'Yak Fish

The crew at YakAngler.com have been ever so gracious by inviting me to fish with them at the first event of the 2010 Kayak Fishing Trail tournament on Lake Harding, Georgia.

Whoa.

While the event is 6 weeks away, I’ve been scrambling. I have never been to Georgia, let alone fished there. In fact, I’ve not fished anywhere further east than the Weber River in Ogden, UT (and that was a single day attempt at fly fishing). We’ll also be fishing for fish I’ve never even fished for.

The three target fish are:

I’ve not fished for any of these since they’re not found in Oregon, and Striped Bass are high on my “Much Catch” list. Right up there with Tarpon, Dorado, and Halibut. So, needless to say, I’m definitely excited at the possibility. I’ll hopefully find myself on the other two as well to complete the Slam at the tournament.

I’ve been working hard at finding all the information I can. Unfortunately that information is fairly elusive. There’s a ton of information out there on catching Stripers in the salt, but very little about freshwater. There doesn’t even appear to be any good bait/tackle shops within a close vicinity of the lake we’re fishing at! This is going to be a very harrowing experience.

I’m also looking forward to the new gear! New rods and reels that will help me fight these monsters. It comes at a good time, as my return to the PacNW will see the onset of the Spring Chinook season, and I’ll need the same gear!.

At this point I’m leaning towards an Okuma Baidarka kayak rod or two, and an Aba Garcia Ambassador 6500 conventional reel. I have a couple Ambassadors right now, but they’re smaller 5500 series. From what I have read, the larger 6500′s are a much better way to go. . I’d love a Revo Toro 60, but I really can’t justify that price tag.

Since live bait is an option, I’ve also toyed with the idea of getting an Okuma baitfeeding spinning reel. It MIGHT be useful when I’m plunking for sturgeon, so it would have a use outside of Georgia. But since there’s no live bait use in Oregon, it’s hard to say. It would probably be useful salmon trolling too.

That’s all for now. Time for me to get back to research and daydreaming!