High Island Friday, 6-16-17, REPORT

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Yakety_Yak
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High Island Friday, 6-16-17, REPORT

Post by Yakety_Yak »

Well...... what can I say about this trip. We were on schedule and that was the good part, lol.

It starts off with me waking up at 3:00 am. I get dressed and without a second to spare, I'm out the door. It's now about 3:15 am and I head over to McDonald's to get something quick and easy to eat. From there I head to my boat storage to start loading up everything that I packed from the day before for this trip. I arrive at 3:35 am and immediately began to load things. After loading stuff, I hooked up the trailer and right about that time, both Thomas and Elmer arrive. Both of them were riding with me so it made for a fun trip to and from in regards to being around good company. Elmer is an experienced BTB kayak fisherman but Thomas is new. He was going to hang with me so that I could assist with anything he may need help with while on the water. The time now is 4:00 am. All three of us started to work together to get things ready to roll. Before you know it, it's 4:35 am and we are ready to go. A quick drop by my place to drop off vehicles and away we went.

After about 25 minutes of driving, we made it on over to Buc-ee's for BRIG (Breakfast, Restroom, Ice, and Gas).

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Shortly after, we proceeded to head to Winnie, Texas to get some bait at Sea Pony. Rick (for those of you that don’t know Rick, he is the owner of Sea Pony) was stocked with fresh mullet. Right before we took off, Dave Spicer pulled up. He was going to be meeting us at HI but managed to catch up with us at Sea Pony. We all grabbed what we needed and away we went for HI. 20 minutes later we were at HI.

The first thing I noticed was that there was no beach. The water was up substantially and it was only low tide. At least the sunrise was cool!

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After assessing the area, we decided to see what was down the beach line. After a little more than half way to the McFadden Wildlife Refuge sign, we saw trucks that were stuck in the sand. It looks as if new sand had been laid which made it tough to go any further. Just 100 yards behind us I saw an area that looked perfect for parking so we did a U-turn and headed that way with what little room we had to navigate. Once we arrived, we began to get things ready for the water. At this time, it was Dave, Elmer, Thomas, and myself. MobyYack sent me a text message as he wasn’t going to be able to make it due to his vehicle breaking down on his way out to HI and he needed to get it towed. Frank, however, was going to make it but was running late. We would end up seeing him on the beach later in the morning. After getting all our gear ready, it was about that time to launch. We all looked up at the surf as it wasn’t pretty but we all agreed it was definitely doable. It was going to be a rough day but we came to get some fishing done so we were determined to get to it. While Dave and Elmer launched, I stuck around to make sure Thomas was ready. He took his time, which I was happy to see, to ensure he didn’t forget anything.

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I was ready to go with my two new Ion Air Pro video cameras that I had just bought. These were recommended by Prof. Salt as he has one. I decided that I was ready to try something different than my two Go Pros that I have. There are some things that I don’t like about the Go Pros which gave me the incentive to buy the Ion cameras. If you know of anyone that is interested in buying a Hero 4 Silver Surf edition, PM or call me. I’m looking to sell one of my Go Pros of which both are in great shape.

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Finally, the big moment came. Thomas was ready for his first offshore experience! His heart was pumping and the adrenaline was kicking. I think we all remember how it was for our first experience. The excitement of not knowing what to expect out there in the water in and past the breakers can be a bit to stomach at first! Thomas and I both launched together. I stayed by his side the entire time so that I could walk him through everything as best as I could while we went through the surf. After what seemed like infinity, Thomas made it through the surf for his first time without turtling. Congrats Thomas!!

Now on to what we came here to do. Once we got out a little way, we anchored up. Thomas was too far to hear me but he had a radio to stay in constant contact. With all the rough conditions, it was difficult to hear anything at all just by voice. The radio was extremely instrumental that day for constant communication with everyone. I had some lines deployed fairly quick. I had one under a balloon and another line on the bottom. I had sat there for a while but no hits. I think we were all spread out around 10 ft., 12 ft., and 14 ft. With as chocolate milk as the water was, I don’t think it mattered how short or far out we went. The bite was just stupid tough all day.

I sat for around an hour and nothing came of it. I decided that I would stay in this place a little longer and then I would check on Thomas. After the 30 minutes was up, I pulled anchor. The current was ridiculous which made it tough to pull my anchor line in without flipping. I’ve been in this situation before so I knew exactly what to do. After pulling anchor, Thomas and I met up. Thomas was struggling with the conditions/current and was unable to do anything in regards to fishing. He was getting pretty tired and was ready to head back to shore. Everyone drifted pretty far. By the time we anchored up, we were in the McFadden region about where we would have parked back in the day. Now it was time to fight wind, current, and conditions. No worries, Thomas was in a Hobie Outback of which he rented from Austin Canoe & Kayak off of Bissonnett and Renwick. This ACK is located in Houston. The one thing Thomas didn’t have that everyone else did on the water was an upgraded sail rudder and turbo fins. They definitely come in handy on a day like the one I am talking about. We made our peddle back to where our cars are and by the time we were substantially in the HI region and out of the McFadden area, Thomas was letting me know he was about done. I told him let’s just head back to the beach and we can walk the kayaks back. This was the new game plan. Thomas hung in there like a champ and never gave up.

Now we are ready to re-enter the surf zone. I had a talk with Thomas on the way to HI about exit/re-entry procedures so it was time to put those things to the test. Thomas was ready to come in backwards as was I. I didn’t get into position until he was backwards and moving. After I got into position, I would keep looking back and checking on Thomas to make sure he was doing okay. If I noticed something, I would radio him in between the wave sets. After all the fighting with the surf he did, he practically made it in but then he turtled. When I saw him come up out of the water, he was only about a little less than waist deep. He walked the kayak back in to the beach and then proceeded to rest while I finished coming in through the surf. Shortly after, I made it in with no issues. Thomas was relaxing by his kayak, eating, and drinking fluids. We talked on the beach line for a short time on things so that he can use it as knowledge for the next time he went out. After that, I went to get my vehicle to see if I could make it down to pick up the yaks. I managed to make it down with my SUV. After loading the yaks, I drove back to the spot we originally were at.

At the moment I was meeting up with Thomas on the water to head back, Frank arrives and radios us to let us know he is there. Once we got back to the launch spot, we took a short break. I introduced Frank to Thomas. Frank had his yak but also had surf rods to do a little surf fishing. I decided that while those two got to know each other and chat it up about fishing, I would head back on to the water and get some more fishing done.

ROUND TWO….. Right before I go out Frank wanted me to run a line out for him. I get the line and locked it in the built in Hobie rod holder in the rear to where it would not come out. I get on out in the shallow stuff and wait for the timing on the wave sets. I thought to myself, screw it. All my stuff was leashed in and so I was good to go. I’ve seen worse so these waves couldn’t be all that bad, lol. I got in my kayak and away I went. I headed straight into the waves. After what seemed to be a quick fight, I was out of the surf zone. I kept on going until Frank radioed me to let me know to drop the bait.

Now that I have dropped the bait, it’s time to get to fishing. I decided to go ahead and hit 8 ft. deep. I remembered seeing earlier in the day quite a bit of activity on the fish finder at 8 ft. so I figured what the heck. I arrive at 8 ft. so I anchored up. I dropped one line on the bottom and one under a balloon. I sat for about 45 minutes with no activity, not even a short run. I decided that if I didn’t get a run in another 15 minutes, I would head back in. The water was chocolate milk, the surf sucked, the swells sucked, the current sucked, the wind sucked, and the fishing sucked. To sum it all up, everything sucked, lol. 15 minutes had come and gone so I pulled anchor and started to head back in. I had to get past the launch because of the crazy current as I was going to come back in backwards. Right before I go in, Dave came up from behind and asked if I was going to anchor up.

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I told him I was heading back to the beach. I was going to get with Thomas and have him do some more practicing going in and out of the surf if he was up for it. Dave asked to borrow my anchor. After giving him the anchor, I headed back to shore. My return to shore was good, no issues.

After I got back on shore, I stopped to chat with Frank for a few minutes and to rehydrate. After a few minutes, I checked with Thomas to see if he was up for some more waves. He gave me the okay so we unloaded our yaks, took off all the gear, and got ready to brave the surf once again. The only thing I had on my yak this time was my Ion video cameras. I stayed by Thomas’s side every step of the way. I wanted to make sure that this time he was on track and made his exit and re-entry through the surf 100% successful. We both get the yaks in the water, time the sets, and off to the races it was for us both. Thomas is paddling frantically. Frank and I both noticed this and I told and showed Thomas what he was doing and the correction for it as we were working ourselves through the surf. Thomas made the change and his paddling became much better. He was chopping at the water at first and not really getting a full paddle stoke in.

Now that we are through the surf, it was time to come back in. After Thomas got into reverse, I stayed forward to talk him through things until he was ready to go. Next, I would get into position to head in backwards. Once Thomas was in the surf zone and doing his thing, I began to do mine. In between wave sets, I would check on Thomas. He was doing much better this round! He kept the kayak straight into the waves and paddle through them as they approached him. After each wave passed, he concentrated on keeping the front of the yak straight while he would continue to head toward the shoreline. After a while, Thomas had made it back to shore without turtling. Congrats Thomas on a job well done!! I finally made it in as well with no issues to report.

As we all hung out on shore, we were watching out in the ocean. Dave was anchored up and continued fishing. Dave caught the only sharks of the day. I think he caught a 4 ft. shark and a smaller one. Both were black tips. Elmer was out there still and he was on a gaff top roll. No bull reds were caught either. While we were talking on shore, we noticed that Elmer had turtled. He wasn’t in the surf zone but if he didn’t get back in the kayak soon, he would be. From what it looked like, Elmer made it in right at the surf zone edge and possibly in it a little. He managed to get back in and get the kayak in position to head back to shore without being tossed. I have to hand it to Elmer because those swells had to of made it challenging to get back in with the conditions we had. Awesome job, Elmer, for keeping it together and staying on top of things.

Elmer made it back in. Shortly after, I called Dave on his cell phone to let him know we were starting to pack up. Dave made it back in with no problems. We all chatted for a short time after we all packed up and then we parted ways to head back home. Since Thomas had rented a Hobie Outback from ACK and none of us had anything major to do once we got back to Houston, we all decided to drop off the Outback first before heading back to my place. After dropping off the Outback, I took everyone back to my place where their vehicles were at.

After fighting 5 o’clock traffic, we arrived at my place. Everyone loaded their stuff in their vehicles and headed home. I ended up heading to my storage to go clean the yak and my car. After that, I headed home for a shower. Even though the day was rough and I didn’t catch any fish, I managed to have fun and make a good day out of what was potentially a rough one. It was great to see everyone out there. It’s been awhile since I had fished with Dave, Elmer, and Frank. I was glad to see that Thomas enjoyed himself. All in all, I think everyone enjoyed themselves. On a day like this, I guess you can’t ask for anything better than that. Until next time, tight lines everyone!!
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MobyYack
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Re: High Island Friday, 6-16-17, REPORT

Post by MobyYack »

Nice report. As i was headed down Beltway 8 headed to winnie something in my mind reminded me that my Dad and I had forgotten our life jackets. My truck literally died on the Uturn back. After 5 shop trips over the course of two weeks they finally found a faulty wire in the ignition coil! At least the truck is running great!

Sorry to hear about that soft sand. This weekend looks no good with the gulf storm headed our way but ill be headed there soon!
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Re: High Island Friday, 6-16-17, REPORT

Post by Wolfman57 »

How did the ION camera hold up? Any reviews on it?
Yakety_Yak
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Re: High Island Friday, 6-16-17, REPORT

Post by Yakety_Yak »

MobyYack wrote:Sorry to hear about that soft sand.
I'm not sure who it was that was stuck in the sand but it was nobody we knew and I wasn't in a 4wd to help out. My SUV is a 4 cyl so I was doing good just to be where I was. Those guys ended up having some help. My guess is they called some friends to come out and get them out.
Wolfman57 wrote:How did the ION camera hold up? Any reviews on it?
I was looking over the footage I took and I am impressed with the Ion. Thumbs up!! :clap:
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kickingback
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Re: High Island Friday, 6-16-17, REPORT

Post by kickingback »

Great report Blake. Sorry ya'll didn't catch anything but waves. It happens to all of us at some time or another.
I own 2 of the Ion Air cameras myself. Got some footage of me landing a sting ray out at the standpipe when I was there a couple weeks back. Good cameras!
r12338
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Re: High Island Friday, 6-16-17, REPORT

Post by r12338 »

Nice report! - quick question about backwards re-entry thru the surf with the hobie outback: Do you keep the mirage drive in the water or pull it out? Seems it would be counter productive to leave it in, but dangerously easy to lose if just lying in the hull. #confused :)
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Re: High Island Friday, 6-16-17, REPORT

Post by Yakety_Yak »

kickingback wrote:Great report Blake. Sorry ya'll didn't catch anything but waves. It happens to all of us at some time or another.
I own 2 of the Ion Air cameras myself. Got some footage of me landing a sting ray out at the standpipe when I was there a couple weeks back. Good cameras!
Thanks Charlie!
r12338 wrote:Nice report! - quick question about backwards re-entry thru the surf with the hobie outback: Do you keep the mirage drive in the water or pull it out? Seems it would be counter productive to leave it in, but dangerously easy to lose if just lying in the hull. #confused :)
Right before I enter the surf and after I have turned around to get ready to head in backwards, I pull the mirage drive out and lay it in the cockpit area. At this point I resort back to paddle mode. If I turtle while heading in, no problem. My mirage drive is leashed with 400 lb mono. :)
Last edited by Yakety_Yak on Thu Jun 22, 2017 2:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
r12338
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Re: High Island Friday, 6-16-17, REPORT

Post by r12338 »

Sorry- one other question about hobie / rear entry thru the surf - do you also leave your rudder down or do you pull it up as well? #toomanyquestions..:)
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Re: High Island Friday, 6-16-17, REPORT

Post by Yakety_Yak »

r12338 wrote:Sorry- one other question about hobie / rear entry thru the surf - do you also leave your rudder down or do you pull it up as well? #toomanyquestions..:)

I pull my rudder up as well. I don't want anything to hit the sandbars so everything is pulled up. The same goes for other kayaks with peddle drives and/or rudders.
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kickingback
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Re: High Island Friday, 6-16-17, REPORT

Post by kickingback »

I always raise mine when within 30 yards of shore if I am coming in backwards or within a foot and half of water. Some leave it out until it is less than a foot. Coming in backwards I use only my paddle anyway to "steer" me in. Much easier in my opinion. I pull my drive within 30 yards as well. If the wave sets are breaking more I will raise them at 40-50 yards. I always let the waves carry me in backwards in my heavy Hobie. I ain't proud... 8)
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Re: High Island Friday, 6-16-17, REPORT

Post by r12338 »

Thanks for the info!
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Re: High Island Friday, 6-16-17, REPORT

Post by Yakety_Yak »

r12338 wrote:Thanks for the info!

Which Hobie do you have?
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Re: High Island Friday, 6-16-17, REPORT

Post by tastywavescoolbuzz »

I see this way too often, 5-6 r&r for shark fishin . lot of gear to lose/fup for so close to shore. sayin. :D
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