**Updated** MAKBF Angler of the Year Standings

 

Jon Snyder - 21
Bryan Herndon - 19
Matt Baden - 18
Shane Clift - 16
Dave Baden - 9
Jeff Adlington - 9
Wayne Chimielewski - 9
Alberto Tabian - 9
Robert Clemente - 8
Dave Thompson - 8
Mike Soudee - 8
Andy Gaiser - 7
Frank Krainaker -6
Jeremy Angle - 4
Kodi Bowers - 3
Will Pezzuto - 3
CJ Espey - 3
Dave Adlington - 2
Zach Huntington - 2
Steve Sekula - 1

June Meet and Greet - Mattawoman Creek

This past Saturday was the Maryland Kayak Fishing/Snaggedline.com monthly meet and greet where everyone gets together to fish a different location at the beginning of each month.

Mattawoman is usually one of the most popular M&G's as there is a variety of species to catch including the elusive Potomac Pike or better known as the Snakehead.

I set off from Annapolis at 5am in caravan with Shane "Reelaxin" and Elaina riding shotgun with me. My Dad was planning on meeting us there with the PA 12, so Elaina and I would be riding tandem on the PA 14. She volunteered to be my guide for the day, so there was no chance I was passing up on that opportunity. I equipped the back of the PA with my Yeti Coolers 35qt, which would double as a seat and a casting platform.

1st goal of the day was to try for some bass and snakeheads, then anchor up so Elaina and I could both catch Catfish. So I stood on the casting platform and targeted the fish while Elaina got me in position to make the perfect cast. It was pretty much a dream come true. I only ended up get one bass fully in the boat and lost another nice fish about 19". Both were hooked and fought from the top of the cooler which was cool in itself. Surprisingly, it was super stable!!

15.5" bass caught on a Rebel Magnum PopR in Bone Color

At one point we pushed back into and opening in the pads and both threw some topwater for bass. That is when I caught the fish above. Elaina had a blow up on a Frog but it came unconnected, but that got her going and ready to catch more fish, so made our way to the catfish spot, where we used bloodworms on a top bottom rig.

 

 

 

 

It was a fun day on the water!!! Unfortunately we couldn't attend lunch as Elaina had a wedding to attend that evening so we had to get home, but it seemed like everyone else had successful days as well.

 

My dad ending up catching a 20" Largemouth so he was super excited about that!! All his fish were also on  Overboard Rods, that I got him for his birthday. They make great gifts for your angler in the family.

 

Year of the Croaker

So after such a dismal few years of croaker they may be making a comeback this year. I've been out now two times with in the week and yesterday it all came together. A big shot out to my buddy Langston "Metroman" for clueing me in on where he found some fish a week and a half ago.

Anyways I set out last night to fish the tail end of rising tide on the Severn River. After my 1st not so successful attempt with only bloodworms I picked up some raw shrimp this time. Bait of choice was BW and Shrimp cocktail.

The action was pretty steady until just after dark when I called it quits. I was using a standard top/bottom rig with size 2 or size 1/0 hooks, some with spinners others without. Hooks didn't seem to make a different, but the shrimp definitely did.

I ended up catching about 25 croaker and a few perch from 13-22 feet of water. Most of the croaker were keepers and the biggest went 14". I was using my PVC rod holders and allowing the rod to double over before I set the hook, I did miss some fish, but this allowed me to fish two rods. I had a number of double hook ups as well.

 

The only two that measured for Kayak Wars, but still a great time on the water.

 

Good luck to those that get out after them, maybe you'll see me out there.

 

Once again all fish caught on Overboard Rods!!! Get yours today at All Tackle in Annapolis!!

 

MAKBF Event #2 - Recap

The 2nd event took place this past weekend at the Occoquan Reservoir in Woodbridge, VA. The idea was to spread out the locations to hopefully allow more people to come to events that couldn't make another event that was further away. And to also fish different types of water to crown a  true Angler of the Year. Unfortunately this may need to be reconsidered as the turn at the 2nd event was much lower than the 1st event.

Anyways we all had a great time. Thirteen of us headed out into the reservoir in search for the longest aggregate length for 3 Largemouth or Smallmouth Bass (CPR of course). It turned out to be a tough day of fishing with less than half the crowd turning in the bag limit of 3 fish.

I fished mostly lay downs and underwater timber all day with my go to Rapala DT6 crankbait  in Smash color.  I had pre-fished the night before and caught 2 bass on cranks within an hour, so I knew if I was persistent all day I should be able to at least catch the limit, even if they weren't big fish. After winning the first event it put me in good running for Angler of the Year, so my goal for each event now is to 1st catch 3 fish, then worry about upgrading, because sometimes catching the limit and actually photo'ing the fish can be a challenge.

It was a slow tournament day, I set off with Shane (Reelaxin) and we both worked hard continuously casting to both only be rewarded with 22" blue cats on cranks and spinners. We both thought we had solid bass on at first and then we felt the death roll of the cats. What a Tease!!!

We pushed on... I made a move to further down the reservoir while Shane continued to work a big laydown where he was rewarded with a 17.5" beauty on a wacky rigged worm. At this point I had caught up with my Dad and we were fishing the same general area. He put one fish in the boat, so we both started working the same area hard with our cranks.. after 15 minutes at this spot I had my limit. Nothing huge but 3 fish in the boat.

A total of 39.75" was what I ended up with for the day.

 

I fish the rest of the day only to upgrade a 10" fish to a 10.5" fish. But I knew I had caught the limit and was hearing from a lot of the guys that they had either lost a big one or only had 2 fish. I did not know what my Dad finished with until we checked in the fish and sure enough he sneaked past me, but I was pumped for him as this was only his second tournament and probably only his tenth time in the kayak. Both mine and my Dad's fish were all caught on Overboard Rods paired with Crankbaits with brown and yellow coloration.

 

 

10th - Steve Sekula
9th - Dave Thompson "turtle135"
8th - Will Pezzuto
7th - Alberto Tabian "berto"
6th - Shane Clift "reelaxin"
5th - Jon Snyder "Jsnyd"
4th - Andy Gaiser
3rd - Matt Baden
2nd - Dave Baden
1st - Bryan Herndon "heardoncatch" (Big Bass Winner 18.5")

The big bass prize was sponsored by Power Team Lures, a local lure company located in VA. Bryan took home a $100 gift certificate for big bass on top of his winnings. He even caught the big bass on a Power Team Lure 7" Tickler worm.

Again we were also able to raise some more money for HOW - MD!!!

 

I can't wait for the next event June 22nd at Point of Rocks on the Upper Potomac River. It will for sure be my first time fishing these waters in a kayak and hopefully it will be at least my first 3 smallmouth bass in the yak. Look forward to seeing everyone there!!

 

Angler of the Year Standings

 

Matt Baden - 18

Jon Snyder - 11
Bryan Herndon - 10
Shane Clift - 9
Dave Baden - 9
Jeff Adlington - 9
Dave Thompson - 8
Mike Soudee - 8
Wayne Chimielewski -7
Andy Gaiser - 7
Alberto Tabian - 4
Will Pezzuto - 3
CJ Espey - 3
Dave Adlington - 2
Zach Huntington -1
Steve Sekula - 1