Mag Bay Jan 2017 Trip Report - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

brew · 05-29-2017, 06:00 PM

Ok. Day whatever (2nd in Mag Bay)...

Kitchen shack visitor

There was a ton of dew in the mornings even thought the weather was very mild. 60-80F

Eggs and tangerines for breakfast and loaded up on water and snacks for the day.

Everybody had a couple of confidence baits from yesterday and conditions were ridiculous, so we were pumped to get out there again.

Our rigs.

brew · 05-29-2017, 06:49 PM

The silence was cool. You had to look behind at the wake to be able to tell if you were moving or not.

If the smallest island on the horizon was a gunsight, it would be aimed at the main boca feeding the bay. Just for an overall view of where we were at.

Looks like a good starring point to me.

Leo with a green jack. Like all jacks these things fight hard.

Jeff with a nicer corvina

I noticed some disturbances in the distance and hauled butt over there. Got a few good casts right through the middle with no luck. Tried a couple of different lures. Slow roll, burning it in, huh still nada. Turned around and started to head back and Bam.

Needlefish. Definitely the culprit. Tried for another but it was not to be

Species ID help?

First broomtail in Mag Bay. Just a baby really, but they are great fun on lightbtackle. That's a 5" crocodile just for size perspective. Maybe 5-6lbs?

Cool shot of one of many corvina for the day?

Giant lizard fish while trolling the main channel.

There was one spot that was nonstop cookie cutter spotties. All small. ~10-11"ers

Had to fight the current in today and it was not easy. I can see where other times of the year with larger tidal swings you might be screwed. We were hugging the edges of the "river" just to make forward progress and peddling pretty hard. Jeff's kayak is a beast and I thought we may have to tow him, or just wait it out, but he actually made it in before us.

Cool whale skeleton

We also had to go around some sand bars / shallow spots due to the low tide. Here is Leo walking the last 50yds or so in about 6" or water. It was a long day on the water and I think we all set records on mileage at over 25mi.

Another good day!

brew · 05-29-2017, 07:54 PM

Woke up to fog the next morning.

Some artwork from the nighttime creepy crawlies.

I think I had a protein shake, an energy drink, and some other random stuff for breakfast. Also made a second layer of padding for my seat out of some closed cell sleeping pad foam. It worked pretty well too.

No showers down here and we were getting pretty crusty!

Today we headed South. Probably went a mile or so before we hit some of the gps spots we typed in the night before.

Right away Jeff on board with another new species. We didn't know what these were, but I have since figured out they are mangrove jacks.

Got one for myself

Corvina action shot

Mid morning we found a spot that was as wide open as I've ever seen. We were catching Jacks, Corvina, Pompano, And SBB every cast. We were all using different lures, and all getting bit. This lasted for about an hour until the water movement stopped. Even then it only took 3-4 casts to get one. The fish were all avaerage size, so I didn't get a lot of pics. We will all remember this spot for a long time. I also have the GPS coordinates for the highest bidder (j/k I will give them to MakoBob before the trip along with others for the turnoff, camp, etc)

A couple pics of the spot once the current had slowed.

We let the current lead us down and around the corner catching fish the whole way. This was definitely the best day I have ever had kayak fishing. Eventually we crossed to another island and it was full of frigates. I have never seen this many in one place, it must be a mating area or something. I'm not a birder, but got some good shots

Male and female

Stretched out

Ok back to fishing... it continued to be good.

A better size mangrove jack

We ended up finding a Chanel with some bigger corvina. I think this is my biggest of the trip. If so, it was 27"

Look closely... careful of those two (or three!) treble hook hardbaits. They don't mix well with green fish. We first had to cut the whole hook from the jig (already done before this pic), in order to stop the emergency of a flopping fish still on the other treble! Then pushed it through as far as possible in order to cut it below the barb and back it out.

Another nice one. Look at the size of that tail!

Searching for the next spot

We got back in around dark again and headed off to town for dinner with delirious, tired, happy grins.

We made some phone calls at the restaurant and had another great meal. The next morning we left north giving ourselves enough time to stop and fish one more day at whatever spot we chose.

05-29-2017, 06:00 PM	#1
brew I Exercise Fish Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: HB Posts: 44	Ok. Day whatever (2nd in Mag Bay)... Kitchen shack visitor There was a ton of dew in the mornings even thought the weather was very mild. 60-80F Eggs and tangerines for breakfast and loaded up on water and snacks for the day. Everybody had a couple of confidence baits from yesterday and conditions were ridiculous, so we were pumped to get out there again. Our rigs.

05-29-2017, 06:49 PM	#2
brew I Exercise Fish Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: HB Posts: 44	The silence was cool. You had to look behind at the wake to be able to tell if you were moving or not. If the smallest island on the horizon was a gunsight, it would be aimed at the main boca feeding the bay. Just for an overall view of where we were at. Looks like a good starring point to me. Leo with a green jack. Like all jacks these things fight hard. Jeff with a nicer corvina I noticed some disturbances in the distance and hauled butt over there. Got a few good casts right through the middle with no luck. Tried a couple of different lures. Slow roll, burning it in, huh still nada. Turned around and started to head back and Bam. Needlefish. Definitely the culprit. Tried for another but it was not to be Species ID help? First broomtail in Mag Bay. Just a baby really, but they are great fun on lightbtackle. That's a 5" crocodile just for size perspective. Maybe 5-6lbs? Cool shot of one of many corvina for the day? Giant lizard fish while trolling the main channel. There was one spot that was nonstop cookie cutter spotties. All small. ~10-11"ers Had to fight the current in today and it was not easy. I can see where other times of the year with larger tidal swings you might be screwed. We were hugging the edges of the "river" just to make forward progress and peddling pretty hard. Jeff's kayak is a beast and I thought we may have to tow him, or just wait it out, but he actually made it in before us. Cool whale skeleton We also had to go around some sand bars / shallow spots due to the low tide. Here is Leo walking the last 50yds or so in about 6" or water. It was a long day on the water and I think we all set records on mileage at over 25mi. Another good day!

05-29-2017, 07:54 PM	#3
brew I Exercise Fish Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: HB Posts: 44	Woke up to fog the next morning. Some artwork from the nighttime creepy crawlies. I think I had a protein shake, an energy drink, and some other random stuff for breakfast. Also made a second layer of padding for my seat out of some closed cell sleeping pad foam. It worked pretty well too. No showers down here and we were getting pretty crusty! Today we headed South. Probably went a mile or so before we hit some of the gps spots we typed in the night before. Right away Jeff on board with another new species. We didn't know what these were, but I have since figured out they are mangrove jacks. Got one for myself Corvina action shot Mid morning we found a spot that was as wide open as I've ever seen. We were catching Jacks, Corvina, Pompano, And SBB every cast. We were all using different lures, and all getting bit. This lasted for about an hour until the water movement stopped. Even then it only took 3-4 casts to get one. The fish were all avaerage size, so I didn't get a lot of pics. We will all remember this spot for a long time. I also have the GPS coordinates for the highest bidder (j/k I will give them to MakoBob before the trip along with others for the turnoff, camp, etc) A couple pics of the spot once the current had slowed. We let the current lead us down and around the corner catching fish the whole way. This was definitely the best day I have ever had kayak fishing. Eventually we crossed to another island and it was full of frigates. I have never seen this many in one place, it must be a mating area or something. I'm not a birder, but got some good shots Male and female Stretched out Ok back to fishing... it continued to be good. A better size mangrove jack We ended up finding a Chanel with some bigger corvina. I think this is my biggest of the trip. If so, it was 27" Look closely... careful of those two (or three!) treble hook hardbaits. They don't mix well with green fish. We first had to cut the whole hook from the jig (already done before this pic), in order to stop the emergency of a flopping fish still on the other treble! Then pushed it through as far as possible in order to cut it below the barb and back it out. Another nice one. Look at the size of that tail! Searching for the next spot We got back in around dark again and headed off to town for dinner with delirious, tired, happy grins. We made some phone calls at the restaurant and had another great meal. The next morning we left north giving ourselves enough time to stop and fish one more day at whatever spot we chose.