Round Two!

  Been awhile since I wrote something so I thought I would go back to the "So you want to be a guide" topic. This is more of a rant time for me than any helpful information. Recently I have been getting interest from someone about taking a trip. He asked all the right questions and seemed genuinely interested. A lot of my clients are people who have or are thinking of buying a kayak. So most of them just want some time on the water to get a feel for the whole thing and catch some fish. Which is great!! There is nothing I like more than to get people started in the sport. When someone keeps calling and asking about the bite and if they book a trip where and what we might be catching is OK. When you finish the whole conversation with the fact that you already own a kayak and was just wondering. I feel used. Plain and simple. I wouldn't go to Microsoft asking them how to make some computer part when all the time I have been making similar stuff and want to make more without doing the work. As a guide i take great pride in constantly finding the fish on my own and keeping that for me to share with who I want to or not. Book a trip with a guide. Listen and learn. Any good guide should not only try o put you on fish but also show some of his tricks too. That's how we get referrals. But don't ask a bunch of questions with false pretensions and let me see you on the water. Guides and Captains work hard to stay a step above and are not getting rich taking people fishing. We do it because we love to fish and share what these great waters have to offer.

Fall bite is upon Us

    The change in weather is always a welcome sight for fishing here in Tidewater. This is the time for the fish to fatten up for the winter ahead. I started my weekend fishing trips early on Thursday night. Four of us including myself planned our first striper trip of the year to the HRBT.We made an after work launch at 7 which played out to be the wrong time. To kill time while the tide turned we visited with other kayak anglers we ran into on the water. Including a visit from our local on the water police officers! Wow!! I can honestly say in all my years on the water that is the first time I have ever been checked by the Man.The worst part was he asked to see every safety item but not our fishing license. Asked if we had them but did not ask to see them. I wanted to show them off I have spent $55.00 on license and wanted to show them off. Well we moved on, the tide changed and still no fish. About 11:30 we decided to pull the plug and wouldn't you know it the fish turned on. Several schoolie stripers and even a Grey Trout kept me busy. Was a good way to finish a slow night on the water. Off the water at 1am and home to bed....

  I kept the fishing trend going by heading to Rudee Inlet with my friend William Ragulsky. William was entered in a local fishing tournament this weekend so I tagged along but kept my distance and fished for Trout this day.I made a plan and I stuck with it and that was to fish only one style of bait and make it work. That would be the Killa Squilla form Marsh Works. I worked the ledges and drop offs with the incoming tide. I had a lot of trout and all color variations worked on the Squilla that I tried. I love the on the water R&D part of my job...

 One more try on Sunday. Same plan as Saturday. Except I threw only one color and used the same retrieve and technique from the previous day. The bite was alot slower but I increased my species. Actual managed an Inshore slam. A couple of flounder one nice Redfish and that Trout I was hoping for, a keeper. A real nice 22inch Speckle Trout! Took my glory pictures with my first big trout of this fall and let him swim away. All in all fall is starting to look very promising.