Mountain Island Lake

I've been watching the weather closely lately - looking for unusually warm temps and yesterday was the day! The forecast was 70 degrees & partly cloudy. I arranged a short trip with my father in law to try our hand at striper fishing. Picked up some bait at Petsmart (cheaper than the bait shops) and headed out for the water. A good friend had told me about Mountain Island Lake (Thanks Tim) and tales of striper fishing - so we headed that way.
There were a lot of "firsts" on the trip. (1) I had made some bait tubes from PVC that I'd seen on several kayak fishing websites. They aren't as big and don't require as much space as a livewell. If you're thinking of dragging one of these along side your kayak, take it from me... MAKE IT AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE! 28" is way too long and will drag you to the side you have it drifting on. It did keep the bait alive and rather fresh - but I'll probably shorten mine by half or more. Smaller tube = less drag. (2) Trolling is different! We both added flush-mount holders directly behind the seat and you really can't tell if something is on - unless you happen to turn around and look. I prefer the Scotty rod holder on the slide-trax for trolling. It spreads a little better, it doesn't get in the way, and you can see any rod movement. I'll probably be adding another Scotty by next spring. (3) Mountain Island Lake (MIL) is gorgeous! I make it a point to bring a trash bag with me & remove at least 3 pieces of trash every time I leave. Broke my own rule - I couldn't FIND 3 pieces of trash! MIL is much cleaner than Wylie/Catawba. It's very peaceful once you get past the planes coming in towards Charlotte Douglas, not too many boats (it is November though), and although I didn't see as much wildlife, I assume it's there. (4) Striper fishing is a change too. With stripers, you get one shot! Should you fail to leave a hook barb exposed, the fish will hit once - and only once. He may bust your bait wide open, but a hook buried inside of the bait will keep him from hooking himself - and may leave you a little frustrated.
All in all, it was a great paddle, good fun, and enough reason to try again. Hope to see some fellow "yakkers" on the next trip!