Kayak/Catfish combo
Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 12:18 pm
I do most of my spring fishing from my Kayak, on smallish Lake Erie tribs. Kayak fishing, as well as catfishing, is fairly new to me, with only 3 years for both under my belt. As I have nailed down the patterns, and spots on my favourite tribs, I am starting to tangle with bigger and bigger fish this year, a few now beating the 20lb mark, with my average this year well over 10lbs. A 30lber will likely be that once a decade trophy on the waters I fish. The province record is 38lbs, so not like we are dealing with the big blues and flats down south, but they aren't really pursued around here a lot, so nothing says their aren't bigger girls just waiting to be caught.
My primary style of choice is nearly like flipping for bass. Usually a slip float is employed, and I fish very tight to cover, with the immediate goal to get them away from the cover as quickly as possible. Initially, the less than stable platform of the kayak hinders this, but once I get them a little clear, the pedals of my hobie allow me to clear out to the main channel and fight the fish in relative safety.
Last week, I had a fish run straight at me in 1st gear, leading me to underestimate it's size and fight. Five feet from the yak, as I had the rod pretty high and ready to start the landing process, she came alive, and dove at full speed down and under my yak, and out the other side. I reacted too slowly, and boinked the top off of my Aetos due to highsticking...
Another concern is that I often felt underpowered with medium and medium heavy sticks I used, but when I went up to heavy powers, I get the fish boatside too fast, the it gets a little hairy with boatside runs and early landing attempts, which are always by hand as nets take up too much space and are cumbersome to me.
Most cat guys aren't really gear junkies, with most recommendations coming down to the "black or the white ugly stik".
What would you big game kayak guys recommend? I'm thinking something with a little glass in it, and a softer, longer tip that transitions into solid backbone. I wonder if some of the saltwater options would be viable? We have no salt, thus no gear around here to even put my hands on, so I wouldn't know where to start...
Target casting/flipping but with a soft yet indestructible tip, with lots of backbone when pressed but not too much power overall, and a nice build and quality than Ugly Stik...that's not too much to ask right?
My primary style of choice is nearly like flipping for bass. Usually a slip float is employed, and I fish very tight to cover, with the immediate goal to get them away from the cover as quickly as possible. Initially, the less than stable platform of the kayak hinders this, but once I get them a little clear, the pedals of my hobie allow me to clear out to the main channel and fight the fish in relative safety.
Last week, I had a fish run straight at me in 1st gear, leading me to underestimate it's size and fight. Five feet from the yak, as I had the rod pretty high and ready to start the landing process, she came alive, and dove at full speed down and under my yak, and out the other side. I reacted too slowly, and boinked the top off of my Aetos due to highsticking...
Another concern is that I often felt underpowered with medium and medium heavy sticks I used, but when I went up to heavy powers, I get the fish boatside too fast, the it gets a little hairy with boatside runs and early landing attempts, which are always by hand as nets take up too much space and are cumbersome to me.
Most cat guys aren't really gear junkies, with most recommendations coming down to the "black or the white ugly stik".
What would you big game kayak guys recommend? I'm thinking something with a little glass in it, and a softer, longer tip that transitions into solid backbone. I wonder if some of the saltwater options would be viable? We have no salt, thus no gear around here to even put my hands on, so I wouldn't know where to start...
Target casting/flipping but with a soft yet indestructible tip, with lots of backbone when pressed but not too much power overall, and a nice build and quality than Ugly Stik...that's not too much to ask right?