JEM Watercraft

I had some great outings this summer with the tandem sot (unnamed) and the new solo Bluefin sot! These JEM kayak designs have brought great joy to our family. Below are four outings we made in August alone.

1. Every summer we vacation on Cape Cod. This year I brought both the tandem and the solo. The first day I took my 15 year-old son out in the tandem. We had great fun and caught quite a few Bluefish (called Tailors down-under) and a few 22" striped bass. No photos from that day but it was great to spend time together this way. The Blues made for great lunches on the BBQ.

Several days later I went out in the Bluefin and caught two Striped Bass at around 30" each. See photo below. The Bluefin was fantastic in ocean conditions. What a joy!



My pre-teen daughter and her friend decided that kayak fishing sounded fun and were interested in the fish we had been catching. So they asked to come on the next trip. They both got up with excitement even at 5:30am the next morning. All three of us went in the tandem together.





They did great and each caught their first fish from a kayak; two very nice 25" Bluefish.





They proudly brought their fish home for everyone to see and were quite pleased to serve them BBQ'd for lunch. They both wanted to go fishing again. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate before vacation ended.

I did get one afternoon of just paddling in for myself on the Bluefin before we left. I paddled out to the very tip of Cape Cod and stopped briefly on the beach.






2. My daughter really wanted to go fishing again once we got home from vacation. So I took her early one morning (5:30am) to a spot I fish in Boston Harbor. We took the tandem.



What a day! She caught 11 Striped Bass and learned how to bait the hook with Sea Worms. The biggest fish was a 30" Striped Bass (no picture of that one).





We had a wonderful time together! I told her I was the luckiest guy in the world!

3. My mother-in-law (who I like quite a bit) came to visit for her birthday. She's always been very interested in our kayak outings. My daughter suggested that we take her fishing for her birthday as she'd never been fishing before. So off we went.



She caught a very nice Striped Bass as her first fish and was ecstatic. Note birthday bow on the lip-grip in the photo below.



4. Our last outting of the summer was to one of the islands in Boston Harbor. It was a family outting with my son taking the Bluefin and my wife, daughter, and myself in the tandem.









We had a nice picnic lunch and hiked on trails to a nice view of Boston.


My daughter caught a crab.


My son took a nap while my wife and I just soaked it all up and contemplated the end of the summer.



What a great summer! Thank you Matt and all who helped me build my kayaks with your great advice. You've enriched our family's lives!

It dosent get much better than that.
Thanks for sharing

Scott & Family,

That is a cracking blogg mate - Well done!

Your boats are amazing and thank you for sharing your trip with us.

BTW, Those bluefish are stonkers! (huge) We call them Tailer and are prized here as sport fish. I love to eat them very fresh, filleted and onto a barbeque plate the same day.

I can see this section of the forum evolving into a Jem Paddlers blogg spot and that is very cool in my opinion.

Oh yeah, with the tailor err blue fish, try bleeding them as soon as they are landed (cut their throat). The flesh is much better eating that way.

Mick,
you have been/are a big part of the success in getting these boats built. The thanks go to you!

Yes, we love having Bluefish (Tailer) fresh that day filleted on the BBQ. The fight they put up and their great eating make them our favorite fish to catch. I've heard that bleeding them improves the flavor. How do you handle them to bleed them? Those nasty teeth of their's lead me to quickly dump them in my fish storage area and wait for them to calm down before I remove the hook.

Scott, your family will treasure those times and memories all their lives. Good on ya, mate!

Scott,

I carry a small club, we call a "donger" A tap or two on the back of the head will subdue them enough to allow for easy handling.

We call solid tailer like that green backs for the greeny tinge they take on.
Smaller versions we call choppers for their habit of chopping the tails off bait fish (and the ends off fingers of the unwary )

Most here are caught off the open surf beaches where they prey on schools of pilchards. I live at the northern extreme of the range here so don't get to see many green backs.

These fish are also superb kippered or hot smoked. Lightly marinate with a mix of salt and brown sugar for about half an hour before smoking. They go great with cold beer!

Mick...

You have oranges in your yard .... Have you ever picked a few , squeezed the juice out and poached a fillet of the fish in the juice.

Fresh juice is the best for it and it gives the fish a good citrus side but mild taste. Plus it is all fat free cooking.

Chuck.

Thanks Mick! I have a hot smoker in the back-yard. I'll have to give that a try.

Chuck wrote

Mick...

You have oranges in your yard .... Have you ever picked a few , squeezed the juice out and poached a fillet of the fish in the juice.

Fresh juice is the best for it and it gives the fish a good citrus side but mild taste. Plus it is all fat free cooking.

Haven't tried oranges mate, but thank you, good tip.

I sometimes use Kaffir Limes to good effect.

If soaked in a mix of lime juice and coconut milk overnight in the fridge, it cooks the fillet cold and you have fish Fijian style. Oh man, I am drooling here now.

Limes go nicely with so many things! Sea food, rum, tequila, iced tea, rum, tequila, pork roast, rum, tequila, ....