BigBendFishing.Net

Well I made it to Virginia Beach Wednesday morning, but only after I stopped in Jacksonville and caught a flounder for the online tournament I'm participating in online with jaxkayakfishing.com . I arrived bright An early in Virginia Beach at 5:30 and hit the water. It was in the 50's in the air when I set out and the water is a little brisk here too. I caught a 15" Red, and 30" red, and a couple of small trout while fishing for a couple of hours. I had to leave and meet some people then came back that afternoon and caught one small 15" red. Came back today to a different location and caught another 15" red then went back to Lynnhaven inlet and caught another 15" red, then another 15" red. Starting to look like a cookie factory when i hooked up with a 25" speckled trout. Wind was very high with a two foot chop so I thought that was doing pretty good. Hopefully the wind will die down by tourney time on Saturday. Hope you all have a good weekend fishing and I'll see ya on the water next weekend.

cool, let us know how ya do.

Good luck! Hope you catch them all! Definitely let us know how you do!

I caught a 30" Red, and a 25" trout and I did not win. One fellow caught a 28" Flounder. What a monster. I caught all of my big fish pre-fsihing and ended up with a small drum on tournament day after I woke up late. The guys put on a great event. Two kayaks were raffled off and the same guy won both of them. I won a tackle box full of lures and pre-fished with most of the guys who won. Here is an article from the even.

NORFOLK, VA – SEPTEMBER 30, 2006 – On what can be described as the perfect day for kayak fishing, 45 kayak fishermen converged on Tidewater, Virginia in the 2nd annual Tidewater Kayak Anglers Association (TKAA) Charity Fishing Tournament. With over $10,000 in prizes from industry sponsors, and 45 paddlers, this tournament is on its way to becoming the largest kayak fishing tournament in the Mid-Atlantic.

The catch-photo-release tournament is run by the Tidewater Kayak Anglers Association (TKAA) Virginia’s largest kayak fishing community. The target specie were red drum, spotted trout, flounder, and striped bass. This year’s tournament benefited the charities Wish-a-Fish Foundation and Lynnhaven River 2007. The tournament raised $2,500 for the children of Wish-a-Fish and Lynnhaven River 2007.

This years top honors went to Calvin Jordan of Portsmouth, VA, his four species grand slam of 77-inches won the Hobie Kayaks Open Grand Slam Division, and Calvin went home with a new Hobie Adventure Angler Kayak. Second place went to Alex Perez of Norfolk, VA, with a total of 60.5-inches. Alex won an Adventure Technology Ergo T4 Paddle. The Wilderness Systems Open Slam division was taken by Norfolk’s Chad Hoover; his three fish slam totaled 48 and ¾-inches. Hoover took home a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 160i kayak. “Kayak Kevinâ€

Hey J,
Yep, it sounded like a great tournament, with some big-time prizes! We read about it in the "Chesapeake Angler" magazine when we flew up to the Northern Neck of Virginny this past weekend for a weddiing. Man, that whole lower Chesapeake area sure is a fishy-looking region, with some great areas for yak-fishing. This was my first trip back to Norfolk and environs since I sailed out of Norfolk on a destroyer during my Navy days. Sure wish we could have stayed longer, and maybe done some fishin', but that will have to await another day. Glad you were able to get back up there for the big event.

If you ever go back let me know, I know most of the guides in that area and they have plenty of kayaks to take you out on. Just let me know.

Thanks for reporting Jeff. Sounds like a great event.
Billy

I caught this pre-fishing. Check out the colors of the Reds up there.

great report suber !!
sounds like a good time
I hope we can get our tounament to work out like that one

New article written by Lee Toliver about the event.

Kayak anglers help raise $2,500, and snap some beautiful pictures
By LEE TOLLIVER, The Virginian-Pilot
© October 12, 2006
Last updated: 12:37 AM


A picture is worth... well, in a recent fishing tournament, it was worth a new kayak.

Anglers competing in the Tidewater Kayak Anglers Association's annual charity fishing tournament had to do two things - fish from a kayak and take pictures of their catch before releasing the fish.

The shutters were clicking like crazy, and the tournament's 45 anglers helped raise $2,500 for two charities. The Wish-a-Fish program will receive $2,000, and $500 will go to Lynnhaven River 2007.

"I think we did a great job this year," said Cory Routh, president of the kayak fishing organization. "We raised some good money, and it was a great day of fishing.

"I think the word's out about kayak fishing."

Routh's club now has about 100 members, and he sees a growing interest in the sport. Anglers came from up and down the East Coast to compete in the tournament.

Routh cites several reasons.

"It's getting more publicity in the fishing community, for one," Routh said. "Anglers get more exercise while out fishing. There's no gas to pay for. It's quieter.

"And kayak anglers can go into a lot of places where regular boaters can't."

The recent tournament was staged out of the Ocean View Fishing Pier, but most anglers plied the waters of Lynnhaven Inlet. They found speckled trout, puppy drum, striped bass and a few flounder.

Anglers competed in either an open division or a fly-fishing division. Calvin Jordan of Portsmouth caught fish in four different species to win the Open Division's Grand Slam with a total of 77 inches of fish. He won a Hobie Adventure Angler Kayak.

Chad Hoover of Norfolk won the Open Division's Slam by catching three species totaling 48-3/4 inches, and he received a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 160i Kayak. Hoover, who fished in all three East Coast Kayak Fishing Championship Series events, was named East Coast Kayak Angler of the Year.

Not enough fish were caught by fly fishermen to award Grand Slam or Slam awards. But there were some pretty impressive catches overall.

Tarus Vebeliunas of New Jersey caught a 28 -inch flounder, and Josh Kaptur of Maryland had a 34 -inch striped bass.


Reach Lee Tolliver at (757) 222-5844 or Lee.Tolliver@pilotonline.com