Still Looking For a 30"

We hit the water around three this morning and picked up some trout in the lights at the secret spot in Galveston. At five we loaded up and headed to the Red Fish hole to try for some topwater madness. The Reds were thick but not wanting to commit to any good strikes. I had numerous blowups and tail slaps but no takers until I started throwing my new go to bait (Red Daddy Assassin Spinner with an opening night sea shad). As soon as that spinner hit the water it was Fish-On, I caught five trout with one at 28.5” and one 23” red fish. There were also a few throw backs and some missed fish mixed in so all in all it was a good day. It would have been a great day if that trout would have been the 30” I’ve been looking for all my life. When I set the hook on her I was sure it was a red fish, but when she gave up and came to the surface I was shocked when I saw a black back instead of the bronze one I was expecting. As soon as I saw that log surface I was almost sure that is was the one I had been waiting for, but once again it was just a little short. After a quick measurement and some pictures she was set free to see another day.

LONE STAR KAYAK SERIES

LONE STAR KAYAK SERIES

Fished the first LSKS tournament Saturday and Mother Nature put it to me again. The wind was blowing and all I could find were trout and a few under size reds. If your looking to get into tournament fishing the LSKS is a good tournament to get started with. The entry fee is reasonable and the payout is good. 

IFA PORT ARANSAS

IFA PORT ARANSAS

I fished the IFA in Port Aransas last weekend and it was a windy one. The fishing wasn’t great but I got lucky on Sunday and the one bite I had was a nice twenty seven and a quarter inch red. That one red fish landed me in sixth place for the tournament and top place fishing from a Hobie kayak.

Wind, rain, and a yak load of fish

After looking at the weather this morning I made an executive decision to head down to cold pass anyway. The whole drive down I was hoping the weather guessers and the radar were wrong as they usually are when it’s supposed to be nice. When I met up with Brian at the KOA camp grounds we were greeted with a cold thirty+ MPH north east wind and rain. After making another well thought out decision we decided to unload the yaks and give it hell. Once we were on the water we headed to the north side of cold pass, which was a wild ride with the tide going out and the wind blowing in. When we arrived at the secret spot it was FISH ON all day. At the end of the day my total was twenty+ reds from twenty one - twenty five inches, two trout sixteen and eighteen inches and one little flounder at fourteen inches. Brains total was two reds at twenty two inches and one I donated to him. Two reds were caught on gold and black topwater and the rest of the fish were caught on Texas roach salt water assassins sea shad.

West Bay Reds

Made a trip down to west bay Sunday morning and managed to pick up two twenty five inch reds. The wind was blowing and the bite was slow but the two bites I had resulted in two solid reds that were perfect for lunch. The first red fell victim to a corky and the second came on a saltwater assassin. I talked to some other fishermen while I was out there and most came up empty and some had a few trout. The fishing could have been better but it was still a good day to be on the water with some fellow yakers.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of flying out to Collinsville IL to help Amy and Cyril from ST Louis sail and paddle promote the Hobie kayaks at the Lets Go Fishing Show. We had a lot of fun spreading the word of how much fun you can have in a Hobie kayak and all of the accessories that are available, like the new collapsible leaning post for the Pro Angler. I can’t wait to get my hands on one, it will be nice to have something to lean against while fighting some big reds. Saturday and Sunday Jackie Smith (football hall of famer and designer of the Hobie Pro Angler) came out to give us a hand talking to people about all of the things you can do in a kayak. At the end of the day on Saturday I walked around the end of the isle that our booth was on and saw some shoes on a rack that caught my eye. I went over to check them out and was greeted by a really nice gentleman named Mike. While talking to Mike about the shoes I tried a pair on and walked around for a few minutes with them and found they were very comfortable. Well when it was all said and done I left with a bright yellow pair of ZEKO shoes and they are my new favorite shoes. I sported my new shoes from the time we left for the show Sunday morning until I arrived back home in Houston Sunday night. No more sweaty feet and my feet felt great even after being on them all day, I know these shoes will be awesome in the kayak. Photo left to right Josh MacNaughton,Jackie Smith, Amy Narishkin

Birthday Fishing

It was a perfect birthday fishing weekend. Caught limits reds, and a limit of trout.

Sabine strike out

Fished the North West end of Sabine Sunday morning with little to show for it. The bait was thick but the fish weren’t there. I managed one flounder on a corky, two blowups on a topwater, one missed flounder on a gulp jerk shad, and missed a redfish on a corky. The weather was nice, but the fishing could have been better. I guess that’s why it’s called fishing and not catching.

Good news

After a few weeks of hit and miss fishing trips my luck started to change when I received some good news from Hobie. I am now a member of the Hobie Fishing Team and I am proud to say Austin canoe and kayak is my local Hobie dealer who I will be representing. I am very thankful that Hobie and Austin canoe and kayak have given me the opportunity to represent them. Austin canoe and kayak will be having there big demo weekend April 16&17 in Missouri city where you can check out all of there kayaks and take them for a paddle, hope to see you there.

Gulf Coast Fishing Team Tournament

The Gulf Coast Fishing Team tournaments are going to start up on Feb 5th. This is going to be a fun and affordable series to fish in. There will be a boat, kayak/wade, and kids division there will also be some side pots to get into. Here is the link http://gulfcoastfishingteam.org/index.html hope to see you there.

IFA Championship Orange Beach, Alabama

We headed out Thursday morning around one A.M. with no sleep since Tuesday night. We arrived in Alabama a little after nine A.M. and were pre fishing by ten. At the first spot all we could find was one small trout and some very fresh water. After we loaded up I did some research and found another promising spot in Oyster Bay which was about an hour away. When we arrived at our next stop we found a good amount of Reds and Trout. After a couple of hours of fishing and exploring it was decided this was going to be the place to start Friday morning.

After the captains meeting at the fabulous Cobalt restaurant we went back to Oyster Bay so we could finally get some much needed sleep. A little after five A.M. we crawled out of the truck. Yes we slept in the back of the Tahoe for three nights. On the way down the intercostal I had two blowups on a topwater just before the entrance to Oyster Bay, and I knew it was going to be a good day. Once inside the bay we saw some seagulls working on the south shoreline. After a short quarter mile paddle we were in a school of trout under the gulls. All of the trout were small but I was able to pull one out that was sixteen and a half inches. Now that I had my Trout I could go find one of the many Reds that we saw the previous day. After going to all of the spots that we found Reds on Thursday we came up empty, so I went exploring and still could not find a Redfish anywhere. I did manage to find a trout that was a little bigger. I fished until the very last minute and had nothing to show for it but an eighteen and a half inch trout.




Saturday we changed our location and fished Wolf Bay which gave me the same results as the previous day. I caught an eighteen and a half inch Trout and not a single Red. I don’t know what the deal is with Alabama fish but if I could take all of the places I fished during the tournament and bring them back to Texas they would be loaded with fish.

I wasn’t able to pull off the win that I wanted but it was a great experience. Once again I am very grateful for all of the hard work that the IFA and Hobie has put into giving us kayakers a chance to prove ourselves in a pro tournament.

The new kayak trailer

I’ve been searching for a kayak trailer for a while now and I finally found one that fit my budget and design. She needs some modifying but it will work perfect for hauling two yaks when finished. I thought I would do a little before, during, and after for those who are interested.

The trailer started as a catamaran sailboat trailer and I picked it up for two hundred dollars. The frame and wheels are galvanized so they are in good shape. The leaf springs and wheel studs need to be replaced. The wheel hubs came with bearing buddies already on them and are in good shape. I removed the cross bars that held the hulls of the sailboat so now the trailer is a little over four feet wide. My plan is to make it a double decker and make the tong removable so that it fits in the garage.

2010 IFA Kayak Fishing Tour Texas Division

Josh MacNaughton made second place and caught the LARGEST Red Fish in his first tournament (Results).

2nd Place prizes included Hobie Mirage Outback Kayak and $200 cash for catching the biggest Red Fish in the tournament. Josh also won a new fishing net in a raffle.

Special Thanks to his sponsors:
GOD
Tatum MacNaughton TX Realtor.