Category Archives: Trip News

Trip posts, updates and info. Anything we can provide to keep you up to speed on our trips.

Trip News

12.19.20 Another day, another trip added to the schedule

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Another 2021 San Clemente Island kayak mothership trip update.

We were serious when we told you that we were going to hustle to get more trips. We were serious when we said YOU are our #1 priority. Today we made it happen.

We added a NEW San Clemente Island 3.5 day kayak mothership trip to our schedule. That is right… not just another trip… but LONGER. Why? BECAUSE MORE FISHING IS MOST DEFINTELY BETTER.

Earlier today we sent out emails to everyone that tried to book with us, but ultimately missed out. They have priority right now to get on our newly offered trip. We had to make sure that they at least had a chance to score a spot on what many call a bucket list trip. These trips provide unique opportunities to fish an incredible island fishery in your own kayak.

Over the next few days we will be working with our booked guests to provide them with an opportunity to move their reservation to our newly offered 3.5 day trip which could result in newly open spots. We will have this wrapped up by Tuesday. If spots are still available, we will go public with our dates and a waiting list for sold out trips. Cancellations still occur… so it is wise to jump on the waiting list when the trip is sold out.

Trip News

12.18.20 Many are happy and some are not

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Some of you are probably wondering… what the hell am I talking about?

We just launched the 2021 San Clemente Island kayak mothership trip season schedule to our mailing list subscribers on Wednesday promptly at 6:00 PM. We knew that people wanted to get on this trip… we knew that people missed out on this trip last year due to COVID AND we knew that a lot of you are going crazy sitting at home.

We expected a large response… but we didn\’t expect a GIGANTIC response to the point where we couldn\’t even keep up. My poor wife who largely runs the administration of our company behind the scenes has been on a tear over the last two (2) days. She is booking all of you, she is creating the invoices and managing our email inbox all at the same time… normally not a challenge, but WOW this time she needed some help. So Joe and I stepped in to lend a hand to get through 300+ email requests, 40 DM\’s, 88 bookings and 80 invoices that were generated as a result of this release.

This is not a burden… this is exciting. This means we are growing. This means that we are providing a quality experience that people want to be a part of. We have always felt that this particular experience is something that every kayak angler would want to be a part of at least once. Even freshwater anglers find themselves at home on this trip… it seems to speak to just about everyone.

This trip is connecting the entire California kayak fishing community from NorCal to San Diego. Heck, we even have a few that travel from Nevada and Arizona. This means that the Islander crew gets a few more trips to work, means more money for them and their families. It also means a spike to the local economy in San Diego with hotel stays, meals, parking, etc.

We are working longer hours than normal right now to get you all booked and billed + ADD MORE TRIPS. This won\’t take long… most likely by Monday at the latest. We have already requested more trips from the Islander and may be adding a 3.5 day option as well, as we received a lot of requests for a longer trip. This is our highest priority right now… YOU are our highest priority right now.

Trip News

12.17.20 Wow, that was fast!

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Well… we said these trips would be highly contested and we also said that we expected to sell out within 24 hours. We are just about there with only a few spots left.

Last night we received over 250 emails (all after 6:00 PM). We have never seen a response like this. We were floored. This tells me that people love this trip, NorCal\’s Fresh n Salty rolls deep and that people want to get out there and live. This makes us so happy.

We are in the process of responding to every single person that attempted to book. We expect to get to all of you today. For those expecting confirmation emails after we you completed your form… we cannot automate that because we have to ensure that we process them in the order they were received. We would hate to confirm that you have a spot or worse don\’t have a spot and we were wrong. This is sort of like when you order something online and you have to wait to get the confirmation email that they have it in stock and will be delivered.

Sooo… what are we going to do? First, we need to talk to the Islander and get more dates (STAY TUNED). Second, we need to close out the remaining few spots.

We heard rumblings that some people that subscribed to our list did NOT receive the email. First let me say this… It is our intention to include everyone. There is no one that we want to exclude. Next I want to say that we literally want to book you all. So when we hear that people missed out because of a failure with technology… we got really bummed out.

Unfortunately we cannot control whether or not your email server thinks our email is spam. Our process includes a SPAM test and a compliance check. It passed both tests before we sent this out. We literally tested multiple times before sending right at 6:00 PM. Nonetheless, we are bummed that people felt that they missed out. Based on the 250+ email response, we had no idea that some of you were having issues until we started receiving text messages and DMs.

We will be looking into this problem and determine if we can improve upon this process. We want you all to have the best chance possible to fish with your buddies.

Trip News

12.15.20 2021 SCI Kayak Mothership Trips Coming At Ya

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We are suuuuppper excited about the 2021 season… the idea of wiping the slate clean, disinfecting ourselves from COVID and getting back out on the water. It\’s where we all want to be… sounds soooo damn delightful. We all need this!

Every year we see incredibly high demand for these trips. If it weren\’t for COVID-19, we would be launching at least six (6) dates for the 2021 season. With a great initial response to our trip marketing campaign and over one hundred (100) new email subscribers over the last two weeks we expect to see the highest demand for these trips we have ever seen. If we are right, this means we will be adding more trips to the 2021 schedule to meet the demand.

We want to create opportunities for you to fish with people that you know or to forge new relationships with people in your community. Last year we tested out the concept of \’community based\’ trips with the Central Coast Kayak Fishing (CCKF) trip. With more trip inquiries than any other trip… I would say that the community concept was very well received. So we are doubling down.

We are serving three communities aka California regions:

  • Southern California
  • Central Coast (Central Coast Kayak Fishing)
  • Northern California (Fresh n Salty)

We really like this approach as it is centered around communities, which something we believe strongly in. We think 2021 will be a breakout year for these trips. What is the best way to get on these trips? SUBSCRIBE, SUBSCRIBE, SUBSCRIBE!!!

It is simple, we have a mailing list that is free to join. You do not have to sell your soul to gain access. We do not spam and you can unsubscribe at any time.

To learn more about these trips, check out our trip page.

Trip News

12.10.20 South Louisiana Behind the Trip Part 1

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I wanted to focus on my experience and the people that made this trip what it was… this was just as impactful as my first redfish from a kayak. When talking about my fishing travels I often find myself saying that the fishing portion is just a bonus. I sincerely mean that. The joys from my travels most definitely include fishing moments, but the most meaningful and fulfilling are the experiences and relationships that I wouldn\’t otherwise have.

Let\’s start with my road dogs… Joseph Martinez and Steve Ponce aka Pop\’s. Joe worked his ass off to help us advance our web capabilities and drive one hell of a marketing campaign during some trying times. What he accomplished over the last nine (9) months is remarkable and is the reason why we are in a better position to succeed. He did all of that + helped us cover this entire adventure via his Canon R5, iPhone and shared with all of you via Facebook and Instagram. He also ensured that we would only eat the finest food, he figured out gas stops and planned hotel stays. The dude was and is a beast! Thank you homie… Fish Village also says thank you.

So… I call my Pop\’s about two (2) months before the trip and start talking about long drives, good eats… and ummm a 24 ft. trailer. He asked who was gonna drive? I balked and then asked… do you have two (2) weeks to go for a drive? The rest was history. See… my Pop\’s was a truck driver back in the day and is probably the best driver I know. He saw an opportunity to do something cool with his son and driving comes easy to him and I saw an opportunity to do something cool with my Dad and show him what Fish Village is really about annnnnd drive a 24 ft. trailer 4,100 miles across the south. Crazy to think that we rarely played music in the car, we never argued, we never ran out of stuff to talk about and we got to experience the south together. At the end of the day… this road trip was priceless and something I will always cherish. Thanks Dad for driving us wack-a-doodles to Louisiana and back, everyone benefited from your efforts and loved your company.

Before I even knew that this trip was happening, there was a force of energy stronger than my own that refused to lay down when COVID was ruining everyone\’s plans. Ivy Harris started putting a plan together when I wasn\’t even sure that Fish Village had a future. Soon he informed me of this plan and it resonated with me immediately. He got me fired up… he got Joe fired up… he got Sylvia fired up… he got Rob fired up… and that most definitely meant he got Nic fired up too. We needed a kick in the ass and Ivy had the right size boot for the job.

His plan was to construct an incredible team of anglers, assemble in south Louisiana, fish n film and build a lasting program in Louisiana for our customers to enjoy. His plan became a reality on Sunday November 15th, when all eighteen anglers gathered at Deep Delta Bowfishing camp in Plaquemines Parish. At one point I found myself smiling and looking over our group realizing that this wouldn\’t have been possible if it weren\’t for Ivy. I know Ivy sacrificed his free time, made countless phone calls, connected us with incredible people and pushed me to build the best product and customer experience possible. Ivy Harris… thank you for driving this effort and making this incredible experience possible. And one more thank you for the King Cake and for the absolutely over the top custom 85th Day fishing rod. I was floored when you presented that to me.

This trip created opportunities that I just haven\’t had over the last decade. Opportunities to take an awesome road trip, to eat new food, to learn about our country, to experience our country, to meet new people and to fish new waters. This trip pushed my comfort limits, yet I was never uncomfortable. Sure I have heard about southern hospitality and have experienced it through my travels… but not to this extent. It was like a welcome mat was rolled out for us and everyone wanted to talk to us. It was good soup for the soul.

I am going to keep coming with the Behind the Trip posts until I finish my story… sooooo sorry, not sorry.

Louisiana Road Trip 2020 Trip Recaps

Trip News

12.4.20 The final push through the Southwest

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The final stretch through El Paso, Las Cruces and Phoenix… then the greater Los Angeles area.

Sunday 11/22 – 550 + miles

We knew that we would gain an hour in El Paso so we opt\’d for an extra hour of sleep and started the day a little later than the last few days. We made the short haul to El Paso where we would stop to grab more dry ice, fuel up and grab something to eat.

Joe had taken the reins on making decisions on where we would eat. Normally I wouldn\’t trust anyone else with my food… but Joe is different. That dude can sniff out a good meal anywhere on this planet. It is a true gift and we will follow his nose anywhere. His latest recommendation took us to this incredible place that makes gorditas… not the Taco Bell kind. This place smelled like fresh tortillas, smelled of grandma\’s delicious stews and meat goodness and no one spoke English. La Gorda… WE ARE AT THE RIGHT PLACE!

After figuring out which meat concoction we wanted to sample… we placed our orders and watch them go to work. A few minutes later we had our gorditas and the three (3) of us started a familiar cycle of sounds and sayings…

\”This is bomb\” – Pop\’s

\”Holy shitballs this is good\” – Me

\”Joe, try my meat\” – Also me

\”Only sounds and no words\” – Joe

\”Thanks Joe\” – Pop\’s and Me

After we finished stuffing our faces… we pushed on to New Mexico where we would make a pit stop literally to get gas and to drain the main vein and low and behold… we find the firework motherload.

Like two (2) little kids with their parent\’s credit cards… Joe and I loaded up on some fireworks. The people that worked there were so helpful and encouraged our bad financial decisions. The next time the earth shakes… it was probably us.

From there we just kept pushing until we hit Glendale Arizona, part of the Phoenix Metropolitan area. My Dad left his toiletry bag at the Best Western on our way out and wanted to get it back (it was my grandfathers bag). Luck was with us and they saved it for him. We un-hitched the trailer for the night and grabbed some dinner at Bobby-Q\’s again. The first time we came was such a hit that we had to do it again. We avoided a lot of restaurants on our trip back due to high COVID risks… so it felt good to enjoy a proper dinner.

Monday 11/23 – 360 miles

Our final run was our shortest run… so we slept in. We were highly motivated to get home and see our families but with any true California story you have to mention something about the traffic. Heading into the Coachella Valley we hit some \”put the brake on and turn off your car\” traffic. Of course… we are so close.

Fortunately it was about an hour delay… once we got past the obstruction we understood why. A semi was overturned with hazardous materials and no more to go. It looked bad… we could only hope that the ones involved were OK.

Some fuel and breakfast stop later… we were on the final run to my house in Diamond Bar. I got a bit emotional thinking this whole #shitshow was coming to an end. I loved just about everything we did… all the good, the bad and the yummy. What a treat. This will NOT be our last road trip as we loved the discovery aspect of it and the opportunities it provided us.

Keep an eye out for a full trip recap with intimate details about our trip and what I got out of it…

Trip News

12.3.20 Time to head home

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It sucks to think that the adventure was coming to a close… but all good things must end at some point.

Friday 11/20 – 400 miles to Houston, Texas

We took our time to pack up and say our good-bye\’s. Not only did we not want to pack everything back up… we just didn\’t want to stop hanging out either. Rob and I were heading the same direction and started planning out lunch stops. The guy couldn\’t get enough of us.

It took us a bit of time to get out of the state of Louisiana as we had multiple stops to make including a quick business meeting, a stop to pick up 50 lbs. of dry ice and a stop to pick up boudin balls and chicken crackling. Cuz once you have dem boudin balls and chicken crackling… boy you ain\’t the same. YA HEARD!

We pushed on through to the greater Houston area and stopped for the night. We wanted to get home within three (3) days because we were starting to get home sick, Thanksgiving was coming up and we were exhausted. So my Dad and Joe finally had Whataburger… our lives did NOT change forever however we were not dissatisfied either. One thing is for sure… Buc-cee\’s is coming up on Saturday!

Saturday 11/21 – 600 + miles to Van Horn, Texas

This haul was a doozy. If we wanted to get home at a decent hour on Monday… we needed to put down some serious miles on one of our full day trips. So we bit the bullet early and used Saturday as our day to drive many, many, many miles pulling a 24 ft. cargo trailer. But first we hit Cracker Barrel as my Dad AND Joe had never been. As suspected… we all fell into the trap that is their country store. But hey… we are contributing to the economy right? Once again… my Dad (Pop\’s) proclaimed \”THIS IS BOMB\” while mowing down some biscuits and gravy. More on \”This is Bomb\” coming soon.

Next stop… Buc-cee\’s. We had to live this Texas experience one more time. We had to walk past rows of ice machines, game feeders and gander at the Great Wall of Candy. In other words… we had to pay our respects to the greatest convenience store known to man. So we used the bathrooms, shopped and contemplated buying things we didn\’t need. $80 dollars later as if I had no will power at all, I walked to the truck with an odd sense of un-warranted pride.

I look forward to doing that again on my next road trip through Texas!

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We drove and drove and drove some more until we just couldn\’t do it anymore. Essentially 12 hours later or 620 some miles later we stopped at Van Horn for the night. Nothing was open but a McDonald\’s so we got McBurgers and McNuggets with a side of McShits later on. We barely finished our food before we started to crash. We got a good night sleep knowing that we had a decent haul to Phoenix the next day. Home was in sight.

Trip News

12.2.20 More Fishing and More Wind

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I wish that I could report that the conditions eventually swung into our favor, but that was not the case. As a matter of fact, most would argue that it got worse. Morale was low for some of the Cali guys as the struggle was most definitely real. Even the seasoned pros were struggling to find the fish and if you could find them… staying on them was the next game that you had to master.

Wednesday 11/18 – 25+ mph winds

We woke up to howling winds, I mean it was ripping. Just about everyone questioned their desire to get up, get ready and fight the wind AGAIN. I will say this; most of the group had a strong will to push on through… I was not one of them on Wednesday. A handful of us decided to stay back and do a bit of work instead of fighting the wind.

However team #nevergiveup continued to grind. The Cali guys started getting on fish. Each respective group reported catches signaling that better times might be ahead. NOPE… mother nature was relentless and kept throwing high winds at us.

At least this time around fish were caught and the Cali boys were finding success. With team fish/catch photos and lots of fish to fillet… this without a doubt boosted morale in camp which led to a lot of whiskey drinking and good eats. Well truth be told… no matter what we did led to a lot of whiskey drinking and good eats.

Thursday 11/19 – 20+ mph winds

Soooo… like out of a story book we woke up at the crack of dawn to low winds which felt like NO WINDS compared to the last few days. All of us were well rested and ready to make the most of our last day of fishing in southern Louisiana.

Once again we staggered our launches and launched all 18 anglers into an area of the marsh that had proven to be successful and full of fish. We quickly spread out and started to get skinny. Everyone found an inlet, cut or pond with the right falling tide conditions and just killed it.

Brian Nelli reported in early with multiple large trout caught and a bunch of redfish. This was the sign that we were about to have a good day. As I drove up an inlet I spotted a small pond with clean water and all of a sudden I saw a bunch of mud come up signaling that there was a good sized fish there. I aimed, threw and missed horribly. I reeled in and re-casted and put it where the fish had no choice but to eat it. And just like that… I had my first sight casted redfish on a kayak. My homie Brooks Beatty was on the scene with the camera and coached me into landing it myself. I almost made the mistake to net the fish before the fight was over… thanks for the advice Brooks! More to come on this! And as I suspected I would… I landed the fish on a Buggs Fishing Beastie Bugg 1/4 oz. (Blue Crab). It was so sweet I had to text Heath Hippel (owner of Buggs Fishing) and say thanks for making this possible. I kept the lure and brought it home for the mantle.

The low winds didn\’t stick around for long, our window was tiny but we took advantage of it. The stupid high winds picked back up and eventually flushed us out of the marsh into a large opening and we all eventually ended up together as if it were planned. A super cool way to end the trip… basically all of us together sharing fish stories and talking about how they sight casted a fish.

Bottom line… our team caught fish. Our team figured out the extremely tough conditions with the help of some seasoned professionals and a relentless desire to catch fish, despite the challenges.

I was surrounded by incredible people that refused to quit… what an honor that was.

Trip News

12.1.20 Days 1 + 2 Tough Fishing, Tough Conditions

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We all came to Louisiana with the same goal in mind… to do as much fishing and eating as possible before our time ran out. Everything in between was just a bonus. Though the in between stuff was pretty damn fun too… let\’s talk about the fishing right now.

Monday 11/16 – 20 mph winds

Soooooo, we may have dodged some quarantines, we even dodged a potentially deadly tropical storm that at one point was expected to hit south Louisiana but what we couldn\’t dodge was the damn wind.

We staggered the launches for our large 18 person group throughout the morning starting at first light. Our floatilla went through what appeared to be a movie set but was really just real southern Louisiana marsh living. An incredible back drop for our day of fishing. The sun was shining, the clouds were scarce, the weather was nice… but the wind was howling. High winds and kayaks make for a challenge… extreme tides with a lot of flushing water doubles the challenges.

None of this stopped Jessica Bryant from Mississippi from sticking a \”marsh pumpkin\” as she likes to call them in super skinny water sending a warning shot to all of the boys on the trip. Wind, flushing water or not… it can be done. What a bad ass… that was just the beginning for her.

We (and by we I do not mean me) only picked off a few fish that day before the group was dejected and worn out… by no means was this the start that we wanted, however it is the start we were dealt. We will persevere.

Monday night 11/16 – Bowfishing via airboat

The camp we stayed at Deep Delta Bowfishing specializes in you guessed it, bowfishing charters. Now, this already sounds cool, but let\’s add the fact that they run airboats for their bowfishing charters. This we had to see for ourselves… so we did a thing.

We loaded two (2) airboats up with 11 anglers and went for a scoot across the marsh. Hot diggity damn that shit was fun! You can ask the guys on my boat… I was screaming the whole way \”FASTER\” just like a kid would.

The consensus was… we all loved it, the fish ARE safe when we have bows in our hands and we want to do it again! Not gonna lie… it was satisfying to shoot a fish instead of hooking a fish. I absolutely loved it… cold as hell, but loved every second of it. An unforeseen highlight of the trip.

Tuesday 11/17 – more 20+ mph winds

That 5:00 AM alarm was rough on Tuesday morning considering we had such a long day AND half of the group spent the night bowfishing… all of us were regretting that decision when we were stumbling around to get ready. Not our finest start… OK it sucked. But we did get out.

The winds were freaking relentless. We split up into three (3) groups to try to find marsh with water in it and to get the Cali boys onto some fish. For the most part, this group knows a thing or two about redfishing in the marsh, only a handful of us needed some help in understanding what to look for, how to approach skinny waters, what baits to use, etc. By the end of the second day we had that down… but the winds wouldn\’t let up.

The only blessing was that the groups started to report more fish being caught and then I had my first run-in with a redfish while in my kayak (I caught one on the dock in PAC)… and it was a doozy. Using a popping cork and some friendly advice from Eric Muhoberac from Louisiana Kayak Company I managed to frustrate a 31 inch redfish into biting. Then the hooting and hollering began. She was a beauty. How is it that my first kayak redfish is a fatboy!

As I was worried that my undersized net wouldn\’t get the job done, Eric swooped in and and landed my fish with an appropriately sized net. This moment was incredible, I let out a bellow of a cry and Eric followed with a sweet yell of success. Robert Field felt the disturbance in the force and he knows that sound… he knew that I found my fish and immediately jumped on the radio. Joe was there to film the final moments and snap a few good pics. I can\’t wait to share them with you…

Though the fishing was not on fire… there were signs of life, moments of joy and a glimmer of hope that all of us will get our redfish. We had two (2) more days of fishing to go… WE GOT THIS!

Trip News

11.25.20 OK… We suck at live event blogging

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Jokes aside… our intent was to share some of our adventure with you during our trip and we certainly did that through social media, but fell short in the live blogging category. For that we apologize.

There was just so much to do and we also wanted to be present in the moment. I often get ridiculed for spending far too much time working and not enough time living and there is truth to that… so I wanted to keep the work shenanigan\’s to a minimum.

So… let me catch you guys up:

Sunday 11/15 – 120 miles driven

It was time to leave PAC and join the rest of the circus in Port Sulphur at Deep Delta Bowfishing\’s camp. This place will be the Fish Village South Louisiana Scouting Trip HQ for the next five (5) nights. That is a tall order considering our group is 18 strong. Rex, Buddy, the Action Van and the California #roadtrippin contingent loaded up and got back on the not so smooth Louisiana roads. A few short hours later we arrived at camp where some of the team members were already chilling.

Within a few short hours our group was complete with eighteen (18) people… How the hell did this happen? How did we manage to pull off this group of kayak anglers?

NameState
Brian NelliFlorida
Billy CentroneFlorida
Derrick BentonFlorida
Ivy HarrisFlorida
Brooks BeattyNorth Carolina
Jessica BryantMississippi
Ed HornsbyMississippi
Sean RigbyMississippi
Rex DeGuzmanTexas
Robert FieldTexas (but really a vagabond)
Jesse LandryCalifornia
Paul WilliamsCalifornia
Ryan ArguelloCalifornia
Alex CasillasCalifornia

Plus of course my Dad aka Pops, Joseph Martinez (Head of Marketing), Eric Muhoberac (Louisiana Kayak Company) and yours truly.

After all of the unpacking, hand shakes and hand sanitizing… we got straight into the fishing program with a few opening words from me to the group expressing my appreciation for their company and trust in Fish Village. And then Captain Harris, aka Urban Legend aka Ivy Harris was kind enough to give a short speech to the group about his appreciation for being a part of Fish Village… so him and Derrick Benton of 85th Day partnered up to create an incredible fishing rod that looks more like art than a rod. It was an incredible surprise that meant a lot to me. What a nice way to start the week with this group of people.

From here we handed out our tackle packs that were made possible with the support of Z-Man, Matrix Shad, Buggs Fishing just to name a few. These packs were put together with the idea that every angler would be outfitted with the same toolkit. These toolkits were comprised of highly successful lures, spinnerbaits, swimbaits and more providing each angler with the tools necessary to land these redfish. These kits were well received by our group. Seeing everyone go through their boxes and checking out the goodies was pretty cool to see. This paired with everyone rocking their fresh Fish Village shirts and hoodies made me damn proud. Rex killed it!

A special thanks to all of our tackle and accessory partners… without all of you this trip would have failed to live up to the Fish Village name.

As the night progressed we geared up for our first day of fishing in the marsh. We knew we would have to contend with high winds and flushing water… the Cali boys were about to get an education about marsh fishing for reds. Stay tuned to learn how our first day went!