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Scouting

Quality over quantity

January 20, 2013
Exploring, Fishing, Fly Fishing, Kayak Fishing, Saltwater, Scouting
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The rain finally let up last Thursday and it has been nice and sunny ever since. With clear skies, highs in the low 60’s and winds from 5-10 mph, yesterday was too nice a day to not go fishing. With all local freshwater blown out I made the drive down to the marsh to try my luck with the redfish. I figured it might be tough with salinity levels a bit lower due to the rains, but I’m really not sure if that was the case. We’ve had a couple tide changes since it rained and I didn’t fish an area directly impacted by a pump station.

Started the day throwing an articulated crease that Blake tied up. That was the wrong fly to start the day with. It was in the mid 40’s, the fish were still holding to the bottom so they really didn’t move for the crease. I had a few follows and finally got one to eat, but I had to switch flies. I tied on a black clouser that would produce the rest of the day for me.

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The 2nd fish of the day was a brute, probably the biggest red I’ve caught on fly from the kayak in a few years. It was a 31″ bull-in-training that put up a hell of a fight. I’ve been exploring this spot since November and I knew that I had a chance at a bull here. At 31″, it’s not much of a bull, but I know the true beasts are out there.

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After that fish, I did a lot of paddling. Total on the day was around 9 miles, scouting new areas and looking for bull reds. I picked up a few fish here and there and ended up catching another beast, different species though. A big, ugly black drum that also measured in at 31″. On the surface one would think that a 31″ black and red drum would be roughly the same weight, but I can attest that black drum are much fatter, that thing was heavy, much heavier than the red. The fight was awful. I hooked it and it just sat there. I was basically just pulling it’s weight toward me. It didn’t even make a run when it saw the boat or the net, it just bobbed on the surface like a buoy.

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Towards the end of my trip I found this shell bar that was the perfect place for a Cuda 12 hero shot. The Cuda has been a fantastic boat for all of my inshore adventures. With stability that allows me to stand for hours and a comfortable seat for long days on the water. Storage options abound with multiple hatches, a large rear tankwell, and space under the Hi/Lo seat. I could go on and on, it really is an awesome little boat.

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A new year and a new goal

January 2, 2013
Exploring, Fishing, Fly Fishing, Freshwater, Kayak Fishing, Scouting, Wade Fishing, Warmwater
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I rang in the New Year in Atlanta pulling for my Tigers. Unfortunately they were unable to beat the enemy Tigers from that other Death Valley in South Carolina. Still it was a fun trip, I enjoyed another road trip with the wife and time spent with my family back in Fulton County.

It was never really an announced goal or something I planned out ahead of time, but it was pretty fun this past year to catch 12 different species on the fly in 12 months. Accomplishing that led me to try to come up with something different for 2013, perhaps something a little more difficult. Drawing on the inspiration of others before me, I decided on something I’ve been eyeing for a few years now, something that will allow me to fish a ton of new water, targeting species I’ve never caught or even seen in person.

I’m talking about getting back to my bass fishing roots and going for the BASS slam, catching all nine different kinds of bass in one year(technically 8, with the 2 subspecies of LMB). This will put me on the road a good bit, fishing rivers all over the southeast from Texas to Florida. It will involve a great deal of background research so that I can hit the water with confidence knowing I’ll catch the target species, and catching it at the required minimum size.

I’m really looking forward to this challenge and to 2013 being the year of the bass for me. I kind of got away from river bassin’ in 2012, opting to chase redfish most of the time, but that will definitely change this year. The formal BASS slam is the ultimate goal, but I will be more than thrilled to just make it out to all these destinations and land every different type of bass, especially if I can do it with the fly rod….

Looking back at 2012 – part 2

December 28, 2012
Coldwater, Exploring, Fishing, Fly Fishing, Freshwater, Kayak Fishing, Saltwater, Scouting, Video, Wade Fishing, Warmwater
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July – Had a great trip to the marsh on July 4th, dodging storms and catching specks and reds. Followed that up with a trip with my cousin and his father in law for some offshore specks where we landed some solid fish. At the end of the month Amanda and I played tourist in St. Francisville, I then made a trip back south for some oversize redfish.

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August – Fished the marsh early in the month and landed a cajun slam on the fly. Then I finally made it back on the river in a kayak with Kevin Andry where I landed a really nice spotted bass. The end of August brought Hurricane Isaac and and extremely large amount of rainfall.

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September – Got on the water, with a friend that built his own skiff, post-Isaac to see what was what and we found out the reds were hungry, and the bulls were on the move. The neighborhood pond was still fishing pretty well too, but the real focus of September was on Blake and I’s trip to Colorado. Fished Rocky Mountain National Park and surrounding areas for greenback cutties and brown trout, it was an amazing experience.

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October – Still in awe from Colorado I started October off with a short wade trip. At the end of the month were two planned trips to the marsh. One was with a bunch of friends from Alabama, the other a tournament. The trip with the Bama guys went well, not as many fish as hoped, but still more than when they came down last year. The tournament was even better as I had the best day I’ve ever had kayak fishing and landed myself atop the leaderboard of the cajun slam category.

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November – Had a few awesome trips to the marsh in November. I didn’t take a lot of pictures, but I did take a lot of video. I can’t remember a time when the redfishing was better than this past November. Amanda and I also took a trip to Georgia for Thanksgiving, had a great time with the family, but didn’t do a whole lot of fishing.

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December – Early December brought a continuation of marsh fishing success. Unfortunately as the month progressed good weather windows became shorter and more limited. I spent that limited time fishing in the neighborhood. I was able to accomplish a goal I had set out for myself at the beginning of the year, 12 different species on the fly in 12 months.

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