Farewell trip w/ Admiral Don Wilchek

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Dandydon
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Farewell trip w/ Admiral Don Wilchek

Post by Dandydon »

I'm one of the lucky guys who met Admiral Don Wilchek about 20 years ago when he used to outfish everybody and organize "Kayak Wars" fishing tournaments. He came to us from Chicago and a career of pro disc golf.

After many years of great Texas saltwater fishing, Don had to go back to Chicago where he fished for salmon, steelhead, Pike & other northern species. But he finally got the Texas itch and moved back down to Galveston this Winter. Of course his Bayfront condo was next to a launch ramp!

Don fished Galveston hard this Winter, from about Jan. 1st until today, his final Texas outing until next Winter. I met him at a local bayramp and we kayak-fished from sunrise until noon in light north winds and mostly muddy saltwater.

To our dismay that gusty NW wind had muddied up our area, but within 30 minutes of launch, Wilchek hooked 3 undersized Specks and kept a nice 21-incher which he gave to me. He was using his trusty Mirrolure Mullet Twitchbait which has been his best lure all Winter.

At about the same time I caught & released 2 juvenile Specks and landed a fat 20" Redfish (released) all on my new favorite lure, a lipped crankbait from Sixth Sense Co. Mine is the Mullet pattern and it now has a home in my lure box. The tight wobble pattern and the steady rattle attract gamefish.

I heartily recommend their crankbaits which are promoted by the Port Aransas fishing guide Justin Coghlan on his "Clean Fun Fishing" YouTube website. Today I threw paddletails, plastic shrimp, & Gulps without a bite. The rattling crankbait drew all the strikes.

I had a blast fishing w/ Don and expect him to chime in soon since he's driving to Chicago tomorrow. Don says this Winter he kayak-fished our local bays about 50 times and caught 350 legal Speckled Trout (!) Of course he only kept about ten of those because he fishes for sport and spirit.

Have a safe trip, Admiral, and we'll see you next January... Image ImageImage

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Re: Farewell trip w/ Admiral Don Wilchek

Post by SWFinatic »

Sounds like a fun trip!

No telling how many of those Six Sense baits Justin has sold. Ever since he started using them over a year ago they are hard to find even online. I have a couple just need to tie one in some day.
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Re: Farewell trip w/ Admiral Don Wilchek

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

DD, I too was lucky to fish with Don aka saltykat this winter. We fished about once a week from the time he came down from Chicago, he’s good company and a damn good speckled trout fisherman. A true GRINDER in every sense of the word, hell the guy was fishing like it was his full time job. I definitely learned a lot from him and look forward to next winter to fish again.
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shoffer
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Re: Farewell trip w/ Admiral Don Wilchek

Post by shoffer »

I got to fish with the Admiral a couple times this winter as well. Best speckled trout fisherman I have ever seen - hands down and as Kyle said, a true Grinder. That guy will stay out all day until the tide turns favorable. Adios, SaltyKat - see you next winter we hope!
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Re: Farewell trip w/ Admiral Don Wilchek

Post by Dandydon »

The last thing Wilchek told me yesterday was that he would reply to this thread in a couple of days after he gets back to Chicago.

He said he would post some photos of the impressive fish he caught this Winter. Shoffer & I have already seen some of them, including several Trout to 28 inches and some large slot Redfish.

As Yak Boi & Shoffer observed, Wilchek is one of the best fisherman we've ever seen. He catches more gamefish than the famous YouTube anglers and is modest about his prowess.

Next Winter he'll return and catch some more. Hats off to Saltykat.

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Re: Farewell trip w/ Admiral Don Wilchek

Post by saltykat »

Couldn't log into TKF on my laptop or would have posted during my trip. Thanks to DandyDon for getting this post started. Had a great time and it was nice to be back on the Texas coast my favorite place to be. Got to fish with some old friends like DD, Shoffer, Rich and Grant and new ones Kyle and Watson. Some days were tough some were really good and it was nice smelling the salt air again. I know lots of folks like the warmer weather but I prefer to fish when it's colder and the water temps are in the low to mid 50's. Some things changed like the miles of breakwaters they built to protect the marsh and the fish were tougher to catch on the incoming tide than years past. We caught most of the fish over mud and shell on slow sinking baits like corky's and mirrolure's during outgoing tides and they really wanted to be in the current. Caught some on topwaters and soft plastics on warmer days. Almost all the fish caught were in 2 to 3 foot of water, caught very few good fish in deeper water. Bay water temps are in the mid to upper 60's now and the fish have spread out and are in their spring patterns. Hope to be back next winter until then happy fishing :cat:
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Re: Farewell trip w/ Admiral Don Wilchek

Post by Dandydon »

Thanks for your update, Don. You had a terrific winter of fishing down here in Texas and we expect to see you for another round next January. I'm glad that you got to kayak-fish with the Hobie Navy along with the "new guys" Kyle, Rich, etc.

Since you sent me some fish photos for posting, here they are for all to see. Was hoping for a pic of your 28-inch Speckled Trout leviathan, but will wait until you get back to your desktop computer. See you next year! ImageImageImage

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Re: Farewell trip w/ Admiral Don Wilchek

Post by karstopo »

Admiral Don Wilchek, I didn’t realize he got promoted, but I’m not surprised, knows a s**t ton about big trout haunts among other handy fishy information and it’s been a privilege to fish with him. I was a fellow kayakwars teammate, me being one of the weaker members, when we took 1st place back in 2011.

Nevertheless, glad the Admiral made it back to Texas for the prime wintertime fishing. My buddy Rick still asks about the admiral and his whereabouts. I’ll have to let Rick know. His Blue Wave is back in good working order with a brand new motor. He and I are already planning a mothership trip. Admiral Don Wilchek should join us next fall if he wishes.
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Re: Farewell trip w/ Admiral Don Wilchek

Post by Dandydon »

Since I started the Hobie Navy I hold the power to grant promotions.

Shoffer started off as a Sergeant & was promoted to his csptain status after 3 years of fishing w/ me. Captains Watson & Broussard joined up after that.

Wilchek could always outfish all of us, so I designated him our Admiral from the beginning. Nobody loves chasing big Speckled Trout more than Admiral Wilchek. And nobody outfishes him!

Am looking forward to next winter when he returns to our Texas waters. I recommend fishing w/ him. You'll learn a lot and he might give you some of his catch.

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Re: Farewell trip w/ Admiral Don Wilchek

Post by saltykat »

karstopo wrote: Sat Mar 19, 2022 8:01 pm Admiral Don Wilchek, I didn’t realize he got promoted, but I’m not surprised, knows a s**t ton about big trout haunts among other handy fishy information and it’s been a privilege to fish with him. I was a fellow kayakwars teammate, me being one of the weaker members, when we took 1st place back in 2011.

Nevertheless, glad the Admiral made it back to Texas for the prime wintertime fishing. My buddy Rick still asks about the admiral and his whereabouts. I’ll have to let Rick know. His Blue Wave is back in good working order with a brand new motor. He and I are already planning a mothership trip. Admiral Don Wilchek should join us next fall if he wishes.
Thanks David I'd love to fish with you guys again. Years ago when the saltwater made it to Lake Jackson and I fished with you was epic catching trout, redfish and smacks in the Brazos not to mention the school of small tarpon rolling around. Only times I ever fished there :cat:
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