Planning a kayak fishing trip entails a few steps before actually fishing. This article will elaborate on the steps I take in planning local and traveling fishing trips. Believe it or not kayak fishing is a dangerous sport. I hope these tips will help you plan your next saltwater kayak fishing trip and make it a successful and safe one!

Species to Target

Example of Delaware Striped Bass Regulations

All locations differ on species to target. Some fish maybe seasonal or some may be abundant year round. Its good to do some research on what species you want to target. Check the local regulations on these species. We live in a day when there are creel limits and even regulations of tackle and bait used to lure the fish. For example in Maryland Striped bass are catch and release only for the spawning season. Along with the catch and release regulation tackle is also strictly monitored to number of hooks and barb-less hooks. Along with bait it has been for a few years illegal to posses or fish with bait such as river herring. These are all factors as an angler it is your responsibility to research for the species you plan to target.

Location

Google Maps

Navionics Web App

Choosing a location for your kayak fishing trip can vary on the choice of Species Targeted. It can also vary on weather conditions and tide predictions. Take these into account. If the wind is going to be coming from the NorthEast most of the day plan on an area with shelter from that wind and where you think the fish may hold. Plan on a location with the ability to park and launch your kayak. Some places its illegal to park in certain areas. Also private land can be an issue.

When scouting a new area I always research using google satellite maps. It can give you a good idea of a place to park and launch. However it is always good to drive to the area prior to make sure its safe and accessible. Then i study the charts on the Navionics web app.

Weather

Widfinder

Weather Phone App

Weather conditions are a huge factor in kayak fishing. Wind being the primary disadvantage in most cases. Paddling or peddling can become exhausting over time. Location is key in windy situations. Plan for the wind and plan your drop in location and route accordingly.

Check the weather forecast days before to plan. Weather conditions can change any minute of the day or night. Personally I like to use weather apps such as Windfinder and Accuweather for air temp and precip forecasts.

Dress for the weather. This is important see the Gear and Safety Section below.

Know your limits. Don’t go out of you know the winds are going to be too much for you to handle. Paddling all day against the wind is no fun and can be dangerous.

The weather always varies and predictions are typically off so just go and see how it is at the drop in. Don’t let weather forecasts cause you to stay home. Just take them as a precaution.

Moon and Tides

Tide Predictions

Believe it or not Moon phase and Tide flow is essential to saltwater fishing. This should be a major part of your planning. IF you drop in at high tide where will the tide be when you get back? All mud? These are things to think of when picking your location.

Also certain species of fish feed at different points within a tide swing. Its good to take note of these times while fishing. It could benefit you on future fishing trips.

Gear and Safety

Gear is everything you plan on taking with you on your kayak. As stated kayak fishing can be very dangerous so safety should be a major concern. Its good practice to always wear a USCG Class III approved Personal Flotation Device (PFD). Basic safety gear like a whistle and a signaling device such as the YakAttack VISICarbon Pro are great additions.

Dress for the weather.

Summer time personally I dress in long pants and shirt with an SPF rating of 50+. Fishing pants I prefer are Columbia Silver Ridge Cargo Pant. And for shirts Columbia Men’s Terminal Tackle Long Sleeve Shirt for an example as there are so many Sun Shirts on the market. If possible always avoid cotton. Cotton absorbs water and does not dry quickly.

Winter Dry Gear is very important for safety. The no cotton rule applies much more here.  I personally love the Kokatat Hydrus 3L Tempest Dry Pants with Socks. Layer up with base layer under the dry pants. Top start with a base layer. Mysterioso shirt is the best i have worn over the years.

Also always remember to bring water with you. A lunch or snack is always good as you don’t always know how long you may be out fishing.

A rule of thumb is to always have a dry set of clothes packed in your car. Just in case.

Float Plan

Its a good practice to let family or friends know the location you will be launching just in case you happen to encounter trouble. Its always good to have people know your whereabouts as a precaution.

Tackle

An example. What to have in your tackle box for Flounder fishing can vary. Its good to always have multiple colored and weights of jigs handy. A spool of 20# test leader line should be handy. Terminal tackle such as swivels slides and 3/0 – 5/0 octopus style hooks are needed. Teasers you can tie your own or purchase some.

For Stripers examples being. Jigs, Swim baits, and even hard swim baits are a key choice of tackle. Personally I still bring too much tackle but you never know what you may need throughout the day.

A milk crate or YakAttack Blackpak is an excellent addition to store tackle and also add additional rod holders for more fishing rods. I typically take 3 – 4 rods with me depending on the fish i am targeting. This way you can have different tackle tied and ready.

Tools

Always good to have a net handy. This goes along with a pair of Aluminum Fishing Pliers and a sharp Knife with Floating Handle. Rod leashes goes with the saying if you love it leash it. If using bait you may want a Bait Board or a live Bait Container.

Electronics

Having a fish finder with GPS charts is an excellent addition to your kayak. A great tool for fishing. Being able to read where the bait and fish are located in the water column is a huge advantage. Seeing whats on the bottom while using the charts to see where drop offs and structure can change fishing into catching. The GPS charts will come in handy when a thick fog rolls in. Also are handy for locating charted structure and landmarks.

Also its good to have some form of communication. A water proof cell phone or in a Waterproof Dry Bag. Or a Handheld VHF Submersible Radio. These electronics will be very useful in an emergency situation or just communicating with your fishing buddys.

Anchoring

All depending what species you are targeting you may want to have an SEA-LECT Designs Folding Economy Anchor Kit handy. Windy situations a YakAttack ParkNPole will come in handy. Just make sure you install and  use an Yakattack Leverloc Anchor Trolley to get your anchor lines at the bow or stern of your kayak in currents. Anchoring off the side can be a big mistake.

I hope these examples of how to plan for a saltwater kayak fishing trip come in handy. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me! Tight lines!

Living in Delaware we don’t typically see many Red Drum in our waters. Traveling for the opportunity to target these game fish is exciting. Fortunately its only a 140 mile drive south from my home! It’s only a little over 2 and a half hours to make it to the trip to Cape Charles Virginia. I’m spoiled since I have been driving maximum an hour to the water all my life and now it has become my backyard. This drive is worth it though. This is the story of A Fourteen Hour Fishing Trip.

After Work Fishing

Midway through October 2017 and the days have been still warm. I have been getting out after work here and there for the evening Striped Bass bite close to my work. Some good fish but it’s still like summer. The size of the fish is still 30″ and below. Tuesday Oct 10th during an evening on the water I sent Joe H a text giving him a fishing report. He called soon after informing me that he was planning a trip to fish in Virginia for Sunday. The weather looked good so I decided to ask if it was cool if I met up with him there. The trip was on.

The Plan:

Photo by Joe Hosler

Meet up at 06:30 near the Eastern Shore Wildlife Refuge Boat ramp Sunday. Then go fishing targeting reds. Simple enough!

The Chesapeake Bay can get rough in this area but I loaded my Jackson Kayak Kilroy as i feel it is the best suited for saltwater creek style fishing. The kayak has a Torqeedo Ultralight 403 installed for those days when you need to get back quick or against a river style current ripping tide. It comes in handy!

Sunday Fishing Day!

Out the door by 3:45 am on the road. It’s still raining and foggy. The misting and fog finally became intermittent around 2 hours in.  I can spot the deer peering into my headlights while passing through heavily wooded areas. Warm coffee and maximum concentration. Thinking to myself how much i love my 2016 Ford F150 over my old truck. Waze on the consul broadcasting the distance traveled and my ETA its 6: 30 to start but traffic light s and such made it more like 6:40.

I arrived and everyone was there gearing up. It was just starting to become light. There was an eerie yellowish cloud as the sun hit it from below the horizon. We hit the water and fished a small creek. It was slow fishing only with a few small Speckled Trout.  So we crossed the channel and begun fishing that area. The tide was on its way out. A few more trout early. Paddling through the shallows I went as far back as I could. There were oysters all over in the sod banks. Not sure if these are edible or if they are even legal to harvest. I found one laying on the bottom and picked it up to examine it. They were pretty small and flat but i put it back and went back to fishing.

There was no water only an inch or two. I circled back and figured id throw some casts at a drop off I saw on my way in.

First cast reeling slowly bump bump across the bottom and bang fish on! Great fight on my bull bay rod paired with the Abu Garcia Revo Inshore casting reel. Peeling drag running towards the kayak and back deep again. A great fight to land a 23 inch healthy Red Drum!

Released him and caught a few more on that drop until there was inches of water left. The clouds had finally broken away to sunshine. It was nice and warm now as everything begin to dry out. The tide slowed to a crawl so did the bite. Managing a bunch of Speckled trout a few more reds and small Striped Bass. At this point it was 12:30. We realized we were now landlocked. We fished for another half hour on a slow bite until finally dragging the yaks across the sand bar to return to the launch.

I took a detour to go take a few photos of a large chunk of drift wood that had washed up on the sandy part of the island. As an amateur photographer I spot these things and have to get there to grab a few photos. This particular piece of drift wood i spotted from a mile away in the morning on the way across the channel. After getting my shots using the Torqeedo I went back full throttle. 6.5 mph most of the way. A following sea made it a bit strange.

Fortunately the drive home wasn’t so bad. I was worried that id be exhausted as I have been in the past coming back from really long fishing days in the summer heat. Arriving home around 5 PM the concluded the fourteen hour fishing trip.  Will defiantly be doing this trip again in the future.

Bonfire under the full super moon.

It was great having the venue being the Kayak fishing store. I arrived around the same time as many others. Scattered around were RV’s tents and car campers being set up on the grounds of an old boat grave yard which also houses the Kayak Fishing Store. There were kayak anglers from many walks of life and places. They came from as far north as Maine to as far south as Virginia. Captain Jim had arrived with the newly patched old moldy his pop up camper which we would call home for three nights.  A bonfire was set and a Dutch Oven was placed into it. A 1/4 cooked roast was offered then there was a half stick bang to start off the festivity’s and fishing.  The 7th Annual Cape May Kayak Fishing Jamboree was officially underway!

The next morning it was fishing time. Awaking prior to the sunrise the night temps must have went down to the low 30’s. As a few anglers were already out fishing with my camera in hand i awaited the fiery sunrise. The wind was stiff and cold.

As more people arrived we went out and fished the Herdon inlet Rock walls. The fishing was pretty good with our whole crew limiting out on Tautog. I had a beauty at 17.5″ Its not hard to limit out as each angler is regulated to keeping one fish over 15″ The tide starting moving again so we headed in to enjoy a fish fry along with some fresh steamed clams Dee raked from her home waters on Long Island. Fellow anglers stopped by our campsite and enjoyed some of our catch. Moving around camp there were some other excellent meals shared among the attendees present.

Saturday Morning meeting Charlie (Lunchbox) LaBar at the 2 mile launch we fished a bit in search of Stripers. While waiting for the tide to flow out hues of the sunrise glistened from the East. Marking fish was nonexistent along with no strikes on the line. Over the radio was one casualty a fellow angler went into the water trying to rescue a fishing rod. Fortunately he was ok. October presents cold air and water temperatures which for kayak anglers is a risk. The tide changed and we were sucked out the Cape May inlet. No paddling really necessary. Once at the tip of the southern jetty wall it was game on. Green crabs and sinkers at the ready drop a line. Around 15  total anglers made the trek to the ocean. Many tog were landed and it was a great time. A nice black drum was also landed had to be 25 lbs or so.

Just about the last ones out there we quit and headed back. Charlie was running his Torqeedo on 0% which amazed me because I have never ran mine past 20%. But he made it and kind of against the tide. IT was about 30 min before slack.  Loading up and headed over to charlies summer home for a much needed shower.

Back at camp traded stories of the day. There was drones flying by taking the effect.  Gary ward and Larry Newman were still fishing. I don’t think they even enjoyed a meal the entire time. They fished hard and wanted that calcutta more than anyone. The evening set in and it was time for dinner and prizes. The iconic seafood pasta and roast beef was served once again as a yearly feast. Three tables filled with prizes and a Pelican 120 kayak were up or grabs plus the Wolfpack beer raffle. This night the bonfire was amazing and photoed above. All kinds of strange graffiti appeared on a red ford. Ribs were grilling. The sole owner of everything ate everyone’s food and all was good.

Sunday morning was a pack up day for most.  Best of all the calcuttas were awarded to Gary Ward and Larry Newman respectively as they got the bass and blues regions. I never got a final list of  Calcutta awards but its a non tournament. All for fun and that’s they way it should be. If you have ever been to a boondoggle the jamboree is the same just the northern way.

Excellent job by Chris Parson The Kayak Fishing Store Prostaff team and JCKF!

Looking forward to october 2017 for the next one. Hope to see you all there.