Friday Fishing and Paddling at Beaverdam Reservoir

We dropped off the van for maintenance and headed on over to paddle (La) and catch some fish (me and the kids). La paddled the whole lake (seemed like it) and the kids and I saw a good number of various types of fish. I pulled in three sunnies using my Helios 5wt/Hatch 4+/Orvis Power Taper 5wt (real nice setup - makes me feel like I know what I'm doing and can put the fly wherever I want to - it was worth the money - especially since I got most of the components on sale). Marlon had a striper on the line and was hauling it in - until it got off the hook close to the boat (dang it!!!). I had a few legitimate shots at some grazing carp - with the water a bit cloudly, I couldn't get them interested in the worm fly I was pitching. La was lonely so she hijacked the kayak, took both kids out on her paddleboard then had them jump off the board to swim around in the middle of the lake (they loved it - not to mention she bribed them with the promise to pay for half the cost of another iguana - that's another story). That's about the time the wind picked up...

Loaded for Friday Water Time

Big Tuna Kayak to carry two kids, snacks, drinks and fishing gear - check. La's SUP so she can buzz around the reservoir while we are waiting for the van maintenance to get done - check. Good weather to go paddling in - check. Sweet truck to haul our butts and gear to the inland beach - check. Hopefully we'll catch something tomorrow in the dam reservoir... I'm not coming home skunked a third time from that lake... We'll paddle straight for the actual dam and start casting everything we have at those fish. This is make it or break it time - and I'm not leaving until we are victorious, or La says so, or the van's maintenance is done. Or if it gets too hot - but those fish better watch out!

Amphibious Assault Craft or Nurturing Mother Ship

Catch up post from last weekend. Beaver Dam Reservoir. We went looking for the dense population of carp we saw as the air temps just started to rise - but they weren't there anymore. We did see a bunch of schools of tiny fish (we didn't have a net fine enough to catch them to see what they were - but with the timing, I suspect they are hatching carp) and a few sunnies poking out from the newly grown grass - which leads me to the subject of the post. This kayak kicks butt - we rode right over the dense grasses and got in to the spots where the carp were hanging out (albeit a few weeks too late). But the kayak also offered tons of storage space to satisfy thirsty paddlers and hungry tummies. So this thing is both an amphibious assault craft and a mother ship that can carry the kitchen sink.

Carp Wrestling - NOT

The wind died down today and the temperature was just about right for paddling. We loaded up the truck and hit BeaverDam Reservoir. We had ambitions for catching carp - flyfishing, hand netting and in a cast net - but those suckers were no where to be found. We did see a Great Blue Heron and a bunch of what I believe to be baby carp (swam around in large schools - about a month after we saw the carp spawning). La paddled our Starboard Blend - I had the fishing crate up on the nose and it looked pretty fast in the water. After a couple of hours, we decided to pack it up - darn carp skunked us!!!!

Kayak Rigging on an Overcast Day

We took the weekend off and just cleaned up the house and moved some projects forward. The day over here in the Northern Virginia area started out gray and dreary, but it got sunny and warm enough to lure me out to do some work on the kayak - then it got dreary and cold again for the majority of the time I was outside. Anyways - I installed three of the nine Yak Attack plates/attachment points I bought in the recent few weeks. The rear point is a Mighty Mount and will eventually be the light/flag mounting point. The other two I placed today are just aft of the chair on the gunnels - 4 inch GT 175 plates - for rear trolling points in single seat configuration. I tested the mounting plates with 1.5 inch mounting balls and a "rocket launcher" rod holder. I might stick another two Mighty Mounts just forward of the factory installed flush mounts so I can use those points to troll if I have the kayak set up for tandem. When I get another day to work the drill, I'll mount the 8 inch GT 175 plates midway up the gunnel and a pair of GT90 4 inch plates up forward so the kids have spots for their rods (and I'll have a spot to mount a rearward looking camera).

Tuna Tank

Here's our kayak's live well in action. We caught a few bluegill and a couple of bass - instead of releasing them right away, we plopped them in the tank and the kids took turns getting a closer look at them. Obviously I painted the tank "sand" color, but like most things, it doesn't adhere to the polyethene too well. The lighter color lets whatever is in the tank stand out a little better than if the tank were just black. Spray paint is cheap and time together as a family is priceless. Nice way to spend a few hours!

We're Camouflaged!!!

The leaves on the trees were falling like snow and provided a cool backdrop to our Sunday fish catching endeavor.

Mason Neck Outting

So we took advantage of yesterday's great weather by visiting Mason Neck State Park. They had a cartop boat ramp that you could drive down to and prep your boats - the parking lot was just a short walk away. The wind was blowing from the SW and basically pushed us to the mouth of Kane's Creek. The Big Tuna held both kids and a bunch of fishing gear and logistics (jackets, snacks, spare lures, shoes and other stuff) and left La to be free (the SUP travelled way faster - noticably so than the big amphibious assault craft). The only bad part was we didn't catch a single fish - in fact, besides minnows, we didn't see a single fish. Next time we'll try Pohick Bay.

Bow and Stern Anchors

3 pound grapple hook up front (deployed from the starboard beam, locked in at an appropriate length for the wind and depth, then shuttled up to the bow by the trolley - which is on the starboard side - storage issue for me, you can put it wherever you want), 2 foot drag chain out the stern (the boat is moulded with a chain channel and side handles sized to drop in a small Flexi dog leash). Can you say "two point mooring"? I can!

RAM Mounts on and Anchor Trolley for the Big Tuna

Here are a couple of pictures of the RAM mount balls in place. Pretty useful (nice tiedown point for the paddles during transport). Turns out with the fairleads on the kayak, you only need one of the 1/4" pulleys. I used a heavy duty carabiner for the accessory interface (where I'll lock in an anchor line, stake pole or drift chute). I placed the trolley on the starboard side since this side of the kayak is stored up when I have it in the garage (this will prevent the carabiner or the pulley from getting damaged or scraping the side of the kayak). If I haven't already said it - modifying kayaks is really cool -

Fully Loaded

We loaded up the truck and hit Annapolis yesterday. The Darby Extend-a-Bed worked fine - no rattling or shaking at all. I loaded La's SUP, the ULI (not inflated), the kayak and all the paddles, lifejackets and kayak accessories - I think I could have put on another SUP and some boogie boards.

RAM Rod Tubes and 1.5" Mounting Ball

If you check out the walk through video on Youtube for the 2013 Cuda (Jackson Kayaks) you'll see that they have placed #10 screw mounts in areas where you would want to attach accessories (like RAM rod tubes and GoPro cameras that use #10 screws through conventional GoPro mounts). Well - I checked on Jackson's website and they sell the 1.5" ball mounts and the 2008 model RAM Rod Tubes - and the inserts that support the high seat mounts on the Big Tuna also fit the 1.5" mounts. That means you can use these same tube/mount setup that comes on the 2013 models on your 2012 (but you are limited to where the seat holders would be). Next I'll start looking for the inserts (Lowes or Home Depot) and see if I can install them in other spots. Or I'll just save myself the trouble and install yakattack GT90s. We'll see what works better.

Sunday Catching on the Amphibious Assault Craft

We went fishing off the kayak this afternoon at the lake behind our neighborhood. Yeah the Amphibious Assault Craft is really that long - just over 14 feet. The Surf Taco's bed is just over 7' - so it is hanging out there in the wind. Our drive was only 2 minutes (going really slow) so I didn't want to load it on the top racks. Out of the bed, the kayak was pretty easy to handle. To me this thing is a SUP on steroids - I stood up the whole time while Marlon and Noe sat down up front. The anchor chain works great! I'll probably still rig a small 3 pound claw anchor so we don't swing in the wind. We caught today! I used the Soyokaze and ended up with two Smallmouth Bass - the first was 8" the second was probably 3" - and several Bluegill. Marlon caught his first Smallmouth Bass and bunches of Bluegill. We reconfigured the chairs while on the water and started throwing the fish in the live well - all caught and released. I recommend painting the inside of the tank with gray spraypaint and drilling holes in it like Drew did on the youtube videos. That will definitely help with seeing whatever you've thrown in the tank - bait or catch. If you have kids that like to fish, you need one of these Big Tunas. The kids both said repeatedly - "I can do this all day!!!" I know what we're doing next weekend ;)

Drag Chain Instructions for the Big Tuna

It's on the Youtube video (Jackson Kayak's Big Tuna Walkthrough) but I couldn't find specific instructions on how to rig an anchor system. It was not hard to do - get yourself the Flexi size small CORD (not tape) dog leash, 2 feet of 3/8" chain, some duct tape and some 550 cord. Tape up the chain links - first using half-width strips of duct tape to tape up the middles of each link then overwrapping the chain twice. This will prevent the chain from piling up on itself and getting stuck in the rocks. Next, fish out the end of the cord from the connection point of the leash (where the ballistic loop meets the end of the cord looped in the plastic housing). Untie the knot in the cord - you could also cut the cord at the point it goes into the plastic connector, but I gave all the parts I didn't use intact to La for other projects and I wanted to keep as much of the 16' of cord that the leash has. Next take 60" of 550 cord (parachute cord) and tie it to the leash cord together - I used a hitch on the 550 and a bowline on the thinner leash cord - whatever you use, make sure it is low profile because it has to go smoothly through the anchor system fairleads. String the 550 through the fairleads, stuff the leash handle in the midship handle well with the buttons facing upward and the cord exiting towards the stern, then tie a bowline with the bitter end of the 550 cord around one end of the drag chain. There should be a little pigtail left in the 550 (the minimum distance from the end of the fairleads where the chain butts up to the leash well is 56" - you should have used 60" of 550 remember?). That's it! The major difference between what is in the Jackson video and what I did was the use of the 550 - I like to think of it as chaffing gear for the leash cord - they tied the leash directly to the anchor/drag chain and although my way may be overkill, I've seen a bunch of things at sea that make me think the way I do. Hopefully I kick this cold tomorrow so I can try this thing out!!!

First Outing on the Big Tuna

I pulled the kids away from their homework this afternoon (BAD DADDY!!!) and took them out on the kayak. This is not one of those light whitewater boats - over 14' long and 85+ pounds, it was a workout getting it set up to make the journey (short walk) to the lake (when I started fishing the lake earlier this summer, I counted less than 300 footsteps). The Wheeleez (large) cart we got did work, but I am going to have to play with the config to get it right - it shifted on me twice going downhill (I think strapping it down on the forward most frame will make it work better). Next time I may use the truck. Once I had it down at the water's edge, I set it up with both seats on the front half of the boat and left the rear cockpit open. I used my Kialoa Shaka Puu and the kayak paddled well. The kids would stick their paddles in every now and then and I'd just shift sides to compensate. Without a fin to track (which wasn't a problem with 14' of waterline) we plowed right over the lily pad stands - fun time!!! Afterwards, I dropped the kids onshore (they just watched a 'Pirate' video and were speaking in 'Arrrrhhhhh's and 'Land Ho's) and tried the kayak setup. I have watched Youtube videos on how to use a kayak paddle, but my muscle memory is in canoe/SUP paddle mode. Practice makes perfect. I did manage to squeeze all 14' (by nearly 36" width) into the garage with all the other watercraft that already occupies the small space - I'll have to figure out how to enlarge the garage...

Closer look at the Big Tuna

Bad allergy reaction today so I didn't take the kayak out. But I did experiment with where the optimum location for the Wheeleez yak rack is (a couple of feet behind the bow) and looked at the seat mounting brackets. Here's the camo I alluded to yesterday - a lot more brown on the deck than there was on the lower hull. If you let your eyes get lazy then look at the hull plan shape, it looks a lot like the modern racing paddleboards - narrow displacement hull that widens gradually until the last third then skinnies out a little at the end while still keeping the square tail (for stability). Lots of converging going on. I'll try to take it out tomorrow afternoon and play around with no/one/two kids on and working the board with a SUP paddle (Standing Up!!!) and a conventional kayak paddle.

Amphibious Assault Craft

After surfing and lunch, we went to pick up our new Amphibious Assault Craft. I switched the 422XT rack to the back position anticipating the longer load and it worked well to kill some of the noise (electrical tape on the 422XT Top Bar accessory mounting channels helped a bunch too). The color scheme didn't upset La too much - she did like the Lowland Camo pattern better than the Yellow Jacket we looked as earlier. The outer hull is mostly olive with some mixing of tan. The inside hull has a lot more color mixing (brown, tan and olive). I thought I'd be storing this on the back porch - for loading and unloading, this piece of gear will have to live in the garage (after I make more space...). We didn't have time to break it in today - needed to unpack the beach gear from the truck and wash all the salt and dirt off the truck. I am looking forward to getting everyone on this and having more fun on the waters up here in Northern Virginia!!! More to follow on this as we spend time getting proficient and pushing this to it's carrying and fishing limits