Damon Outdoors

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Bear Island NC October 2016

Another great time paddling over to Bear Island for a few days of fishing. This year there were only 4 of us. Steve, Kevin, Dan and myself. We stayed a little longer than the previous years and took a lot less stuff.

Pre trip, I made a bunch of Redfish leaders to make sure everyone was covered. Then I packed up my gear.

The pack contained all of my clothes, toiletries, tent and air mattress. I packed my mess kit, Jet Boil and food packs into a separate water tight bag.

Here is how I hauled my kayak and Steve's canoe. It was not pretty but it survived the journey!

We still had to pile a bunch of stuff in Steve's canoe, but we did not have to pull another canoe along as a mule.

Got the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 mntGLO all set up. It was a breeze to set up and was very comfortable for the entire stay.

The LEDs embedded in the seams of the tent were very handy at night.

I think everyone caught some fish this year but Kevin did the best. He caught several reds and some flounder.

Steve enjoying the beach

Flounder bed....

I did not take any video this year and limited my picture taking. I think next year I may scale back my electronics even more. Less is best!

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Big Creek Park 10.13.2016

My friend Jim from the LAKE group invited me out to paddle around Lanier on Thursday so I loaded up the truck. We put in at Big Creek.

I decided to take the big trailer to test it out for my upcoming Bear Island trip. This turned out to be a good idea as upon arrival to Jim's house he pointed out my trailer plug was just hanging from the trailer. It turns out it is too short for my new truck and probably pulled loose on the first turn out of my driveway. Luckily Jim had an extension I could use to get home!

I also learned that I can not see the trailer behind the truck and I could not lower the tailgate without the chance of damage. So it was fun to say the least backing down the ramp. I really had to watch for the post at the top of the ramp.

The nice thing is the trailer has waterproof lights and sits low so I can just back right into the water and float the kayak off.

We arrived around 9am and it turned out to be a great day as far as weather. I had my jacket off pretty much as soon as we hit the water. I managed to catch two small Black Bass (Spots). I caught the first one off the little island (see map) and as soon as I landed it in the boat my phone rang. The fish managed to get off the hook and flop under my seat. It was a challenge to retrieve it while on the phone. I finally got it back in the water but missed a photo opportunity. The other fish was caught off of a point a little further down and was just too small to bother taking a picture of.

The red triangles show where fish were caught

I trolled and jigged with a Captain Mack 2oz Flex-It Spoon and threw and trolled a Rapala Silver Shad Jointed Shad Rap . But the fish I caught preferred a bone Super Spook. I tried a fluke and wacky rig but I did not have enough weight to sink them down. I went light this trip and was lucky I even found a hook LOL.

The wind picked up a bit so we decided to head in. We finished up the day with a late lunch of Rubens and fries at Big Creek Tavern. Thanks Jim!

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

LAKE 2016 Fall Camp & Paddle

My kayak group had another Camp and Paddle on Lake Lanier this past weekend audit was a great time for everyone. It was a bit windy Friday evening but the rest of the time was awesome.

Here are some pictures from the event....

Breakfast

If you live near Lake Lanier and want to join us, the Club forum is Lanier Area Kayak-Fishing Enthusiast (L.A.K.E) >>>LINK<<< (opens a new window) You can also search for us on Facebook.