Kayak fishing
Black Magic Pro Team member Blair Whiting is an experienced kayak fisherman, and in this article, he shares his tips, tricks and insights into kayak fishing to help you stay safe and have success on the water.
Becoming popular in the early 2000’s, kayak fishing is a more cost efficient way of getting out on the water. It can be enjoyed by anyone and you don’t need to break the bank to set yourself up. You can fish in almost any location and get to those cracking little fishing holes that boats can’t reach.
With the correct guidance and equipment kayak fishing is an enjoyable and fast growing recreation.
THE ESSENTIALS
The most essential thing to consider when kayak fishing is safety. Kayaks are small boats that are easily pushed around by the sea conditions and if you’re going to be out in the ocean environment you need to plan for if something goes wrong.
LIFEJACKET
Your lifejacket is the single most important item you need when on your kayak. Kayaks are incredibly low to the water and have a much higher capsize risk than larger craft. I always wear mine and quite frankly if you don’t wear one it could be the difference between you coming home.
Never wear a gas inflatable lifejacket onboard a kayak, you're much safer with something that is ready to keep you afloat without needing to pull a cord. If you pull that cord and nothing happens you are out of luck. Hooks and spines can pierce the jacket and the gas bottles need servicing too.
RADIO
A radio provides the best form of communication out on the water. Channel 16 is a direct lifeline to the Coastguard and to other boats in the area if you happen to get into strife. It is also a popular way to communicate boat to boat.
As a bonus you may hear how the fishing is going around the region on the local working channels. Most radios float and are waterproof, making this better suited than a touchscreen phone (as water on a screen makes it impossible to use).
PERSONAL LOCATOR BEACON (PLB)
My PLB is the biggest safety net for my offshore kayak fishing, I would never venture out as far as I do now without one. All my details are registered to the beacon so if I set it off it makes it a whole lot easier for emergency services. The PLB will send a satellite signal to search and rescue telling them I'm in this location, and I'm in danger come help me! It's peace of mind. particularly when I'm out over 8 kilometres offshore, hunting pelagic fish like albacore tuna and kingfish.
POCKET KNIFE
Inside my jacket is a pocketknife. This is used in the event I become tangled in rope or fishing line. It’s pretty handy as a backup bait knife too.
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All three of these are directly attached to my lifejacket so I can always have them on hand when needed. My phone also comes with me in a waterproof case as a third form of communication, and most of the time I use this to communicate in non-emergency situations.
SAFETY FLAG
My kayak is set up with a safety flag for visibility to other boaties, an all-around white light (legal to show for unpowered craft) for early morning and night fishing. Showing one these high above the kayak can be the difference between a nasty incident with a boat under power.
DUCT TAPE
Duct tape is handy for fixing a range of problems like paddle breakages, leaks in the hull or even wrapping around to wound to keep it closed.
GLOVES
Gloves are always an important part of my kayaking. They provide a barrier between hooks and fish spines. I definitely enjoy the grip when holding onto slippery fish like gurnard. They also make paddling long distances much easier on the hands.
CLOTHING
It’s important to be wearing clothing that will enable youto stay warm in the water if you fall out. During winter a wetsuit or dry suitis definitely a requirement. But layers of quick drying thermals are necessaryin any weather.
Dry pants or a dry bub are highly recommended due to fish most often being handled over your lap and this will save a lot of the fishy smell on your clothes at the end of the day.
FIRST AID KIT
A first aid kit sits in behind my seat, as fish spines, hooks and countless other hazards are always going to be a risk, so it pays to be prepared.
FISHING GEAR
The fishing gear you need when fishing off your kayak is very similar to fishing off your boat, except for one thing. Leash all of your gear to the kayak unless you want to lose it overboard! On such a small craft gear goes flying over the side very easily.
So pack all your usual gear including terminal tackle, hook remover, net, pliers, bait knife, scales etc.
Plus you'll also need some specific accessories and gear onboard your kayak.
LEASHES
Fishing off a kayak is low to the water and consequently it's very easy to lose equipment over the side. If you cannot afford to lose it, it should be attached to the kayak. All of your rods, net, paddle and other important tools you don’t want to lose should be attached to the boat with a bungy, rope or clip.
ANCHOR
I recommend using a 1.5kg grapnel anchor attached to around 1.5 metres of chain and 30 – 50 metres of rope. After the anchor is on the bottom, I attach a buoy to the rope with a longline clip before letting out 15 metres of rope to keep my anchor a long way behind me to prevent fish swimming around the rope leading to the bottom.
DRIFT CHUTE
When the wind gets up and I want to drift fish, I find the use of a chute essential to slow down my drift to speed that I can keep good contact with my line.
SOUNDER
I use a 7-inch sounder with both a chart plotter and all of the different fish finder modules, and the most important one for me is to have a strong sonar. This gives me the most feel for what is happening beneath thekayak. I mostly use this to find structure and mark fish that are sitting over reefs like kingfish, tarakihi or blue cod.
CATCH BAG
Just behind my seat I have an insulated catch bag. The bag holds all my ice, bait, and fish when I decide to take some home. It can fit snapper upwards of 80cm and decent kingfish to over a metre.
STYLES OF FISHING
I take four rods on board with me in order to cover different styles of fishing but really you only need two. Here are some of the styles of fishing I employ on a regular basis aboard my kayak.
SOFT BAITING OR LURE FISHING
When fishing in the upper North Island (NZ), using soft plastics is spectacular off a small craft like a kayak. I either bring a light jigging rod or softbait rod along with either a 4000 or 5000 size spin reel loaded up with 15lb Hyperglide® 13x Braid.
ANCHORED BAIT FISHING
This is the technique I most often employ when on the water. You can catch such a huge variety of fish when you vary bait types and presentations. I fish with a 6 – 10kg rod and a small high speed reel loaded with 450m of 30lb Inferno Elite Braid. You will often find a Snapper Snatcher® or Snapper Snack® at the pointy end.
LIVE BAITING OR JIGGING
This is where I don’t skimp on light gear. When jigging or live-baiting my target is going to be big strong kingfish. These fish are very catchable from a kayak you just need to have the right gear and a bit of luck to land them once hooked. I use a short 5’5” 50lb rod and a jig reel capable of holding 300m of 50lb Rainbow Braid 8x Elite. It also pushes about 15kg of drag when locked up, but I find I can only use about 8kg of it as locking up on a fish in such a small craft creates stability issues.
OFF SHORE TROLLING
When I’m out wide I fish for albacore tuna and skipjack tuna with small high speed reels with a good line capacity around 450m. This is to cover the chance of a much larger albacore or yellowfin taking the lure. My rods are rated relatively light at 6-10kg to give more bend to prevent hook pulls.
LOCATIONS
Most often people fish from calm harbours and beaches around New Zealand like in Auckland, Coromandel, Northland's east coast, Wellington and Tauranga. This is great for newer kayak anglers, but the larger fish are often caught in more rugged locations with more surf. Taranaki, Hawkes Bay, Manawatu, eastern Bay of Plenty, Northland's west coast and the Wairarapa are some of the premier fishing regions that require you to punch through some surf to get into the fishing zone.
Overall kayak fishing can be whatever you would like it to be. Want to just get out with the family in the harbour or head 10 kilometres offshore hunting a large tuna? You can do both and so much more! You just have to prepare the right way and there’s nothing stopping you. The best part is the 0-litre fuel bill at the end of the day!
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