Someplace - maybe in the july or august files - is a pretty good summary
of this topic
My experience is as follows:
Preperation
- use a long flyrod. I use a 10'7wt and wish it were longer.
(most of the time)
- sinking lines are a bitch to manage, use at your peril
- bring two or three flys - leave the rest at home, you dont have room and
changing flys is -at best- a frisky exercise (sharpen them...)
- use a long shock leader - 2' is good. You need something to grab on to.
- consider using a small snap instead of a knot to secure your fly.
- life in a kayak cockpit is complicated, look to eliminate anything which
is not necessary (spray skirt, water bottle, ...)
- bring a nail clipper or very small knife
- forget about keeping a fish. It took me two trips to understand that
having an *almost* dead bluefish inches away from my legs and other parts I hold dear made for a nervious trip. And as for that big bass, just
how were you planning to remove the smell, slime and scales from your boat ?
- make or buy a paddle leash
- rig up an anchor system. I run a 20' .25in line through the bow loop and
back to the cockpit. I screwed a small eyelet/loop and a equally sm jam
cleat on to the deck. One end of the line I tie a stopper knot, the other
I tie on a lobster bait bag. These are industrial strength plastic mesh
bags. Think onion bag on steriods. I fill the bait bag with two or three
rocks before I launch.
- bring all the other junk, paddle, hat, pfd, whistle, light, etc
Fishing
Usually I troll until something catches my eye or my fly. I wedge the rod
between the cockpit rim and my opposite thigh. With the drag set very
lightly, I strip off line and paddle away. When a fish hits, I drop the
paddle overboard (remember the leash ?) and grab the rod. Forget about
setting the hook - it either happens or it doesnt, theres not much you can do about it in a kayak. If the fish and the waves and the boat traffic cooperate,
I let myself get dragged around for a bit. Most of the time, I spend all my
energies worried about the waves/wakes. If this is a problem, I drop the anchor and swing about to better position myself. I let the fish take care of itself
until I'm set. About half the time I end up fighting a fish with my bow in
the wind/waves and the fish directly behind me.
Casting is possible, but just that - possible. Its hard to do and conditions rarely cooperate. Still bringing a rod along is a lot of fun and you do see things from a new perspective. Just dont plan on this being an effective method of fishing.