For the last fews years I’ve been trying to turn my fishing buddies onto Kayak Fishing. I don’t think there’s anything like it and I think all self proclaimed fisherman should try it out. All it takes is a kayak, your rod and favorite lure. Paddle out onto a body of water, catch that first fish and your hooked. End of story. I’m not providing any other details until you take that first step but will leave you with this, a 3 pd fish will literally pull you around a pond like Jaws hooked to those barrels.
To date my efforts have converted two good friends, Dan Carr and Mike Mason. Both of these guys are super sportsman, super knowledgable but fish entirely different bodies of water. Mike is relegated to big bodies of water in Southern PA and Dan has farm ponds along the NY state PA border. Although they fish for the same species of fish it’s nothing like fishing here in the Adirondacks.
With that in mind and two years of pestering I/we came up with and planned a weekend fishing trip, starting with night fishing friday night, all day saturday, saturday night and sunday morning.
As with any trip, things happen, schedules conflict and someone has to cancel. Dan ended up drawing that card due to an issue at work. Mike on the other hand, made the 6 hour trip and it was game on as soon as he landed in his Mom’s driveway. Six hours in a car and a weeks worth of anticipation will do that to a fishing nut.
Friday night we got on a local body of water at 6pm. This lake is a gem, there are huge fish and it’s fished hard. It takes skill and patience to catch them here but when you do, it’s worth it. We caught a few here and there but nothing really big. It was great paddling around, catching up and telling stories while we waited for the sun to set and it to get dark. About this time we changed over to our favorite top water lure and waited. If you’ve ever fished top water in the dark you know what happens next, it’s like a switch is turned on and GAME ON! The switch went on exactly at 10 pm Friday night and shut off at 1 am. When it was all said and done, the two of us ended up with 12 fish, with a 6 to 7 pd average. It was an incredible experience and fun.
Needless to say, neither one of us got any sleep Friday night and when we met at Stewarts Saturday morning caffiene was a must have. We had several options and decided to try a lake about an hour north known for big bass. Although the weather was perfect for us, it wasn’t for fishing. Clear skies and hot temps put the fish deep in the weeds or right up against the bank in the shade. Although we mustered a few fish, our biggest was 18 inches and missed pike about 30 inches long. We both agreed we’ll fish this lake again.
We decided to go back and fish the lake we fished friday night again and would meet at the launch around 9. I set my alarm 8:30 ate dinner and took a nap. I knew better but age got the best of me, sometime around midnite I woke up and realized I missed the alarm. I checked my phone and there were texts from Mike, he was just coming back in. He ended up having a great time catching the same kind of fish we did the night before. He also half heartedly let me know he had to cancel on our trip for Sunday morning due to an unexpected family commitment.
As I write this, I’ m rested and finishing up my second cup of coffee. The truck is packed and Michelle and I are headed someplace for a day of paddling and swimming. I’m bringing the fly rod and a few poppers just in case I get bored.
All in all it was a great weekend, a lot of fun and I’m already planning our next trip. By that time I hope to have one or two more converts. In the meantime if you see a speck of light on your lake sometime around midnight it’s probably me.
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