flyboy7

My boat looks like a banana. I wonder if that is bad?

Welcome to the site Paul ! I am a kayak angler and have spent the last couple of years sharpening my salmon catching techniques on the kayak. It can be quite a challenge when the fish move out to deep water in the summer. Good luck!

That was a long time ago so I can't remember the depth at which I was trolling - probably between 65 and 85' down at that time of year. I use a Fish Hawk TD to locate the thermocline and use a dipsy diver to get my lure (usually flasher/fly) down to depth.

Fishing Report Your Name / Boat Name: yellow kayak ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s): 9/07 Time on Water: 6 hrs Weather/Temp: sunny, warm Wind Speed/Direction: <10 SE/NE Waves: <1' Surface Temp: 76 Location: Sandy Creek =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 1 Total Boated: 1 Species Breakdown: King Hot Lure: Spin Doctor & home-made fly Trolling Speed: 2.2 Down Speed: ? Boat Depth: 80 - 180 Lure Depth: 90 ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== According to the weather forecast, today was to be the only good day for kayak fishing the big lake. So, I took a vacation day and headed out. I was on the water 1/2 hour before sunrise and made it to 75 FOW by the time the sun started to peek over the horizon. I stopped and took a temp reading at 80 FOW - 50 degrees was about 50'down. I marked most of the fish around 88 FOW between 40' and the bottom. I couldn't get anything to bite so I angled NW. At 120 FOW I hooked the only fish of the day down about 90' on my dipsy/flasher/fly. It was a dark king around 15 lbs. After a short revival, I let him go. I continued to troll but couldn't get any more action. I paddled in and out from 80 to 180 FOW. Most of what I marked was right aroud 85 to 90 FOW. I did see two salmon porpoise before sunrise when I was in shallow and just starting the day. Because of that, I flat line trolled a J-plug on my way out to deeper water. But, I didn't spend much time inside. I was in a hurry to get to deeper water. I'll try for the inside fish later!

Holy cow! Nice fish!! Great job!

Thanks for the pic Steve! Looks good!

Fishing Report Your Name / Boat Name: Yellow Kayak ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Time on Water: 5:30-11:30 AM Weather/Temp: sunny 68 at sunrise 85? by noon Wind Speed/Direction: light & variable Waves: calm enough for kayaking Location: North of Sandy Creek =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 4 Total Boated: 2 Species Breakdown: king, steelhead Hot Lure: spin doctor flasher & home-made fly Trolling Speed: 1.9 - 2.5 Down Speed: ? Boat Depth: 75 - 150 Lure Depth: 70 ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== I saw a good weather report and took a day of vacation to troll in my kayak. I started at around 100 FOW and trolled North East. When I heard Steve (Lund SSS) on the radio say that he was on kings around 100 FOW near a visible break in surface texture, I knew I was in a good location. At around 110 FOW I hooked into a drag screamer. I guess that I horsed it too much because he bent the hook and got off. Not long after, I hooked into and landed the largest fish of my life, a 38" king. My digital scale measured 23 lb with his tail and a few inches of meat in the water. I knew he was heavier than that and decided to keep him. Later when I got home he weighed in at 26.0 lb. I took a couple of photos but was afraid that they weren't any good. So I called Steve on the radio and asked if he could take a photo, which he did. Thanks Steve, I'd like to see that shot some time if it came out OK. Later I landed a 9 lb steelhead in 135 FOW. It was a good day - the fish were feeding. From what I heard on the radio, everybody was into fish. Despite surface temp in the 70's, I saw bait jumping out of the water and salmon slashing at them on the surface between 75 FOW & 135 FOW on numerous occassions. I wish that I had a spinning rod on board!

Great report Lou! Great story too!!

It was good to meet you at the dock yesterday. I had a slow day fishing but you can't beat the weather that we had!

Matt, I always have my radio on when I am on the water. I am out when calm weather allows. Maybe my squelch is set too high. If you see my gray Escape in the parking lot (kayak rack with blue pool noodles) you know I am somewhere. Give a shout. I was actually there the last two Wednesdays. I can't go out too far in the evenings since it takes a while to get back to shore. Long distance trips have to start in the AM. Tight lines!

I'll try to answer all the questions and comments. The kayak is a Liquid Logic Manta Ray 14.5'. Native Watercraft now makes them. Yes that is 244 FOW. My Humminbird GPS/fish finder said I was 4.0 miles from the mouth of Sandy Creek when I decided to head back later from 250 FOW. I don't consider myself brave. I take many precautions such as: I use a on top style kayak which can be easily reentered if I fall out (I have practiced this too), paddle leash so my paddle stays with me if I were to drop it or flip, bright colored kayak with big orange flag for visibility to boaters, always wear a PFD, GPS, compass, waterproof hand held VHF radio (leashed to the kayak), cell phone in dry compartment, I double check the weather forecasts and won't go out if conditions even look iffy, I make sure someone knows where I am launching from and when I plan to be home. Yes it was a blast as I ended up landing 2 of 4 in 6 hours of paddling (the other fish landed was a 10 lb coho at 215 FOW). I am sure the Sandy Creek boaters will see more of me this summer.

I am not sure how long the fight lasted. It pulled a couple hundred feet of drag a few times and made a few jumps. I would guess maybe 5 minutes.

Kayak fishing out of Sandy Creek. The T-storm in the background was over Churchville and heading South East.

Way to go Lou! Thanks for the report..

This 20 lb king that ate my fly today kayak fishing out of Sandy Creek.

Fishing Report Your Name / Boat Name: Yellow kayak ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s):6/6/2012 Time on Water:4:30 to sunset Weather/Temp:61 degrees calm Wind Speed/Direction:no wind Waves: 0 Surface Temp: 56 =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 5 Total Boated:5 Species Breakdown: 4 lakers, 1 steelhead Hot Lure: flasher & homemade fly Trolling Speed: 2.2 Down Speed:? Boat Depth: 38-100' Lure Depth: near bottom & on surface ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== Trolled for a few hours this evening on my kayak. Landed a small steelhead in 38 FOW on a flat-line surface spoon. Landed 4 lakers in 70 FOW. Made it to 110 FOW but didn't mark anything deeper than about 75 FOW. I paddled back to around 70 FOW and got back into fish. Didn't have time to explore the deeper waters.

Way to go Bruce and Fred!

I put a J-plug on my trolling rod and a spoon on my spinning rod and trolled in my kayak early this morning at the mouth of Sandy Creek from about 6 to 20 FOW. I hooked into two line screaming male salmon, first on the spoon then a while later on the J-plug. The first one was the biggest but I lost him on my second attempt to net him. I guess using a single circle hook was a bad idea. That fish was towing me toward Canada at 2.5 mph according to my GPS. Later, I managed to land the salmon that ate my J-plug. He weighed in at 20 lbs and measured 37" long. After the early morning bite slowed down, I checked out deeper water but didn't find anything hungry out to 100 FOW. The wind picked up and sent me and my kayaking buddies back to shore.

Nice work Rob!

Nice report Lou! Thanks..

Great job Lou! Congrats..

Jeff, I didn't catch anything on Monday night when you saw me. I made it to 150 FOW but didn't mark much. I think those waves were getting to about two feet high. It's better to keep the paddle in my hands and have control of my kayak in conditions like that. Maybe not catching anything was a good thing. Jude

Fishing Report Your Name / Boat Name: Flyboy/yellow kayak ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s):6/26 Time on Water:5:00 PM - 8:30 PM Weather/Temp: partly cloudy 70 degrees Wind Speed/Direction: NW 7 mph Waves: <1 ft Surface Temp: 61 Location: north of Sandy Creek. 75 - 160 FOW =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 4 Total Boated: 3 Species Breakdown: laker, king, Atlantic, steelhead Hot Lure: NK28 Green/black Boat Depth: 75 - 160 FOW Lure Depth: 50' ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== With the winds calming down this evening, my friend Andrew and I took our kayaks out for some trolling. I got there before he did and decided to scout the water and try to find the fish. I passed a good debris line at about 60 FOW. I didn't mark any fish so I kept paddling north. I didn't mark anything more as I continued out, so turned around when I reached 160 FOW. I knew Andrew would be there soon and I had told him to paddle out to the scum line at 60 FOW and I'd meet him there. I picked up a skipper king at 110 FOW, trolling my dipsy at about 50' down. I met Andrew when I got back to the scum line, was now about 90 FOW. We trolled around that area for the rest of the evening - between 75 and 110 FOW. Andrew was the first to land one in that area - a nice steelhead. Not long after, I landed a good sized laker. We noticed some fish hitting bait on the surface near the scum line. So, I did something that I don't normally do - I put out a second rod. This one had a spoon flat lined out the back. I know better than to have more than one rod out on a kayak. Well, I hooked up on my first drag-screamer on the kayak. The Atlantic made several good jumps before I got it close to the kayak. At that point, I realized that the second line was a tangle hazard waiting to happen since I was drifting towards it as I battled the fish (motor shuts off when I set down the paddle). I put fish-on rod in the rod holder and reeled in the other line as quickly as I could. Lucky for me, the single hook stayed in the salmon's mouth (I don't like having a fish flopping around on my lap with a treble hook in it's mouth) and I landed my first "real" salmon in the kayak. It was 30" long and weighed 17 lbs.

Dre, I have not yet caught a big salmon. My biggest fish to date on the kayak was a 15 pound blue fish on the Atlantic Ocean. And yes, big fish do give you a tow. Got balls? I do not consider myself to be a risk taker. I take many precautions and carry safety equipment. First, my kayak is a sit-on-top kayak. That means I am not trapped down inside of it. And it has scupper holes that drain water back out to the lake. If waves splash in, the water drains right back out to the lake. And, if I were to flip over and fall out, I can flip the yak upright and crawl back in – similar to how you pull yourself out of the deep end of a pool. I have tried this and it is easy (at least in calm water). I keep my paddle leashed to the kayak so I don’t lose my only mode of transportation if I drop it while preoccupied with fishing. I wouldn’t go far out on the big lake without a marine radio, compass and GPS. My GPS is built into my fish finder. I also use a bright colored kayak and wear a bright colored vest and fly a flag. I want to be visible to other boats. And of course, the weatherman keeps me off the big lake more than anything... Here is a recent photo of my boat...

Fishing Report Your Name / Boat Name: Flyboy7 / kayak ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s): Time on Water: 4:30 PM Weather/Temp: Sunny Wind Speed/Direction: 7 mph east Waves: 1 foot Surface Temp: 60 Location: Sandy Creek =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 6 Total Boated: 5 Species Breakdown: Lake trout Trolling Speed: 1.8 to 3 mph Boat Depth: 60 - 120 ft Lure Depth: 50 ft ==================== I launched my kayak at Sandy Creek after work and began paddling north. I marked bait and fish at about 50 FOW. So, I began trolling one green and black spoon behind a flasher and magnum dipsy diver (pardon me for not knowing what kind of spoon it was, I am primarily a fly fisherman) about 50' down. Jeremy and Lou, whom I had met at the launch, were working their boat out at 120 or 130 FOW. I figured I'd troll out that far and turn around if nothing happened. I marked nothing as I progressed but hooked into a lake trout at 120'. Being in a kayak, I don't have the luxury of motoring around until I mark fish. So, I decided to turn the kayak around and head back to the 50' to 60' water where I had marked fish on my way out. As soon as I reached 60' a 13 lb laker hooked up. I have attached a photo of that one. I landed 3 more lakers after that. Although I still had at least an hour more of trolling time I was getting tired from fighting the wind and pulling that big dipsy, and decided to call it a night. ====================