First post -- tournament day photo documentary...

[Crank-B8]

Hey everybody -- I've been lurking on this forum for a while now and figured it was about time I started posting. I figured before asking a bunch of questions it would be better if I contributed something first.

I'm a kayak fisherman who fishes a lot of saltwater tournaments. This is a set of photos I took last weekend (8.26.06) at the Stars & Stripes Saltwater Kayak Series tournament in Galveston, TX. I'm looking forward to chatting with you guys. If anyone ever has any questions about saltwater fishing or kayaks I'd be more than happy to answer them (or at least try anyway).

Here ya' go...

I got to my first spot and the wind just seemed to come from nowhere. All the sudden it was blowing 20+ out of the west. And then the rain came... if you look closely you can somewhat make out my kayak through the downpour:


I was forced to run for cover or get blown out into the bay so I paddled up on a sandy beach and prepared to wait out the storm.

My thoughts:


The rain just kept coming and I got bored. What else was there to do besides take some abstract shots?

I call this one "The Stick and Dr. B"


The rain finally let up as the sun started to creep over the horizon. I fished my first spot for a while but the it was quickly apparent it wasn't going to happen there (horrible water clarity from the wind and rain) so I moved back to a protected marsh in search of some reds.

Then it rained some more...


I did manage to find a redfish. He kept me company through the storms. Chicks dig the headlight:


The rain and wind got so cold that I decided to just sit down in the warm water until it passed. The marsh water felt like a hot tub compared to the cold rain. Couldn't resist snapping this pic:


The rain is over... or or is it? (sorry for the crooked horizon)


Storms like this one passed in waves all day:


My partner trying to pretend he's actually fishing through the rain:


So that was that. It was a long, cold, rainy day but it was a blast. Went to the weigh-in and hung out with all the kayakers for a while. The weather cleared up later in the day and my brother-in-law and I decided to stop at a marsh on the way home to see if we could find some more reds. And we did!

Here's a few pics from the evening session. I caught two 6+ lb. reds. Sight casted to one of them 10 feet from me. Would have been nice to have those earlier in the day:

[bigpapajim]

Welcome!

Awesome first post!


I love the Yak! Awesome setup. Looking to get one myself, but for freshwater use only. Any recommendations?

I dont want to spend a boat load for my first kayak, But would like one i could let my wife or friend use after I get a good one.

Again welcome!

[Crank-B8]

BPJ,

You have two basic choices when choosing a yak -- sit on top (SOT) or sit-inside (SINK). Although kayak purists prefer to call SINKs "decked boats."

The VAST majority of fishermen opt for sit on top kayaks. SOTs allow anglers to get in and out of the boat easily and also to fish side saddle (with your legs dangling over the side of the boat). SOTs are cooler in the Summer months because there is no cockpit to hold in heat -- of course this works in reverse during the Winter months.

All the "fishing kayaks" on the market right now are SOTs if that tells you anything.

As far as which boat to select, here are some things you'll need to consider:
1. How much tackle/gear are you intending to carry and how much do you weigh?
2. How far do you plan to paddle on most of your trips? Is your honey hole just around the next point or is it a 4 mile journey?
3. Will you ever want to stand up in your kayak (a big advantage when bed fishing for largemouth or working certain lures)

My favorite kayak for freshwater applications is the Wilderness Systems "The Ride". I like this boat because it's very stable, I can stand in it, has a high weight capacity (I carry a lot of gear when bass fishing), and has decent speed for a boat with it's width and stability characteristics.

This one is going to run you about $800 though.

If you're looking to spend under $500.00 your options are much more limited. A good place to look would be http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com or http://www.coastalkayakangler.com in their classified sections. Guys are always selling used boats on there for some great prices.

If you're wanting to buy new you could take a look at the Mainstream Kingfish. This is a really popular "starter boat" for a lot of guys.

Hopefully this will help you out a little bit. I know getting into the whole kayak thing can be weird at first because a lot of fishermen have zero experience with it. If you have any questions then feel free to post them up and I'll do my best too help you out.

[Shrike]

Hey Crank, great pics and great info too. You answered a question I've been meaning to ask about kayaks for a while and that is, can you stand up on them?

I fish by myself from a canoe and the most important thing for me is being able to stand up and fish. For fishing alone I feel like a canoe is too big but I figured I couldn't stand up on a kayak so I never really considered it.

I'll have to look into buying one for next season.

How do they handle in the wind? my canoe is like a sail it can be quite annoying.

[Crank-B8]

Shrike,

Yes, there are certain kayaks that are designed to be stood up in. The Ride is one of those yaks. It has a pontoon style hull that makes it very stable. Wilderness just released a new version of The Ride and made it much more "angler friendly" than the old model which was designed with divers in mind.

Here's a post from another forum that discusses the new Ride: http://www.coastalkayakangler.com/forum ... signs+ride

I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that a kayak is super easy to stand up in. Even the most stable kayaks take some practice to get used to. Everytime I stand up in my yak it takes about 10 minutes before I get really comfortable. You kind of have to get your "sea legs" if you know what I mean?

On the wind thing, again -- different kayaks will have different traits in the wind. Any kayak is going to be far less affected by the wind than a canoe. With the exception of about two months out of the year it's always windy here on the Texas coast so we find ways to fish with the wind. I use a drift sock and that works great for me. If you outfit your kayak with a rudder (which I highly reccomend) the wind can actually work to your advantage. You can use the wind and your rudder to steer you down a long shoreline and never have to worry about picking up your paddle. I'd say a rudder is by far the most important accessory for a fishing kayak.

[Sledgehammer]

Its about time you got over here

I would second the ride for your first kayak, its stable and fast. Im 6'3 and about 240, and I could stand up in fish in it. There are a couple of other kayaks that you can easily stand up in, but most of them are like paddling a barge.

[mhood]

Its about time you got over here

Yes, excellent posts, beautiful photography, very interesting techniques...thanks for surfacing on TTF.

I have long vacationed on the Texas Coast (Surf Side & Galveston when I was young and North and South Padre for the last several years) so I only get the experience once a year for a few days. Honestly, when we started flying down to Padre, the tackle started staying home.

Do you ever fish inside the third sandbar? Does the green water ever make it that close to shore? What do you think of jetty fishing because that's all we have done (we really used to slay the specks on that jetty at Surf Side with live shrimp). I ask because I'm certain I would get horribly sea sick on the surf side of Padre, but I am sure I could handle the lagoon side. I saw some "rent-a-yak" signs on South Padre last visit and was thinking about a travel rig for the next trip. Is this feasible?

[FlyfishTom]

Inshore fishing reports are few and far between so your posts are very welcome indeed. I fish the Mosquito Lagoon two or three times a week and if I can figure out a way to move it will be more often than that. I fish out of a flats boat (Ranger Banshee) mostly but will wade or use a canoe occasionally. I would love to get a group of inshore fishers posting. I think it would help us all. Most folks around here fish bass. One of the staff at my local tackle store has never fished salt water. Unbelievable! I see you are using a Sol and a custom rod. Care to mention baits and techniques?

[Crank-B8]

Do you ever fish inside the third sandbar? Does the green water ever make it that close to shore?

Yes, there are a handful of instances throughout the year where it gets "green to the beach". In that situation it's best to leave the kayak on the truck and wade. It's very rare that this happens though.

What do you think of jetty fishing because that's all we have done (we really used to slay the specks on that jetty at Surf Side with live shrimp). I ask because I'm certain I would get horribly sea sick on the surf side of Padre, but I am sure I could handle the lagoon side. I saw some "rent-a-yak" signs on South Padre last visit and was thinking about a travel rig for the next trip. Is this feasible?

In regards to the seasickness, the surf is really only worth fishing on days that it's incredibly calm. Any type of chop or windy conditions will cause the water get sandy and in turn the fish will move out. Of course, if it gets really windy and the waves kick up then kayak surfing can be a blast! When you have a kayak you really can't go wrong.

I fish out of a flats boat (Ranger Banshee)

Suuuweeeeeet. Do you have the regular Banshee or the Banshee Extreme? I checked one of those out at the Houston Boat Show this year. Looks like an awesome shallow water boat.

I see you are using a Sol and a custom rod. Care to mention baits and techniques?

The reels I'm currently using are:
Daiwa Sol (2)
Daiwa Coastal
Daiwa Advantage 153HST

The rod isn't actually a custom rod. It's an American Rodsmiths H3 Titanium. I have 3 of these. One 6'5" med/light action for plastics, one 6'9" med/light action for topwaters, spoons, and other light lures, and one 6'6" med/fast Team Redifsh rod for handling heavier baits.

There's quite a bit of technology that went into this rod. I'm kinda' surprised I haven't seen anything about it on Tackle Tour yet. The rod blank is actually made from 3 materials (hence the H3): carbon fiber, graphite, and titanium (yes, the actual metal). The butt section of the rod is reinforced by strips of titanium. You can see the strips in the picture I posted above. 87 million modulus blank is super light and really sensitive. Then on top of that, the handle has graphite bars that go through the cork and touch the blank (and of course blank-thru construction on both sides of the reel seat). It really is an awesome rod. I love mine.

Here's a pic of the handle. If you look close you can see the titanium strips through the reel seat. That's what gives the rod the sort of "zebra" look:


In regards to techniques... wow -- I could go on about that all day.

Probably 60% of the time I'm either using some sort of plastic (either on a jighead or texas rigged) or a topwater. The rest of the time I'm probably thowing a shallow diving crankbait or a spinnerbait. The redfish in the pictures above were all caught on Texas rigged soft plastics. Many of them were sight casted to. There is no greater thrill than casting to a redfish cruising a shoreline with his back out of the water and watching him as he swims over and inhales the bait. Awesome!

[mhood]

I went to the American Rodsmiths site but could not find the H3 Titanium series. The only rods in their Titanium series seem to derive their name from the Ti guide frames. Is the site outdated?

[FlyfishTom]

I have the regular Banshee with a custom console. It is only 40 hp but does an honest 30 MPH and that's plenty when you can watch the bottom fly by. I took it to Canada this summer and while it is not a back troller it did very well and the little thing is very sea worthy. I usually fish with just my dog so we get in some very shallow stuff. The boat is set up very well, it has hydraulic steering, 18 gallons of fuel, tabs and rod holders on the console along with tackle storage and some clever places to put tools and hang lures along with an electric. Cooler, too. Comes with a great trailer and oil hubs.

[Crank-B8]

I went to the American Rodsmiths site but could not find the H3 Titanium series. The only rods in their Titanium series seem to derive their name from the Ti guide frames. Is the site outdated?

Yes, that site is EXTREMELY outdated. You're better off doing a google search for "American Rodsmiths H3" than looking at their website.

[Crank-B8]

For you guys that were asking about kayaks and pricing...

Here's proof you just have to keep you eyes peeled. Deals like this happen quite a bit. Especially this time of year: http://texaskayakfisherman.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=52733

Snookdude is the head of the kayak department at Fishing Tackle Unlimited in Houston -- the largest independently owned tackle shop in the world.

[jholton]

Crank B8, those were some awesome pics. My favorite was "stick and can" I have a Tarpon 120 and absolutely love it. I mostly use it for bass. I'm not brave enough to attempt to stand up in it. Although that would be good for flipping pads etc.
I think fishing out of a kayak makes you a more thorough fisherman if anything else. You can't take everything with you. Although you can get quite a bit of tackle in a milk crate.
If these guys tried kayak fishing, I guarantee they would love it

[Crank-B8]

If these guys tried kayak fishing, I guarantee they would love it

I agree. I come from a bass fishing background and was brought up fishing on a bass boat. A kayak just didn't have any appeal for me. Not enough tackle, not enough "stuff", too much effort. Then I started going on the occasional wade fishing outing in the salt down here around Galveston. That's when I opened up to the kayak a little bit more. Now I fish it in fresh and saltwater and absolutely love it. It's the most enjoyable type of fishing I've found.

And as far as standing in the 120 -- there's no way. The only one I can stand in is The Ride. I have a T160i and that thing will turn over if you even think about standing up in it.