How do you find fish

[wiljack78]

How do you find fish on a Kayak. I often read that you need to fish where the fish are and I read how boaters travel distance to get to fish. My question is that when in a kayak, with limited ability to travel distance, how do I find the fish. A FF shows what is under the kayak and that is fine. I usually find myself sitting there looking out over the big water and wondering where to go. Any suggestions?

[mmanolis2001]

bottom structure, channel edges, Type of bottom (hard or soft), Pods of bait fish and if your lucky breaking fish.

Im still a novice at reading my FF so im still guessing most of the time. If you can get hold of a good map of the area you plan on fishing showing the bottom contours it helps greatly. There are several available on line for free.

http://www.oceangrafix.com/o.g/index.html

[ictalurus]

Mike hit the nail on the head. When fishing somewhere new, I'll look on a chart for fishy areas.

When I first started, it didn't occur to me to look at charts. I found fish by trolling something everywhere I went, then I would fish the area where I caught something. After fishing the same areas repeatedly, I started noticing where bait occurred frequently and the characteristics of the places where I caught fish. Then I looked for those characteristics in other areas. That approach works pretty well, especially for topwater fishing, bottom fishing, and flounder fishing. I still haven't found reliable striper jigging places.

[Pinch]

..

Tides play a key role in reading charts and where fish are going to be. I believe fish are all inherently lazy and dont want to work too hard to feed. This doesnt apply to all fish some, such as blue fish, never take their pills in the morning and swim around like they are on PCP. With this said imagine a tide that moves north to south over a hump or reef. High tide pushes water north and the falling tide the water moves south. In this case it would be a good bet that the majority of fish during an incoming tide would be on the northside of the hump awaiting a meal to wash over said hump or reef into their lap. Likewise on a falling tide they would be on the southside of said hump or reef.
When looking at a chart of the bay in the area you plan to fish keep in mind what the tide will be at the times you plan to fish. You may find an awesome 20ft ledge but the fish wont be there because of the tide, wait for the tide to change and go check it out again. Fish finders are great tools however I use mine more to tell whether its a hard bottom or soft bottom and to hunt for structure. JMHO good luck.

[DOGFISH]

I agree with all of the aforementioned. All fisherman should spend some time fishing in a stream or river. Watch as the fish hold behind boulders and rocks, in the eddys. Then go macro and imagine the humps and drops offs of the bay as those rocks, with a moving tide. The fish ambuse bait as it comes over those humps and drops. The fish have to be efficient, they have to catch their own food.

Look for those areas when fishing new areas. After you have fished an area for a while you will know where these areas are. The same with the boaters. Even though they travel more of a distance, they are looking for the same type of thing. You have to be more selective and travel by car with your kayak.

One other thing, just don't look for birds working breaking fish. The birds will also frequently sit on the water where they anticipate an event or where there has been action.

[mmanolis2001]

Here is a nice page to view noaa charts of the Atlantic coast. You can select the detailed maps from the chart list to key in on the are you plan to fish.

http://www.oceangrafix.com/o.g/Chart...Chart=Atlantic

[wiljack78]

This all makes good sense. I'm going to need to do more homework before the next outing. I've looked at charts in the past without making a specific game plan. Like most things, preparation is one of the keys.
Thanks for the response,
Wil

[frettr00]

Also look at narrow/bottlenecks in moving water. It makes it easier for predatory fish to wait in narrow water since there's less area for bait to swim.

[surfdog]

all very good tips. when im using the ff i look for drop off and hard bottom (oyster beds) which lazy predators like to hang around or structure like piers, rip rap and bridge pilings. also points jutting out into the water are great places to fish. moving current and rips produce fish also.

one thing when using your ff turn off the fish ID and learn to read the arches. the fish ID doesn't know its a fish it could be anything that reflects the ping

[Greasyskillet]

If all else fails follow the birds. Works for me every time

[Memory Maker]

Many times you hear a boater say he has to travel a long way to get fish as you said. Usually it's because he doesn't know his local waters or because he doesn't have a ramp near the fishing area. Yaks make yu slow down and work the area ........ also ..... you don't need a ramp w/ a yak ....... launch anywhere .........

[surfdog]

5 time bass master champ Roland Martin says that most of his fish were caught 1000yds from the ramp

[ronaultmtd]

If I am in a new area that I don't know, I may spend some time at local tackle shops and talk to fishermen- believe it or not most will tell you where you can catch fish- also most fishing charts you can buy have well known spots marked on the maps- read up on the areas and if all else fails- I always look for changes in structure- when I fish Cobb Island I fish close to the drop offs where the shallow shoals drop off fast from 6 feet to 23 feet in less than fifty yards- when I fish fresh water I look for structure, channels, etc. Your fish finder is most useful to locate structure- mine is a new down imaging model that has features that is especially useful-

[mmanolis2001]

OK lets look at a contour map of Point Lookout. I highlighted the areas of interest within 1 mile of the inlet.

Area 1 is my go to bottom fishing spot at PLO. It is next to a drop off that follows the coast and goes from 16 ft to 23 ft within 20 yards. This area will more than likely produce bottom feeders on baits with proper drifts. The crab pots will also tell you allot about the bottom contour. They tend to follow the ledges for the same reason. More than likely the last line of pots is straddling a channel or false channel. If you find an area like this with a shell or hard bottom even better.

Area 2 is a spot i have not fished yet at PLO but looks very promising. I will key in on this area on my next trip for sure. The flat above and below the ledge look like prime ambush areas.

[ronaultmtd]

It's funny- we all said the same things...we study the charts and look for contour changes (structure) within a mile or so of our launch point, fish the tides (moving water), etc....but we left out the absolute most important part- the sticky end of fishing- what you have on the hook- none of this matters if you don't "match the hatch" so to speak- when we fish with lures we are using a lure that matches some natural bait the fish are feeding on- during the May worm bloom, the fish were so full of mating worms that fishing was a pain...one tip- fish a XRap minnow around rip rap- I like the one with a blue color on top- toss it up close to the rocks at the ends of jetties at the entrances to inlets (like Cornfield Harbor at PLO) and twitch, twitch, reel up slack and twitch- almost like you would walk the dog on a top water lure- small schoolie stripers tear it up- most are under sized and have to be released, but fishing is fishing and if you use light tackle it is a lot of fun- all this is experience and is hard for a person trying to learn how to fish to pick up- we take it for granted, but techniques are critical to success- you can throw lures till your arms fall off and not get a bite if you are working it wrong or it is the wrong color- I have seen one lure of the exact same make catch fish when another exact same color, model, etc. would not- just a slightly different action can make a difference- when do you fish top water poppers, when do you troll, when do you drift fish with bait, all questions an angler must answer correctly to catch fish- and when you do drift with bait- do you use a standard double bottom rig with small snelled hooks or a fish finder rig- shrimp or squid? bloodworms or fish bites? live bait or cut bait?

We learn as much from each other as we do any other way- if you are fishing in a meet and greet and the guy next to you starts catching fish- what is the first question you yell at him? Hey, what are you using for bait- what are you doing I am not?