Saturday, August 23, 2014

Kayak Fishing Through New Eyes

With the all the recent fishing tournaments it seems like most of my time on the water lately has been either scouting or preparing for the next tournament. So, I decided to unplug a little and join up with Tim Samaha an old friend who has never fished from a kayak before for a day on the water.
We arrived at our launch site just after daylight and unloaded the Hobie’s to a light breeze and nearly glass smooth water. After a quick crash course in kayaking 101 we were off searching for some tailing reds. Our first stop was in a place I knew held some good reds and was excited to see the big boys crashing the grass line. In every direction redfish tails were waving and I could see Tim’s excitement and anticipation building as he began working a few aggressive reds on a flat. All I could do was sit back and watch with a big smile on my face and remembering the same sensory overload and whirlwind of excitement when I started kayak fishing. It didn’t take long until his first hook up and the “WOOHOO” that is reflexive to hearing the drag peel off. A few minutes later, he lands his first Redfish out of a kayak and doesn’t realize that he is the one that has really been Hooked!  
Throughout the rest of the day we continued to pull in some nice reds and the addiction continues to creep in. Water clarity improved the further we traveled and I began looking for some top water action. I made my first cast and watched as a large wake came up behind and absolutely crush my skitterwalk. A short time later a nice 25-1/2 red finds its way into my bag.
It wasn't long before “This is Awesome” travels throughout the marsh and I watch Tim go on his first sleigh ride. Watching the whole event unfold and seeing the enjoyment on his face was priceless. Several minutes later he lands the fat 26-3/4” pig with a huge smile on his face.

We finished with a limit of Reds and even managed to pick a few trout that seemed to be lost. Overall, it was a fantastic day on the water. Kayak fishing has become a passion for me and I truly enjoyed introducing a friend to this great sport. The trip was a needed change of pace for me and I am fairly certain we will soon have new kayak angler on the water.