We just got back fromt he US Masters National Rowing Regatta in Grand Rapids, MI. It is the largest race regatta this year. It was 4 days of racing with each day starting around 8am and concluding between 7p and 8p. Races were every 4 minutes!
We used 6 of the yellow Wavewalk 500 boats as starting line boats for aligning the rowing shells at the start of the race and then 2 of the S4’s for installation (6 days) and removal of the race course. The race course was composed of seven mile long cables with over 1.200 lane marking buoys.
I have been a fishing fool getting out a lot. Last week we had our church family camp and Susan and I stayed out camping for an extra 4 days. Since it was Susan and I and the dogs, I rigged the S4 with the down riggers and we fished out of it. It truly is a battle wagon of a kayak. I would have benefited from a small motor when I had the three passengers, but we managed alright. Caught some great fish and had a great vacation.
A good afternoon on the water despite the reports calling for poor fishing. The current was running straight towards shore today which pushed the mackerel scad against the drop at 180′. Pretty deep dropping damishi when I only had 3 ounce lead (needed 5 or 6 ounces) but thanks to the maneuverability of the S4 I could compensate and stay on top of the ball to make bait (ended up with 2 dozen).
I caught 2 giant needlefish and had more of them kill about 4 of my live baits. They are the biggest pain live bait fishing. Once they get on the scad the small ones will just keep grabbing them and carrying them for a bit, a lot of times it’s hard to tell if the bait is swimming or if they’ve been picked up by one. They cost me a lot of bait and time….
Despite the a’ha (needlefish) I made out well. I’ve been trying to target wahoo and it finally paid off today, about 30min of bump trolling a live scad across the 40 fathom ledge and my penn ssv8500ll started screaming.
I dropped the lever off the liveliner drag and when the main drag came in he just kept smoking line off the reel. He did 3 big runs, on the second something failed with the drag and it alternated between locked up and nearly no drag. For the next 10 minutes I brought him up to the boat very carefully and got a good gaff shot in front of his pec fin on the first go and boated him without hesitation.
After him I hooked up on a amberjack that gave me a good workout, I let him go and crossed my fingers for a mahi but no such luck. I did get another kawakawa (bonita) which I’ll give to some guys who like them.
The only problem I’m having right now is I believe my outboard is losing power. I need to do a compression check to verify. If so I’ll have to tear down hone the cylinder and re-ring. I think the head gasket has leaked water into the cylinder due appearance looking in thru the spark plug hole. An excuse to buy a new tool I’ve wanted for awhile!
The photos from Wavewalk’s new production site look great.
I will be relocating to Jacksonville Florida in December. Looking forward to making use of the shallow draft there fishing for reds and sea trout!
Just finished setting up my trailer. S4 looks good on there.
My trailer makes it so nice to transport all of my water sport gear and easy loading! At the end of the day I just back it in the garage and done! No more in and out of the truck bed or on and off rook racks… and I can leave the motor on the s4 which is a big benefit.
