Chandeleur Islands Trip

       Taking the Yaks out to chandeleur for the first time. I've been there before, this is well before Katrina washed away most of the island. We're taking a base boat out and will launch the yaks from there. This is the Kayak trip of a lifetime. The Islands won't be there much longer and this may be the last time I get to make his trip. I will update the blog with pics and a report on how the fishing was.

Paddlpalooza X recap

    Sorry about getting this recap out so late. Paddlepoolza was a very unique experience. Hundreds of Kayakers fishing for the elusive slam. Trout and Reds were there for the taking. The Flounder, were the key to placing in this event. There were 5 of us in our group. 2 members had the redfish and Trout taken care of early and fished the rest of the day for the flounder. Looking for holes, drop offs, rocks, or wherever that 1 flounder mght be hiding. No luck for my group. All in all some fisherman did find their flounder and had a good day. The event was great; minus the awards ceremony and raffle satarting late and lasting to long. The fish fry after the tournament, was awesome. I commend those fish cleaners and cookers who cleaned and cooked for hours. What an awesome group to volunteer for that. The best part about the event in my opinion, was interaction with other Kayak fisherman. We stayed at Boudreaux's and made some friendships with some fellow fisherman staying besides us. All in all, my first paddlepalooza was a blast and it won't be my last. Congratulations to Mr. Tommy Eubanks, who not only took home a kayak and other prizes, but was invited to represent the club and the USA at the Hobie World tournament in Australia!

Wheelbarrow full of redfish for fishfry

Typical March Weather for Paddlepalooza X

      March is kite flying month for a good reason. Its windy. Although this is my first paddlepalooza, I hear from the veterans that this is typical for the Superbowl of kayak fishing. The wind as of today for Saturday in Leeville, LA is for 15 mph sustained throughout the morning with 20 mph gusts and picking up around lunch time to around 20 mph with gusts close to 30 mph. Looks like I'll be hugged up against the marsh trying to cast with the wind. The last few trips have had strong winds, so I kind of formed this technique to get the most out of every cast. Needless to say with the waves, the top water will probably stay in the tackle box this trip. It'll be a lot of bottom and under cork fishing for me. I have never caught a slam (redfish,trout, and flounder, for you new to the sport) but every time I go out, there's a chance and this trip will be no different. It would be sweet for me to complete my first slam for this tourney. Wish me luck!!

3rd HOBIE FISHING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN AUSTRALIA

USA - Bayou Coast Paddlepalooza is a Qualifying Tournament 07/03/2013

Great news for kayak anglers in the United States! The Bayou Coast Paddlepalooza has been chosen to be a qualifying tournament for the 3rd Annual Hobie Fishing World Championship. The winner will have the opportunity to join anglers from around the world and compete "Down Under". All anglers are eligible to enter with any kayak. More qualifying tournaments will be announced shortly. Follow this link to enter the Paddlepalooza tournament http://bckfc.org/wp/paddle-palooza-x/.

s in the United States! The Bayou Coast Paddlepalooza has been chosen to be a qualifying tournament for the 3rd Annual Hobie Fishing World Championship. The winner will have the opportunity to join anglers from around the world and compete "Down Under". All anglers are eligible to enter with any kayak. More qualifying tournaments will be announced shortly. Follow this link to enter the Paddlepalooza tournament http://bckfc.org/wp/paddle-palooza-x/.

CLICK HERE for more information from the official web-site

Hobie Pro Angler Kayak



Mirage Drive



Hobie Pro Angler 12

           

      I'm spoiled. My kayak, a 2013 Hobie Pro Angler 12 , is the Cadillac of kayaks. I say I'm spoiled because this is my first kayak and I went straight to the top. I never got to fight the 30 mph wind gusts while trying to paddle. I never had to fight to get my paddle and rod untangled. I never had the feeling of barely being able to cast because me arms were so tired from paddling out, oh yeah, and the 6 mile paddle back to shore.

              I just peddle my path to where I want to go, using the Hobie Mirage Drive. I believe the Mirage Drive is the most innovative piece of kayaking equipment since the paddle. These peddles allow me to keep my hands fishing at all times. The amount of speed I can go is rediculous.

Vantage Seat

            The other ground breaking innovation on the Pro Angler is the Vantage seating. This seat has every adjustment you find in automobiles today. Even a lumbar adjustment. The seat can also be easily removed and used on land. I can go out all day covering mile after mile and when I'm finished, I have no back pain or soreness. This seat is a flat out  game changer. It is amazing!

             All in all I've been fishing all my life, but I feel like rookie when it comes to fishing in my yak. Each trip out I learn something new and even suprise myself sometimes. I'll never be able to say I mastered this sport, but I'm sure going to have the time of my life trying!







Explosion on Bayou Perot

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A gas pipeline burned Wednesday morning in a bayou south of New Orleans hours after it was hit by a tug boat pushing an oil barge, but authorities say no oil appeared to be leaking from the barge.

Coast Guard Cmdr. Russ Bowen said it appears the barge is intact and none of its cargo of crude oil was leaking, though there were patches of oily sheen in the area. The Coast Guard was investigating whether those sheens were related to the accident.

A plume of smoke rising from the site could be seen from downtown New Orleans Wednesday morning. Bowen said authorities planned to allow the gas to burn itself out before approaching for a closer inspection. The area is thinly populated and no evacuations had been ordered.

Four people aboard the 47-foot tug Shanon E. Settoon were injured, one severely, in the collision Tuesday at about 6 p.m. CDT. Water at the collision site is very shallow.

The 19-mile section of pipeline was carrying liquefied petroleum gas. It had been isolated from other conduits by its owner, San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron, so only what was inside could burn.

"All crew members were able to exit the tug; the captain reportedly suffered second to third-degree degree burns," the Coast Guard said in a news release early Wednesday.

The barge was holding 92,000 gallons of crude oil, the Coast Guard said. The tug boat had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Settoon Towing of Pierre Part, La., lists the tug among its vessels on its website.

View explosion on Bayou Perot in a larger map

Bowen said it was believed that the diesel fuel aboard the tug had burned up.

WWL-TV reported that the tug's captain was transferred to the burn center at Baton Rouge General Hospital.

It was not immediately known who owns the 154-foot oil barge.

The area is along the northern reaches of Barataria Bay, which was heavily affected by oil from the BP spill in 2010. It is mostly small communities where people often make their living from the sea, either working in the oil and gas industry or as fishermen.

The 92,000 gallons the Coast Guard says was being carried by the barge is a fraction of the millions of gallons that spewed into the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 spill.

The region where the fire was burning is crisscrossed by pipelines and wellheads are a common sight in the shallow waters of the bayou and bay shoreline.

Bowen said it's not unusual for tugs to operate in shallow areas. "That's just the nature of coastal Louisiana," he said.

Beyond that, he said he couldn't comment on why the accident happened.

Paddlepalooza X

Paddlepalooza X - march 23, 2013

      This is one of the biggest and the best Kayak fishing tournament on the Gulf coast. The tournament has been around for a decade and there are an estimated 200+ kayaks participating this year. What other Kayak tournament can boast those type of numbers. Kayak fishing is taking over down on the Louisiana coast. Kayaks let you get deep into the unmatched Louisiana marsh where traditional boats can't even go. There's something about being right on the water with the fish your trying to pull in, that makes you feel like this is the way our Cajun ancestors felt as they were trying to put food on there table.The winner of the Slam Stringer gets a Hobie Pro Angler 12 For more details visit our fishing club Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club. My member name is Big Red.

Cajun Slam Stringer

The contestant who weighs in the heaviest stringer will win. Five, Seven, or Ten places will be awarded with cash/prizes (depending on number of participants- see below). First and Second place will win a Kayak (Brand and model TBA)

• Eligible fish for Cajun Slam Stringer
  • A total of 3 fish should be weighed for the Cajun Slam stringer:
    • One slot Redfish ( the redfish must be under 27” and over 16”)
    • One legal Speckled Trout (12″ or longer)
    • One Flounder (12″ or longer)
  • If there are not enough 3 fish stringers to fill out the places then 2 fish stringers will be allowed
    • The two fish must be made up of two different fish of the above three species.
• 1st – 5th places will be awarded unless we exceed 150 registrants then 1st – 7th, and if we exceed 200 we will award 1-10th.
• 2 Examples of legal stringers in Cajun Slam division:
  • Example 1:  3lb trout, 1lb flounder, 4lb redfish = 8lbs “True slam” and will be weighed and scored ahead of any two fish stringer.
  • Example 2:  5lb trout, 7lb redfish = 12lbs however will be scored only after all True Slams are placed.
• Just to be clear, 3 fish slams will be placed ahead of any two fish slams.

The 2013 Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club "Paddlepalooza" tournament has been selected as a qualifying event for the 2013 Hobie Fishing Worlds Championship to be held in Victoria, Australia October 30 through November 2nd.

The overall winner of the event will be invited to join Team USA lead by 2012 HFW Champion Marty Mood and 2012 IFA Kayak Tour Champion Benton Parrot to compete for the World Title.

GULFPORT, Mississippi -- Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove has confirmed that the body found in the Mississippi Sound Friday is that of 22-year-old missing kayaker Nikolas Rainer.

Hargrove said Saturday Rainer's body was identified through information provided to him by the family, including tattoos, birthmarks and photographs.

Forensic pathologist Paul McGarry performed an autopsy on Rainer Saturday morning and the cause of death is drowning. Hargrove said the death is ruled accidental.

The body was spotted by passing fishermen Friday afternoon around 1:10 p.m. about four miles south of the Beau Rivage in the Mississippi Sound. The fishermen notified the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and Marine Patrol agents recovered the body shortly thereafter.

Rainer and his father, 57-year-old Kenneth Rainer, were last seen around 4 p.m. on Feb. 27, shortly after they departed Ocean Springs Harbor on a kayak fishing trip. The empty kayaks were spotted by a passing shrimp boat around 7 p.m. that night near Marsh Island off of the Davis Bayou area of Ocean Springs.

Kenneth Rainer's body was found not far from the kayaks shortly after midnight on Feb. 28. The cause of death for the elder Rainer was also ruled as drowning. Nick Rainer's body was found some six nautical miles from where his father's body was located, according to the county flotilla.

Agents from the DMR Marine Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard, National Park Service and the Jackson County Sheriff's Department Flotilla continued to search for the younger Rainer for the next few days, with the Flotilla continuing to search throughout the week.

Family and friends of the Rainers kept vigil at Ocean Springs Harbor throughout the ordeal, hoping Nick Rainer would ultimately be found alive.

Story by Warren Kulo I GulfLive.com

Fished the 1ST ANNUAL REDTROUT TOURNAMENT IN BILOXI

    Me and my 3 fellow Hobie Pro Angler fishing pals fished this tournament this past weekend. The tournament started at midnight  Friday night and weigh-ins ended at 7pm on Saturday. This created a dilemma. Do you start fishing at midnight or do you get some sleep and wake up early and hit the water? Looking at the wind forecasts, the winds were going pick up later that day. So we decided to push out at midnight. This was my first night fish kayak outing and the excitement was on. I got my light together, strapped on my life jacket and rigged my lines with dark lures. We launched off the beach in Ocean Springs and fished the piers for abut 3 hours. I hooked a mullet on a catch 2000 lure and that was the only thing caught at night. We pushed in, loaded the kayaks back on the trailer and went to get some sleep. Loading the kayaks would be a sport it itself I would soon realize.We got to sleep around 4am and woke up around 7am to get back to fishing in daylight. We launched at a new boat launch in Biloxi. The launch is next to a hotel that Hurricane Katrina blew away and is still an eyesore on the beautiful Biloxi coast. Deer Island was the barrier island that we fished.  We also fished the bottom oyster reefs between the shore and island. The wind steadily picked up while we were out gusting to around 20 mph. We didn't have much luck here either.One guy caught a stingray. One caught a stingray, sheepshead and a keeper trout. We all caught some small trout that were not in the slot. We then picked up and headed to a more marshy bay in Ocean Springs. We fished some cuts in the marsh. One friend caught 7 little rat reds. I caught a Black drum. One caught a small flounder. All and all we caught some fish. Nothing  to write home about. Nothing to build a stringer for the tournament. But definitely a blast. Fishing in the sandy waters of the Mississippi coast is definitely different the the marshy swamp lands of Louisiana. The weather really played a factor. The wind towards the end was sustained at 25mph. In Louisiana, we can duck behind some cane or trees to get out of the wind. These Mississippi waters did not afford us that luxury.