May 15th was the First Annual Jamaica Bay Kayak Fishing Tournament for Conservation- an event that raised money for environmental groups (Friends of Gateway and the NY/NJ Baykeepers) protecting our waters. The event saw 52-kayak fisherman converging on Jamaica Bay in New Your City, coming from 5 different states to put their crafts to good use by exploring these skinny waters and going to places that no powerboat has ever ventured to find fish.
New York City is not place that comes to mind when talking about site fishing the flats, but there were reports of schools of 100's of Stripers tailing, and the water surprised many new to the area with its clarity. Most competitors only complaint about the fishing was that their arms were getting tired from hauling the fish in, conditions could not have been better and the fish were pretty much everywhere an angler looked. May is prime time in Jamaica Bay for Bass, Blues and Weakfish. The overwhelming schools of aggressive Bluefish did make it hard to get an offering to a Striped Bass or a Weakfish but still plenty of fun as the average Blue was around 5 lbs and many going into double digits. Most of the better Striped Bass fishing happened in some of the shallowest of waters with the winning fish being Bass a of 35.5" in the open and 33" in the fly division. There were also 5 anglers with grand slams (Striped Bass, Bluefish and Weakfish) and the winner having a total of 78.5". There were a full range of techniques used, everything to live&lining Bunker to casting flies seemed to produce. The hard bottom of the bay makes for easy wade fishing and some angler&s preferred this method after paddling to a desirable area. The event was catch and release and there were some stories of difficulties getting a toothy critter like a Bluefish to smile for the camera long enough to take a picture, but all and all it worked out fine. We hope that this event will grow bigger in years to come and attract anglers from other regions of the country.