Greetings Anglers, Hows the bite out there? Hopefully ya all have screaming lines and pealing drag. This week Wayne came out to the End and we set up and field tested some of his new equipment. Trying to stay within a reasonable budget, he purchased a Penn Spinfisher and a Tsunami 11 Footer. Put 40 Braid on the reel and topped it with a barrel swivel, 40 pound Seagur leader and a tactical angler clip in which he put on a 2 3/8 Super Strike Little Neck Popper on. He went with an Aquaskins Tall Small Plug Bag and uses waders, wader belt, and Korkers for rocky and slippery beaches. As the rod is rated MH (Medium Heavy), it can throw 4 to 6 oz no problem but we mainly used 2 to 4 Ounce lures and bucktails. Perhaps a bit stiff on the draw, but nice when bulling in the large blues, etc. As for my gear and since people always ask, my Lami Supersurf has been my fave 11 footer that I have matched up to my VS275 for years. However, I just started using my new VS200 on my new ten foot one piece Lou Caruso rod which is a much lighter and has more flex so truly enjoying the change and mixing it up. Point being, fun to try different types of gear until you find the set up that really fits your needs and budget.

This past Sunday, I got to Kayak fish with Andy. As you may recall, Andy won the Montauk Outfitter half day Kayak Trip raffle at Bill’s Surf Rats Shin Dig. Bill Wetzell is a friend and a fellow surf fishing guide and has a nice website that lots of dedicated surf casters have joined. At the end of the surf fishing tourney, Bill has an awards event and raises money for kids in need. Check it out as it’s a great thing they are doing. Back to Andy, well after he won, I asked him what he would like to target. He mentioned Weakfish and my first thought was that we don’t kayak fish too many of them up in Montauk so I will have to do my research and find some out on the East end as I have friends who target them on the North Fork. Well, research I did and the Peconics kept coming up of course which prompted me to recon a few weeks back and find out about a few more spots. I also was also told to try areas in Greenport and Shelter which is exactly what we did. So, Friday comes along and Andy and I met in Sag Harbor and then took the ferry over to Shelter Island. Just love it over there. Farms, peacefulness, quiet neighborhoods and lots of waterviews, etc. We found our launch point in the middle of nowhere and had at it. Right off the launch, the water was whipping and dropped to 40 feet and then to 80 plus in some spots. We yakked all the way to Bug Lighthouse and got some good pics. We tried various tactics for Weakies but the conclusion was that while they were there a few weeks ago (no pun), they may have cleared out as we didn’t land any. It happens. However, all was good since we learned some new spots and studied the tides and currents and channels and eddys and boats, etc. Since we used the some of the same tactics as we do for Fluke, we did well on that front. I caught a few and I know Andy caught more than me as his net was always deployed as I looked over. Good Job to him. All in all a good day until we heard on the radio that a storm was coming over from Connecticut so we finished the trip after 6 hours and avoided the rain, etc. I know many kayakers don’t bring marine radios out on the water with them but I strongly reco the West Marine Horizon Marine Radio which is a hand held radio that floats and has channels to speak to your buddies, channels to hear the marine weather and emergency buttons in case anything goes wrong. Right up there with life jackets and Kayak flags which are a must have for Kayak fishing. Tight Lines friends.