KAYAK WARS FISHING TOURNAMENT RESULTS for 2016!

I am excited to announce that I placed First in the NORTH CENTRAL REGION FRESHWATER KAYAK WARS FISHING TOURNAMENT for 2016! 

Our Team KBL Club Took second place in the North Central Region as well!

Kayak wars is the world's largest multi-species kayak tournament. Individuals and Teams of five catch a huge variety of species in a gauntlet of competitions every year from February 27 to December 18. Every species caught has to be a certain size and is given a point value. Team members submit their catches over the season and the team with the most combined points wins! 

To win kayak wars it takes a huge amount of angling knowledge of many species and the determination to find the fish that will give you and your team the points it needs.  A major key to success is knowing where point size fish are in your area and being able to capitalize on those opportunities. A fish that counts for points is not a small specimen for that species.

The amount of combined hours competing on the water is just staggering as this is not your one or two-day species specific tourney. It is basically a year month after month of snow, cold, wind, sun, heat, waves, illness, rain, ice, sore muscles, cuts, bug bites and darkness. However, with this tournament comes great freedom. The freedom to fish when, where and what you fish for. It works on any schedule and family commitments. The one-time fee fits any budget. Anyone can be a tournament fisherman with Kayak Wars and fish with their own goals at their own pace.

First I want to thank my team for fishing so hard and putting up with my obsession. Joshua Bennett, Tony Lam, Titus Dominguez, and Scott Shaw.

I also need to thank my sponsors!!

Thank you - Pivot Head - Your glasses let me record lifelong memories of my fishing success and failures. I will be able to share my videos and passion with anyone at anytime.

Thank you - Mythic Gear - Your drysuits kept me safe when my kayak cracked through thin ice in the spring and filled with snow in fall.

Thank you - Beardhead - Your fun hats and beards kept my face warm in harsh cold winds.

Thank you - Gillz Wear - Your shirts and masks kept me cool, breathed and protected me from the sun in hot sweltering days of summer. They also kept bug hatches out of my nose and ears!

Thank You - K-1 Baits -  Your baits and flavorings kept me on my main target fish. They were responsible for bigger and higher hook ups this season.

Thank you - Crabby Bass Lures - The plastics you made to my specs helped me catch up when I was behind on all those dark early mornings before work this summer.

Thank you - Dave's Tangle Free - Your weights worked flawlessly as promised and helped with not 1 or 2 or even 3, but 4 species.

Thank you - Notch - Your hats steadily kept the sun out of my eyes. They also kept me at ease on the calm days sight fishing bass and carp.

Below are some stats and tournament related images.

Fishing's Magic Armor from Sun, Heat. and Invaders

Fishing's Magic Armor from Sun, Heat. and Invaders 

 I am glad to see the awareness of being prepared while fishing and being safe has taken a big stage on the angling scene. Protection from the heat and sun have always been important for your health. But the fishing world is finding that the right protection not only protects but can help you score more fish on any outing. When it comes to having the right protection there is one simple truth. If you are NOT hot, wet, and tired you fish longer. This translates in to more time on the water, more casts, more opportunities, and more landed fish, of any species! 

 Lets talk about your torso and face. T-shirts work on mild days and some vitamin D is good for you. But if your going to be out for hours you need something better. I got involved with GILLZ because I sweat like crazy and being Irish and pale my first few trips I tend to burn. i needed to cool things down. Their Tournament Shirts have built-in Cross-Breeze VentilationTM. These mesh side vents run on the inside of the sleeves and down the side of the shirt, keeping you dry and cool – even on the hottest days. I wore my GILLZ shirts on a bunch of trips in a row. One day I just grabbed one of my black guide t-shirts. Once the sun came up I could not figure out why I was so hot and sweating like a sprinkler. I realized the GILLZ shirt made a huge difference especially when the breeze came by! Man I missed those vents!!! 

 The GiLLZ mask is vented as well and has front breathing mesh! Everyone is selling buffs these days and they do protect from the sun. However I wanted more function. I am always wearing Pivothead glasses and with the other face buffs the glasses always fogged. They may look nice but they are thicker and hotter. During a bass competition I found just how good my mask was. The tourney was hot, no wind, and there was a bug hatch that day. I quickly learned to cover my nose and tuck the mask in my shirt after a few unwanted visitors invaded!!. I locked those little jerks right out. MY EYES, EAR, NOSE, and NECK were totally protected. Lastly I should mention the stain protection of the GILLZ products. I go after slimy carp and cut bait for cats for 6 hours at a time. All stains, especially the shoulders were I wipe my hands came out!! I would recommend these products for any angler. 

 Stay cool and don't let bugs in your nose.

 http://gillz-gear.com/

Kayak Bass Tournament Angling Adventure

My First Kayak Bass Tournament of 2016

After a fantastic kayak season last year including a huge Kayak Wars win, I decided I was going to mix things up this year. Try new water and experiences. So I decided to join the Kayak Bass League. I will be fishing four tournaments this year just for bass which is not the multi-species experiences I have become accustomed to.

I was a hardcore bass fanatic in the past but since I have not been chasing them constantly I was honestly nervous about my ability to go toe to toe with guys living and breathing bass.

The tournament was at Jim Edgar Panther Creek. I was hoping to practice with a day of pre-fishing but a better option came along as I watched my beautiful little niece get her first communion. Our family are Irish Catholics and this is not a thing you miss.

My good friend Josh was fishing the tourney as well and we decided we would fish together and share and info that may give us an edge on the competition. Josh got the chance to pre-fish an unfortunately found the fish to be on beds and not in a biting mood. After I got this bothersome news I stopped at a sports store and bought baits for us we thought would help in this situation.

I drove the three hours down to Panther Creek the night before and we stayed at a wonderful lodge called Ghost Hollow Lodge. Jc a staff member for KBL hooked us up with this wonderful place only minutes away from the launch. We spent the night laughing and trading stories with the KBL guys. Including the story of the snake that visited Josh's kayak!! Which he thought was no big deal. I DID.

We had our morning checks and meeting and we left for the farthest corner of the lake. With my asthma going against the wind, paddling long distances, and being able to keep up is becoming an issue so peddles or a trolling motor may have to be a change I make if I continue to fish big water. I am not getting any younger.

We were pre-pared to fish bass beds the whole day every rod rigged differently with the same goals either to get them mad or get them to remove our baits off their clean nesting spots. However a strange thing happened our beds were empty!!!

What the heck do we do now? Josh started throwing a small crank and scored several fish with just 2 just big enough to count. Then I started finesse fishing plastic and started catching fish I caught about thirteen for the day on this technique seven or 8 came on a Crabby Bass Lures Zipper Worm! But they were all just to small.

We looked back to the beds and a few fish were back! But for some reason they wouldn’t stay on them. It was like the were just swimming by every few minutes to check on them. These big fish were not playing today and refuse to even notice anything we put out.

I decided to go up into the shallowest water with piles of dead wood and weeds. On my way I fan casted with a custom chatter frog keeping it just under the surface. That is when I struck gold! SMACK! “Fish on!” I yelled. I grab the net frantically and landed the 16.75 inch bass as fast as I could. Things happened so fast I forgot to turn on my Pivothead Glasses! Another couple of casts and in less then a foot of water SPLASH!!! A second 16 inch fish came shooting out of the water!! After that fish I made so many casts I broke a blood vessel in my finger.

We ran out of time and each with only two fish we thought we would be at the bottom of the leader board. When they said bring in your fish I noticed not many guys walked up and yet I thought I would be the last. They called the second place winner and called my name!! Holy %$#@!!! I GOT SECOND!!!!  It was awesome!!!

What is great about Kayak bass tournaments is you don’t need thousands of dollars in boats and motors. The average angler can afford a kayak and for a small entry fee can go get their own tournament angling adventure.

I would like to thank my sponsors Pivothead, Notchgear, and Daves Tangle Free Weights and for this adventure a special thanks goes to GillzFishing Apparel and Lori Gosewisch for getting me my custom jersey just in time ! I LOVE IT!! Also to Crabby Bass for always coming through and catching fish even if they were short. I caught a decent amount of fish when many fisherman came up empty.

A Child's First Time Ice Fishing

A Child's First Time Ice Fishing

My son Gavin was finally ready to go ice fishing. He said “I am seven now and I can carry stuff and I am strong” So we planned a family outing to a pond I have been fishing for 20 years. Once my 12 year old daughter learned her brother was going she decided she was coming along too even though she turned down 200 trips previous to the intel that the little brother was going. She decide she wanted uncle Al to go and made a call. We were all set.

If you want your child’s first ice fishing trip to be fun there are a few things you must do.

First you should know how to actually ice fish! (big help). Safety is paramount. If you have not ice fished your self, it is your responsibility as a parent to learn how to be safe on the ice. Research, study, watch videos, what ever it takes. Even ask a seasoned friend or hire a guide either for yourself or your kids. For a podcast on the subject CLICK HERE

Second now that you know how to ice fish and be safe the next thing is to keep them warm. If their hands or feet get cold your trip is over before it starts. Just as in adults good layers matter. I like a couple of thin layers before any bulky stuff. A decent pair of snow pants, good knit hat, good gloves not the cute knit super hero ones, and warm socks. They actually sell kids wool socks, I found some at target. They are not as thick as adults socks so toe warmers are a must especially since kids boot are crap. You can get good boots online but for the price you better hope they are going to wear them a lot.

Third if you own a shelter use no matter how nice it is outside. If it 30s out it will be like your living room in the shelter. Warm kids are happy kids.

Fourth take them somewhere with a high number of fish. Size does not matter to new fisher people. Success is a major key to get them to come back. 20 tiny blue gills trump that bass you have been chasing.

Fifth have entertainment. Many kids have devices now days. A game of mindcraft or a cartoon can buy you a couple more hours on the ice. Now don’t be mad if they want to play on the ice or in the snow. In fact bring a sled or skates. You may already have a sled take your stuff out and let them have some fun. 

Sixth and most important point is snacks and food. On a short trip some small snacks and juice boxes will do the trick. On a full day we always start with hot chocolate and doughnuts holes. On special occasions like my little mans first trip we order a pizza!

So how did it go you ask? It was the perfect day. It only took a couple holes to find the fish. It was not terribly cold which meant the shelters were very warm. My daughter started catching gills on every drop and did not stop for an hour! She only stopped to teach a young girl how to ice skate while the rest of us mixed catching, eating doughnut holes, and drinking chocolate milk.

My youngest Gavin enjoyed video game fishing watching the camera and catching his first ice fish. We laughed, listened to music, caught, and missed fish. Both my kids stole my otter sled and played with that for quite some time. We ordered a pizza caught a few more and called it a day. We caught most of our fish on small jigs with Magic Maggies and spikes. An adventure I will remember always.  

     

Pondboy and Team win Worldwide Freshwater Kayak Fishing Title!

I am very please to announce that our team Trout Mafia has placed First WORLDWIDE FRESHWATER KAYAK WAR FISHING TOURNAMENT! Kayak wars is the worlds largest multi-species kayak tournament. Teams of five catch a huge variety of species in a gauntlet of competitions every year from Feb 14 to Dec 14. Every Species caught has to be a certain size and is given a point value. Team members submit their catches over the season and the team with the most combined points wins! I would like to thank Tom, Mark, Kalvin, and Mike for allowing me to be part of Trout Mafia for 2015. 

These guys are the top 1% of multi-species kayak fishermen! To win kayak wars it takes a huge amount of angling knowledge of many species and the determination to find the fish that will give your team the points it needs.  A major key to success is knowing where point size fish are in your area and being able to capitalize on those opportunities. A fish that counts for points is not a small specimen for that species.The amount of combined hours competing on the water is just staggering as this is not your one or two day tourney. Snow, cold, wind, sun, heat, waves, illness, rain, ice, sore muscles, and darkness were all taken in stride by team Trout Mafia this angling season.

Our team also won First in region 6 of the United States. This was a region of 11 states. (click on image to enlarge)

We won First in all freshwater for the USA (click on image to enlarge)

We won First in all Fresh Saltwater Combined for the USA (click on image to enlarge)

I Placed Fourth as an individual for region 6! (click on image to enlarge)

TEAM STATS (click on image to enlarge)

I would like to thank some of my sponsors for their support this season! 

I could not have done it without your products!

Pivothead Advanced Camera Glasses

Mythicgear dry-suits

Beardhead Amazing looking Hats to keep you warm and Awesome

Aurora lures crankbaits that score

Crabby Bass Lures personalized plastics for success

Blaf - Gillz apparel for the hottest days

Notch Gear hats made for fishing 

Fall Kayak Crappie Fishing

Fall Kayak Crappie Fishing

After a long season of awesome Yarpin (Kayak Carpin),  the water cooled and the carp and catfish stopped biting the way they had all year. I stubbornly went a few more times then I should have because I had such a great year. It was time to switch gears. Jc Crappie of JCs Castaway and Aurora Lure Company said “You need to change what you’re doing and stop being so stubborn!”

So I switched species to crappie and we made a plan to get some.  Crappies we know will bite in colder conditions so we just had to prepare. Before we did anything we made sure we were safe in our yaks. We had our pfds, safety equipment, proper layers of clothing, and dry suits from Mythic Gear. The saying is dress to swim and rig to flip.

We used an arsenal of baits. I wanted to catch some numbers so I had to be prepared. These fish at this lake are bigger than most ponds in our area. The lake is catch and release, this has kept most of the poachers away and the fish have grown to 7-12 inches. I know dozens of crappie ponds but most have small fish not much bigger than your hand. A 9-12 inch fish is huge for the suburbs of Chicago. Had these fish all been tiny, ice jigs with plastics and tiny minnows would be all I needed. Since these fish were larger this allowed us to use full size crappie baits. We used cranks from Aurora Lures, Tubes, Lake Fork Shads, Large Minnows, Crawlers, Crappie thunders. I used all light or ultra light rods with 4-8 lb line. About half of my fish came on a double minnow rig under a Thill float. I caught several on a white crappie thunder as well. 

I also did something a bit different, since we were drifting slowly across the lake and not anchored I brought a straight line ice rod with a 1/16 ounce silver cicada. This worked magically! I caught crappie, gills, and a bass on it. It was a breeze to use while watching my floats drag behind my kayak. I went two mornings in a row and I ended up with at least 4 dozen hook-ups. Jc had a great time as well. I will definitely fish vertical from my yak more often.

So it’s not too late to go out. Dress warm and don’t be stubborn as I was and switch species and spots when you should. I hope you all have some Great Fall Crappie Angling Adventures!!

HIGH RIVER CARP

Tonight I fished the Fox River. I was Yarpin or Kayak Carpin behind an island. Since the CFS was 3330 or cubic feet per second after a recent rain, the main channel was out of the question for safe kayak angling.

Behind this island I was completely sheltered from the raging current on the other side. This backwater is usually only 1-2 feet but after heavy rains it rises to 2-4 feet. After a couple days of high water the carp and other species move in. My guess as to why is to get out of the current and feed. The water temp has been low but today it rose just a couple of degrees and with the warmer air temp the carp were on the feed.

I used two Bass pro shops 8'6 float and fly rods which are perfect for carp. Long enough to handle fish and manage line. These rods are flexible enough to have a good time. The are also priced right at 50-60 bucks any angler can afford one.

I fished large Thill slip floats, however I was fishing the bottom. I use the float as a strike indicator but this also leaves no tension on the line when the carp picks up the bait.

The bait I used today was flavored corn and a dough bait I call Tropical Fusion. I make these baits myself. I also use a hair rig which I also make myself.

I ended up up with six landed fish, two lost, and a few swing and misses. The largest fish being 26 inches.

If you want to give YARPIN a try contact www.dupagefishingguide.com

Mythic Gear Dry Suits and Safe Kayak Fishing

I am getting older and smarter and realized that I was pushing my luck kayak fishing in the spring, fall, and winter amidst the frigid waters. I now have the Mythic Gear ENKI Model Dry Suit. Named after a god in Sumerian mythology. He was the deity of crafts, mischief, water, seawater,lakewater, intelligence, and creation.

These are truly dry suits for the masses. Never has there been dry suits the average guy can afford on a tight budget. These are made like tanks, solid material, and awesome craftsmanship. The zippers are the toughest I have ever seen. When I put it on, the dry suit will puff up with air, that is how sealed my body is. I open the zipper to get the extra air out.  I was stepping over a guard rail with my yak to get to my put in and fell hard. The kind of hard you don't see coming over the rail and on my knees on a gravel covered bike path! The suit didn't have a scratch all though my ego was damaged.

The temperature has swung from 15 - 60 over the last few weeks and I have been Yarpin - Kayak Carpin. I have had 3 based layers underneath the suit and it has done the job nicely.  Actually with out the suit I would of had more bulky layers on and would of been uncomfortable and I do not think I would of toughed it out on these windy cold days with out Mythic Gear.

helpful articles:

Cold Water Danger Not Limited to Hypothermia

Wetsuits Versus Drysuits

Behold the Yellow Bass

Behold the Yellow Bass

In the 90s The Fox Chain and Fox river were loaded, I mean Loaded with yellow bass.

What's a yellow bass?

" the yellow bass or barfish, is a species of temperate bass native to the south and Midwestern United States. It is an inhabitant of lakes, ponds and areas of large rivers with reduced current such as backwaters and pools. This species can reach a length of 46 centimeters (18 in) TL though most are only around 23.9 centimeters (9.4 in). The greatest recorded weight for a specimen of this species is 11 kilograms (24 lb). This species is sought after as a game fish.[1]

Though sometimes confused with white bass or striped bass, it is distinguished by its yellow belly and the broken pattern in its lowermost stripes. It can also mate with the white bass."

It was the best ice fishing I have ever witnessed. They were the species of my first ice fishing trip! 100-200 fish days were common place. This was with dozens of fisherman! They are all muscle, the size of decent bluegill but twice as strong. It is my opinion that they are the best fighters of all the pan fish. 

Then the fun came to an end. A massive die-off like nothing I have ever seen. Thousands of dead fish lined the fox river. Gone were the fall days of wading for the yellow brutes and destroying my cheap ultra reels I bought when i was young. What happened? This is the best explanation I have seen:

"Yellow Bass and White Bass – The yellow bass decline continued from it’s high of 54% of the catch in 1988 to 4.3% of the catch in 2001. This dramatic restructuring of the population has reduced competition with other species and benefited the overall fishery in the Fox Chain O’ Lakes. Ice fishermen enjoyed the fast paced action of the late 1980″s and early 1990′s but their over-abundance was not sustainable and resulted in poor condition (a starvation state) which opened the population up to naturally occurring pathogens and the massive die offs."

So now to current day, a great winter group on Facebook, ICE JUNKIES OUTDOORS had some members that live on a 300+ acre private lake that had been over run by yellow bass. They asked for volunteers to come and fish them!!! With memories of the good old days I was not going to miss this. The first occasion was a casual group fishing for fun, the second a mini tournament with most fish winning, and the third was a full blown derby with raffles, chili, and hot dogs!!!!! I had a blast and caught a ton of fish with fellow dupageangler.com members Sooner Bass well as members from the Kayak Bass League and Aurora Lures.

Most ice fishing tactics worked on the fish. Jigs tipped with waxies, spikes, and pieces of yellow bass belly work well. JC(my buddy Chunsum) caught everyone of his fish on Magic Maggies from Aurora Lures. I used small spoons of all kinds tipped with the baits mentioned above. Minnows also caught their fair share as well as a bunch of crappie.

I fully understand these guys wanting to thin them out to protect the other species, But I personally would love there to be a couple lakes with a yellow bass problem. Lakes I could go to every winter and just crush these under rated yellow fin fighters. I would like to thank all the guys from ICE JUNKIES for letting me experience the gold rush once more.

If you want to experience ice fishing adventure or learn to fish, you can contact me at DuPage Fishing Guide Service

Little Atom Open Water Finicky December Crappie

Open Water Finicky December Crappie

It was the day after Christmas and there was no ice to be found in the Chicago area. It was a balmy 50 degrees! Not fishing on such a warm day would just be wrong.

I managed to catch about 14 fish from 3 out of 4 ponds. A couple fish were caught on Lake Fork Shads the rest on Little Atom plastics. In fact Little Atom saved the day. Using these micro plastics on ice jigs got the finicky fish to bite and were perfect for the small fish. The baits I used today were the micro Nuggie and the Wedgee. I used weighted Thill floats to get the long casts I needed to reach the deeper water I would normally be ice fishing. The fish were small But I was not complaining to be catching when other were still in bed.

It was great to catch some fish with no ice, especially with the crappie being shut off in a lot of the area. Next time you head out in cold weather or slow conditions bring Little Atom along to save the day!