Kayak Fishing: The Beginning

I Take Up Kayaking And Think Of Fish

I am starting to enjoy the outdoors more; always have really, but now I devote more time to the remarkable opportunities before me here in the San Francisco Bay area. We have thousands of miles of shoreline along the Pacific Coast, and along this area's bays, delta, rivers, and lakes. I thought about kayaking over the years as an idyllic means of getting myself on the water, but allowed other priorities to distract me from that pursuit, until a couple of months prior to this writing, when I engaged a professional kayak/fishing guide, Allen Bushnell, for a day outside of Santa Cruz Harbor. That was my tipping point, literally as well as figuratively.

Shortly after that, I purchased an Ocean Kayak Trident 13 that I have been rigging as a sleek, beautiful, water-skimming, silent fish-killing machine. After a month or so of reading, viewing, visualizing, trying, installing, re-installing, and investing in my need to optimize this vessel; I have not caught a single fish while sitting upon it on a body of water. However, I do expect that soon all those descriptors in the previous sentence will be accurate to some extent.

We yakkers often think about modifying our kayak's rigging for our unique needs, making or acquiring external devices like carts, trolleys, milk crates, etc. to overcome storage, anchoring, transporting, and other challenges. Some of us first try to create what we need at home.

I have a high-profile SUV, a Honda Element, and my 13' 6" yak weighs over 65 pounds, so we're talking a challenge here in getting her atop the vehicle and secured to the roof racks. I built a yak rooftop roller out of PVC on which, from the rear of the vehicle, I can slide the yak upside down onto my roof racks with less exertion than if I tried lifting from the driver side.

I considered how I would get the yak to the vehicle and then to the launch site without lifting or dragging it. Armed with ideas from YouTube vids uploaded by my fellow yakkers, I made a kayak trolley, again mainly out of 1-1/4" schd 40 PVC, a pair of wheels from ACE hardware, and a 1/2" aluminum rod as an axle.

I have no real experience in commanding anything that floats. I was sure that in most bodies of water, if I need to fish from a stationary spot, I had to consider anchorage. My research revealed the danger of anchoring a kayak from the side, which could expose me to a capsizing if a boat wake, wave, or fast moving current were to hit me broadside. Anchoring from the bow or stern is really necessary.

Seated in a kayak, one doesn't move to those distal ends easily. My YouTube mentors had solutions and left me several vids on this issue. I rigged my anchor trolley using a single 1-1/2" O-ring, 3/8" nylon chord, two pulleys, and two carabineers so that I can move the anchor point quickly from bow to stern and vice-versa. I can also release the anchor, tethered to a float, with one fast tug on the line at the Harken Cleat I installed inside the yak. This enables me to chase a hooked fish big enough to tow me any distance, or paddle quickly away from the spot, if necessary, and return to retrieve the anchor.

My kayak was equipped to appeal to anglers. It came with a cleverly designed molded plastic hatch cover into which one can insert rod holders, posts to support electronic nav devices, and whatever "must have this" items we imaginative types can conjure. Its location is directly in front of the seat, eliminating some of the need to reach behind for poles and other essentials. As yet I am finding that the poles in front idea has its problems; things seem to be in my way. I may just get two Scotty or RAM flush mount rod holders and place them behind me. I need to work to gain confidence in reaching items behind me in the tank well, however, because, since that dunking in Santa Cruz, I am fearful. I'll work on it.

Milk crates from Office Depot, designed to hold manila folders and such, are popular storage items for yakkers. With our old friend PVC lashed to their sides, they make good rod holders for the paddle out to fishing spots and contain our necessary assortment of tackle. I have seen vids of guys turning these devices into rod holders at roughly 45 degrees for trolling while paddling in open water. I spent a few hours trying this before deciding that commercial rod holders for kayaks are cheap, light-weight, easy to install, and a reasonable departure from my commitment to DIY. I also spent considerable time trying to figure out how to position my milk crate behind me; oh yes, I must have one. I went back to a vid I had viewed previously in which the guy affixed it atop the tank well in the rear, creating a two-tier storage area. I'm for that and expect to start that project soon. I'll post it.

OK, so, I struggled testing just the right position for this stupid milk crate, and finally concluded that this just isn't worth the effort and frustration. I mean, I am all about DIY, y'know, but c'mon, how important is this, really? Heck with it. Those guys on YouTube who have posted vids of their milk crates are serious-as-hell fishermen, whereas I am a paddler who would love to catch some fish, but I am not close to having all that fishing tackle; two poles at the most, for I surely cannot manage any more on dry land let alone on a kayak, and a couple of rigs for lures. Not gonna fool around with live or frozen bait much, might troll Rat-L-traps, or jig the bottom, but I don't need much tackle for that. Happy to be a minimalist kayaker person. That's it. Unless, perhaps . . . naahhh, fuggit about it.

Today, 10/07/2011, I paddled a portion of the San Pablo Bay from the Vallejo launch ramp to the Vallejo Marina, less than 2.1 miles out. Had intended to paddle underneath the Hwy 37 bridge to the mouth of the Napa River, but the tide and wind were both against me outbound, and I did not want to push my tired, old body irresponsibly. All I had to do to return to the ramp was steer, fastest I ever traveled on a yak. Seemed like an hour paddling out and five minutes to drift back. Still, I enjoyed being on the water, as always.