The Re-Annointment of the Hooked SUP

BEHOLD!!! From the clutches of under-utilization due to family separation, then compounded by house hold goods shipping halfway across the Pacific Ocean, unpacking and organizing a new home, and finally (last excuse) having to re-glue down the deck pad-so-why-don't-I-just-go-ahead-and-install-the-masttrack-box-while-I'm-at-it - emerges the new and improved Hooked SUP!!! Marlon and I paddled SUPs out around Flat Island around lunchtime, and I brought along the whipping setup and a kayak spinning rig. I did manage to get a visual on two follows (papio), but unfortunately I didn't get to set the hook. I'm going to have to find the sea anchor I have so I can slow down my drift and spend more time casting. I'm looking forward to exploring the near shore zones with this board - especially under sail!!!

Now It's All Pau

I cleaned up the deck pad, cut the new hole for the mast track, and fixed the gap between the front and back pads. I can't wait to get this board back out on the water!!!

Hooked SUP Rehab All Pau

I got home with a couple of hours of sunlight left so I decided to get as far on the Hooked SUP rehabilitation project as I could. I got the mast track box opened up and beveled the edge. I even applied some touch up paint to some 'loved hard' spots (check the prior blog entries on the wind storm at Maryland on our Trail Manor trip - Summer of 2014). The paint didn't match exactly, but it adds tremendously to the character of this board. And with only a few minutes to spare, I was able to get the entire deck pad back on. The only shortfall was the pad had shrunk in it's several years of use. Lining up the important parts (Scotty Mount holes, logo pieces, leash plugs, etc) left a 1/2" gap in the front and back sections. I've got maybe an hour of additional work on the deckpad - mainly trimming and preening - but this board is ready to go!!! I can't wait to land some bigger fish from this thing!!!

I Gave In

Despite coming home later (west bound Oahu traffic) and my previous thoughts on a second layer of fiberglass capping the mast track box, I went ahead and placed it. Primarily I did this to prevent any second guessing over the life of this board. Cheap piece of mind and more reason to go hard on the board!!!

General Cleanup and the Cap Sheet

After surfing, we did minimal errands and headed back home so we could get some stuff done. La has been working on home school preps and I turned to finishing the epoxy work on the Hooked SUP. I ground the edges and high spots down from yesterday's box setting. I also decided to maintain as much of the track box as possible and just feather in the foam-to-board transition. These pictures are the finished product prior to me placing the cap sheet of fiberglass. I ended up using a single layer of 6 oz cloth instead of two 4 oz layers. I don't intend on sailing this board in high winds and the force will never be lifting "straight up", so I took the lazy route. Hopefully my hunch is correct and this mod will be sufficiently strong for what I'm looking to do. The bottom of the box is way stronger - 3 overlapped layers of 4 oz cloth - this and the sides are where the forces will be directed, so I feel better about this overall distribution of fiberglass and epoxy. As I pick up some spare time during this upcoming week, I'll feather in the cap sheet, start re-applying the deck pads, add touch up paint to some previous scuffs, and replace all the hardware (bungees and Scotty mounts). I'm looking forward to getting this board back in the water (and using it to track down, sneak up on and land some big fish!!!)

The Mast Track Box is in place

Yup - done (but perhaps 1/16" too high - I thought of adding just one more layer of 4 ounce fiberglass - unfortunately I didn't cut the hole deep enough for that last second brilliant idea. Oh well - hopefully I can spare the additional 1/16" to 1/8" and just grind the excess off. I'll measure what room I have tomorrow. After the grind to clean up today's work, I just need to put a cap sheet in place and then I can start gluing the deck pads back on and touching up the "loved" spots with some spray paint. It should be ready for the water sometime this coming week.

Fishing Report 10/10/2014

I took the Hooked SUP out to the salt marsh just outside of Mayport Naval Station. I brought the St Croix Tidemaster and an old friend that I haven't had out in a while - the Epic 686 built out by Chris Barclay. I ended up catching a 15" Speckled Trout (Spotted Sea Trout) on a gulp mullet. Decent fight, but the Tidemaster was just a hair too much for this fish (my lightweight St Croix Triumph would have been sweet!). But when you are fishing for meat, getting the rod power right is just gravy - I'll take the meat! After a little bit more time with the spin gear, I switched out to the Epic 686 with a full sink line - basically the same setup I used when fishing for shad in the Potomac Shad Run. On the first cast I got this needlefish on a shrimp fly - it jumped a few times just to make me smile a little bit more than I already was! Casting a lighter fly makes using this combo oh so nice - I was able to throw very pretty loops - I really LOVE this setup!!! I think I am going to tie up more shrimp flies (smaller and slightly heavier) and cast the rod with both a DT6 and WF6 to see what I can get out of it - it really has been a while since I used this rod. I saw a few other fish, but didn't bring anymore to hand. Awesome fishing day!!!

Fishing Report 10/8/2014

I tried to catch the flood tide at the salt marshes by Cedar Point. Glassy smooth water and LOTS of bugs. When I get into conditions like that, I always drop into my "SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP" mode - mind over matter. I had the St Croix Tidemaster and the Orvis Helios 8wt out with me. I had specifically gone out trying to find redfish tailing in the flooded grass. I found flooded grass and tons of finger mullet - and tons of bugs (did I mention that already?). I didn't get any hits on the fly (although I oddly enough saw mud minnows attacking the Waldner Spoon Fly I was casting - they weren't much larger than the fly), but I used the time to practice casting. I am at the point where I can 'feel' mistakes in casting while they are happening, and I can correct them on subsequent casts - the neat thing is this has never become tedious - I'm pretty sure I've found the next thing for my next 40 years (what surfing/windsurfing/kitesurfing was for my first 40). On the way in I was blind casting a Gulp Shrimp on a 1/4 oz black jig head and I got to see color on a big speckled trout - unfortunately it was just holding onto the bait and when it saw me, it left the game. I stuck around the same spot trying to reengage but it didn't happen. What I did get was a hookup with the first Southern Flounder I've caught in a very long time (if you've been keeping up with this blog, you'll recall I caught a small Peacock Flounder out in the Indian Ocean - but that was then and this was a Southern). I got this guy by the "skin of it's teeth" - literally. This guy was 13" (legal keeper is 12") - dinner!!!

Fishing Report 10/3/2014

Catching up on some posts from the weekend. I went SUP fishing to explore the low tide exposures at Dutton Island. I got skunked, but I did get some hits on a curly tail gulp - the bait got nearly cut in half by the first hit and had some good teeth gouges on the second. I'm not sure what the fish where, but a skunk is a skunk. I did get a real close look at the edges of the spartina grass flats - lots of holes where fiddler crabs were the dominate species - not the marsh crabs I saw last time during the high tide. This is enlightening (for me anyways) in that most spartina grass flies are of the bigger crab type tied in the "merkin" fashion to get a fuller body. I'm going to have to get over my reluctance to tie with yarn and make some 'fiddler' crab flies. Those holes in the mud are crab condos - or redfish feeding troughs.... where's my vise?

Fishing Report 9/11/2014 Part 1

Took the Hooked SUP paddleboard out this morning to Dutton Island (off Mayport Road). I was hoping to catch some tailing redfish on the fly, but alas - the universe deemed it was not the day to do so. The cuts made by the tidal flows were pretty cool - like a maze of spartina grass. A lot to see for the observant - including this manatee. I was out for 4 hours and I saw tons of finger mullet, a bunch of needlefish and only got a couple of follows from something I couldn't identify (murky water). I did get a shot a a smaller sheepshead and a burrfish - I saw they snacking on the snails and crabs that crawl up the grass during the high tides. For a first time out, I'd say this was a good recon (I'll take the skunk). I'm going to have to tie up some flies that look like these crabs.