Cold Flows and Wild Rainbows (with video)

I was the first in our group to arrive on Friday.  As I drove down a dirt road being paralleled by a barbed wire fence, I wondered if I was lost.  I was looking for what was described to me as an “airplane hangar” but all I had seen were a few deer and a mysterious glow on the horizon.  After a few more miles, a large building sitting in the middle of an empty field came into view. 

As I pulled into the driveway, I was searching for some sort of welcome sign, a greeting, a dude with a cold brew or anything to assure me I wasn’t about to disturb the guy from, “Texas Chain Saw Massacre.”  Over the last 3 miles, the only signs I had seen were no trespassing, keep out and something that looked like the head of a wolf on a stick.  Not exactly reassuring.

Wild fire just over the river

Then I saw what I was looking for, two drift boats parked in the grass.  Confirmation that I was in the right location.  I was trying to locate the lights inside the door when the lights of an approaching vehicle caught my eye.  This could get interesting if that’s not a SUV carrying a raft. 

I was reflecting over my current situation, will it be quicker to dig out of a Missouri jail or wait for my wife to post bail, when I saw the flycraft on the roof.  Thankfully, the answer to that question remains a mystery…to you!  I’m sure the extra high, high fives made the other guys uncomfortable but I was just slightly relieved at the thought of not being a fugitive.

Nice caddis hatch had a few browns rising 

Instead of having an HBO miniseries based loosely off of my illicit fly fishing habits we spent the next two days detangling windknots, celebrating the small victories and losing three flies per trout caught.  The potential complications of life as a criminal were replaced with cold flows and wild rainbows.

Short video from the trip:

Jackson Kayak MayFly Review (with video)

I can’t explain the excitement of hearing my new Jackson Kayak MayFly had been delivered.  It was like winning the lottery and the fish god’s blessing you with windless fishing days for life.  I had plans for the next day but those were suddenly replaced with a new one.  

The new agenda was to pick up my kayak the next morning and go fly fishing with a buddy in Hot Springs, AR.  Sleeping about an hour that night, I was awake and on the road before 5 am.  Ouachita Outdoor Outfitters (OOO) is a 3-hour drive from my home in Southeast Arkansas.  I arrived before the store opened and had to wait an agonizing 15 more minutes.  About 8 minutes later, Jake from the kayak shop arrived.  I loaded the kayak and departed with an Irish goodbye.  He understood!

The lake we fished was full of submerged vegetation that housed a healthy population of southern pike (pickerel) and bass.  With an 8wt and 6wt loaded, I paddled out in search of anything that would eat a fly.  The first thing I noticed was how easy it was to paddle.  It took little effort to get started and maintained speed very well.  It's not the fastest boat but certainly not slow.  My buddy was paddling a JK Kilroy and I was able to keep up with him without any effort.  It's not Cuda 12 fast but it only seemed a little slower.

The hull has a slight keel, which helps keep the kayak tracking true.  I found that it started to veer to the port or starboard after about 2-3 kayak lengths.  That gave me enough time to make a good presentation before having to correct.  

The stability is excellent.  Compared to my Cuda 12, which I would never turn around in, I can turn completely around in the MayFly.  It's 35"s wide (Cuda 12 is 31") and offers stand and forget fly fishing.  When the water warms, I'm going to test using my Orion cooler as a standing platform.  I'm almost confident enough in the stability to attempt it now.  Fishing was good but fly fishing from the MayFly was better.  

We each caught several pickerel and a couple bass that afternoon.  Ripping streamers through the grass has never been so much fun.  The MayFly was super easy to fly fish from with its stability and large clean casting area.  The most frustrating part of kayak fly fishing are the snags.  It was advertised to be a fly fishing friendly, snag free kayak and it lived up to the hype.  In 8-hours of fly fishing, I  didn't snag my fly line once.  That's the best thing since fermentation.  Enough with the written review.  Here's a short edit I made from the trip.  Watch it in action and decide for yourself.  (Open the link in YouTube and watch in HD for best results)

I’m not sure if it was fishing with a friend, the 3-hour drive home, or fly fishing from a kayak for 8-hours without a snag but I was disappointed to see the sun dropping.  The day had been a great one, leaving me excited about my future fly fishing trips in my Jackson Kayak MayFly!  

If you have any questions feel free to post them in the comments below and I'll answer them best I can.

Weekend Shenanigans

Typically, at least in my case, when I open the calendar and choose a random weekend to find some water something complicates the trip.  Usually it's the weather, or something unexpected comes up...like the roof starts leaking.  When I owned a bass boat, my wife and I were driving to Santee Cooper in South Carolina when the trailer bearings decided to phone it in.  See where I'm going...SOMETHING will come up, guaranteed!

I plan for just that scenario and usually have several audibles already working in my head.  As the current trip got closer I checked the 10 day weather forecast expecting to eliminate an option.  However, every location with in 6 hours looked fantastic.  I couldn't eliminate a single plan.  So if it's not the weather that's going to hijack this trip what is...identity theft?  7 days out and I still have every option available.  That was really starting to freak me out.  I'm use to last minute planning.  Texting my wife on the drive to wherever I'm going has become normal.  I'm not really the make a plan and follow it type of person.  For example, I have a 2 week trip in June and all I know is I'm going to need a non-resident fishing license (just not sure which state).  That's more my style.  This was new territory.  I actually had to make the decision.  Process of elimination wasn't going to happen.

That was a first.  Seriously the weather was almost too good.  I was struggling with all the choices.  My buddy is more of a planner and likes the idea of being prepared.  Where is the fun in that?  Our conversations the last 4 days went like this.

Him, "So...you thinking the marsh, smallmouth bass or trout?"
Me, "yep."
Him, couple hours later, "Should I pack the 8, 9, and 10 wts or 4, 5, and 6 wts?"
Me, "yep."
Him, 30 mins later, "Are we car camping or kayak camping?"
Me, "yep."
Him, next day, "I've made piles of gear in my garage for any situation.  You are going to eventually tell me the plan right?"
Me, "yep."

I'm so bad at the "make a plan" planning.  At the 24 hour mark I was still trying to eliminate options.  Rather than making a decision and moving forward, I was checking camp grounds, calling shuttles, calling buddies that might have recent fishing reports and really trying anything to squash a few options.

My persistence finally paid off and I remembered a kayak tournament going on in Southeast Louisiana.  That location was scratched.  Then I remembered my last smallmouth bass float and the guy forgot to shuttle my truck.  I called and after about 2 hours it was delivered to me.  That would have been really bad on this trip because I'm coaching my girls softball team and we had a game on Monday.  Missing the game b/c of a shuttle would have meant an extended stay in my tent.

So after all that, the decision was made to test our luck on a trout stream.  We took the car camping pile and rolled into camp about 7 pm on Friday.  It started off quietly.  We had our pick of camps.  Of course we chose the wrong one.  We didn't know it was the wrong one until 10 pm.  When a large group arrived and started making camp or whatever it was they were doing.  Not a big deal unless you have a vocal dog that you tie to a tree while you read "Camping for Dummies."

lunch break and waiting for the canoe hatch to dissipate

Around midnight they were breaking out the jello shots and tribal dancing soon commenced.  At 2 am I swear they were gathered around the fire, holding hands, chanting in tongues (maybe they were drunk and slurring), and summoning the spirit world.  I decided I didn't want to be a witness to anything that was about to go down in that camp and didn't look out again.  The second night was much like the first, solidifying my contempt for camp grounds.  Something about toilets, running water, and showers that brings out the camping illiterate.  Not to be outdone a copperhead made its way into camp and under my chair the second night.  I stood up to move my chair away from the smoke and saw it recoil into its "don't tread on me" posture about 8 inches from my foot.  When I finally landed back on earth I grabbed my paddle and relocated it into the neighboring camp...it was empty.  I was going to warn the next group that I had seen a copperhead in that camp...I'd much rather have it as a neighbor than any more people.

We got an early start and were on the river just as the sun started to peek over the trees.  The late night camping experience was quickly replaced with fish chasing streamers in the early morning twilight.

The weather was near perfect for camping and floating.  However, that's about the worst streamer conditions.  Wasn't long and the streamers rods were replaced with nymph rigs.  Which is also accompanied by brief fits of rage and disgust while you try to figure out what the fish will eat and where in the water column to drift your bug.

It wasn't red hot action but it wasn't slow either.  Good drifts and proper depth resulted in fish taken.  This particular river is known for its wild rainbow trout population.  The fight and beauty of these gems makes each a real treasure to find and worth all the campground shenanigans.

Literally the last fish, on the last cast, on the last day. 

I've come to realize fly fishing is a lot like marriage.  At times it's great.  Other times it sucks and you absolutely hate it.  Eventually you realize you never really hated it, it was always love.  It works because you stick it out and get better at it.  You respect the challenge and the rewards make it worth all the effort.

A month in 2 minutes...go!

Made a short video covering the last month of fishing.  Check it out.  Best viewed in 1080p.

I won the LOTTERY!

Not really...well maybe the fish lottery.  The month of February was one to remember!  The weather was exceptional and the BIG fish were biting.  The GoPro has been really handy.  Not necessarily in the cool edits stuff (one more thing I have no talent for).  Rather, I’ve used it like a golfer would to analyze their swing.  I’ve been able to look back at the footage and see exactly what I did, where, how long I let a bait rest and what side a tree a bass came off.  Or in most cases why I suck as a fisherman.  Funny how I’ll remember something completely different than what actually happened and WHERE it happened!  Old age....

When I haven’t been fishing I have been writing fishy tales.  The latest was in Kayak Bass Fishing Magazine, https://issuu.com/chrispayne94/docs/spring_2016_kbfmag, pg 24 “Force of Nature.”  If you review the contributors, you’ll probably recognize some familiar names from the JK team and others that I have a lot of respect for.  Great info in this FREE magazine!

The other story was in the February issue of The Fisherman’s Journal, http://www.joomag.com/magazine/the-fishermans-journal-february-2016-kayak-edition/0642190001455768899, pg 70 “Gifts of Winter.”  Again, the list of contributors is very recognizable and the content they provide is great.  

Between fishing and writing, I’ve been preparing for a trip to the Florida Keys in March.  To me the Keys means fly fishing and I’m pumped!  Knowing I’ll probably only spook everything in sight, I decided to tie up a bunch of salty patterns.  That way I can blame my lack of talent on the tying and not the actual fishing.  The reality is I’m not that talented at either.  Maybe I’ll snag a bone with a poorly presented fly as it’s fleeing from the sight of my ridiculous crab pattern!

The month of February ended great.  Got to spend a weekend with Ouachita Outdoor Outfitters in Hot Springs, AR representing Jackson Kayak at the largest boat show in Arkansas.  Had an awesome time talking to the public about kayak fishing and the outdoors in general.  Plus, getting to hang out all weekend with like-minded individuals is always fun.

Ending this post with a, "was that a gator getting in the water" short clip I made!

Stick around...it's about to get fun!

We're having some great weather around here.  I've been able to get out several times each week and catch a few fish.  

Headed to Florida next month with some guys from JK for my first big trip of the year.  I hope I can get something on video for y'all.  Probably won't but maybe a few of them will.  I'm excited about the chance at permit and bonefish.  Here are a few crab flies I'm sure will scare away anything on the flats. 

In 2 weeks, February 26-28th, I'll be at the Hot Springs, AR boat/RV/tackle show with Ouachita Outdoor Outfitters http://ouachitaoutdoors.com/.  If you like to talk about fishing, come on out.  I'll do my best to find someone with some knowledge on the topic.  Link:  http://www.hotsprings.org/events/event/1583/

Latest video.  Much shorter than the last:

Staying busy...

After my trip to Grand Isle, LA I spent most of the next week writing, attending Christmas parties (school and work), dance recitals, my oldest daughters birthday and some other things that I can't recall now.  The winter issue of http://somuchwater.com/ will be out soon and there's a good chance you'll find a bad article from me included.  The month of December is usually very busy and fishing takes a back seat, or maybe it moves to the passenger seat after the 1st week.

However, I found a few hours last week to check on my local carp waters.  As the temperature drops into the 30's at night the grassers are becoming harder to find.  It's a normal transition from the shallows to deeper water near the flats.

Targeting them shifts from looking for tailing and other aggressive behavior to trying to spot a shadow or tail in deeper water.  As you would expect, the catching has slowed way down.  But they still eat when you can find one.  The method has been a nymph under an indicator on a light fluorocarbon leader.

While the fishing hasn't been all that exciting (compared to sightfishing bull reds in SELA) I did get some really exciting news.  I was invited to join the Jackson Kayak Regional Fishing Team.  It's pretty cool getting to represent a company I respect, doing something I love.

Hope to get out a few more times before the new year.  My xmas, birthday, anniversary, father's day, I cleaned my wife's car, watched Twilight with my wife, said I'm sorry 1st, and anything that deserves a gift, was a GoPro 4.  I'm no JJ Abrams but hope to get some video on here in 2016.  

Kayaking the Natural State - additional sources of information.

Jeff Malott at, Yak Fish Arkansas, contacted me over the weekend and asked if I minded providing some kayak launch locations in SE Arkansas. Jeff is building a comprehensive list of kayak launches for Arkansas to be included in a new website, http://arkansaskayakfisherman.com.  Be sure to check out both for some great information about yak fishing in the Natural State.

Here's a map of some launches I have posted on my blog.  It'll get lost in traffic over time, so it's paged at the top.  It's a work in progress so check back for new locations.  If you're traveling this way and want additional info just pm me and I'll help anyway I can.

PM - looknfishy@gmail.com

Get'n close and personal with the fish

Cool video from April.  Amazing what you see when you're in a kayak.

650 miles of fishylook'n spots (not in 650 words of less)

 Had a trip planned to the Ozarks in NW Arkansas to catch some smallies with my brother-n-law.  But like any good plan it started off with a change of plans.  The weather was looking a little sketchy so what was suppose to be an overnight float trip starting Friday evening became this:  FISHING 3 bodies of water in 2 days.  Now that's a fishing trip.  But that's not the best part, I had packed my gear and loaded all my stuff the night before.  I watched the weather report and was in bed asleep by 7pm.  The plan was to get up at midnight and drive 2 hours to meet my brother-n-law and load all his gear in my truck.  By 5:30 we'd  be at my favorite Ozark stream.  Too excited to sleep I was awake at 10:30, ready to go.  I killed an hour watching the weather, ESPN, and making my lunch.  At midnight I couldn't wait any longer...better to be early than late.  So off I go.

Leaving the launch in our dust

Best part:  At 1am it hits me square in the face.  I had left my meticulously packed milk crate sitting at the door of my garage. All the gear I needed to fish 3 different bodies of water in 2 days was now 45 miles behind me.  I realized I had left early so I just had to go get it and I'll just be a little later.  Not going to bore you with the details but a launch time of 5:30am became 6:30 (remember I was delayed by 2 hours).  I'm sure this has happened to others but it's a first for me.

Tubes seemed to work best

Crazy start to the morning now the fishing.  Unloaded and gone in seconds.  Those smallies are in trouble now.  We'll lets just say it started a little slower than I had wanted.  Threw buggers, poppers, sneaky's, anything that looked like bait fish for 2 hours without a strike.  Several follow's but no takers.  Finally after watching by brother-n-law catch his 3rd bronzeback I relented and picked up my baitcaster with a craw.

Baitcaster 3 Flyrod 0

Not the biggest I've caught but I don't care I was happy to avoid the skunk

  Spotted a really fishylook'n spot and set the craw down next to a large rock in a deep hole.  Few seconds go by and I feel a hard "Thump", reeled down and set the hook...and heard a "Crack." You guessed it, broke off on the hook set.  BUT, I see my line floating, now I'm confused, if I broke by the fish I shouldn't see line...actually it broke in the reel.  I'm in luck, grab the line and pull the monster fish in...I HOPE! I reacquire my 8lb section of fluorcarbon and nothing.  I guess it had snapped at the fish and the reel.  Now that's crazy, never happened before. So I get up and running again.  Great practice run but now it's time to go to work.  Find another fishylook'n spot, followed by good presentation, and "Thump"...reeled down and set..."Crack." Again...you gotta be kidding.  It's gonna be one of those days.  That set-up goes in the bottom of the cuda (glad to have rod storage) and out comes my spinning rod that I reserve for pulling in redfish in Grand Isle, but I'm losing my mind and I've had 3.5 hours of sleep in the last 30 hours so I'm going All In. I attach a 10' leader to my 20lb braid via double uni knot and start looking for that next fishylook'n spot.  And there it is, nice deep pool with a large rock garden in the middle.  I calm myself and make a good cast, make the craw jump a few times and sit it down...."Thump", reel down and set...fish on.  The fish gods have rewarded my commitment.  So I think.  Fish dives for rock's, line grabs tree branches, and a snake fall's into the water and starts down stream headed in my direction.  I'm not scared of snakes, good try fish gods.  Not sure where it went b/c I was totally focused on landing this fish.

This fishing picked up as the day got older.  The fly rod never produced but tubes and craws took a few hard fighting smallmouth's.

The end of day 1 came after floating 7 miles in 12 hours.  We were exhausted but managed to catch around 20 smallies each just nothing to brag about this trip.

Had a tube in it's mouth but not mine

Never know what you'll run across when in a yak.  Came across this shotgun in the case at lake number 3. It had been in the water a while based off the appearance.   Turned it into the local state park office.

Day 2 started early. I have been teaching my uncle about kayak angling over the last few months (sorta obligated to since he bought my Native in March.  We chased spawning white bass in March, LM bass in April/May but the catching has been slow for him so today we were after bream.  Stopped at the bait shop for crickets on the way to a CentralArk lake known for large bream.  No pictures per his request but it wasn't slow.  Lake number 2 ended at lunch time I dropped him off and made the drive south in search of some LM bass.  I had emptied my freezer of fish Memorial weekend so I needed a few to take home.  Caught 7 bass but only kept 4.  I don't like to keep bass but my wife loves fish and since I'm a stay-at-home dad who gets to enjoy trips like this very often..I know what I have to do. I don't alway's keep fish but when I do it's b/c my wife made me.  Checked my mileage when I got home and I traveled 650 miles in search of fishylook'n spots.  Hope you enjoyed.  Another epic journey is in the works.  Stay Tuned.