dboyd101
05-19-2012, 11:17 PM
Since I purchased my kayak it really has been the only time I've been able to freely explore the many great lakes north Jersey has to offer. Today I decided to go to Splitrock Reservoir in hopes of capitalizing on some of the great reports I have been reading here, and from the past on other sites around the interwebs.
First off, the launch is touch. Lots of rocks, and I have an inflatable Hobie i12s so it's a bit nerve-wracking to launch especially with a loaded fishing setup. Nonetheless I got out there on my first attempt without falling in and peddled about a mile and a half before making my first few casts. Nothing doing. I was throwing a good sized Rapala slash bait that I have done well with before. Decided I would play the 'switch it up quick' game and went to a white spinner. No touches. Thought that the green Bass Pro stick-o might help me, but it did not. A little frustrated after hearing splashes from some other catches, I thought about a video I watched on YouTube last night. Some 14 year old kid said, "Light colors on light days, dark colors on dark days". So, heeding this youngin's advice, I reached for my 5" Yamamoto Senkos in white with sparkle and here is how it went:
First cast, first smallmouth I ever caught. Not a big one, but an accomplishment nonetheless. For his size, he sure did fight hard! I was fishing a 6'6" ML Carbon Fiber Cabela's Rod (CF Handle) and a Shimano Stradic 2500. You can feel almost anything with this setup, even with mono.
Next fish was a good sized largemouth. After that, I hooked into a crappie that was close to 16"! Same Senko color. This thing was a monster. Definitely could have been dinner for me and the wife, haha. So, first three fish, three different species. Slow start, but persistence is paying off.
So, I continued with the white/sparkle Senko and hooked into something really nice. Another smallmouth, but this thing was BIG. About 19 inches. This guy fought like a champ. Now I know why people seek these fish. They're fun! From that point on until I hit the middle island I tallied 7 fish. 4 smallies, 2 largemouth, and the huge crappie.
The middle island has some really nice rock features that I was starting to discover quite uncomfortable in my inflatable kayak. A few close calls with the wind so I had to circle back to what I thought looked like a promising spot. I make a beautiful cast to one side of a large rock (and yes, I don't mind saying I made a beautiful cast!) and my senko got CRUSHED. I had some tight drag on and this fish was pulling me and taking out a little drag. When it came boat side I saw it was a nice largemouth, but when it finally saw me, it didn't want anything to do with me or my kayak and went straight for the bottom. What a fight! I finally got him boat side, hooked perfectly in the side of the upper lip so I got him with my thumb and pulled him on board. Was approximately 22" (boat marks) and healthy. I can't speak for weight, but I am going to say that this fish was definitely a personal best LMB for me! I was very very excited and even tried to hold him a little bit higher so the guys that were somewhat near me could see how awesome it was, haha!
So, I had some energy/adrenaline from that and scooted over to a cove where I think I saw an old otter lodge (is that even right? who calls it an otter lodge??) and there were no fish to be found. I decided to go back to the side of the lake where I had my luck and closed off the day with another awesome smallie and one or two other bass.
Final fish tally for today was 4 LMB, 7 SMB, and 1 crappie.
This was my best day of bass fishing so far and I am so excited to be able to get out and explore new areas that I couldn't reach from shore. I think that my family might stop busting my chops about not catching anything now that I have a kayak and can actually reach the spots that aren't over-fished! I would call this a banner day for me & I'm looking forward to visiting this beautiful lake much more frequently in the future. The early morning here was amazing by the way. Many many turkeys around, great area for birding, and lots of deer. Did I mention the alpaca farm on the way in? :)
Now, time to go restock my senkos!
First off, the launch is touch. Lots of rocks, and I have an inflatable Hobie i12s so it's a bit nerve-wracking to launch especially with a loaded fishing setup. Nonetheless I got out there on my first attempt without falling in and peddled about a mile and a half before making my first few casts. Nothing doing. I was throwing a good sized Rapala slash bait that I have done well with before. Decided I would play the 'switch it up quick' game and went to a white spinner. No touches. Thought that the green Bass Pro stick-o might help me, but it did not. A little frustrated after hearing splashes from some other catches, I thought about a video I watched on YouTube last night. Some 14 year old kid said, "Light colors on light days, dark colors on dark days". So, heeding this youngin's advice, I reached for my 5" Yamamoto Senkos in white with sparkle and here is how it went:
First cast, first smallmouth I ever caught. Not a big one, but an accomplishment nonetheless. For his size, he sure did fight hard! I was fishing a 6'6" ML Carbon Fiber Cabela's Rod (CF Handle) and a Shimano Stradic 2500. You can feel almost anything with this setup, even with mono.
Next fish was a good sized largemouth. After that, I hooked into a crappie that was close to 16"! Same Senko color. This thing was a monster. Definitely could have been dinner for me and the wife, haha. So, first three fish, three different species. Slow start, but persistence is paying off.
So, I continued with the white/sparkle Senko and hooked into something really nice. Another smallmouth, but this thing was BIG. About 19 inches. This guy fought like a champ. Now I know why people seek these fish. They're fun! From that point on until I hit the middle island I tallied 7 fish. 4 smallies, 2 largemouth, and the huge crappie.
The middle island has some really nice rock features that I was starting to discover quite uncomfortable in my inflatable kayak. A few close calls with the wind so I had to circle back to what I thought looked like a promising spot. I make a beautiful cast to one side of a large rock (and yes, I don't mind saying I made a beautiful cast!) and my senko got CRUSHED. I had some tight drag on and this fish was pulling me and taking out a little drag. When it came boat side I saw it was a nice largemouth, but when it finally saw me, it didn't want anything to do with me or my kayak and went straight for the bottom. What a fight! I finally got him boat side, hooked perfectly in the side of the upper lip so I got him with my thumb and pulled him on board. Was approximately 22" (boat marks) and healthy. I can't speak for weight, but I am going to say that this fish was definitely a personal best LMB for me! I was very very excited and even tried to hold him a little bit higher so the guys that were somewhat near me could see how awesome it was, haha!
So, I had some energy/adrenaline from that and scooted over to a cove where I think I saw an old otter lodge (is that even right? who calls it an otter lodge??) and there were no fish to be found. I decided to go back to the side of the lake where I had my luck and closed off the day with another awesome smallie and one or two other bass.
Final fish tally for today was 4 LMB, 7 SMB, and 1 crappie.
This was my best day of bass fishing so far and I am so excited to be able to get out and explore new areas that I couldn't reach from shore. I think that my family might stop busting my chops about not catching anything now that I have a kayak and can actually reach the spots that aren't over-fished! I would call this a banner day for me & I'm looking forward to visiting this beautiful lake much more frequently in the future. The early morning here was amazing by the way. Many many turkeys around, great area for birding, and lots of deer. Did I mention the alpaca farm on the way in? :)
Now, time to go restock my senkos!