congrats on the first of many more...
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Picture of the Day - 4/1/12 - Name That Species....
~MB
A. A Fat Crappie