Lake Athens and Mill Creek 5-13-12

After I worked the paddle sport show this past Saturday, I wanted to get some fishing in before the weekend was up.  I talked to Gutcheck Saturday night, and he said he fished Mill Creek that morning and then Athens that afternoon. He told me the numbers that he caught at Athens, which were impressive, and I decided that was where I wanted to go.

I arrived around 9am, ready to get some points for kayak wars.  The first place I started fishing, I hooked into a nice fish but it showed itself and spit my lure right back at me.  I thought to myself, "No big deal."  I worked my way around the far south shore line without a bite.  Then I found some good looking lily pads on a point, and started fishing it. I caught my first fish of the day, a really skinny 21 incher.

I worked my way through the pads without another bite, so I  searched for new water.  I started fishing around some docks with grass on them and came up with number two, a nice little 17 1/2 incher.

I then fished my way around a point and lost another.  So far the score was Fish 2, Me 2.  Around 2pm i)I decided that it was time for a move.

I loaded up the kayak and headed to Mill Creek. When I got to Mill there were a few boats out there, so I went the other end of the lake. I caught two right off the bat off a point but were both around 14 inches and wouldn't count for Kayak Wars so I didn't take a picture.  I went to the other side of the arm and connected with a fat 20"er and a 18"er with in two casts.

The fish were holding tight to wood and were looking for shade.  When I figured this out the rest of the night was on.  I really look forward to fishing both of these lakes this summer.  

I ended up having one of the best days I've had in quite sometime.  My best five were close to 100 inches.

Hobie Pro Angler - Hatch - Wrap

Well I just got my Hobie Pro Angler back from Doozy Wraps today and it looks great.  I decided to keep it simple and clean so I could get the message across. Couldn't be happier.

"NEW' Hobie Pro Angler 12

Description

The new lightweight, more compact, Pro Angler 12 is the most versatile fishing boat we’ve ever designed.
This 12-foot boat sports a 500-pound weight capacity and is packed full of “must have” features that kayak anglers demand. From lakes to rivers to open ocean, this boat has no boundaries — stand and fish with incredible stability, securely store six rods (four horizontally, two vertically), and access your tackle with ease.
Integrated dual-steering controls for left or right-handed accessibility while under way. Vantage seating provides ultimate comfort and adjustability in a lightweight, easily removable form, along with Boa® system lumbar support technology. The “Lowrance Ready” installation system makes adding a fishfinder a breeze. Powered by our patented MirageDrive® with Turbo Fins, the Mirage Pro Angler 12 has got the giddy-up! Looking for an affordable, durable, lightweight, ultra-stable, “built-for-anglers” personal watercraft?
Anticipated availability in June 2012

Specifications

• Length: 12' / 3.66 m
• Fitted Hull Weight: 98 lbs / 44.4 kg 
• Fully Rigged Weight: 120 lbs / 54.4 kg 
• Width: 36" / 0.91 m
• Capacity: 500 lbs / 227 kg
• Hull Construction: Rotomolded Polyethylene

Features

• MirageDrive with Turbo Fins
• Vantage Seating
• Under Seat Tackle Storage
• Large Rectangular Hatch with Pivoting Tackle Management System
• Lowrance^® Ready; Optional Adapter Available for Other Fishfinder Models
• Retractable Rudder System
• Horizontal Storage for Four Rods
• Replaceable Mounting Boards
• Large Front Hatch with Removable Liner
• Anchor Trolley System Ready
• Front & Rear Carrying Handles
• Livewell Ready Cargo Area

Options

• Livewell
• Plug-in Cart
• Aluminum Trailex Trailer
• eVolve™ Electric Motor

Available Colors

Color : Dune     

Color : Olive    

Color : Yellow 

All Colors, Graphics and Specifications are subject to change without notice

1st Place - NTKT - Lake Fork Tournament

Well I woke up at 2:30 am to a whopping 46 degrees after the cold front blew through Friday here in North Texas. Took off to Lake Fork at 4am to make the check in at 6:30 with a good group of area kayak fishermen. 

I didn't make up my mind until I was in the parking lot to where I wanted to fish.  I felt like I over thought what I was going to do all of last week and put too much stress on myself to have a good finish.  I decided to go to the same area that I have had success last summer and knew that the fish in that area should be in all phases of the spawn.  With post frontal conditions and blue bird skies the fishing was pretty tough to say the least.

I made it out to the fist secondary point and caught three right off the bat and by the time I worked my way around it and looked back there were two boats in that spot.  There were three different power boat tournaments on the lake the same time so it did get crowed for a while in that area.

I decided to go to some deeper water that I had some success with last summer to try to get some post spawn fish and caught my limit as well as culled a small fish I caught off the point.

By the time it started to warm up I went shallow again with a buddy fishing the same area to try to get him on some fish and noticed fry in the shallows.  I missed one and he picked up two fish along the way that were guarding them.  As we started running out of time and making our way back to the boat ramp to load up I started noticing bass on the beds in the back of the cove that had moved back up that were deserted only a few hours before.   

I didn’t think I had enough to win and wasn’t sure if I would even place in the money but my 84.5 inches won it. My largest fish was 20 inches and missed big bass by ¾ of an inch. Had a great time and looking forward to the last tournament June 2^nd. I’m tied for first in point for AOY with one tournament to go.

Ray Roberts and Moss Lake Kayak Fishing

Lake Ray Roberts Big Bass

Ray Hubbard 2-26-12

Lake Fork 2011

Yak Attack Gear Trac

I recently ordered a few things from Yak Attack for my 2012 Wilderness Ride 135 and wanted to show you how easy this product is to install on your kayak. I know that there are a lot of people out there that are afraid of drilling holes into their kayaks but I'm hear to tell you that this is a piece of cake.

The GearTrac is a track system that anyone can put on any band of kayak on the market today. It is a way to mount accessories to the kayak that has not be available until now. I know that there are some kayaks on the market with track systems but not all of them. My Ride 135 has it on the front but not the back where I wanted to mount a couple of rod holders as well as my transducer mount. The kit comes with everything you need except the drill and screw driver to tighten down the screws. The drill bit that is packed with the screws will allow you to pre drill the holes for the GearTrac as well as the stainless screws.

First off, you need to figure what size GearTrac you are going to need. I went with the twelve in sections for the rear of my kayak. Place the GearTrac down where you want to mount it and hold it in place. There are going to be two rows of pre drilled screw holes on the GearTrac where you are going to use the screws provided. I started on one end and drilled out the inside corner to start. Then go to the other end and drill out the corner closest to you. Take a couple of the screws and tighten them down with a hand held phillips head screw driver. Now that the Trac is held down on both ends you can drill out the rest of the holes for the rest of the screws provided. You want to make sure the you hand tighten these screw to make sure that you don't strip out the screws to the kayak. After making sure that all of the screws are tight you are finished and ready to use some of the accessories that are available for the GearTrac.

I mounted the VisiCarbon Pro and PanFish on port side (left side sitting in the kayak). Then I mounted a rod holder and transducer mount on the starboard side (right side).

The options for the GearTrac are endless and can mount it anywhere on a kayak. GearTrac makes your kayak not only adjustable, but fully configurable, enabling you to change your setup from one outing to the next. Trolling today? Fly fishing tomorrow? Shooting ducks next weekend? GearTrac gives you the ability to go from a fully rigged kayak fishing machine to a flat deck in
minutes.

Yak Attack Gear Trac Installation