New to kayak fishing

[Will Wright]

Hi all! I've recently started thinking about kayak fishing. Kayak fishing really floats my boat because of the limitless opportunities you have on a kayak (in regards to land based fishing and fishing off a bigger boat) kayak fishing can help you reach deaper/more productive waters without spending your Bank account on a motor boat. I already have a kayak in mind, the Next Gen 9 fishing kayak by Kayaks2fish. This kayak ticks all my boxes. I'm writing this to ask for information on a few things I'm interested in. If someone could answer one or more of these questions it would be greatly appreciated. 

- Are fish finders worth it, not just for looking at bait but also for looking at structure/ depth. Are they waterproof and are the wires waterproof? Is the battery that powers the fish finder waterproof and can you recharge the battery? 

- Is an anchor worth it? I do a bit of bait fishing and verticle jigging so with this in mind I'm wondering if an anchor would be OK for kayak fishing. I will be mainly fishing sydney Harbour so is it too deep for a kayak anchor? 

- is a trolling motor worth the money? This one I'm a bit confused about whether people actually use trolling motors for saltwater kayaking. I guess they would be useful for trolling top water and bigger lures but what is your guys opinion on these. 

- storage solutions. I've watched a few videos on storage solutions and there a lots of different options. Should I use a milk crate?  An eski? Etc, I figured it would be better to get first hand info from you guys.  

All round I am a bit of a Newby to the kayak fishing game and just looking for a bit of help starting off. 

If someone could take the time to respond to a few of these questions it would be greatly appreciated, I understand it can take a while to read these and respond. 

Regards, 

Will 

[kingie chaser]

Cant really help other than to say have you had a look through the pinned & other threads in the Yak topic section. could help or at least give you the people to direct questions to?

 

Edited January 26, 2020 by kingie chaser

[Will Wright]

2 hours ago, kingie chaser said:

Cant really help other than to say have you had a look through the pinned & other threads in the Yak topic section. could help or at least give you the people to direct questions to?

 

Thanks kingie chaser, I've had a look at these and although very informative, it's not quite the info I'm after 

[dirvin21]

Forget the electric motor and sounder when you're starting out they add a lot of extra weight and expense

An important point with kayak fishing is remembering wherever you paddle you have to paddle back, it looks and sounds easy but it's very physically demanding 

[kingie chaser]

I still think a sounder is a pretty important piece of equipment & wouldn't hurt to have from the onset.

 

[Restyle]

Sounder is necessary imo. Most kayaks don't have a transducer mounting point so you will need to get a rail blaza mounting kit.
you will need the track rails as the nextgen9 dosnt come with them.
i got a 12v battery  from bunnings which dose recharge, but you will need a charger for it. and a Tupperware contianer which i tied onto the milk crate to keep it dry

https://www.railblaza.com/products/transducer-mount/

sounders are water resistant along with the wires. try keep the fuse for the sounder inside the tuppaware container with the battery. drill a big enough hole to feed the sounder wire through the top (not on the lid). Battery terminals will rust if exposed to water.

 

- Anchor 

isnt necessary but are helpful when needed. I have a home made anchor which is a 2.5kg barbell weight thingo u use at the gym tied onto 30 meters of rope, works barely for a hobie pa12 but worked fine for the smaller and way lighter 3.2 pedal pro.

I usually tie onto moorings. Don't tie onto channel markers, its illegal. and also try not to tie onto moored boats out of courtesy for the owner. 

 

- trolling motor

i wouldn't bother with it when starting out. they can be quite expensive. its more of a thing once u get into kayaking for abit and want to go long distance.

 

- Storage
milk crates do wonders. i use them on my pa12 and a baysports pedal pro. you can also zip tie rod holders onto the back of it and a container for your 12v battery if you get a sounder.

The biggest issue with kayaks, especially small ones is eskeys or a cooler bag for fish you want to eat, not so much a issue for me as i catch and release 95% of my fish. you could get a hobie cooler bag and put it on the front or tie a eskey on the back behind the milk crate where the rudder sits. 
I had my live bait bucket / bait bucket which was only small tied onto the side of the chair and it rests on the ledge next to the seat. worked a treat

it will take a few trips to finalise storage, rod holder positions (if you dont use the stock ones), sounder position, etc 

the biggest tip i can give for kayak fishing is lanyard everything, rods, tackle, e v e r y t h i n g. large side on wakes can flip smaller kayaks easily.

Edited January 27, 2020 by Restyle

[DerekD]

On 1/27/2020 at 12:28 AM, Will Wright said:

Hi all! I've recently started thinking about kayak fishing. Kayak fishing really floats my boat because of the limitless opportunities you have on a kayak (in regards to land based fishing and fishing off a bigger boat) kayak fishing can help you reach deaper/more productive waters without spending your Bank account on a motor boat. I already have a kayak in mind, the Next Gen 9 fishing kayak by Kayaks2fish. This kayak ticks all my boxes. I'm writing this to ask for information on a few things I'm interested in. If someone could answer one or more of these questions it would be greatly appreciated. 

- Are fish finders worth it, not just for looking at bait but also for looking at structure/ depth. Are they waterproof and are the wires waterproof? Is the battery that powers the fish finder waterproof and can you recharge the battery? 

- Is an anchor worth it? I do a bit of bait fishing and verticle jigging so with this in mind I'm wondering if an anchor would be OK for kayak fishing. I will be mainly fishing sydney Harbour so is it too deep for a kayak anchor? 

- is a trolling motor worth the money? This one I'm a bit confused about whether people actually use trolling motors for saltwater kayaking. I guess they would be useful for trolling top water and bigger lures but what is your guys opinion on these. 

- storage solutions. I've watched a few videos on storage solutions and there a lots of different options. Should I use a milk crate?  An eski? Etc, I figured it would be better to get first hand info from you guys.  

All round I am a bit of a Newby to the kayak fishing game and just looking for a bit of help starting off. 

If someone could take the time to respond to a few of these questions it would be greatly appreciated, I understand it can take a while to read these and respond. 

Regards, 

Will 

Hi Will,

You have asked some questions which were going to be covered in my Kayak fishing 102 article - practical fishing from a kayak. Still working on that one.

The fishfinder does allow me to check out structure. It allows me to see the schools of baitfish. It allows me to hold to a specific depth when using my poor man's downrigger. It also has a GPS so lets me find marks again - even if I know the general area. It gives me something to watch when not much is happening and I'm heading from A to B. I've had a few times when I've seen something interesting on the fishfinder and then I hook up. Would I say I could do without it - YES! Most of the time I like to chase the pelagics so I'm looking at the surface activity. I still take it out most times because I keep learning by using it. The head unit is waterproof to a meter or two - I wash the salt off under the kitchen sink when I get home. The batteries I use are not waterproof - hence I have mine in a hollowed out Hobie tub. As per my article the wires on the system have heatshrink on them at the joins as I expect them to get wet. As soon as I get home the small battery I use gets hooked up to the JayCar Smart charger which drops down to a trickle charge when the battery is charged.

I expect an anchor to be a waste of time for the majority of situations. I have a Hobie Mirage drive so I can hold position relatively easily. In the areas I might want to anchor up I can usually find a loose mooring (or another vessel to tie off to on the odd occasion - but generally not done). It is another thing to carry. I use the drift to my advantage. Line up with the wind and it allows me to cast ahead and cover an area pretty thoroughly. Don't buy one until you actually start to come across situations where you realise you actually do want an anchor.

What is your logic in getting a trolling motor? From past posts you are young enough not to need it. Getting out there on the kayak is one way of combining exercise and fishing. A trolling motor and battery is another thing to manage (space for example). Another two items to carry. Is that specific kayak set up for the electric motor or will you have to make brackets. Get out there first before putting on all the bells and whistles. If you want a powered kayak then look at an old hobie or similar with pedal power. By the time you buy the kayak, the trolling motor, the battery, the charger, the mounting system the cost will be similar.

Storage solutions depends on your kayak. I have easily accessible hatches. I have a drink bottle holder pocket in which I drop odds and ends. Mine comes with rod holders to which I added a third. I bring a handy pail (squat Bunnings 11.1L bucket complete with lid) for dropping freshly caught squid into so I don't get squid ink onto my kayak - hard to clean off. For the simple kayaks the milk crate is the classic solution. You can fasten your rod holders to it. Occy strap it to the kayak and store stuff in it. Esky won't be overly compact - saw a guy with a Pro Angler out on Middle Harbour on the weekend with an esky but those things feel like they are large enough to land a small plane on. I asked if he'd passed up on the bbq option for the back of his kayak.

Get the starting package. Get out there. Get experience. If you work out a need then fill it. This is coming from a guy that does take a lot out there as I'd rather have something and not need it than not have it with me and then need it.

Regards,

Derek

 

Edited January 31, 2020 by DerekD

[Will Wright]

On 1/27/2020 at 8:37 PM, DerekD said:

Hi Will,

You have asked some questions which were going to be covered in my Kayak fishing 102 article - practical fishing from a kayak. Still working on that one.

The fishfinder does allow me to check out structure. It allows me to see the schools of baitfish. It allows me to hold to a specific depth when using my poor man's downrigger. It also has a GPS so lets me find marks again - even if I know the general area. It gives me something to watch when not much is happening and I'm heading from A to B. I've had a few times when I've seen something interesting on the fishfinder and then I hook up. Would I say I could do without it - YES! Most of the time I like to chase the pelagics so I'm looking at the surface activity. I still take it out most times because I keep learning by using it. The head unit is waterproof to a meter or two - I wash the salt off under the kitchen sink when I get home. The batteries I use are not waterproof - hence I have mine in a hollowed out Hobie tub. As per my article the wires on the system have heatshrink on them at the joins as I expect them to get wet. As soon as I get home the small battery I use gets hooked up to the JayCar Smart charger which drops down to a trickle charge when the battery is charged.

I expect an anchor to be a waste of time for the majority of situations. I have a Hobie Mirage drive so I can hold position relatively easily. In the areas I might want to anchor up I can usually find a lose mooring (or another vessel to tie off to on the odd occasion - but generally not done). It is another thing to carry. I use the drift to my advantage. Line up with the wind and it allows me to cast ahead and cover an area pretty thoroughly. Don't buy one until you actually start to come across situations where you realise you actually do want an anchor.

What is your logic in getting a trolling motor? From past posts you are young enough not to need it. Getting out there on the kayak is one way of combining exercise and fishing. A trolling motor and battery is another thing to manage (space for example). Another two items to carry. Is that specific kayak set up for the electric motor or will you have to make brackets. Get out there first before putting on all the bells and whistles. If you want a powered kayak then look at an old hobie or similar with pedal power. By the time you buy the kayak, the trolling motor, the battery, the charger, the mounting system the cost will be similar.

Storage solutions depends on your kayak. I have easily accessible hatches. I have a drink bottle holder pocket in which I drop odds and ends. Mine comes with rod holders to which I added a third. I bring a handy pail (squat Bunnings 11.1L bucket complete with lid) for dropping freshly caught squid into so I don't get squid ink onto my kayak - hard to clean off. For the simple kayaks the milk crate is the classic solution. You can fasten your rod holders to it. Occy strap it to the kayak and store stuff in it. Esky won't be overly compact - saw a guy with a Pro Angler out on Middle Harbour on the weekend with an esky but those things feel like they are large enough to land a small plane on. I asked if he'd passed up on the bbq option for the back of his kayak.

Get the starting package. Get out there. Get experience. If you work out a need then fill it. This is coming from a guy that does take a lot out there as I'd rather have something and not need it than not have it with me and then need it.

Regards,

Derek

 

Hi Derek, I have bought the kayak and taken it out once. I see your point of take it out first before you kit it out. Thanks for the info!

[DerekD]

6 hours ago, Will Wright said:

Hi Derek, I have bought the kayak and taken it out once. I see your point of take it out first before you kit it out. Thanks for the info!

Hi Will,

Congratulations and welcome to the Kayak Krew! You should have a fantastic time out on the water and probably overdo it but you will be smiling every time you head out.

I get and appreciate wanting to do as much research as possible (yes I am also one of those) but there is a point when you get out there and "Just do it". :-)

Looking forward to hearing about your adventures.

Regards,

Derek