Kayak Fishing Ins and Outs

[dannyz]

My son and I have our kayaks rigged for fishing and as the season approaches we would like to know a good place to start. We have both fished the Kenai and are familiar with nice quiet non crowded places like bings landing. LOL

Where would be a good place to put in with a charter bus to take us back to our vehicle? We are open to any locations that would offer a little less crowded good fishing opportunities. Our background is experienced at fishing not so experienced at kayak fishing on rivers.

-Also I understand that this may be a broad request. I am just looking for someone to point me in the right direction and give suggestions so that I can do some homework. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

[Kardinal_84]

What are you targeting? The Kenai is pretty much shut down till June 11. LOTS of lakes you can try.

I've found most of the decent kayak fishing to be in the saltwater though. I have a few suggestions that you can find in my signature line.

What kayaks are you using??

[dannyz]

Both my son and I have never caught a King so that is at the top of our list. Honestly I am up for most any species though. We love to eat Halibut and reds. I was thinking that the mouth of ship creek may be a good area to target kings from the kayaks.

We have three kayaks right now. Not too sure how seaworthy they are having only used them on the Local Anchorage lakes and ship creek a couple times.

Dagger Axis 10.5
Sturgeon Angler 10
Sundolphin Angler 10

I just took a look at your links. Maybe tomorrow we will try whittier for starters. We have a few stout rods with abu garcia baitcasters and a few spinning rods also. I have a basic fishfinder .... the only thing that we really dont have that looks very important is a downrigger. I have trolled with snap weights before do you think spanweights would be able to go deep enough for kings? Thanks

[Kardinal_84]

Both my son and I have never caught a King so that is at the top of our list. Honestly I am up for most any species though. We love to eat Halibut and reds. I was thinking that the mouth of ship creek may be a good area to target kings from the kayaks.

We have three kayaks right now. Not too sure how seaworthy they are having only used them on the Local Anchorage lakes and ship creek a couple times.

Dagger Axis 10.5
Sturgeon Angler 10
Sundolphin Angler 10

I just took a look at your links. Maybe tomorrow we will try whittier for starters. We have a few stout rods with abu garcia baitcasters and a few spinning rods also. I have a basic fishfinder .... the only thing that we really dont have that looks very important is a downrigger. I have trolled with snap weights before do you think spanweights would be able to go deep enough for kings? Thanks

First off, I need to emphasize that I have NEVER been inside a sit inside kayak. I think there is a reason about 90% of the kayak fisherman I know use sit on top kayaks. But I should also point out that virtually all of the 90% of the sit on top users were fisherman first that moved to kayaking. As long as you are safe in the kayaks that's really what matters. But conversely, the 10% of sit inside kayak fisherman I know were kayakers first, that started fishing out of the m later.

For ocean fishing the 10ft lengths are going to seem short. But that's actually one of the advantages of the sit inside kayaks...they are typically faster and paddle more efficiently. I started with a 9 ft sit on top and caught kings and halibut but it was like paddling a card board box.

To answer your question, the only real time you will need a down rigger is during the winter king fishery in the dead of winter down in Homer. Obviously they are useful in may other applications though. But just as an example, the kings we have been catching in lower cook inlet this spring, the down rigger has been set at 10ft. Nothing 6 to 8 oz of lead or a planer couldn't handle.

Especially in Cook Inlet, the water is shallow. If you had a chance to look at the Mother's Day 2014 King and halibut video (as of now the last video on my channel) I posted on my youtube channel, the first halibut was caught down rigging 10ft down in 20ft of water. Just a hundred yards off shore maybe. The second halibut I did have to move a mile offshore since I caught and kept a king salmon. So its completely within planer of heavier weight range. When I am lazy, instead of my down rigger I will carry trolling weights up to 16oz and they work fine. Just a lot more guessing on actual depths they run at.

Good luck! BE SAFE!!! and let us know how you do! If you have any questions post or pm me. Happy to share any info our group has! Oh, our small group will be having an informal halibut tournament at whiskey gulch June 28! Come say hi and see how the rest of us are gearing up!

[paul72]

dannyz- Rudy is the Ak go to guy for saltwater, I haven't yet hit saltwater. I do however do alot of freshwater paddle fishing, I currently use a rigged 12 ft. solo canoe, most of my fishing is around the Nancy lakes area and the Valley lakes. There are quite a few lakes here you can get on and you are the only person on the lake.

Was fishing Wolf lake this Sunday near Palmer and caught 20,22,26 inch Rainbows. If you ever would like to partner up or meet at a lake somewhere shoot me an email paul.pieper@philips.com

[Kardinal_84]

dannyz- Rudy is the Ak go to guy for saltwater, I haven't yet hit saltwater. I do however do alot of freshwater paddle fishing, I currently use a rigged 12 ft. solo canoe, most of my fishing is around the Nancy lakes area and the Valley lakes. There are quite a few lakes here you can get on and you are the only person on the lake.

Was fishing Wolf lake this Sunday near Palmer and caught 20,22,26 inch Rainbows. If you ever would like to partner up or meet at a lake somewhere shoot me an email paul.pieper@philips.com

Paul has a really good point. If you just followed me, you'd think saltwater was the only place to fish out of a kayak. I hate to admit it but I am a meat fisherman. So trout aren't high on my list of targets. It tells you how efficient I think these kayaks are though.

It would be an absolute blast I would have to think to have kayaks on freshwater lake with ultralight gear or a flyrod. I have had a great time floating the Upper and Middle Kenai in late fall. With three kids age 9-12 to deal with these days, I think I will be exploring the freshwater lakes more and more. Just too many places and too many different fish still available in Saltwater that keeps me too busy to do much more exploring!!! Hate when that happens! lol.

[dannyz]

Kardinal and Paul. Sorry for the late late reply! I thought I had my preferences set to e-mail me when people responded to my threads.

I would have loved to come out on the 28th. Dang I guess thats what I get for not checking in on the forums. Honestly I have been fishing the Russian a lot and have put the Kayak fishing on hold. My father is going to be in town until about July 15th so I will be showing him around Alaska a bit. Right after that it would be awesome to link up and get some lines in the water off the Kayaks either in salt or freshwater. Thanks for all the advice. I am also looking into buying a more stout and rugged reel. I typically use my ABU Kalex60 on a flipping rod or when fishing for trout use much smaller spinning gear. Any suggestions kayak ocean fishing reels? rods? I'm looking to only spend around 200. Not sure if that can fit the bill or not.

[Kardinal_84]

http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/...libut-Question

Kardinal and Paul. Sorry for the late late reply! I thought I had my preferences set to e-mail me when people responded to my threads.

I would have loved to come out on the 28th. Dang I guess thats what I get for not checking in on the forums. Honestly I have been fishing the Russian a lot and have put the Kayak fishing on hold. My father is going to be in town until about July 15th so I will be showing him around Alaska a bit. Right after that it would be awesome to link up and get some lines in the water off the Kayaks either in salt or freshwater. Thanks for all the advice. I am also looking into buying a more stout and rugged reel. I typically use my ABU Kalex60 on a flipping rod or when fishing for trout use much smaller spinning gear. Any suggestions kayak ocean fishing reels? rods? I'm looking to only spend around 200. Not sure if that can fit the bill or not.

Pretty much any set up will do. Should be long enough that you can lead a fish around your kayak. I love my Shimano Trevala rods. Too heavy for silvers. too light for halibut but works on both. I use a Shimano tld 20 (too big), I love my avet sx reels. Just got a release reel I want to try. But that set up will be $300-$400. It really depends on what you are going to target most. You don't need high end gear for kayaking though. The kayak gets pulled by the fish very easily so you never place as much pressure on a fish as you do from shore or from a big powerboat.

For all around use, I would consider a baitcaster that can handle 300 yards of 50 to 65lbs braid. Add a section of 50 lbs fluoro leader. Then step down to whatever is appropriate from there. If you have to choose one rod, pick a stiffer one over a softer rod. You can troll with a stiff rod, but jigging and bottom bouncing with a soft downrigger troll rod is nearly impossible the way I do it.

Be safe and just do it! It's a BLAST!!!!!!! Had a great weekend on june 28. Posted in saltwater section!
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/...libut-Question

and one from the previous week!

http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/...-outback-video

[dannyz]

Kardinal Thanks for the rigging advice. I think that I just may need to cough up a few extra bucks to get a nice sturdy setup. I am going to be moving back to the midwest too at the end of the year so I think I might try to get a rig that can musky/pike fish also.

I am starting to get that itch to go on a fishing trip bad. We went on a day cruise out of Seward yesterday and the weather was amazing. Now we are back in Anchorage and headed towards the interior for the rest of our family vacation. Like I said after the 15th I am game to go on a fishing trip/split gas costs whatever. Maybe that weekend of the 19th and 20th would be good.

Tight lines

[kasilofchrisn]

A guy could always fish the Kenai or Kasilof for reds or Silvers. For reds you just drift down to a likely shore or gravel bar and park the Kayaks.
Just using them to access areas farther from the crowds.
Both would be an easy float either the upper or lower Kenai or Kasilof rivers.
For silvers you could easily fish for them out of a Kayak in the rivers.

[sayak]

Well, I have my little 12' sit-inside kayak rigged up for halibut fishing... even made some outriggers for extra stability. Have a trolling rod that looks a little like a halibut stick. Got the other gear including a harpoon. Problem is, I is skeered! The big water in a little kayak is a bit intimidating... especially the thought of getting a big honker and getting pulled across the inlet, or the weather coming up on me.

Anyway, I think I will give Whiskey a try this Friday even though it's a pretty big tide and in the middle of the day, because it's my day off.

[Kardinal_84]

Kayak Fishing Ins and Outs

Just go within an hour or two of high or low tide. Also keep in my the current diesnt stop flowing for an hour after book high or low tide. I've caught them in 35 ft of water but it seems better at 45 to 55 ft of depth which is about a half mile off shore.

Good to be scared...or I should say cautious. Should be a few boats around. Really though with a few precautions, the only real scare is getting addicted!!!!

Though Friday you might be on a roller coaster...calling for 10ft seas. Use the spot marine forecast instead of the text. I've had it call for 4ft and be glass calm. The local spot forecast is pretty accurate.


AlaskaKayakFisher.com
Guidesak.blogspot.com
My personal pages...I'm not a guide.

[sayak]

Though Friday you might be on a roller coaster...calling for 10ft seas. Use the spot marine forecast instead of the text. I've had it call for 4ft and be glass calm. The local spot forecast is pretty accurate.

Yeah... pretty much given up on this weekend. Maybe next.
Thanks for the encouragement Rudy.