Newbie question

[chess]

Hi everyone. I've kayaked a little but never fished from a kayak. I've read this board and looked at some of the sites people have linked to, and I'm intrigued. I flyfish for stripers, etc. in Massachusetts - Plum Island, Cape, Islands, etc. I have a very basic question: What do you do after you hook up? (Do you just fight the fish as you normally would from shore or a powered boat? Does an anchor come into play? Do fish drag you around? Any special considerations?)

Thanks for humoring the clueless guy.
Chris

[Bob Parsons]

You can get pulled about, the bigger the fish the better the ride. It saves wear and tear on the drag on your reel. While I fish from a canoe, the release is pretty much the same.

[bluewatr]

You will love the ride. When trolling I find it easier to hold the rod between my legs. This way you can concentrate on your paddling. When you get the strike you will know immediately because you will feel it. I have tried trolling but find it awkward to look back while paddling because my holder I mounted port-side and behind me. If you put the rod in a holder in front of you it may interfere with your paddle stroke. If rod is situated correctly between your legs and get a strike the rod will not get yanked out of the boat. Make sure you tether your rod just in case!

my .02 - this is only my second year yakking for stripes......

-mike

[SamRiley]

Hey Ches -
As Bob pointed out, being in a small craft factors into the fighting equation. One tip... when the fish wants to swim in a direction other than the one I am pointed in, I like keeping my rod tip extended to my bow. This allows the fish to pull my bow towards the direction it's running in and keeps me from having to fight a fish that is behind me which can be awkward and result in tipping. Once I am pointed back at the fish, the rod tip comes back up to resume the fight.

Enjoy the sleigh rides :D

[ruge13]

HEy Chess...Sam was right, if oyu are not pointed at the fish you are fighting, go light on the drag and don;t bully the fish. You will get a decent tow even out of smaller fish. Fight with your arms not your body. On land you can use your legs and hips to balance, in a yak, if you are not poiunted at the fish, a good run will cause you to be very unstable if you try to bully the fish and fight with your whole body. Let your arms do the work and you body handle the boat. This seems hard to imagine but when you hook up you will see what I mean. The fisrt fish I hooked I tried to fight sideways and with my body. as soon as he hit I tensed up and tried to bully the run. Lets just say I got wet...very wet, and almost lost my rod...

[chess]

Thanks everybody!

I just couldn't quite picture how it all worked. A buddy of mine has two kayaks, so I'll probably get a chance to put all of this to the test shortly. I'll let you know if I end up in the drink.

Cheers,
Chris

[schorert]

you need to be aware, before you start casting, just where you'll drift in the next several minutes. Unlike working from a boat where you can engage the motor to hold your position, you can't steer the yak and fight the fish.
It's fine along the beach, but at the entrance to a harbor or in Woods Hole, you can drift into trouble while you're fighting a fish!
After fishing from the kayak (Chesapeake17) last year, wading this morning was agony! Back to the yak this weekend!

[SamRiley]

Originally posted by schorert
you can't steer the yak and fight the fish.


... you can if you have a rudder. Also, try using the fish to steer the yak. Point your rod towards the part of the yak that has to turn and it will with fish of size.

[schorert]

there's no problem turning the kayak with a fish on, there' s a huge problem propelling the kayak with a fish on!

[bluewatr]

....As Sam said you can with a rudder.... Just beware a really quick way to trash a line is by getting it fowled in your rudder system... Yep! I did it. I primarily use a 3 yr old full sink SA line. If I trash it I haven't lost much.....


-mike