The latest and the CBKA 2013 kayak fishing tournament

Its been about 2 weeks since my last post and there not much went on in most of that time but WORK. Boo those 4 letter words I have managed a few minutes of bow practice but still haven't been in the woods and frankly the fishing bug has me full blast right now. On my one day off I attended the Chesapeake Bay Kayak Anglers 2013 tournament. This was my second year and I had high hopes of some good catches do to recent successes at the Chesapeake bay bridge. On Friday 13 I left work at 4 pm in Baltimore and headed to pick up my gear and meet my nephew to try to make it to Camp Wright on Kent Island Maryland by 7pm. Well needless to say my nephew was late and when he arrived we still had to load camping gear and kayaks into his truck which we did in record time trying not to forget anything mission almost accomplished. We arrived at captains meeting about 20 minuets late picked up our captains bags and things slurped down some fresh oysters and headed to set up our tent. We figured out pretty quickly what we forgot with the setting sun the lantern was still at home. My nephew who was in charge of the next day lunch also informed me that he brought tuna but no mayonais or bread of bags to put sandwiches or a can opener......   So off to the store lantern check lunch check. Once back in camp we rigged up for the morning cooked deer tenderloins and onions for dinner and relaxed with a few drinks. We missed the potluck held that night and decided on sleep instead. The wind whip through out the night and in the morning the air felt more like hunting weather than fishing with temps in the low 50s, The wind was forecast for 10 mph in the morning and to lay down to 8mph in the afternoon but again they were wrong I would guess more like 15mph with gust to 20 out of the northwest. The 1.7nm paddle to the bridge where we wanted to fish was going to be directly into the wind and against the outgoing tide this was not going to be pretty. It wasn't the worst I have been in but I new my nephew had not be in conditions like this and let him make the call. He was game and we launched a little after sunrise to begin what was the hardest paddle I have had to date it took us almost two hours to reach the bridge you could not rest lest you would be blown backwards and the only reason I did not turn around was because I thought the wind might eventually lie down. The wind did not cooperate and once at the bridge I didn't have enough left in the tank to properly fish how I wanted and after about a half hour we decide to drift and fish back to the launch and find some sheltered water. We caught a of small spot and white perch on the drift back and were back at the launch in a half an hour where I was surprised to find that the many wave I took over the bow had leaked and filled my yak with more than 5 gallons of water. Drained the kayak ate our lunch and loaded up to head to the backside of the island at the Kent Narrows Bridge. Paddling was easier there but the fishing for us was more of the same and luck would not be on our side this day. In the end we had a great adventure met some good guys and gals. The night finished off with dinner raffles the winners prizes and 2 kayak raffle. I don't think I have ever been to a tournament that has given away more prizes and in the process raised a lot of money for one of my favorite charities the Make A Wish Foundation Maryland chapter. A big thanks to the guys that worked hard to put this awesome tournament together and I cant wait till next year.

wow I won something

Cool just found out I won a bass pro gift card from bowhuntingmaryland.com for a lucky guess on  an 11 pointer from last year. Im not usually one to win contest but I usually get in on things from the blogs I read and I really enjoy hunting adventures from around my way. This was a lucky guess for me Im not much of a trophy hunter and don't get into the antler scoring but my 122 guess was real close to the 121 6/8 score. Hopefully my luck will follow me to the woods when I finally get a day there. Good luck to the guys from bowhuntingmaryland.com and thank you

September off and running

It has been a busy September and it just started I have a lot of projects going on work wise. Bow season just opened I have a fishing tournament coming up, high school reunion (cant believe it's been 20 years) which I don't even care to attend but made promise to a friend. The wife and I are keeping close tabs on her father who at 70 has a abdominal aortic aneurysm and refuses to quit working (they don't make men like they used to) and  on top of that I'm looking for a new place to rent that wont cost an arm and a leg and job hunting because there is a chance that my 9 to 5 might not be around much longer. So in the few chances I get to myself what else to do but go fishing I managed to get out early to the bay bridge a few times and took an evening paddle last night. Sometimes you just gotta clear your head, life can get hectic. My nephew and I managed a couple of keepers last Saturday morning I had one more Thursday and last night we tore up croakers and white perch. Sorry don't have many pictures this time I left the camera at home Thursday and last night a my free hand was holding a cold one and taking pictures was not a priority. At one point last night I hooked something big it was literally dragging my kayak against the current it felt like a big catfish but I could not get it off the bottom the only other fish it might be is a ray but either way after a few minutes the hook pulled free and I was left with only a smile. I can only hope that at 70 they will be bitching that I wont quit kayak fishing or bow hunting because I would love to give up work now.