Tournament Fishing for Boston...

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to be fishing the The Tidewater Kayak Anglers Association (TKAA) and the Pirates of Lynnhaven (POL) Kayak Fishing Tournament to Benefit the Victims of the Boston Marathon Bombings. More information on OneFund Boston can be found here OneFund Boston.  

This morning was going to be a different kind of fishing day for me. Today was going to be a relaxed atmosphere and more of a social tournament than what you would normally expect. Plus, today I was going to have the best fishing partner I could ask for, the kind of partner who thinks you’re the best fisherman around. The kind of partner that doesn’t care what type of kayak or fishing gear we were using today.

My son, Wyatt, was that partner today. He actually woke up and ran into our room and said “DAD, you ready?” I got up and made us some breakfast, then loaded up the rest of the gear. I told him to get into his seat and he ran back to the garage and grabbed the net. The last trip we made I forgot the net and we lost a nice flounder at the boat. He made sure that didn’t happen today!

Today I was getting to fish Lynnhaven Inlet. This was an area that I have never fished before so I didn’t expect much. My goal for the day was to help Wyatt land some fish, and that we did…

Our first fish of the day was a nice 21” flounder, followed by 2 more keepers, 17 ½” and a 16 ½”.

A big THANK YOU to Jeff Lockhart for helping me out on the water today. I had forgot my Hawg Trough measuring board and Jeff was almost always within sight to allow me to measure our fish.

Wyatt got a chance to head to the bar with me, an oyster bar, J. We got a chance to stretch our legs and fish along side Wayne Mills, Tommy V and Ben Hoover (the other Philly guy). This was our chance to try for the slam and get a redfish or speckled trout. We didn’t catch anything on the bar so we headed out again.

We headed off oyster bar in search of our slam. Wyatt was having a blast casting his little ugly stick with gulp. While we were drifting and the sound of “I got one” rang out very loud. Wyatt’s little rod was buckled over and, at first; I thought he had nice red. It was a 15” STUD croaker! All while enjoying a ring pop, haha.

It was getting late and we were about to head to the ramp with our catch. I decided to head over to drift by some of the docks and see if any reds were around. My first cast was perfect right near the edge of a little eddie right up against the docks. I felt the strike right away and hoped this was a red. Sure enough I had my 17 ½” red on the board.

 

I loaded up the kayak and headed to Salty C’s for the weigh in. We met fellow Hobie team member, Chuck Wrenn and his son Jacob and grabbed a table for a bite to eat and wait for the results.

 

The results were in and Wyatt and I won 1^st place with a 38 ½” Slam! Congratulations to all the winners and to everyone who participated.  

On the way home my little guy couldn’t wait to show mom HIS trophy.

We met a lot of great people and made many new friends. I truly enjoyed every minute of this tournament and want to thank Joe Maccini, Russell Hamm, Andy Backowski and anyone who helped make this tournament possible.

For me this wasn't about winning, this was about spending time with my son and to support a great cause!

BOSTON STRONG!

Result:

Croaker Division:
1st:  Kyle Sullivan - 14 5/8" (yes 14 5/8")
2nd:  Jimmy Miller - 14.5"
3rd:  Bob Deml - 11 1/4

Largest Saltwater Species:
1st:  Tim Quintana - 21.5" Ray
2nd:  Thom Mattauch - 10 1/4" Roundhead

2 Fish Slam:
1st:  Joe Underwood - 38.5" Red/Flounder
2nd:  Kris Lozier - 37 1/4" Red/Flounder
3rd:  Andy Bakowski - 32.5" Red/Flounder
4th:  Louis Nguyen - 31 3/4" Red/Flounder

Honorable Mention:
Joe Underwood's 4 year old son, Wyatt, caught a 15" CROAKER!!!!  Way to go Wyatt - we have anglers who wont catch a 15" Croaker all season!!!  Great job Wyatt!!!!!!!!

We had a total of 36 Anglers competing today in the tournament.  Thanks to Salty C's for hosting the after and awards party and for their generous donation!!!  Thanks to Rob Lee, Mark and Kris Lozier, Russ Hamm, and Wayne Bradby for your generous donations for prizes and raffles.  And finally thanks to all the anglers and spouses/friends who came out to fish and then join us at Salty C's.  We raised a great deal of money for One Fund Boston.  Thanks again!!!

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