JPP Weekend Survival Kit
 

JPP is my favorite lake, but mostly I fish it during the week. Not unusual at all to be the only boat fishing my section of the lake, especially in the mornings. Unfortunately however, my fishing buddy has not yet retired, and has a hankering for crappie, so I am forced to fight the weekend crowds to help him keep his freezer full. With that in mind I have developed this weekend survival kit that hopefully my friends here will find useful.

1. A flag bearing the words - DANGER - BIOHAZARD - CHEMICAL - NUCLEAR WASTE - QUARANTINE ZONE - to fly whenever you boat a crappie, as otherwise 4 boats will move in and crowd you off your spot.

2. Exploding leaders. These are chemically adjusted to explode only under the pressure of a gar biting you off, or when wrapped around a prop (to blow the prop off of boats that cut your line while trolling deep cranks - which has happened to me 4 times already this year)

3. An RC controlled shark with giant back fin. Used to swim around party boats and jet skis anchored over your brush pile.

4. A paper bag with eye holes in it. To be worn over your head at the boat ramp, when your partner backs at a 45 degree angle down a multiple lane ramp- so none of the regulars recognize you. (after all, there are a bunch of bright blue Lowe fish and skis tricked out for trolling on the lake, right?)

Add to that a flare gun not only to signal for emergencies but also to shoot at idiots doing foolish things like coming around points in a speedboat at 70+ mph, having no clue who is around the bend, and doing donuts, the boat version, in a cove while I'm in the same cove IN A KAYAK and trying to fish in peace. I kid you not, if I had a flare gun on me I think I would have shot one in their direction.

I've seen a lot of stupid things but that was the most idiotic I've seen so far. The stunts they were doing in that boat should be in the middle of the lake, if they're going to do it. If they had lost control they could easily have crashed into me. I actually pulled up to the shore and was about to get out and walk into the woods to wait until these morons left. I tried to get it on video, hopefully getting their tag number, and email the footage to TWRA but they left when they saw me get my phone out.

I've also had some run-ins when very rude fishermen in bass boats. They really do think they "own" the lake more so than us kayakers. Recently I was paddling along a shore at 7 points, tossing plastic worms along the way. There was a bassboat behind me using their trolling motor to keep up to speed with me and kept tossing A-rigs directly in front of my kayak, where I was trying to cast. I was there first, catching bass, then they come along. It was definitely intentional. I decided to paddle around the back of their boat and just head in the other direction along the bank, they both stared me down the whole time while I was paddling. Two guys in the boat, I doubt one person alone would have acted the same way towards me.

There are just a lot of stupid, and/or inconsiderate people that fish on JPP and your best bet this time of year is to fish before daylight and be gone before 10am. That's typically what I do so if you see a bright green yak on the water at about 4am, say hi.

I actually had a bass boat with two males in it blow through the no wake zone at viverette creek and circle me as I was paddling to a mouth of a creek. After about the third time around I began to reach in my backpack and they left. I guess they were afraid of what I was going to pull out or do. Once I got back to the ramp an older gentleman stated that he saw the incident and notified the game warden but I am not sure if they ever arrived or not.

Thats why you carry 2 bullets and not just 1.

Roy

I floated Nice Mill to West Fork with Scott about a month or so ago. when we were about to take out, a big bass boat comes barreling around the corner upstream at about 60mph heading right toward us. we start waving our paddles in the air and i just knew we were going to get hit. They yell, We see ya! as they whizz by our yaks within about 10 ft of us. it happened so fast. scary stuff.

pww, Two bullets. Try 18 with a spare mag! It's bad on any busy lake. Gville was great wed-Friday, then the weekend crowd hits and you can't find a parking spot at any ramp. We pulled up to a stretch of bank with grass and were the first on it but then after us there were 4 boats in line to fish the same 200 yard stretch. Priest can be pretty rough though, lot's of idiots.

99.9% of the time I am trolling on the electric at 1.5 mph with the boat on autopilot. My biggest threat to kayakers would be snagging one while I nodded off and dragging it for a few miles before I woke up from my nap.

If that happens please don't cut the line as cranks are expensive - instead just paddle up to the boat and give me a nudge.

That is genius great stuff
Dakota


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's funny. I was thinking last night how much the lake has changed in 2 weeks. People and boats and cops everywhere even at dark.

We refer to these fishermen as "Bassholes". Luckily, they are not all like that and some are very cordial. But there are always those few that think the greenfish is king.

Yea of course I run into many kind ones on the water as well but it seems this time of year its a 50/50 ratio of good people and bassholes. The bassholes get noticed more since they're the ones pissing me off!

Green fish are trash!!! Everyone knows Brown Bass and Brown Trout rule!!!!!

Roy

Keep a large crank bait minus the hooks rigged up on a spare rod at all times so that you can cast it right upside the head of those Jet Skiers that get within 15 feet of your boat.

Now thats what I'm talkin bout! I love the brown fish and the big white ones with stripes.

X10000000


Mike

Keep livin' the Dream!