More kayak fishing for salmon and trout off of Sandy Creek

[BlueDaksi]

Fishing Report

Your Name / Boat Name:

Paul Shipman / Stealth 14 by Malibu Kayaks

==============

TRIP OVERVIEW

==============

Date(s): 30-31 July

Time on Water: 10 counting both days

Weather/Temp: 70s

Wind Speed/Direction: 10 mph NW on Friday, steady out of the East on Saturday

Waves: 1-2 ft

Surface Temp: 72-74

Location: 1.5 - 2.0 miles off of Sandy Creek

LAT/LONG (GPS Cords):

===============

FISHING RESULTS

===============

Total Hits: 9

Total Boated: 5

Species Breakdown: 3 kings, 1 rainbow, 1 brown

Hot Lure: Northern King spoons

Trolling Speed: 2.2 mph

Down Speed:

Boat Depth: 100 - 150 ft

Lure Depth: 70 - 100 ft

====================

SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS

====================

I was prepared to chalk up my first success at trolling for trout and salmon on Lake Ontario a few days ago as beginners luck. However, Jude and I went out Friday for just under four hours and had some success during mid-day and reportedly slow fishing conditions. I caught another king salmon - a bit larger than my last, but not much. Jude caught a nice rainbow trout.

We caught these both about 2.25 miles out in the lake north of Sandy Creek in 150 feet of water. We were using 001 Dipsy Divers trolling 100 ft down with Northern King 4-in spoons.

Nice rainbow trout that Jude caught.

Another small king salmon - I'm told the big ones will be showing up soon...

We went out again early morning yesterday. Jude caught two similar-sized king salmon right off the bat about 2 miles out. I didn't catch anything until we were about to head in and had paddled over 10 miles. I was happy to pull in this nice brown trout after all that work in rough water and steady easterly winds. I love to paddle and fight powerful fish. I'm finding this type of fishing to be challenging and a heck of a lot of fun.

[LongLine]

WTG. My hat's off to you guys.

Please be carefull out there. The little guys generally come up & fight near the surface, sometimes jumping, but the bigger ones will generally come up to the boat then dig right for the bottom.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

ps. that king was stocked.

[gokudl3]

you guys are my heros, i have no boat. Wish i had a kayak!

[nbajack70]

That's awesome

[Fly n Fish]

Paul,

I started doing the same thing two years ago on my Big Game ocean kayak out of Sandy Creek. I would like to meet up with some time when you head out. Here is a picture from 2 years ago trolling J-Plugs at the end of September in 15ft of water, on 8lb test he took me about 40 min to bring in.

[1fish2fish]

Chinooker,

Nice fish. It looks like a lot of fun!! But tell me you weren't wearing those waders while you were in that kayak!! You must be really confident of your kayaking skills!

Jim

[Iceman]

You could be hard to see on the water if it is rough, best of luck, hope no one runs over you!

[HOOKEM & COOKEM]

I gotta ask a silly question. If you are a few miles out in Lake Ontario and mother nature calls what do you do? It's not like you can get back into shore real quick or anything. Actually I think this question is better to ponder than to give an answer, but it was just something that came to mind.

Nice fish keep up the good work. I can wait to hear the report when you catch a 30 lber out there!

[Broadhorizons]

Way to go!

[slimyfish]

you guys are gonna have fun in sept, trust me............

[bloodshot]

When u gotta go, just let it go!!!!

[BlueDaksi]

WTG. My hat's off to you guys.

Please be carefull out there. The little guys generally come up & fight near the surface, sometimes jumping, but the bigger ones will generally come up to the boat then dig right for the bottom.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

ps. that king was stocked.

You could be hard to see on the water if it is rough, best of luck, hope no one runs over you!

While this is new kind of fishing to us, this is not stretching the capabilities of the sit-on-top fishing kayaks that we have, which were designed and have been used for the past few years in blue-water applications. Believe it or not, I have friends who have caught fish weighing into the hundreds of pounds from kayaks similar to ours. I can stand on mine and have a lot of mobility to move around on the deck. If I take water over the top, it runs out through scupper holes instead of swamping. I'd get wet, but stay afloat. If I fall off, I can also climb back on. This kind of fishing is definitely not safe for sit-inside recreation kayaks though - once you get swamped or dumped in open water, there is really no way to recover.

I share the concern about visibility, and we are taking all the precautions that we can by having the proper safety equipment and by taking care to watch for other boaters. We have Visi-poles and brightly colored kayaks to help others see us. Our top cruising speed in these kayaks is around 5mph or just over 4.3 knots - trolling at 2.2-2.5 mph is right in our sweet spot.

We've found that once we are out a ways, we really had no problem watching out for the larger boats and trying to respectfully cooperatively troll through shared fishing areas. Folks seemed to be able to see us. The boaters that make us the most nervous are the pleasure craft that speed along the shoreline...

I know that some are out there trying to run a business and the last thing we want to do is interfere with a great day out on the water due to our ignorance. Any tips on ways that we can safely share the water would be welcomed.

The folks I've interacted with here and out on the boat ramps with bigger boats have all been great. Since I moved up here from Oklahoma 7 years ago, it's been fantastic to learn about experience the incredible fisheries that exist in Western NY. It truly is a treasure and by far, most of the folks I've met out on the water have been first-rate.

you guys are my heros, i have no boat. Wish i had a kayak!

That's awesome

Thanks! I'm always happy to share the sport of kayak fishing with other anglers. You can get into a very capable sit-on-top fishing kayak for under $1000. Gas is cheap too!

I gotta ask a silly question. If you are a few miles out in Lake Ontario and mother nature calls what do you do? It's not like you can get back into shore real quick or anything. Actually I think this question is better to ponder than to give an answer, but it was just something that came to mind.

Nice fish keep up the good work. I can wait to hear the report when you catch a 30 lber out there!

When u gotta go, just let it go!!!!

LOL, Our mobility and ability to move around on top of our kayaks would surprise you and so we have no problem taking care of our need much in the same manner that anybody would in any small watercraft.

Way to go!

you guys are gonna have fun in sept, trust me............

Thanks! Can't wait to catch my first really big one from a kayak like Chinooker (Sending pm soon) - wow!

[flyboy7]

While this is new kind of fishing to us, this is not stretching the capabilities of the sit-on-top fishing kayaks that we have, which were designed and have been used for the past few years in blue-water applications. Believe it or not, I have friends who have caught fish weighing into the hundreds of pounds from kayaks similar to ours. I can stand on mine and have a lot of mobility to move around on the deck. If I take water over the top, it runs out through scupper holes instead of swamping. I'd get wet, but stay afloat. If I fall off, I can also climb back on. This kind of fishing is definitely not safe for sit-inside recreation kayaks though - once you get swamped or dumped in open water, there is really no way to recover.

I share the concern about visibility, and we are taking all the precautions that we can by having the proper safety equipment and by taking care to watch for other boaters. We have Visi-poles and brightly colored kayaks to help others see us. Our top cruising speed in these kayaks is around 5mph or just over 4.3 knots - trolling at 2.2-2.5 mph is right in our sweet spot.

We've found that once we are out a ways, we really had no problem watching out for the larger boats and trying to respectfully cooperatively troll through shared fishing areas. Folks seemed to be able to see us. The boaters that make us the most nervous are the pleasure craft that speed along the shoreline...

I know that some are out there trying to run a business and the last thing we want to do is interfere with a great day out on the water due to our ignorance. Any tips on ways that we can safely share the water would be welcomed.

The folks I've interacted with here and out on the boat ramps with bigger boats have all been great. Since I moved up here from Oklahoma 7 years ago, it's been fantastic to learn about experience the incredible fisheries that exist in Western NY. It truly is a treasure and by far, most of the folks I've met out on the water have been first-rate.

Well said Paul. Safety, preparedness and boating rules are always of primary concern for me as a kayak angler. The same things apply as when I ran a power boat. I won't go on the water without a GPS, compass, marine radio, life jacket, lights & whistle.

[statick2]

I was happy when I got directed to this site and specifically this post. I plan on adding a couple rod holders and a fish finder to my Prowler 13 with the intent of doing what you guys are. I knew there had to be some people out there trolling for kings out of the yak. I have a few questions for you:

How many rods are you running?

What type of setup are you using? Is it just like you were trolling on a powered boat? (ie dipsy/flasher/fly or spoon, or J-plugs) Have you tried the lure Jensen divers?

Do you find it difficult to track straight with the increased resistance of the bigger set-ups/is it easier to run the same thing on both sides?

And ill gladly take any other info or tips from someone who has already been out on the big water.

Thanks in advance for the info.

[flyboy7]

I was happy when I got directed to this site and specifically this post. I plan on adding a couple rod holders and a fish finder to my Prowler 13 with the intent of doing what you guys are. I knew there had to be some people out there trolling for kings out of the yak. I have a few questions for you:

How many rods are you running?

What type of setup are you using? Is it just like you were trolling on a powered boat? (ie dipsy/flasher/fly or spoon, or J-plugs) Have you tried the lure Jensen divers?

Do you find it difficult to track straight with the increased resistance of the bigger set-ups/is it easier to run the same thing on both sides?

I only run one rod. The reason is that I don't want to deal with the possible issues when a fish gets on and lines from multiple rods start to cross or drag on the bottom. And there is nobody else to hand the other rod to if both rods hook into fish. I like to use a rod holder in front of me that keeps the rod tip out to the starboard side. This does provide some tendency for the boat to pull to the right but I can compensate by paddling harder on that side. If the wind and dipsy both pull me in the same direction, I will sometimes put the rod in one of the flush-mount holders that I have behind me. That eliminates the sideways pull but puts the rod out of sight which I don't prefer (yesterday I unknowingly dragged a small king salmon for a long distance because the rod was behind me and he was too small to take out drag).

I pull a dipsy diver set at "0". I have one that dives to 40' and one that dives to 100'. (still building my arsenal as this is all new to me since I am primarily a fly fisherman). Behind the dipsy, I have been using an 8" Spin Doctor followed by a spoon or fly. I use a Shakespeare line counter to get the desired line length. I use Power Pro braid line and fluorocarbon leaders. I have a Humminbird fishfinder with GPS. This provides depth, fish/bait location, boat speed, surface temp and of course my position relative to earth. I use a Vexilar Deptherm thermometer to measure temp at depth (I have to stop moving and fishing to take depth temps). I permanently attached a compass to the console. I carry a hand-held marine radio.

For the most part I am set up like a power boat. Although very limited, I have most of the capabilities that the real boats have. It is just a whole lot more work to get to the fish and can be quite a workout trolling for 4 hours. And, things that you'd take for granted on a power boat are a bit more complicated on a kayak. For example, how to handle a thrashing fish that has hooks hanging out of his face when the only place to work is in the water or on your lap.

For safety on the big lake I recommend the following (sorry if these things seem obvious, but it can be dangerous out there):

• Use safety items as required by law

- Always wear a life jacket

- Whistle or air horn

- White light visible from 360° (if paddling at night)

• Sit-on-top kayak

- Most are self bailing

- Most are very stable

- Easy to get in and out of

- Open water re-entry is much easier

• Compass and/or GPS

• Cell phone and/or marine radio

• Paddle leash

• High visibility color kayak and clothes

• Dress for the conditions

There are online kayak fishing communities out there that can be very helpful and where you may find friends to fish with. Here is one base in the rochester area.. http://fishgator.ning.com/

[ifishy]

god I'd love to try it but if I put togather the money for the yak and assosiated equipment i would probably hold out a bit longer for the bigger boat (mines 14').