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TopKayaker.Net's Guide To Kayak Fishing:
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PADDLING
WITH ONE HAND, FISHING WITH THE OTHER...?
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The
Kayak Advantage
1. Quieter- especially in shallows where fish are spooky-also in
weedy areas where a trolling motor gets hung up or makes a lot of
noise B. Convenience Advantages 1. My kayak sits fully rigged, rods, cooler, tacklebox etc. in a corner of my garage and slides fully rigged into the back of my pickup truck in less than a minute. I slide it into the lake just as easily and back into the truck on my way home. No trailers to mess with and no batteries to charge. Very little cleanup after fishing saltwater---no engine to flush etc. (Result-- I get to go fishing more often!)
This
is by far the largest area of kayak advantage. There are so many
costs involved with owning a powerboat that most people don't even
realize the expenses:
Copyright 1999 Ken Daubert. All rights reserved. Republication and redistribution of content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent. Read Ken's thoughts in more detail in his book and at his website Learn more from Captian Ken at: Florida Kayak Fishing http://www.floridakayakfishing.com |
Excerpts
from KAYAKFISHING THE REVOLUTION One of the most important factors in catching fish is the efficient use of time and opportunity. The more efficiently you use your time, then all the more opportunities will be presented to you. Then you must capitalize on those opportunities. Basically, it all boils down to keeping your lure or bait in the strike zone. Everything you do on a given day will factor into the formula for how much time your offering spends in front of potential targets. Therefore, your total skills coming into play in varying environmental conditions and opportunistic situations will determine the success you enjoy at catching fish. These skills range from your handling of your kayak, paddle, anchor and other kayak equipment to how well you access and handle your fishing equipment, especially when presented with one of those opportunities. One of the greatest advantages of the kayak over canoes is the ability to leave the double-bladed paddle lay at-the-ready in your lap. For the active fisherman, who is on the move casting repeatedly to targets and often changing direction or adjusting position while casting and retrieving, it is the most important advantageous factor in paddlesport fishing. The main reason for the great increase in efficiency for the kayakfisherman is that you don't have to set your fishing pole down or stop fishing to pick up a paddle, oars, or push pole to make adjustments in position, to change direction of drift or to move short distances. Also, after paddling, you do not have to carefully set the paddle down before picking up your fishing pole again to resume fishing, and you do not have to take time to set it down carefully to avoid spooking any fish. These advantages
cause the kayakfisherman to become more efficient than a modem day
angler equipped with a trolling motor. The use of trolling motors
revolutionized freshwater fishing many years ago and more recently
revolutionized saltwater fishing, but modern day kayaks can be just
as efficient or even more so. In order to capitalize fully on these advantages, a kayak angler should practice utilizing the paddle with one hand while holding the rod in the other hand. Few people can apply a significant amount of pressure with only one hand on the paddle. Using two hands, a paddler pushes or pulls in opposite directions with each hand. An efficient system. Since this technique is impossible with one hand occupied by a fishing pole, the angler needs to find something to be the opposing force at the other end of the paddle. In most cases, an obstruction acting as a pivot point can supply the opposing force, which is usually a selected body part. When paddling in reverse, you can use your stomach, solar plexus, or rib cage area for the opposing obstruction. Paddle strokes in reverse direction are more often used to correct a drift direction and to slow or stop forward progress than they are used to actually travel in a reverse direction. Going forward, you can also use your stomach or ribcage area in conjunction with your triceps or rear side of your elbow on the rod hand to trap your paddle at the opposite end from your paddle hand, unless you need more power in which case you will use your forearm or your fist on your rod-clenched hand. The closed fist can actually apply quite a bit of forward thrust while the paddle hand pulls backward on the opposite end driving the kayak forward. To continue fishing, simply drop the paddle in your lap. You might want to use these techniques when approaching fish or a casting target, preparing to cast, retrieving lures, trolling live baits, or even when fighting a fish, especially if a strong fish is headed for an obstruction such as a log, dock pilings or mangroves, and it would be helpful to move in reverse when the fish is pulling your kayak ever closer to the obstruction, despite a locked down drag. This and much more kayakfishing wisdom can be found in Ken's Book: KAYAKFISHING THE REVOLUTION available at the link below. |
Books / Video / DVD are available at Tom's TopKaker Shop:
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This is famed kayak fisherman Dennis Spike's instruction video. Filmed on the Sea of Cortez and California's Eastern Pacific. |
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The
best selling, |
BOOK
REVIEW by Tom Holtey
KAYAK FISHING THE REVOLUTION By Ken Daubert
Captain Ken's book describes in great detail how a kayaker can become a fisher and how a fisher can become a kayaker. He describes how to customize a kayak into a fish catching machine. While Mr. Daubert's book is not a manual on kayak instruction, it is a guide to help those already introduced to kayak basics grow into the new sport of kayak fishing.
I found
Ken's ability to put to words how a paddler would control his craft while
manipulating a fishing pole (with a fish on the line!) quite effective.
The many photos and diagrams compliment this complete overview of the
kayak fishing world.
There
are many mundane but practical tips covering such topics of maintence
and transportation that all paddling anglers will find of use. Safety
for fisherman, and catch & release techniques as well, are not overlooked.
You will find his chapters on "Why Kayak Fish?" and "Kayak
Fishing Experts" to be very inspirational.
His
chapters on equipment for the sport and techniques used to fish from a
kayak are of the utmost importance.
Mr. Daubert has created a unique and badly needed resource for the kayak
fisherman. There is just about everything a fisherperson could need to
know to integrate fishing with the popular sport of kayaking.
Say
you like to fish but are grounded on shore or feel like a deck hand on
your own powerboat, then a kayak and a copy of KAYAK FISHING THE REVOLUTION
will make you captain and bring you to where the fish are.
Or… If you are already a kayaker surrounded by fish that seem out
of reach, a kayak camper in need of a fresh dinner, or just want to add
a new dimension to your paddling passion then a copy of KAYAK FISHING
THE REVOLUTION will lead the way
