Kayak Koz

As some of you know, my father passed away from COVID last week. I’m sure that many of you, like me, use solo fishing as a way to think, clear your mind, and in my case, grieve. Fishing here in the Lowcountry is usually great most of the year. Almost every bass you catch is two pounds and up. But this week the fishing has been lousy. The weather is still warm and water temps are not cool, and with the shorter days the bass are usually out of reach from the banks in the morning and move to shallower waters in the afternoon, but not this week. I’ve found the bait fish but not the bass. I’ve caught a ton of crappie but only a handful of bass over the last four days. What’s really odd for this area is all have been under a pound. It’s been this way in the half dozen or so lagoons I have fished. But here’s the weird stuff. Yesterday I hooked into a good one on a chatterbait. On the baitcaster setup I was using it pulled drag and I could not horse it in - I had to really work it to gain ground. Typically that means it’s 5 pounds or more. But just as I got it within 15 feet the line stopped cold but the rod was still loaded. I couldn’t reel in any more. Dead stop. So now I’m sitting there with a loaded line that won’t budge wondering what to do. After about 20 seconds I let out some line and everything went slack. It’s then that I realized the bass must have swam into the stormwater inlet pipe in front of me. Or as I learned later it might have been a spider block that I did not know was put there. Anyway, the bass was gone. Then today I was fishing another lagoon and got a decent knock on a crankbait. Then the line went slack so I started reeling in. I was casting into a corner and what I didn’t realize was the bass ran out of room trying to escape and instead came right at me. I picked up enough slack and the bass breached and looked to be 2-3 pounds. But when it hit the water it ran right to the nearby stormwater pipe! Are you kidding me? Once again the line was going nowhere. But when I tried to get a better angle I could see the line was hung up on a protrusion on the pipe. Unfortunately I could not get the line free and it broke off. Hopefully the bass managed to break free as well. I fish around these stormwater pipes all the time and I’ve never had this happen so having it happen two days in a row was just as weird as the poor fishing. Let’s hope it’s better out there tomorrow.

Good news - my stepmother does not have COVID. I still need to wait another day or two to be tested, but I have no symptoms at this time. I found out a few more things including that when he was brought home the paramedics dumped him in his recliner and left. They never said a word. The coroner also told me that he could not believe my father was sent home. However, due to COVID restrictions he was not allowed to perform an autopsy. I set up an appointment to talk with an attorney but my stepmother does not have the strength to go through a lawsuit and wants this all behind her so I am respecting her wishes. However, I did relay my concerns to the Department of Health and I believe they will look into this.

What I say next I do not mean to be a political statement, but say it as a matter of fact on lack of procedures. After my father was diagnosed and subsequently died of COVID neither the county nor the state did any contact tracing, tested the home, nor ordered testing for my stepmother who resided with him. They did not even mandate a quarantine. My only option was to enter into a hot zone and take care of her and try to disinfect the house. I took her for testing (still waiting on results) and despite notifying the med center of what happened and her exposure they took no extended precautions other than having her wear a mask. Then we wonder why the virus keeps spreading. Now we wait for her results and I need to wait another day or two before my son and I need to get tested. Thanks to everyone for your kind words. It really does help.

In memory of my father. October 25, 1942 - October 22, 2020

UPDATED: My father passed away this morning. I did not get home in time. The hospital sent him home yesterday even though he had chest pains and labored breathing. I begged them to keep him and they transported him home. I am livid.

Update: I'm still trying to get a hold of the doctor but no luck. Dad says his lungs hurt today and he's having a hard time breathing. But he said they are going to discharge him and have home health care look after him. That doesn't make sense. It's frustrating because I can't get down there until tomorrow night.

Thanks. The depression has hit on occasion but it's easier to cope when you understand how that can grip you and lead you down a wrong path. I did get some good news last night and that was an interview request for a job in the tech field that pays much better than the factory job. But of course, there was some offset to that. My stepmother has a bad back and last night she called me and said she's laid up right now and I can't get down there for a few days So I had to call in some help for her. Thanks for all the kind words from everyone, it really does help in times like these.

Call it Yin and Yang or Newton's Third Law but things always seem to balance out - and that's not always good. I lost my job when COVID hit but then my father went into the hospital for a month so I was able to take care of my stepmother. When dad got out my stepmother then had to go into the hospital for a month so I took care of dad. I've been looking for a job for months and months but no hotel GM jobs have opened up in the area I live in now or where I used to live. Because my parents haven't been healthy I need to stay within 3 or 4 hours of where they live. Also, being a full time single father is expensive, so taking a job that doesn't cover the bills doesn't make sense. But I'm not a job snob, either. I applied at BMW to do shift work in production or logistics. In other words, shift work. I'm getting old so this is probably going to be tough on my body. At least it can cover the bills until a hotel GM job opens up. So this morning I get a call from BMW to start work next week. Good. I'm happy to be working again. But then my stepmother calls me - my dad is in the hospital with COVID. I have to say I'm worried. He's 78 and in poor health and has beat cancer twice. But since I moved just over a tear ago he's been going downhill. He's in the hospital now in isolation, but not on a ventilator. His breathing sounds labored, but he says that's because of a hiatal hernia. I have to tell you, I am so tired of everything that's been going on this past year. I know so many others are going through a lot this year as well. I just hope the excess bad stuff comes to an end for everyone soon. UPDATED: My father passed away this morning. I did not get home in time. The hospital sent him home yesterday even though he had chest pains and labored breathing. I begged them to keep him and they transported him home. I am livid.

I can't believe you make a 6 hour round trip to go fishing for the day. Personally, I don't see the fun of drinking and fishing. And I HATE it when I find discarded beer and liquor bottles when I'm out fishing. And while I occasionally enjoy going fishing with a friend, I really like heading out by myself. For me, it's one of the best ways to relax and clear my head.

Get cheap net and go out and throw. I don't do it as much as I should, but when I do it's fun. However, I can barely top 60 mph when I used to top out at just over 80 in college. He's a RHP. At 14, he's 6'2" but a skinny 160 lbs. His fastball touches 80 mph, but usually sits at 76-77mph. This winter he's working on strength and quickness exercises and he'll start throwing again in mid December. If he's consistent 80 as a freshman in the spring he'll have some scouts and recruiters write down his name. He set a goal of 82mph for next spring. We'll see. He's got warning track power at the plate on HS fields right now so maybe the added strength will help there as well. The thing is that in his 7th grade season he was only about 5'6" and missed all but the first few weeks because of illness and injury. By the time the 8th grade season rolled around he was 6' but the season was canceled due to COVID. So he hasn't played a game in 2 years. He likes to stream his workouts on Instagram and although I thought that was silly he has scouts from the Yankees and Padres following him now. He's had a couple of college players and coaches chime in with advice as well. Somebody from Diamond Prospects saw his videos this summer and asked him to play this fall, but with COVID going on we opted out. Since 2006 when it first started, all but one SC player that was drafted by MLB has played Diamond Prospects. As for the camps, those day camps are fun and interesting, but they are geared to all skill levels and have a lot of kids so I don't think it will benefit him. I don't mean to be a snob about those, but he has a good fundamental base right now. Also, thanks to COVID funds are limited are limited at this time. We also don't do any of the showcases because most are a rip off and he's just too young at this point. If he does well and gets recognized they will find him and invite him, but the plan is not to accept until he's in his junior year. It's too much money and too much pressure on kids. He's lucky he is going to a HS with a great reputation and coaching staff. All 9 seniors from last year signed letters of intent to play college ball. One would have been a first or second round MLB pick this past summer, but he told teams not to draft him because he was committed to Clemson. I did tell him that when he's 16 if he has good grades and still has dreams of playing college ball that I will send him to IMG Academy for a week or two. There he can get individualized instruction for on the field and off the field. But the main thing is that he is still young and I have asked him not to overdo it so it becomes a chore rather than being fun. If he wants to work out, fine. If he doesn't, I don't push him (anymore). I've learned to let him work out on his own. He'll come to me to have me watch and help or he'll show me video of his workout and we'll dissect that. At his age if I push him he'll push back. But I do remind him not to waste his gift.

OK - this looks really interesting. At 3 ounces your going to need a heavy or x-heavy rod, but I've got some of those. It connects to an app using wifi, but of course under water there's no signal so so you won't be able to see what's happening live when you cast and retrieve. It does come with a special float so you can dangle a rig or bottom fish and then you will see a live feed. But once you reel in you can immediately review that footage via the app. One thing that could be of use is you turn the camera on and before casting hold the camera to show the area that you are casting to, giving you a visual reference so that when you play back the video from the SD card you can see the actual structure in that area. The camera records sound as well, so you can see and hear the action of your retrieves. Another thing that could be interesting - and frustrating - is let's say you go out and get skunked or only catch a few, then you review the footage and see a ton of bass that were not biting. Or maybe you see that the bass are hitting on certain retrieves and ignoring others. Anyway, I think it opens a world of possibilities. I read a number of reviews and watched a few videos, and the biggest complaint is the light refraction in stained water. So if you fish in the murk it probably won't reveal all that much. But if you have some clear water, it looks great. Below is a video I found of someone fishing for smallies in some clear water. Enjoy. Oh yeah - on Amazon the price was $149. I'm going to think about this and maybe pick it up next spring.

I messed around with a knuckleball in practice but I never got the hang of it. However, my best offspeed / breaking pitch was a knuckle curve. I gave up a few GIANT home runs on that one too when it didn't tumble correctly. As a matter of fact, although it's 38 years ago (holy cow!) I remember throwing a 1-hitter and losing 2-1 because of a walk and then giving up a Mickey Mantle like blast?

Thanks. All of that stuff is quite interesting. As a former pitcher myself and the proud dad of a budding prospect I spend a lot of time reading and watching videos on pitching. I only wish we had a fraction of this information when I was a young player. I'm a big fan of the training and information from Tom House. Currently I'm on the wait list for his Team Mustard pitcher development app. House runs the National Pitching Association and now that my son is older we hope to work with them next spring. Other great sources are Driveline Baseball and Trevor Bauer. Bauer has a lot of great videos on YouTube and there's a wealth of information on the Driveline website even if you are not a member. FWIW, Bauer trains at Driveline so there's some overlap. It's amazing the things you can pick up just listening to these guys. My son's curveball was inconsistent and more junk than good, but one innocuous comment from Bauer on video, a slight change, and now my son throws a ridiculously good curveball. I really wish I was young again and could take advantage of this stuff. But on occasion - even at my age - I still go outside and pitch into a net. My fastball is pitiful now, but at least I'm getting some exercise!

Welcome to the sabremetric era and big data in baseball! I do agree that sometimes game announcers take individual snippets of data too far and that a lot of it is meaningless. And as a viewer, that data doesn't mean much to me at all. But on the flips side, much of that data is extremely important in roster construction. Teams have a finite amount of money to spends and need to maximize their ability to score runs and prevent runs within that limit. That's where these extended stats come into play. You might remember the book and movie "Moneyball" about the Oakland A's and their reliance on extended data to construct their roster. Compared to the analytics used today that was simple math. Data acquisition and analysis pervades every part of baseball now. Heck, my son is a 14 year old pitcher and we use data in his training and development with the PitchLogic baseball. He throws a pitch and we can see data like multiple spin rates, spin efficiency, arm angle, vertical and horizontal break, pitch path and shape, and more. With that he can throw a pitch and then on the next slightly alter his grip or finger pressure and compare the results. At the same time we can video these pitches for a visual reference to go along with the data. It's a lot better than having an observer try and look at all of those things and eyeball the difference between pitches.

Frankly, I don't care if someone knows my favorite spots or not. In fact, I share them with anyone who asks. If they ask what I'm catching bass on I'll tell them that, too. In my opinion it seems rather silly to keep that information top secret. I want people to enjoy their time on the water as much as I enjoy mine. It's also a great way to make new friends out there.

Nope. One of the features of phones is that geo data is not included when location services are off. I actually do some digital forensics work for an attorney friend of mine. Just last week I was trying to locate a mother who kidnapped her daughter from her ex.

Trust me - when you come across a 12 foot bull alligator you know it. Most are 6-9 feet in the areas I fish. But over the years we've come across some big ones. The biggest I came across was just over 14 feet where I used to live in Moss Creek Plantation. I was playing a par three with a lagoon on the left and a big, blind bunker between the lagoon and the green. I hit my ball into the bunker and when I approached I saw my ball next to the hulking gator. I turned to my dad and told him I'm going back to the tee to hit another. He thought my ball was in the water and chided me on playing by the rules and taking a drop instead of re-hitting. I asked him to come over to the bunker, pointed at the gator, and then said to him, "Local rules." The HOA soon determined that gator was too big and was worried that it would become a nuisance so they had it relocated. The removal folks measured it and it was just over 14 feet. Absolutely massive in length and girth.

I lived in Hilton Head and Bluffton for years but never got down to the Savannah area to fish. There were just too many great places to fish near me (literally thousands of lagoons) and I prefer walking the banks and covering lots of ground on foot. Some days I might walk for miles and cover a dozen lagoons, especially if gators decide to camp out where I'm fishing.

I've stomped and shouted at gators to try and drive them off. Most duck under the water and then hang out marking their turf. A few decided to make a run at me instead. Either way, I just go fish somewhere else. As you mentioned, they are quick and strong and if I do catch something chances are they will turn up their aggression level to 11. My son and I fished a concrete fishing slab at Chapin Park on Hilton Head one year. Within 20 minutes he had 6 or 8 gators all around us just sitting there or cruising. Since they were not aggressive we fished on. But as soon as I caught one that changed. As I got the fish close two gators started battling and death rolling. I yelled for my son to run up the gangplank as I tried to release the fish. Another gator started slamming into the concrete slab. I released the fish and got out of there. When I git to the top of the gangplank two gators climbed up on that raised slab. I did call local officials and since it was a town park they said they would relocate the larger gators. But the other areas I fish are gated residential communities and they almost never remove aggressive gators until a person is attacked. Over the past 4 years we've had a handful of gator attacks and two deaths. But if I remember correctly in both deaths people were walking dogs near the lagoons. The other attacks were unprovoked. Fishing with gators around is just a fact of life in the SC Lowcountry. But every moment I am on the water my head is on a swivel and I'm keeping an eye out for them. Their presence also limits the areas I fish. I never fish in tight quarters where I can't make a quick egress and won't fish over areas of high, thick vegetation where I can't see what's on the other side. I made the mistake once of going on the wooded backside of a lagoon and when I went to traverse a narrow gap between the lagoon and some bushes I hear the gator grunt. I immediately ran back the way I came. When I stopped on the other side of the lagoon there was a 12-14 footer entering the water from those bushes.

That's not my experience here in SC. I've been stalked by gators on more than one occasion as they hug the bank and weed cover closing in on me. Once, when I caught a fish a gator came out of the water and chased me down the bank. He only stopped when he was blocked by my tackle bag laying in the grass. I've casted into cover and had hidden gators grab more than one topwater frog and had numerous other close encounters. It all goes with the territory, but at least there's fantastic fishing. Here's one gator encounter we had from three years ago.

I fished with an Ugly Stick paired with a Trion and later a President and swore by it until I bought an inexpensive Lew's American Hero baitcaster combo. Until then I never realized how much I was missing with the low sensitivity of teh Ugly Stick. The sensitivity of the Lew's rod was so much better, not only with structure but also in detecting bites. It was amazing. Since then I've upgraded my gear all around including a Lew's Mach II SLP combo. I think there's a time and a place for an inexpensive Ugly Stick, but for me that would be for brute force type fishing.

I hear you. All I can say is I'm tired of just about everything lately. I think the lock downs are getting to everyone.

There's also a good chance those are not even bass swiping at your topwater baits. Panfish are territorial little fin nippers that will try and run off potential threats. I've caught panfish on big swimbaits and poppers this way. One way to find out is to fish a treble hook topwater like a popper.

Leaving many Californians to with the hurricane hit their area. /s

I don't care is the app is 100% accurate (it's not), if it's a nice day outside and I get teh chance I am going to go fishing. This especially true this time of year when the summer heat isn't cooking my brain.