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Hi everyone,
I met with a couple guys from the forum on Saturday. We fished the Eastern Bay. I was trolling two rods with paddletails from my sit-in kayak. I suspect that my definition of a successful day is a little different than some other people who have more experience. I landed six rockfish over a period of a few hours and that was a great day for me. Getting the hang of trolling from a paddle kayak is a work in progress. When one of my rods went down for the first time, I caught my first fish of the day and my first ever fish trolling from a kayak. The downside is that when I stopped paddling to reel in the fish, the paddletail on my second rod sank to the bottom and got snagged. I lost that jig head and paddletail, but was happy to have caught the fish.
For me, fishing from a sit-in kayak is challenging. I find that it is easier for me to paddle to a shoreline and get out of the kayak when changing lures or tending to my rods and reels. It also feels nice to stretch my legs as they cramp up in the cockpit of the sit-in kayak. Standing alone on a small section of beach on a tiny island in the bay is incredibly peaceful for me. I enjoy these moments and tend to pull ashore frequently throughout the day as I have to "use the bathroom" more and more frequently due to a medical condition.
I realized that one of the people that I was fishing with was a little concerned if they didn't see me on the water or if they saw that I had pulled ashore. I need to be more cognizant of the concerns of the people I am fishing with as I do not want them to have to worry about my safety. Most of my regular fishing partners are used to these respites. There is a beach with a rip rap near Jonas Green that I will sometimes pull ashore and cast and retrieve for 30 minutes or longer. It is a great rest for my legs and I even meditate there sometimes.
I am planning to purchase a VHF radio in order to effectively communicate with fellow fisherman in the future. I think that this would have helped to alleviate their concern on Saturday.
Yesterday was my first day on my brand new Falcon 11. WOOHOOOO!!!!! My legs did not cramp up much at all and I was able to easily access my tackle box, tie on lures, and do most general maintenance while out on the water. As a result, I did not need to pull over to the shore nearly as often yesterday as I did on Saturday. I honestly lost track of how many fish I caught yesterday. I suspect that the number is somewhere in the mid-teens. All of the fish that I caught were rockfish, with one exception. I caught a large, fat white perch that was a very pleasant surprise. I love perch fishing and am looking forward to that later this summer.
Upcoming projects for the Falcon (I welcome any advice):
1. I cannot cartop this kayak alone. I am 5'5" and not very strong. Getting the kayak on top of the car, and also in an upright position (up on its side) up over the lip of a j-bar is more than i can handle alone. I use a twin j bar system so that I can transport two kayaks. I realize that if a transported the kayak with the hull face down, it would be easier to load onto the car, but I still cannot do it by myself with some type of load assist device.
2. When trolling, it is hard to see your rods in the rear rod holders that are standard in the Falcon 11. I would like to install two adjustable rod holders in the front of the kayak. I am not as handy as some of the guys on this board.
Are there any shops around that do custom modifications such as installing rod holders or load assist devices?
Something weird was happening with my line this weekend. My line was getting twisted and stuck around the eyes of the rod and forming small birds nests more than I can ever remember. Someone told me that this may be due to the fact that I was trolling paddletails and the line was twisting over and over again in the water. It was a little frustrating, although every obstacle is a little less formidable when I am catching fish :--). Almost every time I retrieved my lure and went to cast it out again, there was a problem with the line that needed to be addressed. As soon as I "untwisted" the line, it would go right back to where it was and I would have to untwist it again. It seemed as if I could literally see the "memory" in the line forcing the line back into its previous provision. If anyone has any ideas how to deal with this or prevent it, I would be grateful.
Amazing weekend and I am sorry for the long post.
Thank you to everyone for all of your help. Also, a special thanks to John Veil as his book is an incredible resource that no doubt was instrumental in my success this weekend.
I met with a couple guys from the forum on Saturday. We fished the Eastern Bay. I was trolling two rods with paddletails from my sit-in kayak. I suspect that my definition of a successful day is a little different than some other people who have more experience. I landed six rockfish over a period of a few hours and that was a great day for me. Getting the hang of trolling from a paddle kayak is a work in progress. When one of my rods went down for the first time, I caught my first fish of the day and my first ever fish trolling from a kayak. The downside is that when I stopped paddling to reel in the fish, the paddletail on my second rod sank to the bottom and got snagged. I lost that jig head and paddletail, but was happy to have caught the fish.
For me, fishing from a sit-in kayak is challenging. I find that it is easier for me to paddle to a shoreline and get out of the kayak when changing lures or tending to my rods and reels. It also feels nice to stretch my legs as they cramp up in the cockpit of the sit-in kayak. Standing alone on a small section of beach on a tiny island in the bay is incredibly peaceful for me. I enjoy these moments and tend to pull ashore frequently throughout the day as I have to "use the bathroom" more and more frequently due to a medical condition.
I realized that one of the people that I was fishing with was a little concerned if they didn't see me on the water or if they saw that I had pulled ashore. I need to be more cognizant of the concerns of the people I am fishing with as I do not want them to have to worry about my safety. Most of my regular fishing partners are used to these respites. There is a beach with a rip rap near Jonas Green that I will sometimes pull ashore and cast and retrieve for 30 minutes or longer. It is a great rest for my legs and I even meditate there sometimes.
I am planning to purchase a VHF radio in order to effectively communicate with fellow fisherman in the future. I think that this would have helped to alleviate their concern on Saturday.
Yesterday was my first day on my brand new Falcon 11. WOOHOOOO!!!!! My legs did not cramp up much at all and I was able to easily access my tackle box, tie on lures, and do most general maintenance while out on the water. As a result, I did not need to pull over to the shore nearly as often yesterday as I did on Saturday. I honestly lost track of how many fish I caught yesterday. I suspect that the number is somewhere in the mid-teens. All of the fish that I caught were rockfish, with one exception. I caught a large, fat white perch that was a very pleasant surprise. I love perch fishing and am looking forward to that later this summer.
Upcoming projects for the Falcon (I welcome any advice):
1. I cannot cartop this kayak alone. I am 5'5" and not very strong. Getting the kayak on top of the car, and also in an upright position (up on its side) up over the lip of a j-bar is more than i can handle alone. I use a twin j bar system so that I can transport two kayaks. I realize that if a transported the kayak with the hull face down, it would be easier to load onto the car, but I still cannot do it by myself with some type of load assist device.
2. When trolling, it is hard to see your rods in the rear rod holders that are standard in the Falcon 11. I would like to install two adjustable rod holders in the front of the kayak. I am not as handy as some of the guys on this board.
Are there any shops around that do custom modifications such as installing rod holders or load assist devices?
Something weird was happening with my line this weekend. My line was getting twisted and stuck around the eyes of the rod and forming small birds nests more than I can ever remember. Someone told me that this may be due to the fact that I was trolling paddletails and the line was twisting over and over again in the water. It was a little frustrating, although every obstacle is a little less formidable when I am catching fish :--). Almost every time I retrieved my lure and went to cast it out again, there was a problem with the line that needed to be addressed. As soon as I "untwisted" the line, it would go right back to where it was and I would have to untwist it again. It seemed as if I could literally see the "memory" in the line forcing the line back into its previous provision. If anyone has any ideas how to deal with this or prevent it, I would be grateful.
Amazing weekend and I am sorry for the long post.
Thank you to everyone for all of your help. Also, a special thanks to John Veil as his book is an incredible resource that no doubt was instrumental in my success this weekend.
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