BassmanIU
Well-known member
Drove down to Carters Lake this morning to fish a kayak tournament with a club from Rome, GA. I was paddling out to my first spot and saw a grassy point on my way. I decided to slow down and make a couple of casts to the grass before continuing on to my spot...I'm sure glad I did! I made my first cast of the day with a large spook. I started walking the dog immediately and noticed something following behind it. I killed the bait and let it sit for a second. On the next twitch I got slammed. I set the hook and then my drag started screaming. I held on as my kayak was being towed around. After what seemed like a few minutes, the drag stopped and I was able to reel in some line. I looked at my depth finder and I was sitting in 30' of water and I could see the fish below my kayak. I gained and lost ground for several minutes. Finally, I was making some progress and the fish started getting shallower. I got my net out and looked over the side of my kayak. As soon as the fish saw me, it took off for the 30' bottom and the drag started screaming again. After seeing the fish, I was thrilled to have hooked up with my very first striper. I yelled at a buddy to paddle over because I knew I was going to need some help. After a few more minutes of fighting the fish, it finally tired out and floated to the surface. We hoisted that bad boy into my kayak and the high fives and congratulations began! No scales in the kayak, but it was longer than my bump board at 32". After quite a few pictures, she was released to be caught another day.
I could have packed up and gone home after that, but I still had a tournament to fish! Caught several fish on shakeyhead, crankbait, and swimbait. I caught my limit of 3 fish and it was good enough for 2nd place in the tournament. Good time with a great group of guys.
I could have packed up and gone home after that, but I still had a tournament to fish! Caught several fish on shakeyhead, crankbait, and swimbait. I caught my limit of 3 fish and it was good enough for 2nd place in the tournament. Good time with a great group of guys.
