Kayak Fishin

Yep. Though nothing can be completely planned for, both times I've been hooked in the hand I had to work the hook along its trajectory and out the other side to cut the barb, then back the hook back out. Now if that's not an option yes things can get complicated. And cutting a whopper popper 110 off your hand while the hook is stuck makes it far less annoying.

I fish because I believe it's a spiritual connection. It's one of the things in my life that without question, without hesitation, feels right. It's a natural stress reliever. I love observing everything that is nature while I'm out. It is this exact passion that keeps me out of the competitive side of fishing. Though I'm very blessed to have great gear that makes my explorations all that much more enjoyable, I refuse to mix my happy place with the tournament circuit.

Does anybody rely on a Leatherman (or another brand) style multi tool for cutting fish hooks in the event you end up hooking yourself? I'm not talking a dedicated pair of snips or anything like that. Any testimonials? Any models that work better than others? Any size hook you found you couldn't cut? The wire cutters on my Leatherman Wave (both the light and heavy duty sections) seem a bit soft so I just thought I'd ask. Thanks.

I actually somewhat share the opinion of a few of my fellow millenials. Wow, hurts to even say that. Maybe the simple fact is we have cultivated a society and a way of life that is so far from the way human beings were meant to live. Maybe that just is what it is. Deep down, you can’t strip yourself of your nature. Seriously… jobs, smart phones, internet, 24/7 opinion news, politics, religion, health issues, our financial system, etc. Is it any wonder we love to fish??

Coolest thing I've ever seen... I was maybe 10 years old at my aunt's lake house. Morning fishing on the dock. Bright, calm and sunny morning. Short early summer weeds. Could see 100 feet out. My brother had a bowfin that looked like it was running from the cops come and absolutely destroy his chartreuse baby 1- crank bait. The bait literally shattered in slow motion in the water. Since then whenever I go there, I'll spend some time targeting them. They are very under rated fish. Especially in a kayak!

Any thoughts on these guys? Any personally experienced pros/cons? Were you bank/wade/boat fishing? And, go!

Pretty great replies guys. Thanks for all the input. The reason I posed the question is my record is 4.5 hours one way, stay the night, leave by noon and go 4.5 hours home. Now I've done the same trip with a full day in the middle and it made a world of difference. The one night trip is doable for sure, but man it's exhausting, especially since it's a wading excursion. Glad to see I'm not crazy though!

I was thinking that question too! I’ve done 4-4.5 hours one way to fish a hot spot for an overnight trip, but left at like 5am. Fishing before 10am, exhausted myself the rest of the day wading, went to bed, fished until noon, drove home. An absolute grind, but its doable. Probably the farthest ride i’ll do for an overnighter.

Just curious what the community thinks on this topic! If you were to leave early in the morning, stay the night, and be back the next day around dinner time, what would your cutoff be for drive time? 2, 3, 4 hours one way? Longer? For the sake of argument let’s say you know the spot usually produces fish and your lodging is not a dump. What’s the longest you’ve traveled for an overnight trip? What amount of time isn’t worth it for you? Let’s even consider today’s gas prices! What do we think?

Too funny you say that! I saw these on my last trip to bass pro and my wife goes "If I were a fish I'd eat that." I have a 3" on a jig head tied on one of my spinning rods currently. Haven't actually fished it yet but they do look awesome. I'll bring them along.

Well I am indeed going brookie fishing next week. Plan to go with small mepps, 2" curly tail grubs, floating rapalas, berkely gulp style soft plastic minnows, and the float and fly. Packing very light as I plan on trekking off the beaten path!!

Thanks everybody! Such great answers.

So those will sink, right? Slowly? How big? Do they have weights or just hook sizes?

Very cool, thanks guys. I have a little creek box myself but never really ventured out of the inline spinners for the trout. I was getting so many hits, but I wonder if something else will hook more fish. With the float, do you just do an unweighted bobber with a couple feet of line and a fly/hair jig? I won't need a slip bobber as the creeks are a foot deep. I'd like to try this technique too!

Hey all. We all know that when it comes to spin fishing you can't beat inline spinners for small creek trout. However, I find that my hookup ratio is pretty weak sometimes. They are super aggressive and when they hit, they hit hard. Don't get me wrong though, I catch a ton of browns and brooks on mepps #0, #1, and other brands, but I feel like a lot of them either short strike or that the treble hook is holding me back. Does anybody fish anything else for trout? Would a 1/32 or 1/64 ounce jig with a 1-2" curly tail grub or something like that work well? Tiny balsa wood type crank baits? A few fly fishing flies tied inline? That'd be pretty cool to try. Just thought I'd ask. Might be able to take a trip to some trout water in a week or two. Thanks.

Hey guys, I've seen it done before, but not with enough attention to detail. Any of you ever swap out the trebles that come stock on mepps spinners? If I were to change some #2 and #1 mepps to single hooks for trout, what style hook am I looking for? Any size recommendations? Any pics of ones you've done? Thanks.

I added a third front line spinning combo. Just ordered everything. Here's what I use primarily: 1) 6'6 st croix avid, medium fast, 2500 stradic FL. 2) 6'6 st croix avid, medium light fast, 2500 stradic ci4+. And NOW: 3) 6'0 st croix avid, light fast, stradic ci4+ 1000. It's going to be my stream trout and panfish combo. Thoughts?

Yeah true. But the one time I was baaarely moving. Still haven't gotten back out to test it though.

Appreciate the tip. The transducer is mounted on the dry pod of my kayak and it looks pretty darn straight. I'll check it out again next time im out. This was literally all my mindset haha. I want to be able to see my bait like that!

I'll triple check the angle. Glad it works for somebody though so I know it can be done! Mine does have the flasher but I'm not sure about it being available in split screen. I run traditional and downscan for separation. Thanks. I think my gain was around 70. Good to know!

Well that's exactly what I wanted to try!

I tried the 200 khz too. On the traditional sonar screen. No down scan. One guy I watched had the same fish finder. Other guys have bigger screens.

I tried using my garmin to vertical jig out of my kayak in about 25 feet of water today. I was marking fish like crazy. My problem is, it's really not giving me returns on jigs to watch it sink to the bottom on the screen. I messed with the frequency, gain, color schemes, and all settings. I see some guys on youtube using the tiniest baits and their fish finders detect the bait. I had to use about a 4 inch grub on a 1/4 oz head to get any kind of continuous detection. Anything I'm missing? Anyone experience anything similar? I was using a 1/8th oz jighead and a 1.5" minnow imitator and i couldn't find my bait on the screen. Even on 77 khz. Thanks.

Heading up there in two weeks!

St croix premier split grip casting rods are on clearance at bass pro and cabelas. I just got a 7' MHF for $149.97. Then I had a coupon from the trade in! I will be passing on the new victory rods.