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Ultimate Kayak Fishing (UKF) staff arrived at King Cove Marina around noon on Friday to put the Rodeo Packages together. Afterwards we headed to Captain Tim´s for dinner, a big thanks to Kevin & Don (King Cove) for feeding us and putting up with our fishing stories. That night, the Massachusetts Minutemen were slaying mid 30 to low 40 inch fish in Stonington Harbor with four monster fish coming in that night. Too bad the tournament didn´t begin for another 6 hours.
Massachusetts Minutemen Young Guns with their Cows
Wind conditions were tough all throughout the tournament (20-30 kts), with heavy rain starting early Saturday morning continuing to noon. Fifty plus anglers hit the water at 06:00 AM Saturday with the anticipation of big stripers. Jeff and Lefty headed to Rhode Island; Rick, Robert, and I headed out of Wequatequock Cove towards Sandy Point; Kevin and Roland for Stonington Point; the Minutemen headed back to Stonington Harbor; Ken and Mr. C headed for Bluff Point; and you guessed it, Betty and Dale went to Keeny Beach. Jeff landed a 34 incher off of State Pier 5 at Point Judith that morning in the Catch & Release Division that ended up winning the C&R Division. Robert caught a 26 inch bass on the Fly tube Worm (secret recipe), while I could only muster up 19 shorts under the bridge.
Hatchets Striper on the Fly Tube Worm
Back to shore for a nap before hitting it hard that night, Nils, Robert, Jeff, and I headed out to Stonington Harbor in search of Cow´s, as it became apparent that the harbor was holding big fish. We met up with a couple of the Minutemen at the commercial docks at midnight as we launched and saw the winning Big Bass Division fish in the bottom of Mark´s Yak. Robert and Craig headed to the rail road bridges and Nils and Jeff headed out to the west break wall. We fished the bridges for 3 hours marking a lot of big fish, but no takers. Robert and I past Nils and Jeff as they were coming back in to the harbor and got the report of a big hit at the West Wall. We beached on the wall and watched a beautiful full orange moon set just before the tide shift. Deciding that we had had enough wind this weekend, Robert and I planned one last drift using both the wind and tide in our favor. Starting from the western end of the west wall, we drifted along the wall, when I hit the east end Bluefish were turning my eels into cigar butts. Landing two nice bluefish, I headed across Stonington Point and picked up a 32 inch bass 100 yards off the tip. By the time I landed it, got the picture, and re-baited we had past the Red Nun and were headed for Watch Hill, as the wind was still blowing hard out of the west.
King Cove Marina Camp Grounds
Picking up the in coming tide, Robert and I decided that instead of going back to the harbor, we would use the in coming tide to move inside of Sandy Point and look for more fish. At green #9 Can, I picked up a 30 incher and 7 more shorts. By then it was about 8:00 AM and we headed up the cove to King Cove to set up for awards and the picnic.
Beautiful Young Lady with 11 lbs (Doormat) Fluke
Back at King Cove, Mark brought in the winning fish, edging out Scott (Gary G´s Son) by 2 inches. Additionally, a young lady brought in an 11 lbs doormat Fluke that morning. A hearty fest was put on by King Cove and more stories were exchanged, before a rag-tag bunch of guy´s and gals´ headed home.
Mark (Massachusetts Minutemen Young Gun) Big Fish
A big well done to King Cove (Don M & Kevin), the Pro Staff, Nils, and the Tournament Staff. A big thank-you to our Sponsors and Supporters for all their generous donations for the raffles: King Cove (Wilderness Tarpon 160i Kayak, two custom rods, StCroix fly rod and tackle), AquaSkinz, RonZ Engineered Soft Baits, Super Strike, Al Gags Custom Lures, Abu Garcia-Pure Fishing, Penn Fishing Tackle, Line Stretcher tackle Company, Surfacetension, Dell “The Plugman”, Anco Lures, Folsom Corp, Daiwa, RAM, Scotty, Aquabound, Yak-Pad, Super Strike, Don O’Neil, Shimano, and Eastern Mountain Sport (EMS).
Picnic Gathering with Gary, Scott, and Kevin
Picnic Gathering with Mike, Roland, and Friends
A great tournament, that just keeps on getting bigger and better. The three big East Coast Kayak Fishing Tournaments, are The Jamaica Bay Tournament, Jacksonville Kayak Fishing Classic, and Tidewater Kayak Fishing Association Tournament (Virginia Beach); with about 150 to 200 people attending. This Rodeo saw over 80 people signing up and we would possibly had more if the weather had been better; making this an up and coming major in the Northeast.
It was great to get out and fish with friends both close and far and to see all the new faces here. Looking forward to see you all at the Massachusetts Shoot Out, August 5th and 6th, sponsored by New England Kayak Fishing (NEKF).
Tarpon 160I Winner: Ken Osborne
Catch & Release Division: Jeff Lopez (The Riddler) 34" Striper
Big Fish Division: Mark Nelson 20.55 lbs Striper
Fly Division: Robert Hatcher (Hatchet)
PS: Jeff (The Riddler) get that finger repaired, and I´ll see you at the Mass Shootout with that King Cove hat on. |
