YakAttack Outriggers

I have been trying to find ways to get BB out on her kayak more. She enjoys being out on the water but she is from the desert of Arizona and it is all new to her so she gets uncomfortable on rough and windy water. After looking up several DIY and marketed outriggers I couldnt find anything that BB liked or I thought would be stable enough or work for her kayak. I knew that if she didnt like how it looked, or felt comfortable using it then it would make her not want to kayak more, the opposite of my intentions. I had almost given up completely then I seen a Facebook update from YakAttack that said they were toying with the idea of releasing somthing. I was pretty excited because all of the products that I have used have been excellent quality and very easy to mount and customize. I waited anxiously for more news or pictures to see what would happen.
The first photos posted were awesome. A collapsable/modular system that mounted using geartrac and two pontoons that looked to be very sleek. Then I thought I hit another snag, after looking at the components I knew it wasnt going to be cheap, but then again what hobby is? I got the break I was looking for however because Luther announced a demo run of the outriggers. Ten demo sets were up for 175.00$ so I jumped on the opportunity and three weeks later I got the box in the mail.
Right out of the box I could see why the final price will be as high as announced. Every component is already available on the market for various installs of rod holders and accessories. The assembly was pretty straight forward even without instructions. The hardest part was finding where on BBs Hurricane Phoenix 120 we were going to put it. We finally decided on a spot right after the rear stoarge well and mounted the 4 inch geartrac. BB wanted lime green so I went with the GTSL90. I believe the GT175 would be a more stable platform. The mounting plates are slotted so that if you have angled geartrac it will still slide in which came in handy during this install.

On her first trip out BB was very happy with how the kayak handled and how stable it was. She was more comfortable on the water and therefore stayed out longer and went more places. She even braved boat wake sideways without any fear of tipping over. She stood up in her kayak and moved around, although the Phoenix isnt really made for standing and the thinner plastic was bending the kayak itself was stable and nowhere near close to flipping. While she paddled the pontoons cut through the water and waves very easy. BB's favorite part about the install was how cool it makes her kayak look, and thats always a plus right? If your looking to add stability to your kayak check out YakAttack when they release the outriggers. Dont let the price scare you, this setup is built with quality components. This is only a demo set, its gonna be tough to improve an already awesome setup. Just make sure you place it where you can make a full paddle stroke without making contact with the pontoons.

Box came in the mail!

Base plate added to the pontoon.

Side view.

All it needs now is some mini shark decals!

Mount attached to base plate.

Side view.

Arm attached, wide range of adjustability.

Side view.

Complete pontoon assembled with attaching arms.

Ends connected to the plastic bar. I just pressed them on and used the screws provided.

Geartrac installed.

Notice the angle of the geartrac, the mounting bracket was slotted so it still slid right in.

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Another HRBT Trip with BB

BB had just received her custom YakAttack BlackPak and with 2.5 days off work and good weather forecasts we were ready to hit the water. I had reached out to Luther concerning the availability of a custom purple BlackPak and he said it was a no go but suggested I contact Chad Hoover at Hook1. A short phone call later and I had a purple digital camo BlackPak on order. If you havnt checked out Hook1 head over to Hook1 and check it out. Chad was able to work with me to make sure I got exactly what I was looking for. The only thing holding us back was we both had to work late, and a few stray cats. We somehow got sucked into a strange cat voodoo worm hole that was destined to bring at the time unforeseen bad luck to our weekend. Due to extreme delay-fish style tactics we didnt get out onto the water until Sunday. Our early start Saturday was sabotagedand we spent the day taking care of responsible things like mowing the lawn (or atleast I was responsible.*)  BB made an epic breakfast of bacon and scrambled eggs and I was under the impression she didnt want to go fishing so I was focusing on another day of boredom when she started loading up kayak stuff.
We finally made it onto the water around 10 A.M. at the HRBT Hampton side. I started unloading the kayaks while BB paid our launch fee. I got my kayak unstrapped and was about to reach for the handles to bring it down when BOOM! It slipped off the foam blocks and landed CRUNCH on the passenger side. An 80 pound kayak can do some damage, and it isnt the first time BB's poor car has been damaged by my kayak, having the roof dented in last summer when I was struck by a car while unloading.* Her passenger mirror was smashed. and dangling. It seems the black cat was already affecting our day! We began searching for flounder from the ramp to the bridge, the current and wind were coming from the E and pushing us across the flat grassy area. Unfortunately we didnt manage any bites. The weather was really cloudy and although it was humid you could feel a coolness coming from the water. There was grass/debris in the water and it was murky and churned up. Once we made it to the bridge we began searching for the flat fish around and between the pilings. BB began focusing on croaker and rounhead with fish bites while casting with her purple Striper Addiction jig. It wasnt long before I felt the bite of a fish on my double jig rig. Unfortunately what I thought was a small flounder turned out to be a big ol ugly oyster toad who decided he wanted bucktail for dinner. I quickly unhooked him and tossed him back. Second cast and it barely hit the bottom before I seen the line pop to one side and I set the hook again on another fat toad.  I was getting worried after a few more casts and not catching anything, even on fishbites neither one of us were catching a single croaker. It seemed the black cat was even making the fish steer clear of us! We paddled further down the bridge and then we started getting into black seasbass. None bigger than 6 inches but as soon as you could put a lure into the water it was attacked.  BB managed to catch a few black seasbass and two oyster toads herself. We decided to paddle over to the East side of the island and look for some fish in the rocks. I was busy tying on a new lure having lost one of my jigs on a hangup. While I was tying up I happened to look up and see BB had a fish on! She pulled up about a 12 inch croaker, she was super happy and it was a nice fish. I helped her get it off the hook and released it. Not twenty seconds later but I look over near the rocks and see the fin of a small shark slicing through the water. I then noticed 2-3 more and seen the churned up water where they were searching for food. Why did I let that croaker go?! I was hoping BB was going to cast back where she had caught it and catch another because I had changed out the bottom rig on my other fishing rod, but BB took this ill timed shark bait release to remember that she had forgotten somthing. BB forgot she had dropped her uniform off at the dry cleaners and she needed a uniform to wear Monday. I think she was kinda disappointed in the weather, and that we didnt go fishing Saturday, she said she wanted to go get her uniform and that she would come back and we could keep fishing.
 I switched a rod over to fishbites and started trying to catch a small croaker to use for bait keeping an eye on the "busy" water where the sharks were. I dont know if it was the presence of the sharks or the bad luck we had been having all day but I wasnt able to catch a fish to use for bait and then the sharks moved on. I paddled over to the West side of the island to see if they had continued to swim around chasing baitfish. I ran into Jake Lusk out fishing on his boat, I told him I was trying to catch croaker and not even managing to do that. I watched him and his friend pull up a few double hook ups of small black seabass and then continued to drift down the rocks of the island. I switched my spinning rod over to a PTL 3.6 JP Hammer Shad on a 3/8 oz Owner roundball jig head. I was just bouncing it along the bottom while trying to catch a croaker and look for shark activity. Cast to the rocks, let it sink down to the bottom and a jerk pause retrieve. I was hoping for a nice flatfish, a couple friends of mine had just pulled up some nice 20 inchers the weekend before, so I knew I was in a good spot for them to be. I did manage to catch a croaker finally, but he was scarred up on both sides by somthing and I figured he earned his right to live so I let him go. I had almost given up on fishing altogether and was about to call it quits when I casted the all important and mythical 'final cast.'
I felt it sink down and popped it up let it sink back down and was just about to pop it up again when I felt  like someone tried to jerk the rod out of my hand. The drag was screaming and it pulled my kayak around where the fish was running. I reeled down and set the hook good and was really excited to have such a nice hit. I thought it was going to be a massive flounder. Only this didnt feel like any flounder ive ever caught. It ran down and then started with big head shakes that felt like a mule kicking. I couldnt put alot of pressure on him because I was using my old cheap BPS mega cast fishing reel with only 10 pound mono-filament. (For explanation of the junky reel see my previous post.) I was trying to gain line back knowing that with the rocks around the island and the direction I was going I might lose the fish. I Thought I gained some line back and got the fish closer when it would take off again doubling my medium action Blair Wiggins inshore rod over. I could feel my BPS reel handle bending and feel the spool getting warm as I tried to use my finger to slow the fish down and turn it from the rocks. After about twenty minutes I managed to raise the fish to the surface, a nice redfish aka puppy drum. I scooped him up with my leg and got my fish grips on him before I put him on the hawg trough.  25 inch redfish was not anything I had expected to catch at the HRBT.  I casted again to the rocks and hopped it a few times over the bottom and felt the same slam and long run, another red! This one at 24 inches. I sure could get use to catching fish like that! Redfish in July are about ten times harder fighting for their size than in April! I cant believe my reel held up, and the 10 pound test Berkley Trilene mono!
I fished the rocks a few more passes and managed a few more smaller fish that I couldnt keep, and then the school seemed to move on. I kept fishing around the island and managed a few bluefish in the 16-19 inch range but no flounder or more reds, and I didnt spot the sharks again. Then BB called and said she was at the ramp and I decided to paddle in and call it a day!

BB's custom BlackPak mid assembly.

Creepy black cat that jinxed our weekend.

25 inch Redfish aka puppy drum

An awesome looking 24 inch redfish, they really are gorgeous fish!

17 inch Bluefish bit my PTL Hammer Shad in half!

Big ol croaker with a big scar on his sides, it looked like either somthing tried to eat him or use him as bait when he was smaller.

The scar was on both sides, looked like a bite or a hook scar.

Video of the 2nd Red about halfway through, its bad quality and I had to hold my cellphone with my mouth to record. See the full video here!

July is goin by fast.

Well me and BB have managed to get out on the water a few more times, and I even managed a few solo paddles out during some good weather. The flounder bite has been hit and miss for me and I havnt hooked a redfish since May. Unfortunately I havnt gotten BB on any decent fish but she has been sticking with the kayaking and learning fast, and the good news is we havnt been completely skunked yet.

The Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel has been our primary paddling grounds due to the convenience of the location. Fishing around the pilings, over the tube, and around the rocks of the island. Joe Archer even managed to meet us out there now that he has one of them fancy hobie kayaks and it seems to be paying off for him since he has been out fishing me. I have tried out several different color and size combinations of the hand tied bucktail jigs Rene McComb made for me and came up with a nice little rig that was catching flounder from 9-18 inches. Ive also had success with PowerTeam Lures grubs, hammer shads, and swinging hammers, Egret Vudu Shrimp, and Wedge Tails.

Unfortunately last year I had a deep cycle lead acid battery in the back seat of the jeep that decided to explode in the heat of the summer. It sprayed battery acid all over the inside of the jeep and soaked into the seat and carpet. I had to replace the soft top and I cleaned the whole interior with baking soda and alot of water and I thought I had gotten rid of all the acid. Unfortunately while transporting my fishing rods in the back seat has proved otherwise. I lost my first fish about 10 seconds after the bite/hookset and the line just gave way on the reel. I use 30 lb powerpro braid so I know that shouldnt happen, the line was frayed at the end like it was pulled apart. I stripped 10 or so feet off, retied on a leader and went back to fishing. Then it happened again on a cast my lure just kept going. After two more lost fish I retired that reel and switched to another one and the same thing happened. So ive had to replace the line on all of my combos and I am working on finding a way to transport them on the roof rack of the jeep.|

A few trips out to the CBBT to search for spadefish and sheepshead have proved to be fruitless. I will continue to go out and try and hopefully find a few fish before the summer ends.

Joe in his new hobie with a nice flounder.

17 inch flounder on Egret Wedge Tail.

On the Striper Addiction bucktail rig. Flounder netting!

BB landing a nice roundhead/whiting.

Little Black Seabass.

CBBT Trip 1

The weather forecast looked awesome with only 5 mph winds so I decided to head out to the CBBT to see what was biting. I was hoping the spadefish and sheepshead were showing up at the first island and maybe a lost cobia to chase after. I started the morning at OE2 to grab some chowder clams and a few more hooks and then headed over to chicks beach. Im glad I wasnt a minute late as most of the on road parking had already been takin and I seen fellow TKAA kayaker Ryan was already unloaded at the ramp. The water looked like glass and I was excited to atleast have a good day to paddle if no fish were caught.

After unloading I started out towards the island trolling a bayou chub for whatever may have been close to shore and managed a few small blues, which I decided to keep for bait. The bridge and island were surrounded by boaters, mostly people going after flounder but there were a few anchored up and chumming for I assume cobia. I started working between the pilings with chowder clam. The current was ripping and it was very difficult to stay up against the pilings, I ended up paddling through and drifting back by. Only managed a few small croaker. Since the current was strong I decided to paddle over and stay near the rocks on the island and just fish where I could. Unfortunately my bucktail/clam strip combo must have not been very appealing because right behind me a boater caught a nice flounder on the exact spot I had just drifted/fished. I paddled around to the north side of the island and drifted across towards the anchored ships dropping clam strips and a bucktail. I figured it was as good as time as any to see what else might be out so I threw out one of the small blues out and then waited. He wasnt in the water long before the bait clicker started screaming. I flipped the reel into strike and set the hook watching the rod double over. Unfortunately it wasnt any fish I was targeting and I had to settle for a skate that decided he wanted to eat bluefish for the day. I got him to the kayak and retrieved my hook and casted back out again. There wasnt much action going on even the boaters were just catchin lots of small croaker. I did manage a few 13 inchers but still no flat fish. Again the rod with a small blue casted out on it started to go off and I again found myself trying to retrieve my hook from another skate. As I was fighting the skate Ryan and Tim pointed out that my other rod was getting a bite. I assumed it was just another small croaker so I just left it in the rod holder and said "Oh it will be alright." After I got yet another skate off my hook I went back to my other rod and I was surprised that the fish was still on the line. And this one didnt feel like a croaker. As I got it closer to the kayak I got a glimpse of a white flat belly so I reached around for my net and landed a keeper flounder barely hooked on the lip. I dont know what kind of luck that was but I was glad to atleast have brought home dinner for all of my paddling and day spent on the water. Tim and Ryan eventually called it a day and left but I stayed out still hopin to catch a fish and enjoying the weather. Id have to say I probably caught about 100 croaker between 9-13 inches, atleast 50 roundhead whiting, and three ugly oyster toads. Once the sun started to set I decided to paddle back and since the current had settled down as the afternoon went on I paddled back inbetween the bridges. As I was paddling I kept seeing big schools of small 4-5 inch silver fish but I didnt see anything chasing or going through them. I tried to catch a few on a sabiki rig but didnt manage any and I tried casting into them with similar shaped lures but didnt get a bite. One thing I am going to have to get is a soft sided cooler, dragging a stringer with a flatfish, a few blues, and a few whiting on it from the 1st island is no fun!

Fat ugly oyster toad.

They have wicked eyes.

Clear nose skate.

Dinner atleast! 17 inch flounder.

In a slump/BB's first trip out for 2014 at HRBT.

After the disaster of my first trip out at the HRBT I completely revamped the layout of my kayak, built a better crate, and replaced some of my fishing tackle I decided to head back out.
The Norfolk side looked windy so me and BB drove across the tunnel to the Hampton side and launched at Fort Monroe.
We quickly found the croaker using fish bites but the water was very cloudy and there was alot of grass and floating debris on the surface of the water. The outgoing tide was stronger around the island so we began searching for flatter and tastier fish up and down the pilings. For the majority of the day we only managed croaker and spot, but I did manage a small grey trout (weakfish) on a vudu shrimp and shortly after followed it up with a small dink flounder.

Small grey trout.

Croaker

Small flounder.

BB was havin fun paddling around catching fish and I had moved down around the island since the tide current slacked off. I managed a few more 12 inch croaker. BB came paddling towards me and she was really excited because she had caught "a fish with a tooth." She had caught another small grey trout.

BBs small grey all the excitement.

BB likes to catch any fish even croakers.

We never managed any keepers but we did have a good day on the water. I even managed to not get sun burned.

I headed back out two days later and it seemed I have fallen back down into a slump. I was very excited earlier this year to have broken what appeared to be my saltwater fishing slump. I managed to get out on the water when the redfish spring frenzy was at its hottest and even managed to catch some other species I was after like flounder, bluefish and speckled trout. Unfortunately as the weather has warmed up and now the unstable weather, and increased training schedule at work has caused my time on the water to be cut to one trip out a week if im lucky.
I started using bucktail jigs with PTL trailer and casting out fishbites just to keep myself occupied while searching for flounder. After a few hours and catchin nothin but spot and croaker around the pilings and between the bridges I paddled around the island to the tunnel. I switched over to just using a PTL hammer shad in pearl with the tail spiked in orange. I would jig it across the bottom slow with a few sharp jerks every now and then. The croaker I was catching got bigger and less frequent and then I got hit by something that immediately started taking drag. I fought the fish for a few minutes and then got it closer to the kayak and I see a monster of a grey trout. Unfortunately he seen the kayak and started running again and as I pulled my rod to turn his head my lure came flying out of the water past my head. I reeled in and sure enough my owner jig head had a hook like a needle. I had lost the biggest grey trout I had ever seen. I tied on a new jig head and drifted down the side of the island. I was once told that fishing is as much a mental activity as physical and I was feeling pretty low about losing the grey so I decided to head back in, atleast I didnt lose any fishing gear!

He wasnt even hooked, I dont know how he got tied up.

Small spot.

Fat ugly oyster toad, thought he was a flounder.

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Flipper, Flipper

So far this spring has been very kind to me fishing wise. I hoped the weather was going to be nice at the start of summer so I was able to get out stay in the groove and continue catching some quality fish. Unfortunately Mother Nature, my work schedule, and all around bad luck had other plans. Several nice warm days I had a reverse work schedule and was only able to look on with envy at the catches and read the reports of fish being caught. When I finally got a day off, the wind decided to flare up and lower temperatures turned the bite off.

My first trip out at the HRBT proved to be successful and it wasnt long before I was  hooked into a monster fish. It doubled over my fishing rod and went on several hard runs pulling drag. As I got it closer to the boat I was amazed to see a flounder that had to be atleast 25 inches long and as wide as a door mat. I grabbed for my fish grips thinking I had him beat and as I pulled his head up he started head shaking. After a few shakes and another splash of his tail and then my line went slack and I looked on as he quickly disappeared under the water. All I was left with was a twisted mangled straightened out stainless swivel snap that was suppose to be rated at 50 pounds. Thinking this would be my 'bad luck' moment of the day I kept fishing hoping to find a good flounder to put on the stringer.
I continued jigging lookin for flounder and managed to bring in several bluefish and then the bite died so I decided to move further down the bridge. I had pulled my anchor up and left it in my lap since I had only planned to move 20 yards or so, put my rod in a rod holder behind my seat and started paddling. Suddenly my Shimano Curado/Abu Garcia Volitale combo decided to come out of the flush mounted rod holder. Seeing my combo fall into the water, I panicked  and lunged for the rod. This would be my biggest mistake. As I lunged for the rod my legs still on the kayak and the momentum of my body weight shifting was enough to pull my kayak over and flip it. I couldnt believe it happened and for a second I was in the water just looking at all of my fishing tackle sink to the bottom. Two of my rods I wasnt using had rod leashes on them but my tackleboxes were just sitting in my crate and quickly sank to the bottom. I was still trying to get my shimano back and as I tried to gather up my stuff my legs became tangled in the rod leashes and the anchor rope. I couldnt flip the kayak back over because the anchor/rod leashes were dragging and pulling the side of the kayak back down. About this time the lure from one of the rods got hooked into my leg and the line was wrapped around and pulling tighter. I decided to cut my losses, literally and using my knife on my PFD I cut the rod leashes, anchor rope, and line freeing my legs. A Jetskier came by and offered to assist in gathering what possessions of my were still floating and I righted the kayak and climbed on top. I managed to save just one fishing rod, a 30$ bass pro shops combo I was using to catch croaker. Total losses including 3 tackle trays full of various lures, Garmin hand held gps, "waterproof" Cobra VHF, Yak Attack Visicarbon Pro, Penn Battle combo, Shimano Curado/Abu Garcia Volitale combo, anchor, rod leashes, hawg trough, and various other untied items was over 900$. Luckily I was uninjured (save pulling the hooks out of my leg) and thankfully the warmer water I was in no fear of hypothermia. I paddled back to the ramp with alot less equipment and a very expensive learning experience.

First croaker of the year.

Blues are fun on light tackle, last known picture of my Curado/Volitale.

50 pound stainless swivel snap twisted.

I have since built a lid for my crate (out of the bottom of another milk crate), I will no longer use rod leashes, and I have resetup the kayak to be easier should I ever flip it again. Hopefully I keep finding the fish and I have yet another flounder that got away story.