I purchased a kayak at the beginning of the summer for fly-fishing. It took me about
a month's worth of tinkering and thinking to get a deck rigging system that worked.
First off, you need to be able to stow the paddle quickly and out of the way
so that you can fish without dropping it in the water. For this I mounted a long piece of
teak (doesn't rot) with 2 1" plastic clips I bought at west marine. I mounted
this bracket about 2' in front of the cockpit so that when I clip the paddle in,
one end will be right next to my left waist, the other end on the front of the deck.
next came the rod holders. This was tricky... First I mounted plastic rings
on the front tip of the kayak. For this I used two stainless Schaeffer plates
done triangle-wise (for strength) and from them the two large 2" diameter
rings. Then, 1' in front of the cockpit I mounted two pieces of teak with 2 1'
pvc pipe. The PVC pipe I had carved with a dremel tool to make the rod have
a snug fit. These holders should be angled so that the rod tip goes through the ring
and then needs to be flexed a little, thus tightening the rod and avoiding rattles
that can lead to tangled leaders and broken graphite.
With my left hand I can clip the paddle in, then with my right grab a rod and begin fishing
The spray skirt makes for a great stripping basket. There are only two major
difficulties to fly-fishing in a kayak; 1. not being able to make long strips
without raising your arm, thus getting tired quickly, and 2. not having much space
for storing tackle and tools. I just haven't gotten around to designing #2 yet.
Be sure you have a steering rudder on your kayak. I have been towed as much as
150 yards by a 20 lb. striper. Kayaks have a very low drag coefficient! You wouldn't
want to be towed in the wrong direction...
Also, avoid fishing white water. When you're fighting a fish it can be tricky to
pick up the paddle and get away from that nasty breaker the fish is towing you
into.
I don't use the kayak much for ocean fishing. It really serves best for the estuaries
in the spring. I use m y 17 foot skiff for the ocean but I must say that
albacore and bonito season aside, I catch more fish from my kayak.
Anyway, enjoy your kayak fishing!
j. hurd