Group Class w/ Kayak Fish PA

[DT]

I started kayak fishing about 13 years ago and everything I knew up until yesterday was self taught through trial and error. I've picked up quite a few techniques or tricks from doing things improperly, THEN realizing my mistakes and correcting them. Recently my dad and brother have expressed interest in fishing with me from a yak, so I had them down, on seperate occassions, to fish the Mac and Doah. I quickly realized that, while I can control my own boat and fish productively, I'm not a good instructor and I even became frustrated when they wouldn't pick up things as fast as I'd hoped. I quickly came to my senses and called a pro to assist in getting them up to speed in this sport.

Juan Veruete of Kayak Fish PA http://kayakfishpa.com/ was who I turned to for assistance in this matter. We made arrangements to fish the Juniata River in PA and met up with Juan yesterday morning for our class. Due to some recent storms our original game plan deviated slightly, but Juan was able to quickly provide a back-up plan that worked out great.

The trip started off with a quick spinnerbait lesson, which we would soon employed in the higher flow. It was obvious right from the start that the paddling techniques, or lack there of, were hinderances for my dad and brother. Juan quickly corrected this with some on the water instruction and you could see the improvements immediately. Once they took a few quick practice laps we set out beating the banks with our spinnerbaits.

It wasn't long until I hooked up the first fish with this decent smallie on a SB.


Satisfied with an entry for Kayak Wars, I hung back and let Juan get my dad and brother out ahead. This trip was mainly about their learning and I didn't want to pick off any more fish before they were able to get a cast or two in.

We continued on and Juan got both of them onto some decent fish pretty quickly. We had our pattern for the day, as the fish were tight to the banks holding near any structure (wood, rock, etc.) that created a current break. The most sucessful bait ended up being a craw imitation thrown tight to structure. My brother ended up catching 7-10 fish (some rock bass mixed in) and my dad caught at least 10 including his personal best on my hand tied J-n-C


During the course of the trip I could see significant improvements in their paddling, boat position, and overall confidence first hand. Juan continued to drop knowledge on us covering a plethora of techniques and tactics. What took me over a decade to learn on my own was handed to my dad and brother on a silver platter in about 8 hours. If you are new to the sport and want to drastically reduce your initial struggles give Juan a call, you won't be sorry!

This was a fantastic outing for all of us and both of them raved about how much they learned. Juan is extremely knowledgable and he's one heck of an instructor. If I ever need to introduce someone else to the sport I know who I'm calling!

Here is a link to Juan's blog post describing our trip http://kayakfishpa.com/2012/06/03/high-water-fishing/

Thanks for everything Juan!

[mcca78]

DT thats awesome, Im glad you guys got your trip in, Juan knows that river like the back of his hand knew he would know of a place to get on and put you on fish. Thats a heck of a nice smallie your Dad caught!!

[oubassman]

Juan is DA MAN for smallie instruction. Glad to see that your dad and brother gained some valuable lessons. And maybe even a few for yourself

[Hanover_Yakker]

Top notch Dan. Glad you could get them some quality instruction and they caught fish. The KW points are just a bonus.

[DT]

And maybe even a few for yourself

No doubt about that! The finesse low/clear water tactics will surely come in handy soon Mike, I'll get you some dates for the next time I'm up that way. Chuck, those were my exact thoughts.

[ldsudduth]

I booked the July 28th class; Juan is a great guy..heck, I learn more in 5 minutes just talking to him; (and Jeff Little) than I can in 8 hours on the water.

[PA-Smallies]

DT,
Thanks for the kind words. I have to say it was an absolute pleasure introducing your brother and father to the sport of kayak fishing. They definitely made some strides on Sunday. Honestly, they were fishing in some really tough conditions given the high the water levels. I think the challenge of fishing in the high "pushy" water will serve them well in the future because everything else will be easier in comparison. It was also apparent that the bite was very tough from my conversations with other anglers who were on the river that day. It's always nice to be putting fish in the kayak when others aren't!

I was also glad your dad was able to pick up his personal best smallie! That's always a great feeling of accomplishment... in particular when you're learning new things and it all starts to come together. I think he'll be upgrading that on future trips!

[PA-Smallies]

LDS..I'm really looking forward to having you in my July 28 class!

[SchnuppDawg1]

Nice report I took 5 classes from Juan last year and it was the best thing I ever did to learn how to properly fish a river.

[Hanover_Yakker]

One day, I'll get a "kitchen pass" to attend a class like this.....probably in 11 years once my son graduates!!