Post by Greenedog on May 15, 2018 9:38:50 GMT -5
Thought I'd post some notes here of what worked and what didn't and just some general observations of my first kayak saltwater adventure. I'll add to it as I have more adventures and learn more.
First I'll say that inshore fishing from a kayak can be FRUSTRATING!! I don't believe I've ever cussed as much as I did in the 3 days I fished from the yak. I'm not talking about flipping either. The wind is always blowing over on the coast and I swear it was blowing 4 different directions at once! Add to that the constant water movement from the tides and it can become a nightmare at times. I see why so many inshore kayakers use the pedal type yaks with an anchoring system.
Bait - I did a lot of research on what lures do best and ended up ordering $125 worth of jigheads and plastics from DOA Lures. I'm sure they'll do fine, but I ended up using live shrimp 90% of the time! Only time I used artificial for an extended amount of time was the second day when I ran out of shrimp due to the darn catfish. Live shrimp were $4 a dozen...not much more than nightcrawlers! The ones I bought on the last day at Dunlawton were so hardy that the last 2 I had left were still alive when I got home that evening, and that's after riding in the back of the truck and me stopping to eat at my favorite seafood restaurant.
The shrimp were hooked under the "horn" using #2 circle hooks. The most recommended brand I found was Owner and I can vouch that they are some good sharp hooks.
Rods/Reels - Penn reels seem to be the gold standard for inshore fishing so that's what I went with. I couldn't decide which one to go with so I bought 3 different ones; Spinfisher V 4500, Battle II 3000, and Fierce II 40. All were matched with 7' medium inshore rods by Bass Pro, Ugly Stik, and the Fierce was purchased as a combo with a Penn rod. My hands down favorite was the Battle II matched with the Ugly Stik. I caught every fish on this combo except for one catfish on the most expensive reel; the Spinfisher. I used 20# braid on the Battle and it would cast a country mile. I used either a 20# or 25# fluorocarbon leader attached to the braid with an FG knot that I learned from a video from Salt Strong on youtube.
Species - I told Gail before I headed south that I would be happy if I caught a trout and a redfish, so I'm more than happy with the amount and variety of fish I caught.
Speckled trout, redfish, snook, jack crevalle, Spanish mackerel, mangrove snapper, sheepshead, black drum, ladyfish, blue crab, catfish, and sharks!
Scenery - One of the coolest things was just being in an environment you're not used to. I was up close to dolphins playing in the intracoastal and also saw a sea turtle there. The blue crabs were constantly nibbling at your shrimp if you didn't keep your bait moving. Saw lots of smaller crabs and fiddler crabs were every where. Tried catching some mud crabs for bait but they were to darn fast. Can't believe I didn't catch any rays because I saw a lot of them, and puffer fish too. The mullet were constantly jumping it seemed like.
I'll add notes as I think of things.
First I'll say that inshore fishing from a kayak can be FRUSTRATING!! I don't believe I've ever cussed as much as I did in the 3 days I fished from the yak. I'm not talking about flipping either. The wind is always blowing over on the coast and I swear it was blowing 4 different directions at once! Add to that the constant water movement from the tides and it can become a nightmare at times. I see why so many inshore kayakers use the pedal type yaks with an anchoring system.
Bait - I did a lot of research on what lures do best and ended up ordering $125 worth of jigheads and plastics from DOA Lures. I'm sure they'll do fine, but I ended up using live shrimp 90% of the time! Only time I used artificial for an extended amount of time was the second day when I ran out of shrimp due to the darn catfish. Live shrimp were $4 a dozen...not much more than nightcrawlers! The ones I bought on the last day at Dunlawton were so hardy that the last 2 I had left were still alive when I got home that evening, and that's after riding in the back of the truck and me stopping to eat at my favorite seafood restaurant.
The shrimp were hooked under the "horn" using #2 circle hooks. The most recommended brand I found was Owner and I can vouch that they are some good sharp hooks.Rods/Reels - Penn reels seem to be the gold standard for inshore fishing so that's what I went with. I couldn't decide which one to go with so I bought 3 different ones; Spinfisher V 4500, Battle II 3000, and Fierce II 40. All were matched with 7' medium inshore rods by Bass Pro, Ugly Stik, and the Fierce was purchased as a combo with a Penn rod. My hands down favorite was the Battle II matched with the Ugly Stik. I caught every fish on this combo except for one catfish on the most expensive reel; the Spinfisher. I used 20# braid on the Battle and it would cast a country mile. I used either a 20# or 25# fluorocarbon leader attached to the braid with an FG knot that I learned from a video from Salt Strong on youtube.
Species - I told Gail before I headed south that I would be happy if I caught a trout and a redfish, so I'm more than happy with the amount and variety of fish I caught.
Speckled trout, redfish, snook, jack crevalle, Spanish mackerel, mangrove snapper, sheepshead, black drum, ladyfish, blue crab, catfish, and sharks!
Scenery - One of the coolest things was just being in an environment you're not used to. I was up close to dolphins playing in the intracoastal and also saw a sea turtle there. The blue crabs were constantly nibbling at your shrimp if you didn't keep your bait moving. Saw lots of smaller crabs and fiddler crabs were every where. Tried catching some mud crabs for bait but they were to darn fast. Can't believe I didn't catch any rays because I saw a lot of them, and puffer fish too. The mullet were constantly jumping it seemed like.
I'll add notes as I think of things.
He's been around a long time but became "big" when he posted a video about turning a cheapo kayak into the ultimate fishing machine. 
Just another night at work for me and Monty will be back here again bright and early. 
