Vlap...Did you win?
- Thread starter cowgirl
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- May 5, 2007
- 2,836
- 16
Well, if he got out early it was very calm, but winds have really picked up now and we have threats of tornados tonight AND rain....that's a good thing.
I missed this earlier.
Well I didn't win but out of 60 excellent kayak anglers I placed somewhere between 4th-9th and unfortunately for me the money was only handed out through third. Of the 60 anglers only 9 slammed (a slam is the result of catching 3 different species of fish, snook, trout and red) on a day that was full of odd fishing. I left the house @ 5:15 this morning and headed to a sign in point about 45 minutes away. Afterwards myself and 3 friends drove 20 minutes back this way to fish an area around the south skyway bridge. (For those out of state the skyway spans the mouth of tampa bay. Good spot with the right winds. Dangerous with the wrong. The winds stayed between good and bad.
The morning started and the foul weather held off. Winds were supposed to be out of the southeast around 25 knots. It was actually about 5 from the east. We took advantage of this and paddled far to the south and started fishing the flats. Got out and waded in waist deep water. The fish sensing the approaching weather were stacking in holes that were slightly deeper. They also were not very hungry and lots of people reported fish short striking all day. I got into a trout right away (unfortunately small at 14") and shortly after a red at 22" (not bad, not a winner) Then looking for snook we set off on a long paddle into the now rising wind. It was a very long paddle but in protected bays the waves and chop didn't build. The winds were a B***h. Once across the bay (Miguel by name) we worked some canals. Snook will generally spend their winters hiding in the back waters in spots with deep muddy bottoms. These areas stay warmer and snook are not tolerant of the cold like a red or trout.
In the canal I found my snook but once again a fish that was way to small to put me in serious contention for winning. This fish was also 14". This brought my slam to 40". The winners had slams of 60+". My only hope was that the other anglers had not completed their slams. If so mine would hold. A slam can be a hard thing to accomplish which is why this tournament is so challenging. Aside from doing it in a yak.
A friend called and let me know where a school of snook with some size (double mine) were and once again we paddled across miguel bay (arms REALLY hurtin now) Unfortunately I was unable to find a larger snook. With a long drive to the "weigh in" and still a long paddle to the launch we didn't have time to play around so soon started making our way back. Well at this point the winds were really kickin in but our plan had been to paddle into the wind in the morning and then have the wind on our backs heading home. It was on our backs and darn near blew us outta the kayak. Made it back to the launch and got the kayak stored and took a second to look out at the water and wonder who in their right mind would be out there ;)
A strong placing for a relatively new angler (that being me) These tournies are set up as catch, photo, and release. Meaning we catch them, put on a measuring board, and take a photo. The total inches determines a winner. o fish are killed in the process of the tournament so an area experiences little environmental impact from the event.
Wel I do not know why I am awake. I fell asleep at 8:45 from sheer exhaustion and am now wide awake. Ug! I wanna sleep.
Well I didn't win but out of 60 excellent kayak anglers I placed somewhere between 4th-9th and unfortunately for me the money was only handed out through third. Of the 60 anglers only 9 slammed (a slam is the result of catching 3 different species of fish, snook, trout and red) on a day that was full of odd fishing. I left the house @ 5:15 this morning and headed to a sign in point about 45 minutes away. Afterwards myself and 3 friends drove 20 minutes back this way to fish an area around the south skyway bridge. (For those out of state the skyway spans the mouth of tampa bay. Good spot with the right winds. Dangerous with the wrong. The winds stayed between good and bad.
The morning started and the foul weather held off. Winds were supposed to be out of the southeast around 25 knots. It was actually about 5 from the east. We took advantage of this and paddled far to the south and started fishing the flats. Got out and waded in waist deep water. The fish sensing the approaching weather were stacking in holes that were slightly deeper. They also were not very hungry and lots of people reported fish short striking all day. I got into a trout right away (unfortunately small at 14") and shortly after a red at 22" (not bad, not a winner) Then looking for snook we set off on a long paddle into the now rising wind. It was a very long paddle but in protected bays the waves and chop didn't build. The winds were a B***h. Once across the bay (Miguel by name) we worked some canals. Snook will generally spend their winters hiding in the back waters in spots with deep muddy bottoms. These areas stay warmer and snook are not tolerant of the cold like a red or trout.
In the canal I found my snook but once again a fish that was way to small to put me in serious contention for winning. This fish was also 14". This brought my slam to 40". The winners had slams of 60+". My only hope was that the other anglers had not completed their slams. If so mine would hold. A slam can be a hard thing to accomplish which is why this tournament is so challenging. Aside from doing it in a yak.
A friend called and let me know where a school of snook with some size (double mine) were and once again we paddled across miguel bay (arms REALLY hurtin now) Unfortunately I was unable to find a larger snook. With a long drive to the "weigh in" and still a long paddle to the launch we didn't have time to play around so soon started making our way back. Well at this point the winds were really kickin in but our plan had been to paddle into the wind in the morning and then have the wind on our backs heading home. It was on our backs and darn near blew us outta the kayak. Made it back to the launch and got the kayak stored and took a second to look out at the water and wonder who in their right mind would be out there ;)
A strong placing for a relatively new angler (that being me) These tournies are set up as catch, photo, and release. Meaning we catch them, put on a measuring board, and take a photo. The total inches determines a winner. o fish are killed in the process of the tournament so an area experiences little environmental impact from the event.
Wel I do not know why I am awake. I fell asleep at 8:45 from sheer exhaustion and am now wide awake. Ug! I wanna sleep.
The storms finally came through. I am glad I wasn't out when these stroms came through. One thunderclap that sounded like the hands of god coming together took out my power for a few minutes.
North of me tornados may have come through and 30,000 are with out power at this time.
Hope all you north of tampa people are ok. An incredible storm system that was fun to lay in bed and watch. This storm system at one point was wider than florida.
Now the cold approaches. We are at our high temp for the day now before the sun rises. Its only going to get colder.
North of me tornados may have come through and 30,000 are with out power at this time.
Hope all you north of tampa people are ok. An incredible storm system that was fun to lay in bed and watch. This storm system at one point was wider than florida.
Now the cold approaches. We are at our high temp for the day now before the sun rises. Its only going to get colder.
Glad the storms didn't mess with you. That rain sure was nice though. This area and all of florida needed that rain.
My power only spent a few seconds off.
My power only spent a few seconds off.
- May 5, 2007
- 2,836
- 16
Vlap, thanks for the excellent story on the competition! Sounds like it was a great time... wish I coulda been there!
I would like to see more of these catch-photo-release sort of competitions... makes great sense in minimizing the environmental impact. In our fly fishing club outings (which are just a bunch of us getting together to fish, no competition), we catch-photo-release most of the time. Sometimes when a nice fish is landed, it will find its way to the table.
Thanks again for sharing!
I would like to see more of these catch-photo-release sort of competitions... makes great sense in minimizing the environmental impact. In our fly fishing club outings (which are just a bunch of us getting together to fish, no competition), we catch-photo-release most of the time. Sometimes when a nice fish is landed, it will find its way to the table.
Thanks again for sharing!
Great story Vlap... i used to Love fishin' over there.... i frequented Anna Maria Island often... Bradenton... miss the fishin'... cuaght a tagged Red off the city pier once.... turned in the info... best thing i ever did!! i started getting all kinds of stuff free in the mail to try out and send a review of.... they were good times!
- May 5, 2007
- 2,836
- 16
Cowgirl, it is an awesome experience, especially when ya' hook up with a big fish and go for a ride!
Getting towed by a large fish is exciting. In the pict below I am being pulled out to the open gulf by a 7'+ spinner shark. Very exciting. I was going fast enough to leave a wake. A friend of mine had fun with photoshopping a...chum.. trail behind me.
I have not yet hooked a cobia from the yak. I can't imagine how much fun a big one would be. I also want to paddle out from the beach and look for some kings!
Sometime we even think we are on a big lake.
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