Hi all,
I just took my first couple trips in my new Jackson Mayfly. It’s a pretty great platform for what I’m trying to do — take a 15-20 minute paddle to some very shallow mud/oyster flats that hold a decent number of redfish at low tide. Over a couple days I’ve seen more than a dozen fish cruising, laid up, feeding —had a few shots but haven’t managed to seal the deal. Part of the problem has been that it’s overcast, so I’m not seeing fish from far enough away. That’ll change with time. But I’m also struggling with some of the basic mechanics of fly fishing from a kayak.
This leads to my two part question — I’m currently paddling w/ a standard kayak paddle, and using it more or less like a SUP paddle when I’m standing scouting for fish. Does anyone have a better system for paddling quietly/efficiently while standing? Is a push pole better? And then I’d love any advice in transitioning from paddling to casting as quickly and quietly as I can. I’ve moved to keeping my fly rod between my feet with line coiled there. That works well, but I haven’t found a great place to put down the paddle that doesn’t end up falling over with a loud thunk.
I just took my first couple trips in my new Jackson Mayfly. It’s a pretty great platform for what I’m trying to do — take a 15-20 minute paddle to some very shallow mud/oyster flats that hold a decent number of redfish at low tide. Over a couple days I’ve seen more than a dozen fish cruising, laid up, feeding —had a few shots but haven’t managed to seal the deal. Part of the problem has been that it’s overcast, so I’m not seeing fish from far enough away. That’ll change with time. But I’m also struggling with some of the basic mechanics of fly fishing from a kayak.
This leads to my two part question — I’m currently paddling w/ a standard kayak paddle, and using it more or less like a SUP paddle when I’m standing scouting for fish. Does anyone have a better system for paddling quietly/efficiently while standing? Is a push pole better? And then I’d love any advice in transitioning from paddling to casting as quickly and quietly as I can. I’ve moved to keeping my fly rod between my feet with line coiled there. That works well, but I haven’t found a great place to put down the paddle that doesn’t end up falling over with a loud thunk.