CBKA Charity Tournament Part 2

Fishing conditions were tough with strong north winds, but with close to 100 anglers on the water we knew solid fish were going to be caught. While holding down the fort at the camp reports were coming in of a lot of stripers in the the 18-22 inch range so we knew a bigger fish was going to be needed to win both the Slam division and the Striper division.

The results came in and it was a tight race for the top prizes including a 1" difference between the winner and the runner up of the $500 cash prize offered to the CCA member that caught the largest fish.

The results are as follows:

Slam Divsion (Striped Bass + Bluefish + White Perch) - Sponsored By Easton Cycle & Sport

1st - Richard Souder - 51" - $300 Gift Card

2nd - Jimmy McDermott - 44.5" - $200 Gift Card

3rd - Jason Pratt - 36" - $100 Gift Card

$500 CCA Advantage (Largest fish caught by a member)

Richard Souder - 30" Striped Bass 

Striped Bass Division - Sponsored by Backyard Boats

1st - Mike Rosa - 29" $200 Gift Card

2nd - Chris Burke - 26" $100 Gift Card

3rd - Don Huber - 22.5" - $50 Gift Card

Perch Division - Sponsored by All Tackle

1st - Roger Metz - 11.5" - $100 Gift Card

2nd - Nathan Oakes - 11 3/8" - $75 Gift Card

3rd - Ryan Altenburg - 11.25" - $50 Gift Card

Largest Bluefish - Sponsored by Katherine Charters

Don Huber - 10" - Charter Fishing Trip for 6

Lady Angler Division - Sponsored by Appomattox River Company

1st - Samantha Ferline - 13" Striped Bass

2nd - Michelle Vieraitis - 10" Perch

Blue Crab Division - Sponsored by Fisherman's Crab Deck

Harry Steiner - 6" crab "on the fly" - $100 Gift Card

Fly Division - Sponsored by Tochterman Tackle

Mark Bange - 11.25" Striped Bass - Fly box and lure package

BKD Advantage - Sponsored by Bass Kandy Delights 

Richard Souder - 18.25" Striped Bass - Biggest fish on a BKD

Hobie Advantage - Sponsored by Backyard Boats

Richard Souder - Biggest fish on a Hobie Kayak - $50 Gift Card

The event turned out amazing!! Final numbers haven't been tallied as of yet, but I estimate we raised close to $6000 for our charities!!

Oh yeah the food was the bomb too!!!!

A lot of thanks goes out the the main man behind the lens..... Mr. Russ

Chesapeake Bay Kayak Anglers Charity Fishing Tournament Part 1

This past weekend marked the 3rd Annual CBKA Charity Tournament to benefit Make A Wish Mid Atlantic and Coastal Conservation Association of Maryland. Our tournament staff spent countless hours preparing for the event recruiting over 60 sponsors and promoting the event which became our largest event yet.

There were 107 participants that registered for the event, 3 raffles, and some awesome prizes for the winning fishermen and ladies.

Last Friday came quick as our crew of 6 coordinators descended upon Camp Wright in Stevensville, MD to put everything together and set up shop before the captain's meeting at 7pm that evening. We worked tirelessly to fill 100 Captains bags with the 1st 50 or so including the premium goodies, which included; lure samples from BKD, Dirty Red Baits, Specialized Baits, Chex Jigs, Cablez Eyewear Retainers, and plenty more premium discount coupons to supporting companies and other swag.


We also had to organize the raffle set up which was bigger and better than ever.

This year boasted 3 raffles: 

Photo by Russ

• Hobie Outback donated by Easton Cycle and Sport

Photo by Russ

• Jackson Coosa donated by Valley Mill Boats, Grizzly 16qt Cooler, Shore Tackle Custom Rod, Guided Trip with 1st Landing Kayak Guide Services, $50 to Austin Canoe and Kayak, Bending Branches Carbon and Wood paddle

Photo by Martin Charles

Photo by Martin Charles

• General Raffle to include many awesome prizes from some really cool companies including; 12 wt, Icon Coolers, AFTCO, Overboard Rods, Tackle Webz, Dizm Eyewear and many more!!

The Captains Meeting went off without a hitch. It included myself and my buddy Tyler Sondberg shucking and serving his freshly grown Snow Hill Oysters which was a big hit!!

Photo by Russ

Also, new this year was a Pot Luck dinner for Friday night. A variety of foods were brought including a bushel of crabs, shrimp skewers, and fresh Masgoufed Striper and Trout. A full Masgouf demonstration was put on by Snaggedline Board Member Mustafa (Abumasgouf).

Late night festivities helped Saturday morning roll around a lot faster than expected, but it was great hanging out with the crew.

Langston (Metroman) and I obviously think were the next kayak fishing rap duo. Photo by Martin Charles

The weather for Saturday was windy to say the least. Here are a few shots from Saturday on the water.

Richard Souder here showing us how it's done!! Photo by Russ

Snagged MD team member Ryan Altenburg catching his 3rd Place Perch. Photo by Mike Soudee 

Shane here pointing at his empty crab trabs. Photo by Russ

To be continued with results and more pictures.

1st Annual Maryland CCA Red/Trout Tournament

So I spent to the whole weekend fishing for the elusive Maryland Speckled Trout and Redfish on the eastern shore tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. This was an awesome new event put on by the CCA to help recognize the importance of the speck and red fishery here in Maryland, since there are no legal limitations put on commercial fishing for them.

We casted and trolled small plastics including; bass assassin paddle tails and 4" curly tail grubs. A lot of colors worked over the course of the weekend, but chartreuse and white worked best. I was fishing all my baits with weed-less hooks to avoid snagged the grass, but this wasn't a full proof solution.

Friday afternoon was super slow, not really much to speak of except two keeper stripers, that were released.

Saturday was the start of the tournament. I fished with Mike (Grilled), Dail (Stupidjet) and our other buddy Matt and his girlfriend showed up later in the morning.  It was not my day. It was slow and I watched Mike and Dail consistently catch fish here and there, while we were all using the same tactics and pretty much the same baits. But that's how it goes sometimes and I was happy that Mike and Dail were tearing them up..... I ended the day with only 53+", but I was able to catch my 4 fish total, but I did lose a whopper which was a big heartbreaker.

Mike put up the score to beat with 92" for a combination of reds and trout. He also posted up the largest trout with a Maryland Citation of 25".  Dail also put up a good score with 85.5" putting him in 3rd place after day 1.

Not the best picture, but Dail here with a nice trout.

Those scores were solid and topped all the scores in the boat division, but I knew I come close or even squeeze my way into the top three in the area we were fishing.

Sunday came around and it was just me and Mike, and our other buddy Dave (Donkeyfish) who joined us for a day of fishing. Mike was hoping to upgrade his big trout to solidify his lead for the $500 cash prize for the largest speckled trout. I was hoping to put up a reasonable score that could contend for the top 3.

Fishing was a little more active today, I got two fish early on... a 16.5" and a 20.5". This gave me a good feeling about the day and was aiming for 4 fish in the 21-22" range which would put me in contention and would be totally doable. A little later Dave and I found some fish for a short flurry where I picked up another two fish a 17" and 21". Now I just need to upgrade.

We trolled around covering some ground and then I doubled up!!!! Pulled one rod and fought and netted it as quick as possible while continuing to pedal just hoping the other fish would stay hooked. As soon as the 1st fish was boated I fought the next and got it in the boat without the net!!! Took a deep breath and measured and photo'd the fish as quickly as possibly. Simultaneously Mike hooked up in the same area, so I tried get my lure back in the water ASAP, but I couldn't manage another one. After that the bite pretty much shut down. 

21.75"

 

20.5"

21.5"

 

21"

I finished the day with a 84.75" total for 4 speckled trout, which put me in 4th place. I was happy with my finish as I definitely gave it my best shot for a shortened Sunday of fishing, since Mike and I finished up early to head to Awards Ceremony in Crisfield, MD

Mike held on to 1st place and the Big Trout Award, taking home $500 and a custom Trout painting posting the largest total regardless of division, Kayak, Boat, or Fly.

Mike (Grilled), Tony Friedrich (CCA President), and Charles (Angler and Artist of painting)

 

Brian (Slobberbob) took 2nd place with 86+" total.

 

Dail finished out in 3rd with 85.5".

 

 

Don't forget to check out Overboard Rods, AFTCO, and 12wt gloves.

CBKA Raffles Galore

For those of you participating and not participating in this years 3rd annual tournament our raffles are going to be awesome!!! We have a Hobie Outback raffle open to the public and then we will have two raffles that we take place the weekend of the tournament! It is known that our CBKA Tournament is easiest place to win something cool. We have nearly as many sponsors as participants, over 80 now, so there are a lot of cool raffle prizes to go around!!

If you can make the tournament this year go ahead and support by purchasing a ticket for the Hobie Outback raffle!!

We will have TWO (2) kayaks for raffle this year!

CBKA and Easton Cycle & Sport, our very first sponsor and supporter, have teamed up to offer up a brand new 2013 Hobie Outback mirage drive kayak for raffle!

This will be an online raffle open for entries right now and limited to 100 total entries. You DO NOT have to be present or registered in the September CBKA tournament to be eligible. You must be 18 or older to enter.

Tickets are $25 each or 5 for $100. To get the discount register yourself 5 times when signing up.

This event will run from right now until 12:01AM September 14th, the morning of the CBKA event. The winner will be announced at the CBKA awards dinner September 14th.

Here's the link:
https://events.membersolutions.com/event_detail.asp?content_id=42267

IN ADDITION, a new CBKA sponsor, Valley Mill Boats of Germantown, MD. has provided a Jackson Kayak Coosa for raffle the day of the event. Tickets will be $20 each. (cash only, please. We don't have an ability to process credit cards)

We'll be doing a two deck card raffle and tickets are limited to 104. Your half of a card will be available at the captain's meeting, Friday September 13th and Saturday, September 14th, the day of the event. The winner will be announced at the CBKA awards dinner September 14th.

All proceeds benefit CBKA charities. See the CBKA website for details. www.cbkainc.com

Flounder Tournament and Trout

Last week was quite busy with work, but I was able to sneak away for 2 days of fishing. First trip I took was to the Eastern Shore of MD to chase some Speckled Trout and the 2nd was Saturday for the MSSA Flounder Tournament in Ocean City, MD.

Wednesday was slow fishing, but I managed a few fish on chartreuse twister tails and 1/16 oz jig heads.

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday we only caught one flounder but it was a nice fish and helped us finish well out of 60 boats and 140 anglers.

Team Alltackle took 5th place with a 22.5", 4.35lb flounder and Capt. Luke was able to make up some ground in the MSSA Captain of the Year Race!!

 

Dad with his catch!!

 

 

Chesapeake Bay Schoolie Striper Action

Here is some video I got last week with the Go Pro. I must say I didn't get the hottest action, but I was more worried about catching fish. But here it is, enjoy!

All Out Blitz

The title is fitting for not only the beginning of football season but also the way fishing has been lately. If you read one of my last posts about fishing the Thomas Point Lighthouse then you know it has been a very productive location. This has continued since then and I have been able to make it out a few more times this week.

The fish has been blitzing almost every evening and morning when it has been calm. The blitz has been lasting for a few hours and fishing has been insane. Lots of undersized fish with some overs mixed in, but you can't complain catching 40+ fish a day.

Lures have included road runner jig head with Bust Em Baits jerk shad.

 

 

 

Lots of fish underneath of my yak!!!

 

 

My new Personal Best Striper 26.5", not too impressive but I just don't fish for them enough.

 

Thursday afternoon was my best day yet. That was when I managed 4 overs with the largest coming in at 26.5". Once the fish would start to blitz I used a Mirrolure Papa Dog topwater lure to catch a fish almost every cast. Although my bigger fish came below the surface with the roadrunner Bust Em Bait Shad combo.

Ran into Don (DOGFISH) on the water at the light on Thursday.

 

Also, caught my 1st bluefish of the year.

 

 Definition of "The Hobie Life"

Friday morning my Dad and I went out again with a calm forecast again. We launched at 7am and the birds and fish began blitzing at about 7:45 and it continued almost all morning until we called it quits at 11am. 

Both of us caught over 40 fish with my Dad managing the biggest at 23". I got three keepers right around 19". 

I also caught my 1st striper on the fly!!

The catch from Thursday and Friday, plus Dad's 23 incher.