Power to the Paddle

Kayaks take anglers into places they normally can’t reach, and provide excellent red drum action in February.

We’ll be taking a right at the next junction in the creek and work our way over to where a school of red drum has been holding for the past several weeks,” said Mark Bedell as he eased his kayak closer in the small creek.“We’ll have to paddle against the tide for a couple hundred yards, but it’ll be worth it.”

Drifting along with the falling tide, everything was fine and being a novice to kayak fishing, I didn’t know what to expect. However, as we turned a corner and headed into the current, I was hit in the face with another lesson of kayak fishing — use the tide whenever possible.

While Bedell worked a little to paddle against the running tide, I struggled to make headway. Many untrained muscles were crying for relief when the marsh pool became visible to our right. It was as pristine as Bedell had described and the sight of it, coupled with my desire to fish in it, gave me an adrenaline boost that propelled me the last 50 yards. Once out of the main flow of the creek, the current tapered off and was easily managed.

Bedell pointed to a pocket near the back and began to ease toward it across the shallow water. I followed directly in his path, being careful not to scrape an oyster bar and spook any fish.

About 20 yards from his spot, Bedell stopped paddling and began excitedly pointing with his paddle.

With the low sight angle afforded by a kayak seat, at first I couldn’t see his target. Concentrating a little harder, I was able to make out the small dimples and trails in the water. To the untrained eye they may have passed as tide swirls, but there wasn’t any current back in this pocket in the marsh.

A smile spread across Bedell’s face as he realized the resident school of redfish had already warmed up enough to be feeding.

Using a combination of sign language and half-whispers, Bedell instructed me to cast just to the right edge of the activity; he would cast to the left. I told him to cast first, so I could be sure I was seeing what I thought he was pointing out, so he lofted a Berkley Gulp shrimp into the edge of the activity.

He clicked the bail closed on his reel and turned to be sure I had noted the location as he reeled in the slack line from his cast. Suddenly, as his line came tight, Bedell had all his attention jerked back to where his lure had landed. His rod tip pulsed at the same time he felt the sensation of a fish’s strike. He leaned back in the kayak and jerked the rod hard to set the hook.

What happened next was totally unexpected. As the drum felt the bite of the hook, it surged away from the school towards open water. Bedell’s kayak immediately spun in that direction and rushed towards the fleeing fish, and he wasn’t paddling.

The fish was pulling him, but the smile on his face left no doubt Bedell was enjoying this Bald Head sleigh ride.

The fish had no intentions of leaving the pond but spun Bedell’s kayak several times before it tired enough to be led to the boat. It was a nice red, slightly longer than 26 inches, and it put up quite a fight and show. After taking a few pictures, we released the red drum, perhaps to give someone else the same thrill.

Just a few minutes later, I connected and felt the strength of a running drum while sitting on an overgrown surfboard. This fish wasn’t as large as Bedell’s, but it rocked the kayak with every surge. The adrenaline rush was compounded by the fish yanking the kayak. Even after several more fish, the excitement was just as intense and made the paddling well worth the effort.

Bedell (Fish Stalker Guide Service, www.FishStalkers.com, 910-200-5416) was assisted during this trip by his friend, Capt. Matt Wirt (Reel Adventure Charters, http://www.reel-adventure.com, 910-540-0570).

They called this type trip a “mothership trip.” The two used Wirt’s flats skiff to transport the kayaks and anglers to a location farther from the landing than would be a reasonable paddle. Bedell said this was a test run and he would be completing all the requirements for his captain’s license to be able to offer the mothership trips in the future.

The mothership trip was a wise choice as my desire wasn’t quite enough to compensate for my inexperience. We departed from Federal Point boat ramp and headed to one of the creeks behind Bald Head Island.

Once near our destination, Bedell and I left the skiff and climbed into the kayaks. From there we explored the creeks, including several places such as the marsh pond — where even the shallow flats skiff couldn’t venture — and floated out of the creek with the falling tide.

Several times we stepped out on sand and oyster bars to stretch our legs as we waded and fished with the kayak tethered to us. The plan for this trip was to use the super shallow draft and stealth of the kayaks to locate fish concentrated at areas not accessible to regular boats.

We fished several schools of red drum so far back in marsh ponds and creeks they hadn’t seen a lure since the last time Bedell visited them.

Bedell credits his father with developing his love of kayaks and paddling.

“When I was 16, he sent me to an Outward Bound camp that summer in Minnesota,” Bedell said. “We spent 21 days camping and paddling hundreds of miles. I didn’t want to leave my friends or a girlfriend for that much time, but it turned out to be well worth it. It was my first time in a kayak and I’ve been paddling since. Once I combined it with my love for fishing, there was no turning back.

“While kayak fishing will get you into areas that are rarely fished, there are other challenges for kayak fishermen.

“I like to fish in the ocean, but it requires a calm day to launch from the beach. Ocean fishing keeps my adrenaline level high all the time.

“While you’re fishing for several species, you don’t know what might decide to eat your bait. This isn’t a winter trip, but it’s a lot of fun when the water is warmer and there are fish near shore in the ocean.”

One of Bedell’s favorite adventures involved trolling a pair of Spanish sardines down Wrightsville Beach. He was paddling slowly, about a mile offshore, when a large Spanish mackerel hit.

“It took me for a ride that made the redfish action you saw seem feeble,“ Bedell said grinning. “It pulled me over a half-mile down the beach“

For this type of fishing he uses his legs and feet as what he calls the “human drag system” to make the kayak more difficult for the fish to pull, forcing a hooked-up fish to work against the reel’s drag.

From spring through fall, Bedell guides trips for speckled trout, gray trout, flounders and red drum. He also makes forays into the ocean for Spanish mackerels and false albacores. He said this year he would like to add a king mackerel or cobia to his catch list.

“Some big fish have been landed by kayak fishermen,“ Bedell said. “However, they aren’t something for an inexperienced kayaker or fisherman to tackle.”

Bedell fishes the waters from Bald Head Island up to Topsail Beach. He said there’s enough backwater in this area anglers can usually find the right tide changes to make a trip easier. In addition kayak fishing reveals places where anglers don’t have to worry much about boats and their wakes, which usually means finding fish that aren’t pestered.

Bedell said kayak fishing is for the physically fit and personal boundaries should be set close and slowly expanded. He said getting wet was always a possibility and a wet suit, dry suit or waders were proper winter attire. He also suggested dressing in layers of clothing and using some of the new lightweight clothing with good insulating and water wicking qualities.

Personal experience taught me kayak fishing is addicting and extremely contagious. Unlike some communicable diseases, you always know exactly were you got it. I caught it from Mark Bedell.

Give him a call, and he’ll be glad to give you a healthy dose.