Phil. W Kayak Fishing.: Heroes on the Water and TKAA Rudee Inlet Cleanup 26APR14

I met Joe Robbins out at the boatramp at 0630 and we headed out to do a little prefish and scout. There were several other kayakers and boaters already on the water and there was a pretty strong wind blowing across the Inlet. We paddled out to a fishy looking spot and I made a few casts to the grass on the flats. I was using a pearl 4.5 inch power team lures grub with a spiked chartreuse tail. After a few casts I wasnt getting any bites so I gave it a shot of procure inshore and worked it a little slower across the oyster beds and then I seen the swell and tail flip of a red and my rod jerked. I set the hook and after a decent pull around the flats I landed a nice 24 inch redfish. Joe worked up more into the flats I drifted down working the oyster bed. I did manage to get another bite but I didnt get the hookset and after a hard pull my lure came flying back at me. At 0700 I paddled back to the boat ramp. I signed up to be a volunteer at a Heroes on the Water event at Rudee Inlet. The weather forecast was favorable I had a weekend off and I was excited to help out with this awesome organization. Heroes on the Water takes veterans out kayak fishing and provide everything to get out and catch fish. Once we got everything unloaded Tom VanderHeiden the Tidewater Chapter Coordinator gave us a safety brief and then we hit the water. It was awesome to see their excitement and it wasnt long until the plastic fleet was out to take over the inlet.

While the HOW event was going on Tidewater Kayak Anglers Association was doing an adopt a stream cleanup for Rudee Inlet. This is an awesome way for anglers to give back to the community and the waterways we all like to fish an enjoy. We had a pretty good turnout although much to my disappointment a few TKAA members left or decided not to help out once the cleanup started. TKAA managed 14 bags of trash from the surrounding shoreline and oyster beds. I managed to locate 2 large ammo cans, a brand new basketball, and two rapala xrap lures among other trash. Oh I also managed another shower curtain, and a pair of shoes (mismatched types but hey when ya need to cover your feet who can be picky!) Thank you everyone who volunteered to help pickup trash even while fish were being caught by boaters and kayakers while you went through briars, mud, weeds and water to pick up the trash left by others. Pizza was provided for lunch and few people headed back out onto the water to catch some of the fish that they could only watch being caught, rumor has it the same fish was caught twice!

The bite in the Inlet slowed down at low tide and everyone came in for a bite to eat. Since the vets havnt had enough action everyone paddled back out onto the water to catch some more willing fish. It wasnt long before a school was located and everyone was getting in on the action. Joe R. managed a small flounder, and I had heard rumors of them being caught and my ptl grub hadnt had any bites for a while so I switched over to a egret vudu shrimp in glow with a chartreuse tail. After a few hops across the bottom I felt the surge of a fish and jerked back and started reeling. A short run and POW! my lure flies out of the fishes mouth and misses my ear by half an inch. The tail smack on the water looked like it was a decent sized red. I loosened my drag a bit since this was the second fish I had ripped the hook away from and casted out again. I felt a bump and then a jerk and I set the hook. As the fish started to come into view under the water I got really excited as I could see the flat side of the first flounder of 2014 coming toward the kayak. After my adventures in 2013 I decided to take no chances and netted the flattie before he could escape. I dont know what it is about them but I love catching them especially on a day your not expecting to see them. Once the bite died down and everyone had a stringer limit of reds we paddled back to the ramp to end the day. I hope this was just the first chance I get to help out and I managed to bring home enough for dinner and an awesome feeling after helping veterans get out and share the sport I get so much enjoyment out of and couldnt do without their service to our country.