New to the kayak world!

Hello all, great forum you have here. I can't wait to contribute after reading and gathering so much info. I'm of the belief that every first post should have a picture/story attached as an intro so here goes. I caught my first kayak ling on 5/17.

Well I didn't have the cash I needed to buy a boat this year but really wanted to get out on the sound and catch some lings so I searched craigslist and picked up a kayak. I was unable to get out last weekend for her maiden voyage and have been chomping at the bit. Woke up at 4:45 this morning to give it a go before work. Got to the water at around 5:15 and started to make the 1/3 mile paddle to an area I've been studying in hopes of catching a something. I'm not the most experienced kayaker and the weather wasn't great this morning so I was a bit skeptical and nearly didn't even launch.

Getting used to positioning my kayak with pretty large waves while fishing was challenging but I figured it out pretty quick. On my third cast I get a monster hit and my drag just start going!!! FISH ON!!! The fish was actually pulling me around a bit and after about a 5-8 minute fight he showed himself. Nice keeper ling! Got him in the boat and made sure he was in the slot (I just taped the slot on my rod to use to measure him so initially I wasn't sure of exact size) and threw him in the bow. Looked behind me and noticed a large shipping container a few hundred yards behind me so I decided to take cover. With the waves getting larger and the rain picking up I decided to call it a morning. Paddled back to the launch and headed home. Got the fish, kayak, and myself cleaned up and made it to the office before 8:00 am (I was planning on calling in late). Not a bad way to start my Friday!!!

Nice fish!

Very nice, welcome aboard!