I've got the Blues

i took the kayak out to the Norwalk Islands this past saturday, and finally some luck!

my son (9.5 months old) is going through some severe separation anxiety and wakes up multiple times in the middle of the night.  on saturday morning, around 1:30 AM, he woke up again, and after bringing him into the bed with us, i couldn't fall back asleep.  i was too mentally wound up with 'visualizing' catching some large stripers later that day.  about 2 hours later, i finally decided just to get up and slowly start getting ready to head out.  since i had packed most of my gear the night before, all i had to do is get changed, eat something for breakfast, and do my 'other' business.

i left the house around 4:30 AM i arrived at my launch site around 5:00, and was on the water 15 minutes later.  i had timed it perfectly since sunrise was about 5:30, and it was about two hours past high tide.  at first, i was a bit worried since there was so much fog, i couldn't see 50 feet in any direction.  it was eerie and amazingly calm.

by 5:30, i started to hear a few boats around me, which were close enough that i could hear people's conversations clearly.  i was so afraid that they wouldn't see me and i would get run over.  fortunately, i didn't see a single boat, although i kept looking over my shoulder just in case.

around 5:45, i started to see some swirls around me, and i realized i was lucky to be at the right place at the right time.  since i hadn't tied on a fly yet, i took out my spinning rod, and threw a bubble gum colored sluggo.  

wham, bam, thank you ma'am!  first cast, i felt the hit, set the hook, navigated a few head shakes and runs, and landed a blue.  not the largest i've caught, but if you've followed XXA for a bit, you'll know that i'm a firm believer in 'beggars can't be choosers'.  within the next 10 minutes, i landed a couple of more, exactly the same size and weight.

my second blue threw up a tiny baitfish and also a shrimp. until then, it never crossed my mind that blues would also eat shrimp.  (sorry for the bad picture).  the shrimp was about 1" long. 


i decided to change it up a bit and picked up the fly rod.  i tied on a pink Shannon's Streamer, thinking that it resembled the bubble gum sluggo.  i made a dozen casts, but didn't get any takes.  unfortunately, after that, the action and swirls died down.

i paddled around looking for more activity for about 1.5 hours, and then finally made the decision to head back to the first spot.  right when i arrived, the swirls started appearing again.  i landed two more blues on the sluggo.

next, i tied on a rapala skitter pop for some topwater action.  i love reeling in the lure as quickly as possible and watching the blues chase it, miss it, and keep after it until they're hooked.  it's so much fun since they'll chase the lure right up to the kayak.  i had a couple of fish where the bite was close enough to splash me with water. 

all in all, i had a terrific day!  9 blues in total, all around the same size and weight.  i'm hoping to get out again soon, so stay salty!  XXA

Pass the Salt, Please!

it's been a while since i've posted, mostly because it's not fun to write about blanking out on fishing trips.

a few weeks ago i visited a friend in Sag Harbor, and we launched a couple of kayaks into Little Peconic Bay, near his home.  conditions were perfect.  there was even a chance we could catch a cinder worm hatch since the tide, temperature, and moon were all aligned.  but alas, we ended up paddling for 4 hours without anything to show for it. 

what was most frustrating was that on one cast, i was reeling in a yozuri and was about to cast again, when a bluefish rose and almost took it.  since it was less than a rod's length away from the kayak, it actually scared me a bit and i yanked the lure out of his mouth!  argh!  let's just say that i had a few choice words to say to myself.

that next week, i flew to dallas to spend some time with my brother and sister-in-law who were moving out of the country for at least a couple of years.  i was excited to go catch some carp, at LLELA and Lake Ray Roberts.  it turned out that i didn't have time to go to either.  of course, family first.

since it was less of a time commitment, i did get to go out to the Farmers Branch library, where i heard it was pretty easy to catch something.  the first time, i spotted a ton of panfish, some decent sized bass, and even a couple of carp.  all i have to say is that it is next to impossible to fly fish that pond/creek!  not only are there tons of spinach in the water which makes it hard to see anything, but even your weedless flies get caught up in everything.  plus, all the chicken wire on the banks makes it easy to tangle/catch your fly or fly line!  i did cast at the carp, but i don't think they even saw my fly.  too much vegetation everywhere! 

later that week i took my father and brother to the library again to go after those bass.  all we managed to do is catch some green sunfish.  I caught a handful on a size 8 clouser and even a caddis dry.

 

anyways, i'm hoping to get out on the kayak at some point this long weekend.  stripers, blues, whatever.  just need to catch something in the salt!

Dallas Fishing

headed to Dallas again to visit family.  thinking about hitting up Lake Lewisville and Lake Ray Roberts.  i'm hoping to fly fish for carp on the flats of Ray Roberts, but have no idea how to go about finding the right places.  anybody care to share some good spots with me?  i promise not to divulge it to anyone else!