Kayak Junk Fishing

[KSanford33]

Are kayak anglers junk fishermen by definition? 

 

Let's say I put my kayak out on a 20,000 acre lake and I find a pattern of bass holding on isolated docks that are on the south side of points. I might fish a couple of them, but without a motor it's incredibly difficult for me to get to more than a few of them. So most times as a kayak fisherman, I need to fish an area that's roughly 1,000 acres, and even that is probably generous. Wouldn't that make kayaker fishermen junk fishermen by default?

[Darth-Baiter]

i dont actually know the definition of "junk fishing".  just throwing random baits?

 

my long haul kayak fishing days are roughly just shy of 15 miles of travel.  my legs are sore now from saturday.   but i tend to fish 1-2 baits once i figure out the pattern.  

[king fisher]

Yes.  If you ask my wife my kayak is full of junk and I keep buying more.

[Bankc]

Definitely not.  I would agree that depending on the size of the body of water, you may not have full access to it in a kayak.  Then again, there are some lakes that are big enough that you won't have full access to them in full sized bass boat either.  But that doesn't mean you're stuck to junk fishing.  You just have to spend some time studying the lake before you go out, so you're not wasting time running around at random once you get there.  I always have a plan.  And I have a backup plan and a plan C.  After plan C has failed, then I resort to junk fishing.  

 

Besides, 1,000 acres is a lot of area.  Probably half the lakes I fish are around 1,000 acres or less.  And I rarely fish them from end to end.  If you do your homework before you go, you'll be able to narrow that lake down to 1/10th it's size.  

 

[J Francho]

I fish Lake Ontario for smallies from a kayak.  My spots are about 1/4 from shore and I use one or two baits on a drop short, or a jigging spoon.  Maybe that's a outlier, but it isn't junk fishing.

[KSanford33]

35 minutes ago, Bankc said:

Definitely not.  I would agree that depending on the size of the body of water, you may not have full access to it in a kayak.  Then again, there are some lakes that are big enough that you won't have full access to them in full sized bass boat either.  But that doesn't mean you're stuck to junk fishing.  You just have to spend some time studying the lake before you go out, so you're not wasting time running around at random once you get there.  I always have a plan.  And I have a backup plan and a plan C.  After plan C has failed, then I resort to junk fishing.  

 

Besides, 1,000 acres is a lot of area.  Probably half the lakes I fish are around 1,000 acres or less.  And I rarely fish them from end to end.  If you do your homework before you go, you'll be able to narrow that lake down to 1/10th it's size.  

 

But if your pattern is fairly specific, you may only find a few examples of it that are within kayaking range. Whereas if you were in a boat, you could motor from one to the next fairly easily. 
 

I feel like kayak fishing requires you to fish what’s in front of you rather than finding specific things you’re looking for. 

22 minutes ago, J Francho said:

I fish Lake Ontario for smallies from a kayak.  My spots are about 1/4 from shore and I use one or two baits on a drop short, or a jigging spoon.  Maybe that's a outlier, but it isn't junk fishing.

But you’ve already found those specific spots. If you were fishing a new area of Ontario that you were unfamiliar with (if that’s even possible for you ?), you’d need to fish what’s in front of you with whatever worked. 

[J Francho]

52 minutes ago, KSanford33 said:

But you’ve already found those specific spots. If you were fishing a new area of Ontario that you were unfamiliar with (if that’s even possible for you ?), you’d need to fish what’s in front of you with whatever worked. 

Not really, Lake Ontario is 4.7 MILLION acres.  There's only so much exploring, and you basically just start around 20' and work deeper in summer.

[KSanford33]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

Not really, Lake Ontario is 4.7 MILLION acres.  There's only so much exploring, and you basically just start around 20' and work deeper in summer.

No, I was kidding. I went on Ontario years ago for steelhead. It’s a strange feeling when you’re on a lake and can’t see the other side. 

[J Francho]

It's just like the ocean.

[LrgmouthShad]

I’ve put some thought into this previously and understand what you are getting at. I don’t think, though, that kayak fisherman are junk fisherman by default. I do think it means that you’ve got to try and squeeze more out of an area than perhaps guys in a fast boat rig are willing to. I think it forces you to want to learn a specific area very well and all that it offers you, because it’s all you’ve got. Sure, maybe you’ve got a couple docks on points you want to skip, and a couple humps you want to work, and then maybe a couple points so does that wind up being a junk fishing deal? I don’t necessarily think so since you can take some of the same lures everywhere regardless of the cover and structure you are fishing. 
 

Kayak fishing on big lakes is awesome. I really enjoyed it this summer. When Lake of the Ozarks calms down in late fall/winter… hopefully I’ll do some of that big lake fishing again. 
 

Otherwise, man in small ponds, your kayak suddenly becomes a speedy bass boat. You can get anywhere.

[king fisher]

    My favorite lake I fish with my Kayak  is 1.5 miles long and less than .5 miles wide.   I almost always find a pattern, and stick with it.  In May when the lake is low and the water reasonable visibility, I fish points ledges, and humps 10 to 20 feet deep.   I try and locate bait and bass with my fish finder, and usually start with crankbaits, but will use anything from C rigs, to A rigs.  I use a variety of baits, but I wouldn't call it junk fishing.  If the bass are not on the structure they are often suspended in trees in  35 feet of water.  I will start fishing the trees with top water, and work my way down with a variety of baits.  Again I am fishing a definite pattern, not junk fishing.

        During the rainy season when the lake is high and muddy, I fish the flooded cow pasture with Buzz Baits and Frogs, throwing bomber casts covering as much flooded grass as I can. Occasionally I will flip flooded bushes with jigs or soft plastics. The bass usually prefer willow bushes, and I will concentrate on those first, before flipping other flooded trees.  Again, sticking with a pattern.

         The rest of the year, I may start simply working my way down the bank with a variety of lures, (Junk fishing) but I usually can identify what type of cover the bass are using and narrow my lure selection down to what fishes that specific cover most effectively.  A couple weeks ago the bass were tight to fence posts on submerged barbed wire fences.  Not my favorite type of cover, but after catching a few on fences, I didn't waste any more time on other structure or cover and spent the remainder of the day fishing fence posts.  Usually by the end of a day, I will only be throwing a couple baits and fishing specific structure or cover.

         If I was fortunate to have a bass boat, I would not fish the lake any different than from my kayak.

        Other lakes I fish may not have the variety of structure and cover and I may be forced to simply pick a place to launch and junk fish, but most of the lakes I fish have enough variety and places to launch that I can at least attempt to find a pattern for the day.

       

[KSanford33]

52 minutes ago, king fisher said:

    My favorite lake I fish with my Kayak  is 1.5 miles long and less than .5 miles wide.   I almost always find a pattern, and stick with it.  In May when the lake is low and the water reasonable visibility, I fish points ledges, and humps 10 to 20 feet deep.   I try and locate bait and bass with my fish finder, and usually start with crankbaits, but will use anything from C rigs, to A rigs.  I use a variety of baits, but I wouldn't call it junk fishing.  If the bass are not on the structure they are often suspended in trees in  35 feet of water.  I will start fishing the trees with top water, and work my way down with a variety of baits.  Again I am fishing a definite pattern, not junk fishing.

        During the rainy season when the lake is high and muddy, I fish the flooded cow pasture with Buzz Baits and Frogs, throwing bomber casts covering as much flooded grass as I can. Occasionally I will flip flooded bushes with jigs or soft plastics. The bass usually prefer willow bushes, and I will concentrate on those first, before flipping other flooded trees.  Again, sticking with a pattern.

         The rest of the year, I may start simply working my way down the bank with a variety of lures, (Junk fishing) but I usually can identify what type of cover the bass are using and narrow my lure selection down to what fishes that specific cover most effectively.  A couple weeks ago the bass were tight to fence posts on submerged barbed wire fences.  Not my favorite type of cover, but after catching a few on fences, I didn't waste any more time on other structure or cover and spent the remainder of the day fishing fence posts.  Usually by the end of a day, I will only be throwing a couple baits and fishing specific structure or cover.

         If I was fortunate to have a bass boat, I would not fish the lake any different than from my kayak.

        Other lakes I fish may not have the variety of structure and cover and I may be forced to simply pick a place to launch and junk fish, but most of the lakes I fish have enough variety and places to launch that I can at least attempt to find a pattern for the day.

       

This is where I think kayaks shine. Smaller bodies of water are ideal for kayaks, but I think if you launch on a larger body of water you really need to limit yourself to a specific area. Ideally that area would have the kind of diversity that your favorite raft. 

[casts_by_fly]

2 hours ago, KSanford33 said:

This is where I think kayaks shine. Smaller bodies of water are ideal for kayaks, but I think if you launch on a larger body of water you really need to limit yourself to a specific area. Ideally that area would have the kind of diversity that your favorite raft. 

you kinda have to define “larger”.  Sure, you’re not going to run spot to spot all over a big lake to pick one here and one there because they are sitting on the third purple wooden dock in from a main lake point. It really helps to have a plan of attack so you can make your movement efficiently. I find 1500 acres to be a practical limit so as not to be limited to a chunk of lake. It also depends on the shape. A skinny and long lake is harder to cover than a round bowl. We have one here that is 2600 acres, 9 miles long, and has quite a few big coves. I can’t fish all of it from end to end in one day. From where I launch, I pick upper or lower and go to it. Another one at 1200 nearby with lots of coves and fingers can be done in a day no problem. You’re not going to zig zag the lake so if you want to fish shoreline cover pick clockwise or counterclockwise and a starting point. 
 

this is all relative to my autopilot and 4 mph top speed. If you’re in a faster pdl boat and getting 5+ maybe you fish more?  

[the reel ess]

Last night I took combos rigged with a shaky head, swimbait, toad, stick worm, lipless crank, Whopper Plopper. I also took a monster ribbon tail worm and a blade bait, as well as my primary topwaters box. I caught one on the stick worm and 5 on the toad. Lost one on the WP and one on the toad. So, all my bites came on 2 rods. I didn't know until I saw a video about junk fishing that I've been doing it since I started bass fishing. 

 

I think most people with a kayak don't have electronics and are really "throwing a net" in their style of fishing. But I fish a few private places so I'm familiar with the hot spots, the contour, the structure and cover and the seasonal patterns for them. That narrows down the blind casting a lot. For instance, there are stretches of my favorite 30 acre reservoir that I just paddle by lately because they're a waste of precious time. I only had 3 hours to kill after work last night so I had to play the odds.

[Bankc]

I think you have it backwards.  Kayaks don't lend themselves to junk fishing very well, in my opinion.  Their limited range and speed make it even more important to have a plan before you ever hit the water.  In a big power boat, you can cover a lot more water, which means that junk fishing won't hurt you nearly as bad.  You can quickly cruise a shoreline and skip over barren areas that you know won't be productive.  You can hit up a little bit of everything to see what works, because there's very little penalty for traveling.  In a kayak, if you're junk fishing, you're not going to be able to cover nearly as much water.  And good junk fishing is all about covering water, not meticulously picking apart spots at random.  If you're going to get meticulous with spots, then it's best to have a plan of attack so you're not wasting time working areas that you know have no chance at producing.  

 

So I usually hit the water with a pattern in mind and will launch nearest an area that will maximize my plan of attack that gives me the most options for that pattern.  I try to pick areas with multiple spots I can try nearby each other and have an efficient route in my head that transitions between them the night before.  Sure, I can't cover as much water as a big, power boat, but that's why I'm more deliberate in my decisions, and less quickly to abandon them and resort to junk fishing.  

[Fishingmickey]

I read through this thread and I think junk fishing as a term needs to be defined. The way I have understood the term "junk fishing" is junk fishing is going down the bank fishing what is (the junk) in front of you. So IMHO a kayak is excellent for junk fishing! Add a trolling motor, pedal drive and electronics and you've got a junk fishing machine.

Fishingmickey 

[Choporoz]

I have no clue what junk fishing is, either. 

   I also am missing the point of the op.  Does a kayak have limitations?  Uh...yes.  What vessel doesn't?   Should we be prepared and able to fish the water available to us?  It helps.   I have fished a half dozen different lakes over 10K acres the last few years. (Up to 68K).   There are options, opportunities and limitations on any body of water and in any boat, kayak or float tube.  

   One of my most frequent local lakes requires considerable flexibility from an angler in any craft regardless of how far you reasonably travel from any of the ramps.  Adaptability, flexibility, experience and knowledge don't equate to junk in my mind.

[Darth-Baiter]

i googled it.  junk fishing is just going thru the tacklebox throwing Hail-Mary's.  makes no sense to me, since we all are looking for a fishable pattern with a bait.  like dating, you have to go thru a few people before you find the one.  it was never called junk-dating.  

 

kayaker are inherently junk fishing?  i cant draw a line to corrolate the two.  

[J Francho]

Junk fishing is rotating through multiple baits, literally a few casts at a time, to get any kind of bite.  Sometimes a pattern emerges, sometimes not.  I don't see an inherent link at all.  

[KSanford33]

I was going by Gerald Swindle's definition, which is simply fishing without a definitive pattern. Which is why I think most kayak fishermen fit this. Most patterns (for example, you find fish holding on outside dock pilings that have access to deeper water) are going to require you to travel around the body of water to fish them. This could be an issue for a lot of kayakers who have to paddle or pedal from spot to spot.

 

I probably shouldn't have said that kayak fishing is exclusively junk fishing, but I think kayak fishing predisposes you to junk fishing instead of developing an actual pattern.

[J Francho]

I still disagree.  Junk fishing isn't dependent upon nor influenced by the manner of craft.  It just exists as an option.  You can junk fish from shore, a kayak, a dock, a boat, etc.

[KSanford33]

Just now, J Francho said:

I still disagree.  Junk fishing isn't dependent upon nor influenced by the manner of craft.  It just exists as an option.  You can junk fish from shore, a kayak, a dock, a boat, etc.

You can definitely junk fish from any craft, but you can't pattern fish from any craft.

[Darth-Baiter]

i'm with Franco.  i pattern fish to my own limitations, which in my case is a kayak.  if i cant get to a bunch of docks cus they are too far away, i either launch closer to docks or i find out where they are if they are not at the docks.  

 

if i'm on foot, drop shooting 40 foot structure was never an option for me to begin with.  ro docks, unless i own a dock.

[J Francho]

I also disagree. You sure can develop patterns. I'll challenge your knowledge of what pattern fishing means. I catch two fish in an open pocket in the slop on shallow flat on a yellow frog, I can use that to locate another spot that features all of this to replicate the pattern and catch another fish. What does the vessel have to do with that?  Nothing. 

8 minutes ago, KSanford33 said:

You can definitely junk fish from any craft, but you can't pattern fish from any craft.

 

[KSanford33]

1 minute ago, J Francho said:

I also disagree. You sure can develop patterns. I'll challenge your knowledge of what pattern fishing means. I catch two fish in an open pocket in the slop on shallow flat on a yellow frog, I can use that to locate another spot that features all of this to replicate the pattern and catch another fish. What does the vessel have to do with that?  Nothing. 

 

What if you can't get to another spot that replicates that pattern because it's too far away to paddle to?