Thursday, Samantha and I had a chance to fish Lynnhaven with local guide Mark Lozier. Sam caught her first speckled trout on the magic bait of the day, a Yo-Zuri “Crystal Shrimp”.

Thursday night, some of the early Boondogglers and many of the locals ate and had a few drinks at the Ocean View Pier. Some of the locals might have had a few too many drinks. You will have to look for those photos on Facebook.

On Friday, most of the folks from out of state hit Broad Bay with Virginia locals Mark Lozier, Rob Lee, Kevin Burns, and Joe Maccini. Fishing was decent - some small redfish and trout were caught. Rob Lee managed a mini Virginia slam with a small trout, redfish, and flounder. Woody Callaway of Liquidlogic Kayaks also gave us a quick run through of the new Native Watercraft “Slayer”.

The more adventurous group (led by locals Kayak Kevin, Jay Brooks, and Rob Choi) went out to Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel - “CBBT”. Jay landed this nice sheephead. Jean McElroy hooked into a nice redfish, but after a quick sleigh ride through the pilings it broke off. Kayak Kevin landed this impressive 51” bull redfish.

Friday night had no planned activities, but many folks wandered into Stan and Holly’s campsite for an impromptu beach party. Apparently there are stories about a dive-bombing attack helicopter and Stan, a sombrero, and a tree…

Saturday was the mini rod tournament and the main Boondoggle kayak fishing outing. Kayak fishermen armed with various 2’ to 3’ rods adorned with superheroes and dolls hit the water in hopes of landing a “Monsta.”

I was also lucky enough to use the Native Slayer for the day; keep an eye out for the review in the next few days.

The fishing in Lynnhaven was pretty slow early on, but picked up a little (as did the wind) later in the day.

Rob Lee thought he had won the mini rod tournament with his 15.5 inch redfish, little did he know that Allie Brooks would catch a nice ribbon fish that would take first by a long shot!

Saturday night was the official Boondoggle dinner and raffle at Salty C’s in Virginia Beach. We expected 40 or so to turn out, and ended up with almost 60! Some of the local celebrities like Kayak Kevin, Chad Hoover and Rob Choi joined fifty-odd other Boondogglers at a Virginia-style BBQ.

A big thanks to all the individuals and companies that donated items to the raffle. We raised over $1,000 for the Tidewater Chapter of Heroes On the Water!

Later that evening, Rob Choi had a Gyotaku or fish printing workshop. This gave everyone a chance to print the 19” flounder Rob Lee caught the night before.

Sunday the weather took a turn for the worse, with temperatures in the 60s and wind gusts 15 to 20 mph. This didn’t stop most of the anglers that were visiting from out of state. Good weather or bad, they were fishing on the last day of the Boondoggle!

Thanks again to Mark and Kris Loizer for being the “boots on the ground” for this event, to all the locals who welcomed us to their great fishery, and to everyone who participated and made this our largest and most successful Boondoggle to date!

To find more information about the Kayak Fishing Boondoggles go to www.yakangler.com/boondoggle.

Thanks again to all the Boondoggle raffle sponsors!

Amy and Gus Angelopoulos, Hook1, Mark Patterson, Scott Castleberry, Ty Southerland- 30 miles out TV, David Harper, Native Watercraft, Oceans East 2, Joe Maccini, Marsh Works, Wayne Bradby, Neil Taylor, Russell Hamm, Lynnhaven River Now, Froggies, Ruby Tuesdays, TKAA, Jay and Allie Brooks, Get Outdoors, Appomatox River Company, 1st Landing Kayak Fishing Services, Rich Jones, Browns Taxidermy, Capt. Mark Wright, Capt. Alex Gorrichky, Harry Goodes Outdoor Shop, Elusive Tails, Transport Safety Flag, Bass Assassin, Kayaks by Bo, and Slayer Inc.