Fly Fishing from a Kayak

[pikeyaker]

Just wondering how many members on here fly fish from a kayak.

What do you have that is a necessity on there? I have fished from my kayaks for a long time, and fly fished from shore and canoes but I am just in the process of finishing to rig up my sit-on-top kayak for fly fishing.

I have a Scotty fly rod holder to use while trolling and have a set of their Stabilizers coming this week. Other than than I plan to have minimal gear on my boat when I fly fish. I have a 9ft, 8wt, 4 pc Predator coming from Redington that I am hoping to hook some nice pike and walleye with.

Any advice on extra setup for my boat is greatly appreciated. I love to see and hear how other anglers have set up their boats.

 

[Rip Tide]

I've fished from a kayak for 17-18 years and don't use any special gear.
I do have a bungee cord type rod holder that I can use to keep a rod strapped to the side of the boat, but anything else that doesn't fit in my tackle bag, I don't need.

For a tackle bag I use one of these waterproof map cases that I mount on my boat deck

 

[swirlchaser]

I fly fish from my kayak all the time. I live by the rule that less is more. Your fly line can and will get caught on anything you have on deck so I try to keep nothing out. The stabilizers are a pretty good idea but I gave mine away because I didnt want to transport and install them all the time. The fish always seemed to swim around them when hooked and caused be more grief than they were worth. If I'm on calm waters i'll stand without them. If the water isn't calm I'll sit on apad so I'm level with the top of the yak and throw my legs over the sides and cast from a seated position.

 

[Joni]

Just wondering how many members on here fly fish from a kayak.

What do you have that is a necessity on there? I have fished from my kayaks for a long time, and fly fished from shore and canoes but I am just in the process of finishing to rig up my sit-on-top kayak for fly fishing.

I have a Scotty fly rod holder to use while trolling and have a set of their Stabilizers coming this week. Other than than I plan to have minimal gear on my boat when I fly fish. I have a 9ft, 8wt, 4 pc Predator coming from Redington that I am hoping to hook some nice pike and walleye with.

Any advice on extra setup for my boat is greatly appreciated. I love to see and hear how other anglers have set up their boats.

In every one of your posts and topics you mention Redington. Are you asking questions or trying Subliminal messaging?

 

[Ard]

Hi,

The business links are gone and I have contacted the thread starter. This topic could be useful as people would comment on their own preferences for set ups. Hopefully any future posts will be more of a discussion about fishing and not appear to be a promotion of any sort.

Ard

 

[ted4887]

I've fished from a kayak for about 6 years now and I will agree with others that less is more when it comes to rigging.

My newest rig, a 14.5 Native Ultimate is about as good as I've had. There really isn't much for the fly line to get caught on, and I can stand up in it with ease. Those are, to me, the two most important factors when choosing a kayak to fly fish out of.

 

[pikeyaker]

I mentioned the rod maker here because I have talked to some people that prefer a certain rod over another when kayak fishing. My brother uses 3 different rods depending on where he is fishing from. I see more and more rod makers are starting to cater a little towards kayak fisherman.

I think this is great. My kayak is easier to load and maneuver than a canoe and has way more storage as well.

I have probably 4 different rods in my boat when I am out, from ultra light spin casting to bait casting. But this will be the first year fly fishing from my kayak and unfortunately here in Alberta where I am located I have a way longer drive for good trout than I do for pike... like 1 hour compared to 5 mins..

I got the stabilizers mainly so I could stand on slow moving rivers and fly fish from my kayak.

Here's hoping I can design a rod leash that won't impede my casting... cause I am sure I am gonna take at least one swim!!

 

[swirlchaser]

Let me know if you figure out a good leash solution because I still don't have one. I don't leash my flyrod currently because I can't cast with a leash. Good thing is I normally fish with a floating line so even if you roll, you should be able to grab your line and keep from loosing your rig.

 

[Rip Tide]

I have a leash on my paddle but don't use one for the rod.
I think it originally came off of a surfboard but it's been repaired and redone a number of times since.
Basically it's a stout cord with velcro strap/loop on one end to hold the paddle and the other end has a whipped loop with a carabiner that's clipped to the deck rigging

 

[riverbilly]

I'm a kayaker, sit-on-top. Need a clean deck, it means that I can't use my depth finder now but on the river it's not that important. I don't really "rig out" my kayak. I have friends that have it all (crates, rod holders, depth finder, etc) but it's just more stuff to carry and lug around. Anything I do need stays behind me or in the front hatch.

I bring two rods with me. I looked for some sort of rod holder but it ended up working to put the reel in a little nook by my side and the rod sticking out the back.

I don't stand in kayaks, even the ones they say you can. I find it easy to cast sitting down. It's the way I learned so I don't know any better. Where I fish there are a lot of low hanging limbs near the bank so the low angle helps.
Since there are low hanging limbs in the best spots I've developed a "kayak cast" where I cast kind of side armed to get under the limbs. If I follow the 10 & 2 rule it'll work though it can get ugly at times. Does anybody else have a special or modified cast they use in the kayak?

 

[swirlchaser]

I'm a kayaker, sit-on-top. Need a clean deck, it means that I can't use my depth finder now but on the river it's not that important. I don't really "rig out" my kayak. I have friends that have it all (crates, rod holders, depth finder, etc) but it's just more stuff to carry and lug around. Anything I do need stays behind me or in the front hatch.

I bring two rods with me. I looked for some sort of rod holder but it ended up working to put the reel in a little nook by my side and the rod sticking out the back.

I don't stand in kayaks, even the ones they say you can. I find it easy to cast sitting down. It's the way I learned so I don't know any better. Where I fish there are a lot of low hanging limbs near the bank so the low angle helps.
Since there are low hanging limbs in the best spots I've developed a "kayak cast" where I cast kind of side armed to get under the limbs. If I follow the 10 & 2 rule it'll work though it can get ugly at times. Does anybody else have a special or modified cast they use in the kayak?

My yak cast isn't "modified" so to speak but I rarely cast more than 60' on the yak. You can creep up so quietly I don't have much use for all that extra running line on the deck. The single best mod I made was my "casting" seat. I took one of my son's old wake boards (the hard foam boards they body surf on). I cut it up and glued two pieces together. When I sit on it my hind end is level with the top of the yak. this makes it real easy to throw one leg over each side and gives me plenty of leverage to cast.
I do use a crate and pvc rod rack, but only when fishing "conventional" gear.

 

[pa dave]

I do a lot of fishing from my kayak, and less is more. On the rare occasion that I carry more than one rod, I keep one broken down and running straight up the inside of the boat. I have a Berkeley rod holder mounted to the deck that works perfectly for a fly rod. It's the only one I ever saw, and it was the display model that I talked them into parting with. For an anchor system, I run a line through the bow handle tied to a two pound rubber coated dumbell. I keep the line wrapped and inside the boat to one side. To secure the anchor I use a cheap spring clamp and clamp it to the gunwale...I can do an emergency release with a sweep of my hand if needed. I've never used a paddle tether at all.

Kayak casting is easy sitting down, and I'm no lower to the water than if I was wading. Regular and roll casts mostly cover my purposes, but the river is pretty wide and clear, so there isn't usually need for more than that.

 

[pikeyaker]

Yeah I have two set ups for my kayak.. one for conventional fishing (with my crate, extra rods etc.) and my fly fishing one. I looked at some Berkley rod holder, then found the Scotty Fly rod holder. I have a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120 so I have the Slide Trax on either side of my boat. So my rod holder can be mounted anywhere basically. I just got my stabilizers yesterday so I can't wait to mount them and give em a try. We have a Kayak Fishing tournament here in Alberta in June so I am hoping to dial in my technique by them and hook into some good trout and pike from my boat.

 

[swirlchaser]

This is my Stripped Bass trolling rig. A 6 pack of Blue Moon, PVC, heat gun, some cement and a few hour to kill and it was ready to go.

 

[Rip Tide]

Here's my rig
Just me, my paddle, my pfd, and my goofy hat

 

[swirlchaser]

You look like the guy from the Kayak Fishing Show!

 

[pikeyaker]

Haha.. he does look like Jim Sammons

 

[joad]

I have fly fished from a Wilderness Systems Pungo 120 for about 7 years now. I have used rods from a 7'6'' 3 weight up to a 9' 9 weight. I also think less is more. The only items I've added are a paddle leash (you really don't want to lose your paddle when your alone!) and a paddle holder that I made out of bungee cord, it holds my rod while I'm paddling. I don't wear my fly vest while kayaking because of the life jacket, so I keep everything I need in a backpack that I stow in the bow, just pull it out when I need it. I always bring a towel with me that I spread out over my legs, this is a place for the loose line to lay so it doesn't get caught up around the seat adjusters, or drink holder. I usually get a few questions whenever people see me unloading the boat with my fly gear, I think it's easier then it sounds.

Joad

 

[pikeyaker]

I have fly fished from a Wilderness Systems Pungo 120 for about 7 years now. I have used rods from a 7'6'' 3 weight up to a 9' 9 weight. I also think less is more. The only items I've added are a paddle leash (you really don't want to lose your paddle when your alone!) and a paddle holder that I made out of bungee cord, it holds my rod while I'm paddling. I don't wear my fly vest while kayaking because of the life jacket, so I keep everything I need in a backpack that I stow in the bow, just pull it out when I need it. I always bring a towel with me that I spread out over my legs, this is a place for the loose line to lay so it doesn't get caught up around the seat adjusters, or drink holder. I usually get a few questions whenever people see me unloading the boat with my fly gear, I think it's easier then it sounds.

Joad

I tried using the paddle keepers that came on my boat, but I found that I needed to use 2 hands to put my paddle away. Scotty just came out with a paddle clip that lets you put your paddle away with one hand.

I have the paddle and stabilizers now.

My next step is to design a fly rod leash. Will let you know how that work out

 

[Rip Tide]

My next step is to design a fly rod leash.

What ever you do, don't even think about using a leash with a "telephone" cord like most people use for "conventional" rods. They're a fly line trap