Oregon "Heaviest Fish" Classic Event Photos

I put in just before 530am to be the 3rd boat on the water. I figured I'd get a better lay of the lake by heading straight towards the other end and start working my way back. Never mind the fact that between the pitch black sky and fog that I couldn't see the bank.  Only ghostly visions of trees when I got too close to shore and some SOLAS tape in the distance (man that stuff is AWESOME!).  

Then there were headlights.  A man in a pickup stopped to yell at the person ahead of me (sorry, i don't remember who it was, just all the solas). "Hey! what are you doin?!?"  "Fishing!" "That's awesome! I just got a couple ocean kayaks!..."

Crazy

I continued on toward the end of the lake. There was a light in the distance. Seemed like it might have been a barn or something of similar ilk with a big sodium vapor lamp.  I figured that was the end of the lake, so I had a slightly visible target to paddle towards.  I looked to the left through the fog and saw some dark object sticking out of the water. What the heck is that? I looked straight ahead and saw something similar. Another was to the right of me. More started to appear everywhere I looked. Stumps! STOP THE BOAT!  Wait. Stumps. Cover. There should be bass here!

I grab my ultralight and tie on a micro spinner as I as drift towards the bank.  I put the rod in a holder and shove off from the bank and my paddle hits bottom.  Hmm, kinda shallow. Second stroke hits bottom again. Odd.  I stick the paddle into the water vertically. The whole blade doesn't even get wet before I hit mud. Lame! I continue on. Paddle, paddle, depth check. Still only inches deep.

Ya know? I REALLY wish I had a FF at this point.

I continue on until I clear the stump minefield and can finally put at least half my paddle in the water.  Man, that would have been a great place to fish, if there had been some water.  Oh well.

I still have the micro spinner tied, so I start taking casts towards the bank.  The fog is still hanging in there by this time, but the sun, while still not risen, has managed to bounce some light into the situation.  Slowly I drift into a wide area.  I keep pitching the micro spinner around. I start noticing some surface spashes. "There ARE fish here" I say to myself. I squint through the fog to see what's hitting the surface.  There's one! Wait! That's not fish! Rough skin newts! Everywhere are roughies. Besides being the most toxic animal in North America, I curse at myself for not having a newt/salamander patterned plastic.  I continue on with the spinner until I see a trout jump.

Ok, so I guess its going to be a trout day.

I put the ultralight and spinner away and tie on a trusty rooster tail onto my generic cabelas trout rod. Time to start trolling.  I work my way through a narrow section of the lake.  Hey! There's a camp chair someone left behind! I think i might have to pick up that garbage to save for later, I think to myself.  

I reach another wide point of the lake.  The Rooster didn't do any good on that pass, so I switch up to a Kastmaster and plan on heading back towards where I started the troll. 30 yards into the troll, I look to the right and see a ton of blackened dead trees flowing into the lake.  That's odd, I think to myself, I wonder what caused that.  Wait! I bet there's a fish in there.  I think to myself: first light; fish the top.  I reel in my Kastmaster and grab my ultralight. Remove the spinner and tie on a shad pattern Rapala Skitter Pop.  Send of the first cast and give it a pop. A heron or something made me turn away.  I hear a small splash. It was just a little more than I had given the lure, so I look back. Where'd it go? I wasn't sure what was going on, but I threw a decent hook set.  The ultralight bends! Fish on! I start whoopin and hollerin! The fish jumps twice and I can see its a decent size, and definitely the largest bass I've ever had on a line before. It dives under my yak, so I stick the rod into the water and start peeling off line by hand.  I didn't want to loose this fish.  It was the first I had on the yak! (well, except for a bullhead that I didn't know was there a month ago).  I real the bass up to the yak and bring it on. Heck yes! My first yak fish! The first bass I caught this year! My first LMB ever! The first bass on the popper that i bought last year, and the first fish on that rod! I was stoked!  I put the fish in the bag, clip it on, and start paddling towards the launch and weigh on.

I see a few others on the way. Craig (insayn) was the first I remember coming across. He asked how big it was. I had no clue. I hadn't given it that much notice or thought. He offered to weigh it, but I opted to continue on.  I came across a couple others, including SquidGirl.  At this point, in my head I had figured the fish to be 3.5-4 pounds.  SquidGirl said she'd radio to Zee that I needed a weigh in, since I didn't have a radio to it myself.  I continued on.  I got to the launch to see Zee still putting his Hobie together.  I paddled up and he pulled out the scale.  2lb 12oz it said. Wow, i thought it was bigger than that.  Sure had the bulk! Oh well. It was still first blood on the yak.  

I put him back in the water. He kicked off out of my hand. Then went belly up 10 feet behind me.

Lame.

Zee was gone and I heard a radio buzz in.  Another fish caught. 14oz bass.

I put the now dead bass back in the bag, and then continued fishing. Started straight off from the launch and worked my way back up to where I caught him.  Nothing. Zero. Just frustration from the occasional tree branch that got in the way of my casting. But no more bites.

I turned back to the launch. I needed a stretch and to put this bass on ice since I've been forced to keep him.  I bum a beer, take a good stretch and look over some of the others' kayak rigging.

Ok, time for some more fishing.  I knew trout were being caught, but I had some chicken livers to try to find some catfish. Those that had FF pointed out the deepest part of the lake (a measly 30').  I rowed out, dropped anchor, dropped the liver, and took a nap between people rowing by. SquidGirl desperately calling for fish. She kept marking them on her FF as she passed by, but couldn't convince them to take a bite. Eventually I got a text from a friend of mine saying he made it to the lake, with my own beer.  I unhooked and paddled in.  Yay for cold adult beverages!

I was at the launch, loaned my friend some gear for him try his luck from the bank, and enjoying my beverage.  Over someone's radio i hear "Six pounds, four ounces!"

I don't believe it. No way. But, maybe. Who knows? I throw my PFD on, tie up another crankbait on my ultralight, and BIG spinner on the other rod and head back out.  

Just about an hour left at this point.  I power out to the first spot I find. Hit it with the spinner. Nothing. Hit it with the crank. Nothing. Power paddle ot the next spot. I do the same over and over and over till I get to the end of the lake. No good. No bites. No semblance of fish at all.

I'm running out of time. 6lb 4oz. Can't be real. No one else has mentioned it. Was it a real call? I never heard a name to go with the weight.

15 minutes left.

I'm out of options. I decide to troll the crankbait along the north edge all the way back to my anchor that was still floating.  I look back to see my ultralight bending again. Drag not moving. Bah! I'm just dragging bottom. Others start paddling in as well.  

Finish time is nearing. Did I still have the lead? Was that last call I heard real? I still don't know.  

I give it up to destiny and reel up the lure, bring up the anchor, and head back to launch. Many congrats were offered. So it was a false call after all! Phew!  

I did it. I was beyond myself and borderline speechless.



This tournament was awesome.  Thanks to EVERYONE that organized the event, everyone that sponsored the event, and everyone that came out to fish.  While the conditions were not ideal, I know everyone had fun out there.

I was supposed to be at a friend's wedding. My wife OK'd my participation on two conditions. 1 - i had to call the bride to tell her why i wasn't going to her wedding. 2 - i had to win her a new kayak.  After this weekend, my WAP have greatly increased.

Great report man...  I wish I could have gotten to the water a bit earlier to get in on some of the topwater action- I'm never up early enough at home to go for the early morning bite.

It was great putting faces to people that were merely avatars and prose before.  A healthy round of thanks is definitely due to everyone who showed up or had a part in planning this event.  Despite the alternate venue it was well worth the drive and my wife is really wanting a kayak more than ever.

Couple things:

1.  Ya'all need to write more.  These lengthy trip reports are fun to read.

2.  PSR is giving me beard envy.  Good lord, that thing is a pelt.  Must grow one.

Excellent report Nothing!  It was great seeing the day thru the winners eyes.  Congratulations on the win and on all the 1sts you pulled off in one shot.

The girlfriend told me the night before "Let someone else win.... You don't need another kayak...... and let some other people have a turn...."  Yak yak yak yak yak.....     Her words haunted me on the way to the lake. 

As I unloaded I considered playing the social butterfly....  Lingered a little longer than usual on shore.... But once I hit the water, I was all business.  I worked my butt off, covering every fallen tree, alcove, snag and deep pocket.  I went thru every kind of rig I'd brought and every technique I knew for bass and big trout.  In the end, I brought 4 trout to the boat, non of them worth weighing but each one earned.  2x came on needlefish with a powerbait stinger trailing 4" back, 1 came on a the infamous 5" jointed Rapala and 1 more came on eggs under a bobber. 

1st, 2nd and 3rd all earned their prizes.  Awesome job guys!!!  I can't wait to do it again!

-Spot-

Nothing I am soooooooo sorry I took you away from a victorious moment with a cold beer.  It was just a joke just to get a rise out of people in the last hour or so of the comp.   I thought it would be a little funny to just say "6lbs 4 oz" and then wait for the "who,what,when,where's??" over the radio.  My bad.

Congratulations for sure though!!!  A well deserved win.  The 2nd 3rd place battle was awesome radio chatter as too! 

Thanks ZEE for all the leg work!!   You busted your butt all day and I'm sure it was just the tip of the iceberg.

Great seeing/meeting you all again!!  I must of heard "man it is so weird knowing people by only their screen names and then finally meeting them in person" a hundred times last weekend.  OK so I said it too..  but truly, it was nice to meet you all!
Brian 

So I headed out to the lake for a scouting trip as Zee mentioned earlier on Friday, but I guess it didn't really help too much! 
I got to the lake just as the sun was poking up over the coast range and it was BEAUTIFUL!
Started out trying for top water bass, but didn't get any love so I then proceeded to figure out the trout thing. A nice guy at the sporting goods shop told me to throw the garlic powerbait dough at them and boy was he right! They loved that stuff! I liked it too because it smells like pizza! After a morning of trying out various things here and there I decided to head out to the campground so I could maybe get a nap in. At the landing, met up with Zee and while talking to him and putting away my gear, an old timer rolled up and asked how the fishing was. He mentioned that there ARE a few bass in the lake, but this year was an unusually slow year for catching them.











This was a bawlsy little guy!



Back at camp, met up with some of the guys trickling in over the evening and was treated to the outstanding Curry Before the Tourney courtesy of Pelagic, Thanks again btw.





Woke up ridiculously early with an itch to be the first on the water or at least be there before the sun was up. That was me BTW with solas tape talking to the guy up on the road, Isaac. That was so damn funny! He was dumbfounded! I let him know about the site so hopefully we'll see him out on the water soon. Said he was off to get some salmon. Anyways, turned out waking up that early ended up not being completely worth it since I wasn't able to capitalize on the top water bite. Glad SOMEONE was able to though!  Nice work Isaac! Wish I would've worked top water a bit longer and harder. Oh well! Let's go for some trout! Busted out the Powerbait and worked it hard for the rest of the morning trolling. I ended up picking up plenty of trout, but in the end, I was no match for the trout master, goldendog! Overall, fished for ten hours only taking a break to run up in the woods for relief.



It was a beautiful morning, and it was tons of fun seeing everyone out there! Congrats to the winners!
Thanks again to Zee and everyone else who put this together! Can't wait for next year!

Yaknitup,

Great Photos! You have a good eye for photography. Thanks for bringing back memories of a wonderful day!

Ya know, been thinking about that lake, and i'm almost wiling to bet that a competent fly rodder would have cleaned all our clocks there. i bet those fish see everything from spinners to worms and bobbers almost daily,, but seldom ever see a fly pattern. a 5 wt with a clear sinking tip and a size 4 muddler or woolly bugger would probably be just the ticket.

Ya know, been thinking about that lake, and i'm almost wiling to bet that a competent fly rodder would have cleaned all our clocks there. i bet those fish see everything from spinners to worms and bobbers almost daily,, but seldom ever see a fly pattern. a 5 wt with a clear sinking tip and a size 4 muddler or woolly bugger would probably be just the ticket.

Based on the size of those fish, I think a 5 wt would be overkill...maybe a 3 wt and some size 20-24s

PSR is giving me beard envy.  Good lord, that thing is a pelt.  Must grow one.

I'm here for you bro.... Just use this

Man, that raffle is going to be the death of my bank account!
I am now adding the custom gaff and the Okuma kayak fishing rod in addition to the Bahia Tour PFD to my already-too-long wish list!
Ugh! so much cool gear, so little WAF! 

haha, i hear ya! Since i've been home I've added the rod, and more gear that I saw this weekend to my Amazon wishlist. Now to spread the word since my birthday, anniversary and christmas are all coming up...

Sorry I missed the party. Hope to be there next year. Congrats to the winners, especially TN for his 1st's. Very cool!