Gary Yamamoto's "SUGOI LAKES" with the Hoovers

Well yesterday was my birthday and I couldn't think of a better way then to spend it fishing with good friend Chad Hoover, his son Austin, and Jeremy Meier. I got the pleasure to fish one of the SUGOI LAKES owned by Gary Yamamoto.   "SUGOI LAKES"

I usually take a ton of cameras with me and take a lot of pictures on my fishing trips but this was a different trip from the norm. I spent most of the day just enjoying the lake and cutting up with friends that share the same kayak fishing passion that I do. We fished from 7am until and 3:30 and each of us caught over 100 fish each.

This place is unbelievable. Tons of fish and absolutely beautiful rolling hills out in the Texas post oak wildlife district.

When I die this is the type of place I want my ashes sprinkled. Please don't get me wrong.....I love people, but sometimes you need to get away for a walk in the woods, or a paddle in the kayak..

Lake Naconiche

I took a fishing trip down to Lake Naconiche with three friends this weekend. It's a newly opened lake that the TPWD has been working on for some 50 yrs. It was a pretty neat little lake at 692 acres with heavy timber, lots of laydowns and great amounts of grass. I was invited to come down and fish by new friend and fellow Hobie fishing team member Alan Sladek.

He was drawn in to fish the lake early and I was fortunate to be one of his 3 guest. As we unloaded the kayaks a cold front was blowing in and dropping temps down some 20degrees .

 Having high temps in the lower 80's was a nice change from the 102-104 degrees the week before. It was very comfortable to be out there on the water but the fish didn't so impressed with the weather changes.

 It was pretty slow for most of the day. However the fishing did seem to pick up the last two or three hours of the day. We all caught between 10-20 bass each ranging from 4" to 21".

 Although I caught bass on wacky rigged senkos,Texas rigged senkos, various plastics, and cranks, the lure to have tied on that day was a spinnerbait.

 I had a great time on the 5 hour road trip with Alan,Tom, and Rob just as much as being on the lake fishing. The lake will produce some nice bass in the next couple month for sure. After the flood of people slows down I would really like to return maybe late in the year.

FLY FISHING with TFO

Ok so I've been extremely busy here lately and unfortunately fishing has had to take the back seat to life's demands on my time. I've done some adjusting and will soon have more time to spend on the hobby I so love.   
Recently I have picked up a fly rod combo from TFO and joined a local Fly Fishing Club. I needed a rod/reel combo to take the abuse I'll be given them while chasing the bass and carp here on Texas lakes I fish. I picked up a TFO Mini-Mag 8/10 with a BVK 3 reel. I'm just a beginner fly fisherman but have great people from the club are helping me with a jump start in picking my equipment.

I can see the draw to Fly Fishing gear. This Fly Fishing combo from TFO is nothing short of a work of art. I can't wait to get them to the water.

HOBIE'S PRO ANGER 12

 Hobie has just released a new Kayak. It's the baby brother to the Pro Angler. It's a tad shorted at 12' but with a ton of great options!!!

Fitted Hull Weight: 98 lbs / 44.4 kg Tooltip
Rigged Weight: 120 lbs / 54.4 kg Tooltip
Width: 36" / 0.91 m
Length: 12' / 3.66 m
Capacity: 500 lbs / 227 kg
Hull Construction: Rotomolded Polyethylene

MirageDrive with Turbo Fins
Vantage Seating
Under Seat Tackle Storage
Large Rectangular Hatch with Pivoting Tackle Management System
Lowrance® Ready
Retractable Rudder System
Horizontal Storage for Four Rods
Replaceable Mounting Boards
Large Front Hatch with Removable Liner
Anchor Trolley System Ready
Front & Rear Carrying Handles
Livewell Ready Cargo Area

Adventure Island

Well I took the day off from work yesterday and ran down to Mariner Sails. Although I love to just go down and visit with these guys, today was a special trip for me.
Today I got to pick up my new "Hobie Adventure Island".

This is what I saw when I first arrived.

After grabbing a knife from Mike I got my first peek.

 

  
John the "sailing master" showed me how to put the sail together for the first time.

   
I pulled her up on a trailer and installed the AKA's, the seat,and the rudder.

Then we rolled her out in the sun and installed the sail. Soon I will be adding a set of tramps and a sailing splash guard.

   
I couldn't have asked for any better friends or teachers to help me get started in kayaking. Aris,Mike,and John are three of the best people I have met in some time. They are doing a great job running Mariner Sails and have a huge selection of kayaks with accessories to go on them. I look forward to visiting with them each time I go down there.

 

And this is the finished product. This thing is absolutely awesome!!

 

HOW @ Moss lake

We went to Moss lake to fish with some solders yesterday.A huge thanks goes out to Jim and Carol Robison for their hospitality and the use of their house. 

Jeremiah caught a little one. He said he was holding back this trip to make me feel good. ;)

I caught a few bruisers myself..

 I didn't take a lot of pictures this time. I chose instead to spend time chatting with good people.

Hobie Adventure Island

I went to Mariner Sales Saturday and helped put assemble new kayaks. I got to look at different styles of kayaks including the Hobie Adventure Island. Man these things look fast!!!

Love is a battlefield.

https://vimeo.com/37132500

2012 Dallas boat show

The 2012 Dallas boat show has just wrapped up and what a show it was. If the amount of people showing up at the show asking questions about kayaking is any sign of things to come, kayaking is in for a bright future.

When Your placed across the isle from these huge high dollar beasts, selling a kayak is a easy sell.

Or so it seems anyway. The totals aren't totally in but it looks like Mariner Kayak sold around 35 kayaks or so.

I got to sneak away and catch some very cool seminars while I was there.

I was able to make some really cool friends while I was at the show too. ;)

I was truly blessed this weekend to meet some great people. I even had a brief glance at our future anglers.

I bet there were some special memories made here at the catfish tank.

At times things did get a little silly.

But it was great to make new friends and hanging out with old ones.

Steve Oxford doing what he does best.

The Mariner Kayak's booth looked like this most of the weekend. Next year is going to demand more space. It was crazy crowded!!

My PA was decked out with a ton of great products from www.YakAttack.us I got just about as many questions about the rigging as I did the kayak. And I got a TON of questions about the PA.

I had a great time sharing time with people that wanted to get in to kayaking. Or that just wanted to shoot the bull about setting up their rigs. I'm looking forward to the next show