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Kayak Fishing for Fly Fishermen

In the early spring of 2000, I purchased 4 kayaks and began exploring how they could put to the best use in the pursuit of my number one passion: Fly Fishing.  I was still living the great state of North Carolina at the time.  I used my kayaks to stalk redfish in the backwaters.  I floated the Roanoke River for shad and striped bass.  I launched kayaks into the ocean to catch striped bass, Spanish, and king mackerel. 

In most every venture which I attempted, I found some distinct advantages to fly fishing from a kayak.  Granted, it is not the same thing as fishing from my skiff; it was necessary to make adjustments in both fishing techniques, and strategies.  For me, the advantages significantly out numbered the compromises.

Speed was at first something that seemed to be a great disadvantage; one certainly cannot jump into a kayak and cruse out to the fishing grounds at twenty knots.  Limited range also gave me concern when I first started kayak fishing.  I quickly learned that slow speed can be a distinct advantage.  Paddling along in my kayak I feel much more in tune with my environment than I ever felt even when poling my skiff.  Seated close to the waters surface, you take note of everything; every little minnow, every little crab, every subtle change in how the tide flows across a flat.  From the quiet solitude of my kayak, I see more, I hear more, and I smell more of what's going on around me. 

Simple law of physics: every thing that floats must displace a volume of water that is greater in weight than the weight of the object, if the object is to float. The heavier the boat (plus it's cargo), the more water it must displace in order to float.  As a vessel moves forward, it must continually displace the water in front the vessel, and thus it creates a pressure wave.  Heavier the boat (no matter how slow it goes), the bigger the pressure wave it broadcasts as it moves through the water.  In my case; my skiff with fuel and two people on board is seven times heavier than my kayak with me on board. 

Game fish have a lateral line, a series of specialized receptors that can detect pressure changes in the water around them.  In many predator species, these receptors are sensitive enough for the fish to successfully ambush prey in total darkness or zero visibility water.  Fish can "feel" the boat too, even a kayak; but in a kayak it much easier to closely approach even the wariest gamefish.  I often find myself so close to fish, that I need to back up the kayak before attempting to make a cast with the fly rod.

Back to the subject of speed and range; during the winter of 2000-2001, using a kayak and a fly rod I chased ocean run striped bass up and down the Outerbanks of North Carolina.  My range and speed to get offshore may have been limited, but my ability to range up and down the length of the coast was significantly better that what I could accomplish skiff fishing.  With a couple of kayaks rigged and ready to launch, we would drive up and down the beach road in search for signs of diving gannets or gulls.  In areas where permitted, we would drive on the sand beach.  It took less than two minuets to get the kayaks out of the truck and to begin paddling out through the surf.  On many days that winter we would cover the beach front from the north end of Corolla all the way down south to Ocracoke Inlet; launching the kayaks as many as a dozen times a day.  That winter, using fly tackle only and fishing from a kayak, I caught and released over 50 striped bass that exceeded the 30 pound mark.

When I first started taking my kayaks on adventures to Florida, one day I checked the trip log on my portable GPS following a day of backcountry fishing in the mangroves, I was surprised to see that we had actually covered over 17 miles that day.  It was a very leisurely paddle, and we spent most of the day casting flies to the edges of the mangroves as we moved along with the tide. By using the tide, or perhaps the afternoon sea-breeze to your advantage, it is possible to cover fairly large areas without excessive efforts.

Rigging a Kayak for Fly Fishing>>>

Harry Hall sefly
Guided Fly Fishing