Kayak is Innuit for ‘hunting boat,’
and it’s an apt description of this sleek little
craft. While the Innuit used their hunting boats
to pursue seals, walruses and even, unimaginably,
whales, kayaks are also a great way to angle for
saltwater game fish.
There are a number of reasons that recommend kayak
fishing: kayaks are relatively cheap; kayaks are
potable; kayaks can get you into locations that you
couldn’t get to by foot or larger boat; and kayaks
don’t pollute the water as gasoline powered craft do.
I can remember distinctly the exact moment I decided
to buy a kayak for fishing. I was fishing on a clam
flat, accessible by foot. Fishing is a misnomer;
actually I was watching fish feed about 100 yards
out from where I was for over an hour. I paced back
and forth, knowing that if I could just get close
enough to those fish I would take my rightful place
at the top of the food chain, but there was nothing
I could do. I went home that afternoon and began
pricing kayaks.
I now fish almost exclusively from the kayak, so much
so that the bride fears I’ll end up like Santiago,
towed out to sea by a leviathan. I fear I won’t.
Below are a few things I’ve learned about kayak
fishing that those who are starting to use these
stealthy little boats might find useful.
-
Buy or make a paddle leash. This is a length
of cord that hooks to your paddle and to your kayak
that prevents you from losing the paddle if you
should accidentally drop it overboard. You can
also carry an extra paddle, just in case. Rather
than invest in a second kayak paddle (which can be
expensive), I bought a canoe paddle, which will get
me home in an emergency but was cheap (a recurring
theme of mine) and easy to stow. And always wear a
PDF. -
Add deck rigging to your kayak if the boat didn’t
come with it. You can buy the hardware and the bungee
cord from any kayak dealer; just make sure that the
hardware is either plastic or stainless steel. You
can clip your paddle leash to the deck rigging, and
also use it for carrying things like your stripping
basket, water bottle, kayak cart, or anything else
you bring along. I prefer my rigging to be on the
stern, lessening the chance of line tangles. -
Buy a hard foam sleeping bag cushion (Coleman
sells nice ones) and cut it to fit on the floor of
your kayak. This not only provides additional
flotation should you capsize, but it also deadens
any noise you might make by banging the rod butt,
etc. on the floor. -
Cushion your cockpit cowl to avoid noise. I’ve
been able to paddle right into the middle of a school
of feeding stripers without them seeming to notice,
but they take off in a flash if I inadvertently bang
the paddle against the boat. An old garden hose, cut
to the right length, split down the middle, and attached
with a waterproof adhesive works well. -
Keep obstructions to a minimum. The last thing
you need is to be untangling line while the current
is dragging you away from a school of feeding fish.
If you add a rod holder to your boat, make sure that
it is positioned out of the way but still within reach,
preferably behind you. Water bottles, chest packs,
etc., need to be stowed out of the way (but still
accessible). -
Always troll when you are paddling from one spot
to another. This will help you locate fish that aren’t
visibly feeding. A rod holder makes trolling easier,
but you can also troll by placing the butt of the rod
on the floor between you knees and keep the rod pointing
straight ahead over the bow. Let out enough line so
that you are able to loosely hold the line in your
dominant hand as you paddle (but be certain to keep
enough slack between the line in your hand and the
rod tip so that the rod stays stationary). When a
fish hits the trolled fly it won’t jerk your rod
overboard. Another way to troll is to wedge the
rod, pointing toward the stern, between your leg
and the sides of the kayak. Your leg will keep
the rod from going overboard when a fish takes
the fly. -
Judge the tide, current and drift before you
start fishing. If there is a strong current you
want to get up current from a school of fish so
that you can get in as many casts as possible as
you drift through the school. If you drift through
a school of feeding fish and they don’t take the
fly, try approaching from a different angle, either
from the side or the back of the school. I’ve been
in schools of feeding bass when they would only take
a fly cast from a particular side or angle. If you
leave your kayak to fish from shore on an incoming
tide, be sure to pull the boat a good ways from the
water’s edge. This will save you from running to
save your boat as the tide takes it away, which will
only happen, of course, when you have a good fish
on. And only fish from the kayak when the weather
and water conditions are safe to do so. -
Invest (or make) a folding kayak cart. These
make moving the kayak much easier, particularly
over long distances like beaches that you can’t
approach with your car. Try to buy a cart with
oversized inflatable tires that can handle most
terrain. When you’re ready to launch you can
fold the cart and secure it to the deck rigging
on the stern.
Once you start using a kayak you’ll wonder how
you ever fished without one. I plan to spend
the next year perfecting fishing for stripers
from my hunting boat. Then it’s on to seals,
walruses, maybe even whales. . . ~ Dave
About Dave:
Dave Micus lives in Ipswich, Massachusetts. He is an
avid striped bass fly fisherman, writer and instructor.
He writes a fly fishing column for the Port City Planet
newspaper of Newburyport, MA (home of Plum Island and Joppa Flats)
and teaches a fly fishing course at Boston University.
Originally published April 5, 2004 on Fly Anglers Online by Dave.