[kayakfisher]

Are there any other anglers out there who fish using a kayak? I purchased an 9' Ocean Frenzy used from a guy in Saint John and have it all rigged out for fishing. I have installed a rod holder, paddle leash, net leash and a few other things on it. Tried it out already in Cambridge Narrows and does it ever paddle smooth and even takes the waves well. Very stable. I chose a "sit on kayak" rather than a "sit in version" as you cannot sink these. There is nothing to fill with water to sink. If you want to see it email me and I can email you some pics.

Do you know of any good places to kayak that actually have fish. I am mainly a CPR guy (catch, photograph,release). I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,
Robert

 

[Stroover]

Yep, myself and a few others in the Saint John area kayak fish. I have a Wilderness System Tarpon 120 with a few rod holders (as you may or may not know, in tidal water you can fish with as many rods as you want for saltwater species), and anchor trolley, a gps mount, and a fish finder. We mostly fish the Hammond and Kennebecasis this time of year, but come July we'll do alot of saltwater fishing as well. The stripers are apparently entering the Hammond river this week, so we're planning on attacking them at the mouth of the Hammond and/or the northern tip of Darling's Island.

 

[Croz]

I also do a bit of kayak fishing and have been on the hammond a few times this spring. I have an Ocean Kayak Drifter. Stroover - how well does your fish finder work on your kayak? What model do you have as I was looking into them earlier.

 

[Stroover]

Croz,
I have an Eagle 300 that I bought at Crappy Tire for about $140 on sale. It works great, but I can tell that if it lasts this season, that will be it. If I were to buy another fish finder (and I WILL buy another fish finder!), it will be a Humminbird, as the connectors of the Eagle isn't worth a crap. As the old adage goes, "you get what you pay for". I'd sooner shell-out the extra $100 for something that's gonna last at least a few years, as opposed to saving a few bucks only to have to buy another one every year.

If it wasn't for the crappy connetors whose prongs get bent then don't fit correctly in the holes, it would be pretty near perfect. Thanks to it, I've found holes that I never knew existed on the Hammond River, and as a result have landed loads of fish. It's even helped me locate where large schools of fish hang out on Loch Lomond, when in years past I used to just paddle over that spot not knowing it holds fish en-route to where I THOUGHT the fish were holding.
I don't think I'll ever kayak fish without a fish finder again, now.

I have a portable one, and I simply pass the transducer through the scupper hole, with a piece of paddle that fits perfectly in the hole to hold it in place. No holes, glue, etc. required.

 

[BobD]

I just purchased an Ocean Kayak Trident13 this spring, and love it. I've added an anchor trolley system to it, and it works well. I'd like to get a fish finder, but that will likely have to wait until next year. I've already spent enough on kayak and fishing gear this year as it is. [Ok, technically not 'enough'. Let's just say as much or more than I should spend.]

I found a couple other kayak anglers in the Fredericton area. So far we have spent the most amount of time on the Nashwaak River, with some on the Saint John, Mactaquac headpond and French Lake (the one off the Oromocto River).

 

[Stroover]

Yeah, anchor trolleys work wonders! I'll have to post pictures of my hook-up, if anybody is interested. I'll also post pics of my fishfinder set-up.

 

[BobD]

Yeah, anchor trolleys work wonders! I'll have to post pictures of my hook-up, if anybody is interested. I'll also post pics of my fishfinder set-up.

I'd sure like to see them!

 

[Croz]

Likewise!

 

[Croz]

Where did you guys get your anchor system? Online?

 

[scottmd]

Hello all , I am glad the site is finally back up. I have a Native Watercraft 12' ultimate. I personally think it is the or at least one of the top types for fishing out of. I use a hummingbird fish finder with the removable suction cup. I love it. I may finally bring my yak back down to the S.J. area and have started tying up some BIG striper flies. We should try to get together and chase them some time. I am planning on heading up to Miramichi this weekend, but I see calling for rain all weekend, so may not, if I do I am hoping the winds are low so I can go after a few stripers in the bay....dream of hitting one of the monster 6 footers and having a tow!!!

 

[Stroover]

@ Croz: I rigged mine up myself. Just went to Crappy Tire, bought two pulleys with the carabiner clip (size that holds 1/4" rope), one regular carabiner, and a lenght of 1/4" rope. I made a loop with the rope, attaching both ends to the carabiner and threading the pulleys first. Then, I clip the pulley carabiners to each end of my kayak. My yak has spots available in which I didn't have do drill any holes and put cleats or what not.

@ Scott: When and where are we going striper fishing, and what kind of gear will I need? They were supposed to be in the Hammond River this week, and I went after them at Crowley's Pool last night, but nada. The gaspereau were there, though, which is a good sign.

@ everybody else: I forgot to take pics last night of my setup. Somebody should message me on here to remind me so I'll do it after work today. You can kind of see the anchor trolley system on my yak if you scroll up to my yak picture. You'll notice the pulleys and the white rope, where my paddle is.

 

[owenheathcote]

Where do you store your anchor rope in the yak and how do you keep it from tangling. I always end up with rope all over my Kayak.

 

[BobD]

I used this site as my base plan, though I made some minor adjustments based on material availability.
http://www.anglersafloat.co.uk/Prowler_AnchorTrolley.htm

@owenheathcote... I had the same problem. At first I tried having a spool to wind it back up with but I found myself not doing it, and it just tangled up as normal. I switched out the rope system. I now use a retractable 50' clothesline (about $25 at Canadian Tire) for the anchor rope. It winds itself up and I can now focus on fishing more. Now it only gives me about 40' of anchor line so it is no good in deep water. But so far it has done the trick.

I'll also try and take some pics. You can never have too many options to choose from when deciding what is right for you! There always seems to be pros and cons to everything.

 

[Stroover]

@ Owen: I just wrap it around the anchor when I need to pull it up for anything, but I like BobD's idea.

 

[styk]

Ocean Kayak prowler 13, angler edition. Had it about 4 years, find it way better then using a sitin kayak.

Anchor system
very basic hummingbird FF
rear crate
sea anchor (helps when you keep from flipping around with the wind)

 

[ipop]

guys, just a heads up, but the easiest way i know to die in a kayak fishing is to use an anchor...!!! (okay, maybe trying to pee standing up in one...)
no lol involved.
i have used many systems over the years, even one just as you guys use. i don't any more. you see, i fish where there is current and wind. these are places and times when you should never anchor. if you are on calm water, no current or wind - anchoring is fine, although i find i don't need it (i have been 'yak fishin' longer that i want to admit...lol).

the problems are, when the winds gust or curent hits, or what happened most often to me - if you are working your way down stream by just bouncing the anchor off the bottom. when trouble hits, suddenly you are turned sidways by the current, heel over into it...and if you are lucky just get wet. with the stern anchor and pulleys - what do you do when it's hung up? (i ended up swimming!!) with a wire rope anchor line, you better have a pair of bolt cutters ready on you. (speaking of which, for night time or unknown area fishing ((and most other times too...)) i alway have a sharp knife lose in a sheath ready at hand, a pair of plyer, bailer, lip griper and a form of light...and i have needed them all. but only the knife has saved my life 4 times now. so please keep this in mind.)
after what happened last year i have added a pair of bolt cutters to this list, i was seriously hooked twice last year.

now, i'll confess i do anchor occassionaly, and when i do i use a rope line, often a 3 lt pop bottle or big bleach bottle, with lots of holes and some rocks in it for an anchor (doesn't get hung up easily, weighs little with just the a few rocks to take it down, and has the weight of it full of water (3lt's!) when down and used as an anchor). my main safty trick for this is...

wait for it...

to run the anchor rope under my butt! that's right, i sit on it! lol that way if the anchor gets hung up, or i just want to release more line, i just bounce in the chair and release the line. and i don't tie to the yak at all, just running it out from a rope bag in the back of the yak. been there , made the mistakes, i hope you guys avoid them...or only get wet.

have i ever told you about the time i was 'yak fishing for char on the fly while anchored and running a minnow trap...? lots of fun!! it wraped 3 times around the whole thing!! i landed it by hauling in all the lines i a bunch and then waiting for it to swim close and got it in my net!..and then i got to untangle a real mess...lol ah, fishin' - i can't wait!

gotta go, tight lines!

 

[BobD]

ipop... your advice is definitely welcome. It's also a sobering thought. I do have some questions for you on this topic. What type of current or wind were you encountering when you had troubles? Do you mind describing some of the bad situations you were in? The more we can all learn from your experiences, the better prepared we can be.

Personally I've never kayaked in water that was faster than I could paddle, as I always have to be able to get back to my launch area. As a result I've never been in really fast current. I prefer to kayak upstream then work my way back down slowly, using the anchor to stop myself at areas I want to spend some time fishing. I'll use the trolley to switch the anchor from front to back depending on the angle I need best.

 

[Stroover]

Ipop, you have a SIK, don't you? I have a SOT and I use my anchor and trolley all the time with no problems, however I never use it in current stronger then 5 knots. Even at 5 knots It can get dicey at times, so I can imagine it could be treacherous in stronger current. The problem is if you don't have the trolley secured with a cleat and the carabiner starts to move to the mid section, THAT'S when you can swamp or flip. I also ALWAYS have a knife secured to my PFD just in case I run into trouble, I can attempt to cut the anchor line.

 

[rocketball]

Hey fellow yak fishers....

I currently have a wilderness systems pamlico 120 rigged with a eagle 300 FF an anchor trolley system that i made by going to crappy tire and finding the parts there and also some rod holders, paddle holders etc. Its rigged for fishing and so far has served its purpose very well. Hopefully in a year or 2 I'll be upgrading to a 14' SOT yak.

 

[ipop]

stroover, you are correct, i use a SIK. the one i'm using now is a little differnet from most - a much larger opening with no skirt(easier to land fish, access gear without turning to the back of the yak); a raised platform on the back for drier transport and easy storage; expanded storage inside in the back due to the raised platform. and it's very light - under 30#. i've been making 'yaks for a little over 30years. on my first couple i experimented with anchor systems - from the center, the stern, the back of the seat (OHPS!! DON'T TRY THAT ONE!!lol!), then i got into pulley systems, working my way up to a trolly like system. the trolly was great...except i had a few "jams" while developing it, that got me a bit swamped. it should be noted that most SIK's do float, even when totaly swamped, like mine does. it's just little crazy chasing your gear down stream..lol!!!
after all the different methods, i settled on the sit-on-it method i described above. if there was a problem, in just let the rope go, if there was to much current it just wouldn't let me do something stupid (lets face ity, we do get distracted when fishing some times...lol!!). if i expected current i ran the rope out threw a stern pulley or handle, if little current or wind i would just run it over the side.

oh, i left one thing out of my "always" list - a life jacket!!! i don't even think of 'yaking without it or a floater coat. never!