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Welcome to Bowfin Country

Tag Archives: kayak fishing

Following the Arrowhead: Fishing the 2019 FLW-KBF Cup on Lake Ouachita

13 Tuesday Aug 2019

Posted by Henry Veggian in Bio, Essays, Writings

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2019 FLW KBF Cup, Dee Zee, FLW Cup, FLW KBF Cup, Hot Springs, Kayak Bass Fishing, kayak fishing, Lake Ouachita, Largemouth Bass, Rick Clunn, Wilderness Systems, Yak Attack

I will speak more directly for a change. No quotes from great poets or philosophers. The Professor will step aside, and the angler will be alone. I’m going to discuss teamwork, I’m going to discuss the current state of the sport of kayak bass fishing and I am going to talk, most importantly, how I changed my approach tournament fishing this season. I’m going to discuss it because I have placed in the money in 10 of the last 14 events I fished. In one of the other 4 I won 1st place in a charity tournament, and in the other 3 I was in 4th, 3rd and 13th place respectively.* It is the best winning streak of my 8 year career in kayak tournament fishing, so I obviously did something right, and I want to share it because some of it runs against logic of what we are “supposed” to do.

But first, Rick Clunn. When Rick Clunn talks, I listen. I don’t listen to imitate but to interpret what he says. Why? Because experience contains wisdom and that guy has experience spilling out of his pockets. But his experience does not apply to me directly. He fishes boats, I fish from kayaks. I will never win what he has won, or fish how or when or where he has fished. So when I listen, I ask, “How does this translate to me, if at all?”

Continue reading →

“Seasonal Heat”: Temperature, Strategy and Tactics at the 2019 KBF National Championship

08 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by Henry Veggian in Bio, Essays, Kayak Fishing Posts

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2019 KBF National Championship, Bass Fishing, Kayak Bass Fishing, Kayak Bass Fishing national Championship, kayak fishing, kbf, nature, water temperature and the bass spawn

A big storm is rolling in as I write this. There is thunder in the distance, so the yard work I neglected for fishing is out of the question. The sky is darker than a crow feather, the air is yellow with pollen and only a fool would venture outside. It’s the sort of dramatic weather that makes us paddle hard and fast to reach safe harbor.

Experienced anglers know that weather plays a large role in influencing how fish feed. To some, it is equal to or even more important than moon phase, or the animal’s biological clock, or even bait selection. But where can we draw the line? How subtle can it be? Does the sky have to look like a Hollywood special effect to make us think how weather impacts a bite? No – Sometimes the smallest margins make the biggest difference. Continue reading →

The Big Picture: Behind the Scenes at a Fishing Photo Shoot

18 Monday Feb 2019

Posted by Henry Veggian in Essays

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Bass Fishing, Fishing, kayak fishing, mike zlotnocki, nature, North carolina, photographer thomas harvey, photography, Sports, wildlife in NC

One day last summer, at the height of the best topwater and deepwater bites of the year, I received the call asking me to attend a photo shoot and to be a representative kayak angler for an article in Wildlife in North Carolina magazine. My first thought was “I’m gonna stick a state record at the shoot.” It was a selfish impulse, but an honest one. Who wouldn’t have it? I could lie and tell you I smashed ’em, or that I lost a big one, or that as soon as it was over I went to another spot and landed a biggun. All anglers are liars, anyway, but there are witnesses in this case. Here’s what really happened at the big photo shoot: I caught a skunk. Zero bites. Not even a wayward Bluegill.

Maybe I’ve been fishing for too long and the sun’s worn through my skull, but I just don’t care if I don’t catch fish. I’m just grateful to be alive and that’s usually enough to make my day. But the article attached to the cover shot in this post represents our sport so well that it made me grateful for something far more important, something much bigger than the little thrill of seeing my grizzled mug on a magazine cover or the disappointment one might assume when looking at a cover that is, in some way, a reminder of a bad day of fishing. I’ll come back to that point…

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Bowfin Country Field Report

14 Friday Jul 2017

Posted by Henry Veggian in Field Reports

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Tags

Bowfin, Falls Lake, kayak fishing

Falls Lake, July 2017

Video

Bowfin Country Field Journal: Kayak Topwater Largemouth

22 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by Henry Veggian in Field Reports, Kayak Fishing Posts

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

bass, Henry Veggian Kayak Fishing, jordan lake, kayak fishing, Kayaks, Topwater Fishing

Topwater fishing, late May. The clock said noon but it was still early morning in the cove. Contrary to popular belief, bass will strike all day on topwater in low light, depending on circumstance and presentation. Stealth is essential; I was in 4 feet of water and the cove was only 30 feet wide. A single paddle bump on the kayak would have spooked every fish.

They never heard me coming.

 

Bowfin Country Field Report

09 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by Henry Veggian in Field Reports

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Bowfin, Bowfin fishing, Fishing, kayak fishing, Shearon Harris Lake, Tarpon 130, topwater Bowfin

June, 2017. Bowfin from the kayak.

Bowfin Country Field Report

31 Wednesday May 2017

Posted by Henry Veggian in Field Reports

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Tags

Bowfin Country, cape fear, field report, kayak fishing, nc

Cape Fear, NC.

Bowfin Country Field Report

23 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by Henry Veggian in Field Reports

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Bowfin, kayak fishing, Shearon Harris

May, 2017.

(Photo credit: J. Sullivan)

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  • Kayak Fishing: Wading, Portaging and Fishing in Fast Water
    Introduction How do you navigate fast, shallow water in a fishing kayak? And how do you fish that water? It …Continue reading →
  • Form and Void: A Review of the Wilderness Systems Kayak Krate
    “Everything dies, baby, that’s a factBut maybe everything that dies some day comes back.” That’s a Bruce Springsteen lyric from …Continue reading →
  • Kayak Fishing in Carolina Country Magazine
    As more anglers take up paddles and fish from a kayak, more companies take notice. Outdoors media now regularly feature …Continue reading →
  • Jackson Cruise 10: Product Review
    My review of the Jackson Cruise 10 focuses on the kayak’s simple, multi-purpose design. I also note other features such …Continue reading →
  • Rebel’s P-71 Rejuvenates the Pop-R: Product Review
    The fact of the matter is that the Pop-R has brought joy and excitement to my fishing for decades. Continue reading →

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