When you first start out kayak fishing and you are in the process of purchasing a kayak, one of the first questions you ask yourself is what style of kayak are you interested in, “do I want a sit-on-top or a sit-in?” This question for me was a no-brainer for many years and was usually answered with, “duh, I want a sit-on-top, I’m going to be mostly inshore fishing.”
That all changed for me the moment I took a Kilroy on a demo paddle. It was fast and stable, a rare combination in a kayak; and at twelve foot long, it wasn’t a burden to car-top. It was exactly what I had been looking for and I wondered if I had been missing out all these years by putting blinders on in my quest for the perfect SOT kayak.
I’m not suggesting the Kilroy is perfect, lately I’ve been paddling a Kraken 13.5 mostly, but I am trying to suggest that if you plan on buying a new kayak just have an open mind. Sometimes the results will surprise you. Too often folks have their minds made up with what they think they need and will ignore what is probably the best fit for them – it’s a big reason why the number one thing a new kayak fisherman will hear is “demo, demo, demo!”
So as this demo season rolls around I want to give a bit of advice to anyone out there interested in buying a new kayak – try out as many kayaks as you can and don’t limit yourself to just SOTs, or pedal boats, or hybrids, or even one brand.
I was able to get out and fish for the fourth weekend in a row, which is surely some sort of a record for toddler dads. I can’t thank my wife enough for that. Sunday’s forecast was too good to pass up so I headed to the coast for more bull red action. What has been nice about each one of these trips is that I’ve been able to explore new areas, fish new water, and still find some success at each new spot.
There was frost on the truck and the yak as I left the driveway early yesterday morning, temps had made it in to the 40s though by the time I arrived at the launch. It was chilly to start, but with a nearly three mile paddle ahead of me to get to where I wanted to fish, it never really felt that cold. I was appropriately dressed and was taking off layers before I even got in the kayak.
On my paddle I couldn’t help but notice that the marsh in January, despite the cold, is so full of life. Nutria, otter, dolphin, and countless numbers of birds had their morning activities interrupted as I glided through their habitat.
The tide was very low and the water was much dirtier than it was last weekend, but winds were light and it was a bluebird sky, so conditions would be favorable for some sightfishing, I just needed the sun to get up and warm up the flats. Surprisingly, it did not take long for me to see some activity.
I was in a canal making my way toward a large bay when I noticed a lot of nervous baitfish near the opening of a marsh drain. There was a big red chasing bait in some super skinny water along the bank of the canal. I had a rod in front of me still rigged from last week’s Minimalist Challenge and was able to flip a Vortex shad in front of the red and he inhaled it. This was a fairly narrow canal an without much of an area to run the fight was actually much shorter than you’d imagine, maybe just 5-10 minutes.
This red measured just over 42″ and I was back in the 40s for the first time in a long time. This red had to be fresh from the Gulf as it was covered in sea lice.
I put the spinning rod down for the rest of the day and picked up the fly rod. The next few hours were pretty quiet. Not many fish spotted and quite a few rejections from those I did see and was able to lay a cast in front of. Conditions were at their best about mid-day and things started to pick up. I made it to a point in a bay that was surrounded by shallow flats. The flats were loaded with skittish redfish. I caught a few fish, but had dozens of refusals, it was a very humbling experience to say the least.
I began the long paddle back to the launch and was a little bummed that I didn’t tie into any bigger bulls with the fly rod while conditions were at their best (Biggest I had caught on the fly so far was 31.75″). I had a few chances, but just couldn’t connect. As I made it back into the same canal I caught the big red to start the day, a chance at redemption floated to the surface. After a good cast and a slow twitch, the line came tight and I had caught another bull.
This fish was a fat 35.5″, which is the same length as the big red I had caught on my trip with Hays. I think this fish was probably heavier though, he had a full belly.
It was a great way to end the day and really made that three mile paddle back to the launch much easier.
I fished a tournament this past weekend, Bayou Coast’s Minimalist Challenge. It’s got a unique format as they provide you with the tackle you’ll use for the day. Five soft plastics, five jigheads and a topwater is what was provided. The goal is to catch and weigh as many legal trout, redfish and flounder as you possibly can.
This has never been my favorite tournament, not because of the provided tackle part, I actually like that – it simplifies things. Rather, I hate that I may actually have to keep forty fish, which will likely never happen, but I hate the idea – that would be some day though right!
We had a shotgun launch at 6:00am from Leeville and 125 kayak anglers spread out across the adjacent marsh. I knew early on I wanted to put some distance between myself and the launch because frankly I don’t like fishing with a crowd.
I made my first stop on the backside of an island where a trenasse emptied into a larger bayou. Clear, moving water was being swept around both sides of the island and my first cast toward the island was inhaled by a junior bull of about 32″. It took a while for me to figure that out though because he shook his head like a big trout and nearly gave me a heart attack.
After a good fight and a few quick pics I sent him on his way (can only keep slot reds for BCKFC tourneys). A few more casts and I soon began catching trout. In short time I had six in the boat, from 14-16″, and then I found out I hadn’t put enough distance between myself and the launch. Some dude had the nerve to paddle right through the spot I was catching fish even after I told him to come around behind me. I was displeased so I pushed further. As I got further I decided to sabotage my tournament plans and target bull reds. The weather was too nice not to. Winds were light, water was clear, the tide was right, and we’d have plenty of chances for bright sun.
I paddle-poled my way through a lot of good looking water looking for redfish sign, but really wasn’t seeing much of anything. Finally as I was working the flat of a long, wide bayou I started to see some activity. At the mouth of a smaller trenasse I caught one that went about 33″.
Then later I spotted a pair of bulls cruising the shore and was able to pick off the closer one with a good cast. He went about 35″.
Each of these fish I tagged and sent on their way. They weren’t tournament fish, but I didn’t really care. When conditions allow for sightfishing bull reds, that’s what I want to be doing, so that’s what I did. I hooked up with another fish after I rounded the corner into a cut and saw him cruising down the shoreline toward me. I didn’t get him to the boat though as he eventually spit the hook. He was another junior bull, not a monster like I was hoping.
I finally decided enough had been enough and I may as well weigh what I had, so I made my way back toward the weigh-in, figuring I might be able to run into some slot fish along the way.
I did run into slot fish, that were way up in the skinny water ponds, but they were the spookiest fish I’ve ever encountered, I couldn’t get them to bite to save my life. It is a strange day when sightfishing bull reds is easier than catching slot fish.
I picked up a few more trout under the Leeville bridge along the way, but really I had already conceded the tournament. It was a sabotage and a successful one at that and I would do it again if given the opportunity – it was a lot of fun.
Mountains to Marsh 