I was 12 years old, sitting in a movie theater watching The Karate Kid when my head exploded and my brain melted. Mr. Miyagi, the old karate master, instructs his young student to wash a half dozen cars. Anxious to learn how to fight, Daniel LaRusso complains, “Why do I have to wash all the cars?” The student stands in disbelief as Miyagi shows him how to “Wax on, wax off.” Later in the film when the sensei attacks, LaRusso defends himself by waxing on a punch and waxing off a kick.
In high school I learned the ancient Eastern philosophy that learning something new requires forgetting past knowledge. But I blame Mr. Miyagi for encouraging me to take my fishing to the next level.
Cobra Kai and Kayak Fishing
I’m an angler, not a fighter. I take my butt whoopings from Mother Nature, but Mr. Miyagi’s lessons were not lost on me. Constantly challenging my comfort zone and exploring new challenges keeps me engaged in the sport. Every time I turn my attention to a new target, location or tactic, I remember to wax on and wax off.
Last winter I set out to catch speckled trout in Elizabeth River using forward-facing sonar and glidebaits. I’ve caught thousands of speckled trout in other places with traditional trout lures, but I wanted to employ the latest technology to explore a new body of water.
With Mr. Miyagi’s instructions playing in my mind, I set out to test the waters. I rigged a Bonafide PWR129 with Garmin Force Current motor and Garmin LiveScope. Using what I already knew about trout fishing, I caught a few trout and found a couple hot spots, but scrolling through social media posts of other anglers showing off huge gator trout had me reluctantly hitting 👍 and ❤️.
I doubled down on my mission. I fished after work and weekends. I fished in freezing temperatures, driving rain and blustery winds. Slowly, I learned to interpret the signals on my fish finder. I figured out the patterns of tide and current. I built an arsenal of confidence lures. But I still hadn’t cracked the code. Before I could catch a trophy speck, I had to forget everything I learned.
Enter the hard-body swimbait. At first look, a six- to eight-inch, lifelike baitfish imitation seems too large to tempt finicky speckled trout. Traditional trout lures, such as twitchbaits and jerkbaits, are designed to finesse a hesitant fish into biting. Switching to a giant lure goes against everything I knew about trout fishing. But I wanted to weed out the smaller trout and focus on big fish with a big lure.
On a cold morning late in the season, I woke up early, gathered my gear in the dark, dropped my kayak on an ice-covered launch ramp and headed out to see what I could learn.
My first couple stops didn’t produce anything. I continued to search the river with my side-imaging sonar. When I found the right marks at a creekmouth, I switched to forward-facing sonar to zone in on the school of trout.
The first cast with a six-inch FishLab BBZ Hard Swimbait produced a solid thump. The fish stayed deep and pulled drag, a sure sign of a big trout. I carefully worked the fish close to the kayak, each jarring headshake building excitement and anxiety. Speckled trout have a paper-thin mouth, requiring light drag and an easy touch. I gingerly gained line until the huge trout appeared in the tannic-brown water, a true trophy!
With the fish on the surface, I moved in to scoop it up in my landing net. As I guided the massive silver, purple and spotted fish toward the hoop, I placed my thumb on the reel spool to stop the fish from making another run. Then the giant trout shook its massive head, the hooks pulled out of its mouth, my lure shot into the air and the fish slowly swam away.
At first I shouted my frustration into the ambivalent sky. I stomped my feet, covered my face with my hands and lowered my head. I only had myself to blame. My endgame worked for smaller trout, but I had to reinvent my methodology to land a big fish. I finally hooked a trophy trout, but I had a lot to learn, and a lot to forget, before I could seal the deal. Mr. Miyagi would be proud.
Old dog, new tricks. | Feature photo: Ric Burnley
