Kayak/canoe Fishing Tips

[cajun_flipper]

I have recently fell in love with kayak/canoe fishing. I've personally found that fishing small rivers is better for me with a canoe and I reserve my Ocean Kayak for the ocean and lakes. It tends to handle wake and waves MUCH better than the old canoe.

When river fishing for bass out of a canoe or kayak, I'm typically in shallow, faster moving, clear water. Presented with these conditions along with the very remote possibility of landing anything greater than 5lbs, I've learned (through trial and error...mostly error) that there is A LOT to be said for downsizing baits. Typically I'm targeting sporadic large mouth, but mainly spotted bass.

After paddling about 8 miles in one day without a bite on the upper Amite, I decided that it was time to try something else. The weather and water was right and I was throwing some of my all time confidence lures such as Booyah Spinnerbaits, 1/4 ox home made jigs, and big craws. Not one strike. Not even a nibble. Therefore I turned to some really old lures...

Next time I hit the water several days later, I broke out some white, smoke, and clear plastic single tail grubs, a pack of watermelon red hula grubs, and some old fashioned Humdinger Spinner baits. At first I wanted to use the grubs as a trailer for the spinner bait and go hawg hunting. I resisted the urge and on a 3/16th round painted jighead and threaded a white 4" single tail grub. 2nd cast, keeper sized spot! Much better than day one. I caught several more fish, releasing each one and decided to shift gears. Swimming the grub on the jighead was producing violent strikes. I even changed colors a few times and that didn't seem to matter. I think the clear with silver flakes brought in the most fish. We're talking GOOD fishing!!

I know, I know...flame me if you want, but I put the grub down. Dropping of the pattern intentionally seems like craziness, but I wanted to experiment while I knew the fish were biting. Humdinger time. The lure is a white/greenish chartrusey color. I have no idea what the weight of the head is. One gold willow blade and one silver colorado. Instantly started catching fish on it. Once again, about an hour and a dozen fish later, I changed lures.

The hula grub was fished on an exposed hook with a matching 1/4 oz jighead. I hopped it along the bottom and was getting strikes and catching fish. 8 miles of paddling down river catching fish is not as hard as paddling down river for 8 miles biteless. The trip ended way too soon. Story time is over, now onto the tips in the next post.

[cajun_flipper]

Fishing out of a canoe with no depthfinder, no trolling motor, and no room for a decent net is tough. The current can be your ally or it can be a nightmare. Carry anchors and extra rope for tying off. If the rivers or streams you fish are fast moving, gin clear water like mine, then you'll want to tie off or anchor up at the bends of the river. Always keep your vessel near the point, traversing the shallowest water possible. Personally, I like to beach my boat before a bend and walk the bank to the other side to prevent spooking these little spotted bass.

The reason I fish the bends is simple. The outside edges where the river sharply turns will be substantially deeper than on the inside edge of the bend. Many times, I'm dealing with a subtle drop from 0" of water to around 6ft in depth. The bass pack up in these pockets and wait for baits to come zooming overhead with the current.

This is where walking the bank and heading down river from the bend comes in. Once at the apex of the point, I start casting upriver and reel with the current. Both the small profiled humdinger and the subtle, forgotten grub are perfect lure to mimic a bait fish frantically seeking cover from the current in the depths of these pockets. The hula grub is a smaller profile, subtle little bait which i use to mimic a little crawfish bumping around in the calmer water among the rocks and sticks. I don't bother with using weed guards or weedless lures as all of these are cheap and easy to retrieve. Most of the time, I don't get hung up. If I do, typically I can see what I get hung up on. I'll break the line off, tie on a new lure, fish the spot until I'm done. Then I swim over, dive down, get my bait and go back to the canoe. I don't recommend doing this in the winter for obvious reasons. This is my summer time hobby.

Anytime you're fishing small water, you have GOT to think small. The fish are smaller. The forage is smaller. Little river bass aren't accustomed to hammering blue gill or sun fish. They eat minnows, bugs, and craws. Any large baits may get some reactionary strikes, but you'll do far better with little lures like my little list of canoe favorites. They are cheap lures...save the big bucks for the big fish.

Of course, you can apply these techniques and lures to any body of water and more than likely, you'll be successful. If a guy is burning a spinnerbait, follow up with a white grub with a chartruse dyed tail. Might discover something "new."

[Christian M]

Nice post, I have a Scanoe that I have only used in lakes with skinny water or no boat ramp. This year I would really like to get it out on the Delaware to do some Smallmouth fishing. What type of tackle do you use, rod, reel, line?

[cajun_flipper]

I use a custom rod that was built for me by the members of this site in 08 as part of the MOJO event. It's a 7ft MH rod with spiral wrapped eyes. VERY nice!! Flechero made it for me.

My other is a G. Loomis 7ft department store rod...also MH with a fast tip.

Line is Vicious 10lb FC on one and 8lb Trilene Mono on the other. Both reels are Quantum PT Energy.

I can't throw a spinning outfit to save my life, so I rely on baitcasters exclusively. One would probably do better than me if he/she were to use lighter weights on a spin cast reel. One of these days I'm going to buy a good one and learn how to operate it better than a 6 year old.

Terminal tackle all consists of good quality jig heads along with Gamakatsu hooks.

[Christian M]

Wow I wish I was on the site when they were doing that promo. That's funny usually you hear guys say the exact opposite, They fish spinning gear & can't use a baitcaster to save their lives. I even have one buddy who has a casting rod with a spinning reel on it! I dunno what he was thinking but I just looked at it & chuckled a little. Later that week I gave him one of my old casting reels, hopefully he uses it lol. I was lucky though, when I was learning to fish for bass more seriously my friend who was teaching me schooled me on how to use both types of rigs along with their benefits & downfalls. One habit that I picked up from him that stuck which many people think is a little strange is fishing senkos on casting gear. If I go smaller than 4" I'll use spinning gear but for 4" & up I use my best bait casting rig.

[RyneB]

When i take my yak on the small river to smallie fish i mostly just use grubs. I like to use grubs because you cant fish it wrong, and theres something while kayaking that i dont have time to work a jig slowly or work a Sammy.

[cajun_flipper]

When i take my yak on the small river to smallie fish i mostly just use grubs. I like to use grubs because you cant fish it wrong, and theres something while kayaking that i dont have time to work a jig slowly or work a Sammy.

With the rivers here, the current is really too strong to properly work a jig and top waters act ridiculous. Well...buzz baits do fine but poppers and whatnot are just stupid looking to me under these conditions. Makes me not have faith in them.

The grub is an awesome and underrated bait! ESPECIALLY in small waters. I'm not a smallie fisher, since there aren't any within 8 hours of me in any direction, but usually grubs and small mouth bass are used in the same sentences. They work for spots and bucket mouths too!

[WookieeJedi]

The Matrix Shad sold by Dockside in Slidell is a great lure, especially for swimming a grub, just leave the spinner off and swim it. They are really durable too. I have been able to use a 8lb cylindrical window weight as an anchor for my kayak. I let it down easy first to guage the depth, lift it up a few feet and let it go. It sticks into the bottom pretty good, but if the current is too strong to anchor, it just tips over and drags so you don't get in a jam by being anchored in strong current.

[cajun_flipper]

I tie off or beach more than I anchor. I do keep a home made anchor with me though. It's a 10lb weight (like for working out) with 3 pieces of 1/2in solid steel poles welded together and bent to where it looks like a grappling hook. I welded a 1in dia steel pipe over the neck of it to keep the weight from sliding around. It works great but snags easy. I figured it's an anchor...that's what it's supposed to do Good point about being in too strong of a current in a small boat. Our current is ripping here, but I don't think its bad enough to put me in a bind. Might have to think up a new rig like yours.

[outdoorsman110]

Fishing out of a canoe with no depthfinder, no trolling motor, and no room for a decent net is tough. The current can be your ally or it can be a nightmare. Carry anchors and extra rope for tying off. If the rivers or streams you fish are fast moving, gin clear water like mine, then you'll want to tie off or anchor up at the bends of the river. Always keep your vessel near the point, traversing the shallowest water possible. Personally, I like to beach my boat before a bend and walk the bank to the other side to prevent spooking these little spotted bass.

The reason I fish the bends is simple. The outside edges where the river sharply turns will be substantially deeper than on the inside edge of the bend. Many times, I'm dealing with a subtle drop from 0" of water to around 6ft in depth. The bass pack up in these pockets and wait for baits to come zooming overhead with the current.

This is where walking the bank and heading down river from the bend comes in. Once at the apex of the point, I start casting upriver and reel with the current. Both the small profiled humdinger and the subtle, forgotten grub are perfect lure to mimic a bait fish frantically seeking cover from the current in the depths of these pockets. The hula grub is a smaller profile, subtle little bait which i use to mimic a little crawfish bumping around in the calmer water among the rocks and sticks. I don't bother with using weed guards or weedless lures as all of these are cheap and easy to retrieve. Most of the time, I don't get hung up. If I do, typically I can see what I get hung up on. I'll break the line off, tie on a new lure, fish the spot until I'm done. Then I swim over, dive down, get my bait and go back to the canoe. I don't recommend doing this in the winter for obvious reasons. This is my summer time hobby.

Anytime you're fishing small water, you have GOT to think small. The fish are smaller. The forage is smaller. Little river bass aren't accustomed to hammering blue gill or sun fish. They eat minnows, bugs, and craws. Any large baits may get some reactionary strikes, but you'll do far better with little lures like my little list of canoe favorites. They are cheap lures...save the big bucks for the big fish.

Of course, you can apply these techniques and lures to any body of water and more than likely, you'll be successful. If a guy is burning a spinnerbait, follow up with a white grub with a chartruse dyed tail. Might discover something "new."

cajun_flipper, kayak fishing isn't as hard as it may seem. Last year I hauled in over 500 bass well above the 3-4 pound mark. You gotta read the water. If it's windy, find where the wind direction is going and fish the shore in the direction of which the wind is blowing. If there are people around, study what they're doing, ask them what they are using, if they are using a spinnerbait and aren't catching anything, tie on a deep diver or a jig. Expand your tackle horizons, nothing beats a bass hitting a frog and fighting it in your kayak, use tubes with jig heads, get one of those crappie poles from Walmart, tie a tube on it with a Gamakatsu jig head and do some vertical jigging. Don't bother with a fish finder, what fun is that? Buy some fishing books, study fish behavior. Did you know that when it's raining, bass tend to stay 2-3ft under the water's surface? Excellent time to use shallow divers. Also, buy some big bass flies and do a drop shot rig with a fly connected. Experiment a little man. Good luck to you and I hope this helps.

[cajun_flipper]

I wasn't asking for tips but I sure won't pass them down! Thanks!

I agree. Most of my fishing is done out of my canoe or kayak...even though I have a bass boat and access to bay boats and swamp rigs. I just prefer the small quiet back waters here in Louisiana as opposed to the chaotic big lakes and rivers.

You should try salt water fishing with live bait out of your kayak. Talk about one heck of a time!

When I vertical jig, I'm usually looking for crappie, but its rare that I tote that 8ft pole around on the small boats. I usually do that in the winter time out of my bass boat.

And you are ABSOLUTELY correct when you say that top waters are the way to go in the rain.

Thanks for the pointers bro!