[620561]

I have a few questions about kayak fishing for the congregation...

1. Do people flyfish from kayaks? if so, is it crazy difficult?

2. What kind of rods do people use (spin or casting?). what length/weights do people use (I'm thinking of doing mostly striper fishing along the NY/CT/NJ coasts).

3. For a person who has no kayaking stuff... what do I need and how much will it cost (ballpark figures are fine). I read one post about 50-100 dollar paddles, 500 or so for a kayak... but what about other necessities?

4. Are there any clubs/guides that will allow someone like me (don't have a kayak) use one or go out on a guided trip?

5. Is a sit on top versus a sit in kayak a matter of preference, or is there technical reasons for wanting one or the other (I'm leaning towards a sit in one, but don't really know why).

Thanks for any responses.
Mike

 

[618563]

YOU'VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE MY SON..
I'M A NEWBIE TOO...AND I WAS HELPED A LOT BY JONSS AND JOEY2509..THEY FISH FROM KAYAKS AND HAVE SOME GOOD ADVICE TO GIVE. GOOD LUCK..BTW WHERE R U LOCATED?

 

[614078]

Answers:

1. Yes you can flyfish from a kayak. I flyfish from mine and so do some of my friends.

2. You'll need a rod thats 7ft long. Don't get 1 thats shorter than that. Joey and Jon can be more specific with this answer.

3. The cost for kayak and basic equipment would be between $600-$1200 depending on the kayak you buy. Things you will need: Paddle,paddle lease,STS fishing seat,drift chute,anchor,air horn,and on Cobra Kayaks you'll need to buy hatches.

4. You can call your local kayak dealer at this time of year they have Demo Days where you can try a lot of different types of yaks. 2 places on L.I. that are very good are Island Kayaks in Island Park and Peconic Paddlers in Riverhead L.I. Both places have web-sites. You can also meet up with Joey or Jon and try some of there kayaks too.
Kayaks companies to look at:
Wilderness Systems
Ocean Kayaks
Cobra Kayaks
Check out there web-sites to see what types of kayaks they have.

5. Sit on top is the best. You can use most sit on tops in all types of conditions from back bay to ocean surf. You can't do that on sit in types. Also its easier to get on and off a sit on top as compared to sit in. When fishing flats getting on and off easy really helps.

 

[joey2509]

Hi there and welcome to kayak fishing. Picking a kayak can seem like an overwhelming decision, maybe we can help. If you go to out website maybe and click on the LOOKING FOR A KAYAK LINK...it might be a start in your search. There is also a FISHING KAYAKS PAGE and you can see some of the most popular models, but that does not mean there are not other models that are great fishing kayaks. The key is to make an informed decision before you buy from us or anybody else. There are alot of demo days going on with some of the shops around, peconic paddler is a nice place and I bought my first kayak there and they treated me very well, I would though know what you want before going into any kayak shop because most of the guys working those shops never fished, let alone fished off a kayak.

kayakfishingstuff.com

 

[616271]

The kayak is a natural for flyfishing. Both from the kayak and as transportation to places to shore or wade fish. A more stabel kayak is obviously better/easier.

I personally like a 7' rod and most use spinning. We tend to use lighter gear and lures from kayaks and a rod that handles 3/8 up to 1 plus oz. works great. We also prefer braided line for most of our fishing as setting the hook from a kayak isn't as easy with lighter gear and a movable object.

Price varies and a lot depends upon you. Generally big men need to spend more because a bigger yak is required to support them. Conversely a small guy has more and less expensive options. Prices range considerably and then its a matter of how you wish to accessorize. ALl you really need is a kayak, seat, paddle and a fishing rod. So again its up to you.

Once our cobra inventory gets in we'll be doing regular demo days. We also do fishing trips all the time and everyone is welcome. We'll be announcing them here.

An SOT is a more versatile and easier to use kayak than a Sit in. Both fish well. I fish a lot of different environments and I like the most versatility I can get. Also getting in and out of a sit in can be challenging or impossible for some of the places I fish. I love to wade fish flats. Getting out of and getting back into a sit in in 2-3 feet of water is near impossible. With an SOT you merely hop on and off.

 

[620561]

Thanks for the info

Thanks for the info. I have checked out the kayakfishingstuff.com site (I email conversed with, I think, JonSS). I'm looking forward to the Demo day and trying out some kayaks.

As for flyfishing, someone (flyrodder?) mentioned a 7ft rod... what weight do you recommend?

Again, thanks for all the info.

 

[619262]

flyfishing on kayak

For other flyfishermen's experience on kayaks, check out the kayak discussion board on Kenny Abrame's (author of Striper Moon) website:

http://www.stripermoon.com/talkshop25/index.html

 

[614078]

When I mentioned a 7ft rod I was talking about either spin or casting rods. As for flyfishing you'll need a 9ft to a 10'6"rod. I use either my 9'6" 9wt or my 10ft 10wt rod on mine. So a 9 or 10wt rod is perfect. As for lines I like using shooting heads either intermediate or fast sinking depending on the water depth I'm fishing. If you want more specific info you can e-mail me direct.

 

[616271]

Fly Rods

As Flyrodder said you want a longer rod. I just got in a Heritage 10.6' rod that I'm looking forward to playing with. Its an 8 wt. In a kayak you have a low sitting position just like in a float tube. The new thing has been the longer rods out of tubes. My two favorites, of all the rods I've cast, are the Abrammes Stick (10.6' 8 wt.) and BobPop's 10.6' St. Croix. The Heritage is much more reasonably priced (major sub $200) and the regular 8 is a cannon. So we'll see.

The Heritage makes me think about a comment that I heard Lefty say. Top of the line fly rods are like 220 mph cars. Very few people are qualified to drive 180 let alone 220. A fly rod that will do 180 is more rod than most fisherman can drive and they're much, much cheaper than the top of the line stuff.