January 6th, and it’s my first angling outing of the New Year. I hope it’s a sign of how my fishing is going to go for the rest of this year!
After having our first Kentucky Kayak Fishing board meeting over breakfast at the Cracker Barrel in Shelbyville, I rushed back to Georgetown for a drive by. I wanted to swing by my favorite spot on the Elkhorn to scout the water level since it blows out pretty quickly when we have any rainfall to speak of. This stretch usually clears back out in about 24 hours and today was no exception; the water was a little higher than average but looked great.
By the time I got home, rounded up my gear and loaded the yak it was noon. The sun was shining bright and I was in a hurry. The air temperature was around 40o and the water temp for the day fluctuated between 48 and 50 degrees.
I hooked up after about twenty minutes with a really nice smallie that I can’t count because I didn’t boat him. I just got a really good look as he threw the hook right beside my kayak. For the next hour or so it was slow going but I caught a couple of small KY bass. I was using a Yum Dinger with a wide gap finesse hook.
As I approached one of my favorite spots I noticed a Colorado float boat coming downstream. When we got within talking range I asked the usual, “Doing any good”?
As he started talking about how any day on the water is good, I knew I’d met a fellow fishing fanatic. To my surprise he asked me if I had a blog and if I was “ShesaManiYak”. He’s been reading me! I can’t believe anyone would, but it’s very encouraging to meet someone who does.
Chris Stone was from northern Ohio and had made the four-hour drive down for the weekend to fish Elkhorn Creek. He and his wife lived here several years ago and he knew the small mouth fishing was good. Mandy and their two children made the trip with him this weekend and were spending the day sight-seeing around Georgetown and Lexington.
Chris handed me a color assortment of the baits he was using, the Smallie Beaver made by Reaction Innovations. It’s a soft plastic I learned to love immediately.
We paddled downstream and arrived at another of my favorite hot spots on the creek, a spot that almost always produces. Two casts, two fish! I yelled over to Chris to come over and get in on the bite. After all, he had supplied the bait!
For the next forty-five minutes to an hour we couldn’t get our lines back in the water fast enough. Not only were the fish biting, they were hitting hard. Not the usual soft-mouthed bite of a sluggish wintertime bass. We soon lost count of the numbers but we believe thirty or more fish were caught between the two of us.
With daylight fading fast and another fifteen minutes needed to get to the take out spot, we reluctantly pulled up anchor, the pending darkness being the only thing that would have pulled either one of us off of that hole.
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Shes a ManiYak! 
Pam, thanks so much for letting me join you. It was truly a great day! Still can’t believe how many fish we landed in that time frame. It was definitely the soul cleansing I’ve needed for WAY too long!
I went back out Sunday (1/8) and started at the spot where we ended. The fish were still there and still biting VERY aggressively. This time, I had a full battery on the GoPro and have some great video of the action! I floated another 200 yards to no avail, but it didn’t matter. I had caught fish 2 days in a row. Just being on the creek again was awesome, but catching fish with a great person made it even better! I’ll definitely be back!
I’ll be reading in the future and hope that you’ll keep the great articles coming! You’re doing a GREAT job with your blog. Don’t let anyone tell you other wise!
Thanks again, Pam!
Chris
Chris,
It was a great pleasure meeting you and sharing in that awesome day of catching! Thanks for posting the video. It looks great and yes, you’ve encouraged me to start thinking about a GoPro. Till we fish again!
Pam, here’s the link to the video from Sunday. Hope it entices you to invest in the GoPro!!
You all are lucky to have streams that flow near 50 degrees this time of year. Perfect smallie temps.
Up Chicago area way, temps on the waters I fish are in the upper 30s. Can make for a brutal day of catching.
That is pretty cold water temps for sure. You guys have all the “Lake affect” weather to deal with, I’m sure it’s rough going.
Looks like you had a blast. Happy winter fishing!
Hi Pam, I came over here to make you an offer. I’ve give you fly shops and mountains and you provide me with a kayak trip! What a deal! When circumstances allow, I’m trading my float tube for a yak.
Wow! That sounds like quite the deal to me!! You will love the kayaking thing! I had a float boat for seven years and I don’t regret the move at all. For one thing, it’s much easier to get back upstream if there is current! I found one time I couldn’t get back upstream with the boat. Do you have a brand of kayak in mind? The best advice I can give you is to demo a few models to see which one works best for your style because we’re all looking for something a little different. Thanks for coming by…I’ll be waiting for my mountains. :o)