Ah, yes. We all know there is nothing quite like the first time...
I have found this to be especially true when it comes to kayak fishing for striped bass on the Brazos River.
So when kayak fishing "noob", Jeff called me up to book a guided trip, I was very reassuring and told him I would be gentle since it was his "first time". lol
However, on the day of Jeff's trip, it would be the resident
Brazos population of striped bass who would get taken advantage of.
I must say, it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to spend a day on the river with Jeff. What a thrill it was to be able to introduce him to kayak fishing and show him what it's like to tangle with big, fiesty river stripers.
Our day starts out chilly, with the sun already up and a brisk North wind with it. Now, we take a moment to ready our equipment as we get Jeff aquainted with my Ocean Kayak Scrambler XT and it's associated safety and paddling gear. Jeff has a short learning curve and soon we find ourselves ready to paddle out to the main river in search of our first stripers of the trip.
Heading to the first run, I stop along the way just long enough to load up on fresh baits for our mission.
After a short paddle, we ease into the first run and I can't help but notice one of the "local fishermen" already hard at work.
I hated to disturb the Blue Herons fishing grounds, but not as much as it did. The birds departure was nothing short of dramatic as it immediatley takes flight while beating the air with a massive wingspan, squawking terribly, as it leaves in protest of our intrusion.
First, I take some time and explain to Jeff the layout of the run and how we will be targeting our fish. Now, I also begin to rig up the 9' ultra light noodle rod setup coupled with a medium spinner and 10# line.
I really want Jeff to get the thrill of a good fish on the noodle, so I thread a big livey on a circle hook and lob it out into the run on a freeline. I hand the rod to Jeff and instruct him to watch for any additional movement in the line, as I turn to rig up other baits for our spread. Suddenly, I hear a voice behind me say "you mean like this?", as I turn to see the noodle rod start to load up in his hands. Since I had already instructed Jeff on how to wind down on a circle hooked fish, I go ahead and give him the cue to come tight. It's a textbook hookup and now, Jeff has his hands full with a rampaging striper.
Check out the bendo noodle rod!
We get a big kick out of the prolonged give and take fight on light tackle and Jeff does a superb job of whipping this striper into submission. A short time later, we finally get a look at his first fish of the day before landing it for a quick CPR session.
But not before one of the other baits I've got out gets rocked. Now, Jeff hands me the other fish he is holding, then jumps into action as he goes to work on the other hookup. Here is a shot of what would be one of several double hookups this trip.
The action would continue for awhile longer as a few fish move in and repeatedly molest our spread of primo baits. Not to be denied, Jeff gets into a scrape with another river resident and winds up on the winning end again.
Jeff with another solid linesider.
Eventually, a relocation would be in order as we would finally wear out our welcome on this paticular run. We hit two more runs with little or no results for our efforts.
I decide to regroup and head upriver for the afternoon bite. As the sun climbs higher in the sky, so does the velocity of the wind. However, our paddling distance is short so the headwind is a non factor.
Upon arrival at the next run, no sooner do I deploy the first bait and it gets blasted immediately, compliments of a marauding linesider. Again, Jeff springs into action and winds tight to a good size striper that puts a respectable bend in the rod and a smile on his face.
Nice fish!
Our bite would remain steady over the next few hours as afternoon turns to evening.
Here are photos of the stripers we CPR'd during the action.
(Continued)
