(Not exactly) The "Croaker Whisperer"

[22Tango]

First time out on my bright yellow Ocean Kayak Trident 13 - June 15, 2013.

Put in at Columbia Beach/ ShadySide. It launches directly into the Bay, but the waves were calm enough. Got a round of applause from a group of kids at the launch, and their dad gave me my first push off. It was only supposed to be a short paddle so that I could learn to handle the yak. Just me, a plano dry box, pfd, and kayak rod holder.

Everybody had a great time except -- these 19 croaker and spot that I caught in 1 1/2 hours.

Lessons Learned:
1) Pack light. I thought I packed light. No! Pack lighter ... because a kayak is small.
2) Kayaks are magnetically attracted to rocks and fishing lines of pier fisherman.
3) The fish don't jump into the kayak.
4) Bring the long needle nosed pliers because a fishes mouth is much longer when you are in the Bay.

[sparky1423]

Looks like you handled the kayak and your stringer quite well. I pack extremely light, and just started bringing only one tackle container with a few targeted lures. This way I am forced to concentrate on my target species and my goals for the day. Before, I would constantly change lures and try to catch anything with gills....the day would go by too fast and few fish for the effort. LESS IS MORE

[Fishinfool]

Congratulations! Right, space is at a premium in a kayak. I catch most fish on a small two foot mircro light rod which fits right in my lap. I bring two more rods in a rod holder behind me.

I also pack a small compartment style box out of the "mother ship" tackle box that I leave in the car/or at camp for each trip. The small compartment box has 3 max rigs for each species of fish, or style of fishing I am going to do for that day; such a 3 for jigging, 3 for bottom rigs, and two or three lures/plugs for top water or near top water for breaking fish or skinny water. I'll have plain hooks as back-ups too as I usually have live bait with me.

This leaves plenty of room for a quart plus jug of water, a small first aid kit (definitely a necessity) and a sandwich/snack. I've found that my back can only take about 2.5 - 3 hours max in a kayak, and I don't need any more than 3 rigs per target fish/style of fishing anyway.

I generally use a stringer for the fish to keep them live until I get them on ice back at the car/camp. I keep a cooler in back of me if I get lucky with any fish too large for a stringer (that hasn't been too much of a problem, lol).

A word to the wise, having a small fist aid kit you can reach quickly is important. The last trip I was on I was launching off some rocks, and the kayak tipped some which caused me to grab onto some submerged rocks. Well, a sharp oyster got me good and I was bleeding pretty badly. If I hadn't had a clean wipe and a tight clean band aid right there, it would have put a damper on the day.

Good luck!

[AbuMasgouf]

Awesome bro! Congrats on your outing!

[upgradingdave]

2) Kayaks are magnetically attracted to rocks and fishing lines of pier fisherman.

Hahaha, very true.

Congrats on the maiden voyage.

[Goody]

Great job. I'm still trying to minimize what I take. I have to keep reminding myself bring less.

[ILV2F5H]

Nice job. Congrats on the croakers. The more time you put on the water, the more you'll learn. I try my best to pack light but at the same time I like to be prepared for certain scenarios when it comes to lure or bait alternatives. I seem to put more of a focus on catching fish with different lures than safety. I am now fishing with a 28 qt cooler on the back of my yak so space is definitely limited. A lot of items have to fit in a bag for me so I can throw it in the middle hatch and not have it slide around.

[john from md]

Congrats on a good day on the water! I too have a OC Trident 13 and love it. If you plan to use your yak alot, I suggest you get a rudder. It saves so much energy when the wind gets up that it is well worth the cost. I remember one trip coming back from Tolly Point to Jonas Green where I had to paddle three or four left to one right and I thought my left arm was going to fall off!

Enjoy,

John