Cold, wet, and miserable... With a dash of excitement

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OldTownYakBoi
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Cold, wet, and miserable... With a dash of excitement

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

I participated in the Saltwater Survival Series tournament this past Saturday 03/18. It was my first ever tournament, and to be honest was kind of a last-minute impulse. I got into kayak fishing in July of 2020 and my love for the sport has morphed into a borderline obsession... I indeed have the sickness :lol: ... I took a look at the conditions the night before and knew it was going to be a grind. The tournament format took your 2 heaviest Reds that were in the slot. There were also sidepots for heaviest trout and flounder. (I Signed up for the trout Sidepot) There were close to 70 kayak/wade anglers signed up for this Tournament.

Conditions:
Wind: NNE Wind 25Mph - 39mph gusts
Air Temp: 49
Water Temp: 58
Tides: Outgoing all morning

**All fish were caught in 1-2ft if water**

My plan was to go after a good trout early and then grind out the day for redfish. I went to my first area and it was completely blown out, I ended up not even launching. I drove to my second area and decided to launch and give it a try since it was slightly more protected. I fished it about 45 minutes, I didn't see any promising signs and thought I could be more productive somewhere else. My 3rd location I knew would likely be my best bet since it was sheltered by the hard winds.

I had only fished this area twice before this day but knew there was a good number of Redfish in the area. I peddled around looking for some sign. In this area there were a good number of birds wading the shallows and feeding. After seeing this it gave me confidence to start working the area. Since the conditions were so windy I decided to throw a bigger plug. I opted for the Mirrolure 27mr, the bigger brother to the Mirrodine.
lure.PNG
lure.PNG (17.58 KiB) Viewed 3273 times
After blind casting a few different zones i finally hooked my first red, but breifly lost it due to my drag slipping on the hookset. Lost the fish, but my confidence grew more, knowing that now i have birds, bait, and fish in the area. All i had to do was keep pedaling and casting. Shortly after lost that fish I continued deeper into this marsh and stumbled upon a bright flashing signal.
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Despite the miserable windy, cold, wet conditions the birds were out in force. This large group of birds weren't squawking, rather they were hovering low to the water, swooping down on occasion to get a mouthful of tiny shad. In my experience, if the seagulls behave in this manner and aren't flat out dive bombing, there's a good chance there are some reds under them. After around 10 casts I hooked one and there was substantial weight to it, the fish made run after run and kept diving under and around the kayak. I wanted to get the fish in quick as i was worried the fish would break me off on all the oyster in the area. I reached back to grab my net only to find it was tangled with a trouble hook on my second rod. I finally brought the fish to the surface and was greeted with some vicious head shakes, he had absolutely choked the Mirrolure.
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When I measured the fish it was damn close to 28inches. I do not have an official measuring board, I have a measuring tape on the side of my kayak which works great, but i've now learned it's slightly off. I fished for another hour until the tide died and the bite stopped. I landed one addtional red that was 24 in on a mirrolure lil john. By this point it may sound like a great time (And it was Fun!) I was absolutely frozen, I couldn't feel my feet or hands. The steady rain made it almost unbearable and at this point I decided to call it... It was 12:45 and I thought i had a great chance of winning it all. Final weigh in wasn't until 5PM but i just tapped out.

I got to weigh in at 130 and found out that i was the second one to weigh in.At the weigh station they measured the smaller red first, 24 inches and 5lbs. I held my breath as they grabbed the second fish and squeezed him on the board... It was close, but the fish slightly busted the 28 inch mark. Just for fun they weighed the fish for me and it ended up clocking in at 9.6 Pounds
IMG_1407.jpg
Although the fish busted it was all smiles, I had a blast and gave it my best. Just for giggles I checked the leaderboard... If that fish would have measured 28 I would've placed 2nd. It was a unique fishing experience, and if there hadn't been a tournament involved there's 0 chance I would have gone fishing.

On another note, the bait has hatched and Spring night fishing is about to bust wide open!

Go get em - Tight Lines
Last edited by OldTownYakBoi on Mon Mar 20, 2023 1:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Kitsune
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Re: Cold, wet, and miserable... With a dash of excitement

Post by Kitsune »

Beautiful looking fish. How do they go about tags with oversized in tournaments? Good report too!
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OldTownYakBoi
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Re: Cold, wet, and miserable... With a dash of excitement

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

Thanks Kitsune, I'm not sure exactly how it's handled. They had an area to release the fish and told me i could release there, but I couldn't stomach releasing a fish like that after dragging it all over and driving 20 minutes to weigh in. They actually give a .5 lb bonus if you bring in live fish. (Both of mine were live) I tagged the fish myself. Typically I don't keep any reds over 25 inches for table fare.
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karstopo
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Re: Cold, wet, and miserable... With a dash of excitement

Post by karstopo »

Nice! My friend had a would have been the winner fish like that in a tournament. 27 7/8” became 28 1/16”. I’m not sure that the fish don’t relax at some point and stretch out just a little therefore busting the 28” mark. My friend had a good measuring stick and I saw him measure the fish.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Cold, wet, and miserable... With a dash of excitement

Post by Ron Mc »

that's definitely a stay at home wind.
for safety concerns, I'm surprised an organized kayak event would continue in those conditions.
Congratulation - you smile says it all.
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Dandydon
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Re: Cold, wet, and miserable... With a dash of excitement

Post by Dandydon »

Great fishing report, Kyle, and congratulations on your catches in that howling wind. Yes, I agree, those bull Reds are fun to hook, but a big pain in the ass.

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OldTownYakBoi
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Re: Cold, wet, and miserable... With a dash of excitement

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

karstopo wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:20 am Nice! My friend had a would have been the winner fish like that in a tournament. 27 7/8” became 28 1/16”. I’m not sure that the fish don’t relax at some point and stretch out just a little therefore busting the 28” mark. My friend had a good measuring stick and I saw him measure the fish.
I really do think the fish relax. What is wild is that some of these hardcore tournament KAYAKERS have freakin live wells. I think that is a bit extreme for a kayak tournament, but to each their own.

I had a blast catching this fat girl in less than ideal conditions. Redfish amaze me, they seem to be catchable in almost any scenario, and I was quite surprised to find them so shallow in this miserable cold. I guess all bets are off when the bait gets balled up. There's definitely no rules in fishing, rather rough patterns and guidelines, it's an activity that requires all your senses and instincts, and that is what I love!
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OldTownYakBoi
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Re: Cold, wet, and miserable... With a dash of excitement

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

Ron Mc wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:17 am that's definitely a stay at home wind.
for safety concerns, I'm surprised an organized kayak event would continue in those conditions.
Congratulation - you smile says it all.
I was very surprised they didn't reschedule, it could definitely be dangerous if you were not in protected waters. I didn't dare go to the open bay.
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OldTownYakBoi
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Re: Cold, wet, and miserable... With a dash of excitement

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

Dandydon wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:29 am Great fishing report, Kyle, and congratulations on your catches in that howling wind. Yes, I agree, those bull Reds are fun to hook, but a big pain in the ass.

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Thanks! The wind was certainly howling, but the big fish were out to play. I don't mind the bull reds haha, it's not everyday you catch those huge ones in a foot of water!
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