20~ish Year Hiatus - Recent Kayak Fisherman Now

[fstdraw]

Sorry for the misunderstanding. In 20 years of jet boating on Oregon and California waters, my family has never had any kind of ticket from law enforcement or any heated words with kayakers, paddle boarders or the like. Truth be told, we've never buzzed a kayaker. That would be in bad taste and would be illegal, putting someone in danger. Although at times the waterways get over-crowded with kayakers, jet skis, boats and fishermen, we all seem to have a good time at the end of the day.

As for you Dyjtal? Don't take yourself so seriously. I'm happy for your choice of watersport. You don't use much fuel and my incredibly noisy 454 Chevy, Berkeley jet needs all the cheap fuel it can get! My thanks! I'm out.

 

[Member 34319]

I'm a terrible fisherman. I do it to get out so it's more recreational.

Any advice for an absolute noob? They rent them at a few places off Tualatin River and I will likely start there.

 

[Member 5605]

Any advice for an absolute noob? They rent them at a few places off Tualatin River and I will likely start there.

Best advice I've heard when time comes to buy:
Buy the second kayak first. Most will buy a cheaper version and end up down the road buying what they really wanted.

Find somewhere that rents sit in and sit on kayaks. Experience a pedal one if you can. My shoulders thank me for pedal drive units. I can paddle for a couple hours but all day and long trips trolling mean I need to use legs

U-U "Double U" hulls are most stable for non river floating. I like calm bodies and lakes without current so the stability factor is huge for me. These are often slower.

Sit in kayaks aren't too bad but you lack natural stability of the SOT (sit on top) but have a smoother ride and they turn better.

This is a great condensed bit of information, depending if you want speed, maneuvering or long touring trips on the ocean.

A Look At Kayak Hull Designs

Before you start adding in the seats, skirts, mounts, pedal drives, cleats, bungees, hatches and all the other features you’ve come to love about your kayak, you have the hull. Austin Canoe & Kayak

www.austinkayak.com

Aside from the Topwater, my wife has a pedal Pescador Pilot 12', I also have a Vibe SeaGhost 110 and now the Hobie.

I can run the Sea Ghost if I want to paddle only and have a shallow draft and travel light (65lbs). The Pescador and Topwater are about 120lbs loaded while the Hobie is 145lbs.

The SeaGhost is great for a $900 platform, it tracks well, has a rudder I can deploy and use to help with wind or change the angle while driving with the wind to fish different sides. Do it again I may get the Sea Ghost 130.

Each has its own spot to shine and not.
Peacador is fast, downside is the prop is a PITA to deploy or retract, wife can almost make it go faster than my Topwater but I can outlast her so I win every time.
Topwater is stable, downsides? None besides weight of drive unit
Ghost, great fit but at 33" it is 3" narrower than the Pescador and Topwater and 5" narrower than the Hobie. Builds core stabilizer muscles and tracks well.
Hobie is spendy and heavy but space and stability rule over the others.



I'm still a novice but have been on a few so far to experience different designs, I don't do rushing rivers (tried willamette, rapids too shallow in summer for SOT kayaks) or rapids (never will).

 

[Member 34319]

Great information. Thank you.

I don't think I'll jump into buying one right away. I want to try it first. Likely rent one. If I like that I'll try a different type of water like a bat or lake. Then from their off it is something I think I'll want to do often, I'll buy one or two. I'll keep the types you mentioned in mind. I'm even a little curious to try one of those stand up paddle boards.

 

[grapo13]

Just stumbled across this thread. Awesome pictures looks great. My brother and I are kayak fisherman and love it, have mostly done lakes so far but shooting for depot bay or pc this summer. If you ever looking for a buddy to go out don't hesitate to pm, I'm always looking for more fishing buddies .

 

[Member 5605]

Just stumbled across this thread. Awesome pictures looks great. My brother and I are kayak fisherman and love it, have mostly done lakes so far but shooting for depot bay or pc this summer. If you ever looking for a buddy to go out don't hesitate to pm, I'm always looking for more fishing buddies .

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Love it!
the blue photo, where was that taken?

I'm hoping to hit Clear Lake very soon. Maybe next Saturday if I'm not working. I want to try and get some Brook trout. No limit on size and quantity.

Im hoping to get a dry suit before I go out into the surf, maybe I can source one so this summer I can hit Depot Bay. That would be a blast since I'll never do it solo.

I have this:

Thalassophobia - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

But I know it's irrational on the logic side of my brain so that's why I force myself into the water.

 

[grapo13]

That was actually taken at detroit lake, during the middle of the pandemic and all the boat ramps were shut down. We had a few really good days of fishing as the only people on the lake there, I almost felt bad being the only one able to fish. My brother and I tried to go out of pacific city once last summer, but it was pretty fogged in and the surf was up a little higher than forcast. I think of the 20 or so kayakers there my brother was the only one without a dry suit, so that seems to be the strong consensus. I will be out of town for easter next weekend, but would love to see an update/pictures if you make it out. That's pretty cool you still picked it up, I figure a good healthy respect of the water isn't such a bad thing when trying to go out on the ocean in a plastic tub.

 

[Flymph]

Great information. Thank you.

I don't think I'll jump into buying one right away. I want to try it first. Likely rent one. If I like that I'll try a different type of water like a bat or lake. Then from their off it is something I think I'll want to do often, I'll buy one or two. I'll keep the types you mentioned in mind. I'm even a little curious to try one of those stand up paddle boards.

I think ODFW runs classes when times are normal. You might want to try one sometime just to learn how to paddle, it will alleviate a lot of trial and error. A canoe might be a better option if you plan on having passengers tho... not trying to steer you away from kayaks, but kayaks are more suited towards single riders. The great thing about the ODFW classes is that they usually have both canoes and kayaks, so you can see which you really prefer.

whatever you do, get out on the water and have fun! There is a certain bliss to paddling on the water.

 

[grapo13]

Great information. Thank you.

I don't think I'll jump into buying one right away. I want to try it first. Likely rent one. If I like that I'll try a different type of water like a bat or lake. Then from their off it is something I think I'll want to do often, I'll buy one or two. I'll keep the types you mentioned in mind. I'm even a little curious to try one of those stand up paddle boards.

You might want to check out next adventure if you are near Portland or scappose I think it was. They do kayak trial days where you can test lots of different styles. Never been to one myself but my buddy went to one and found it helpful. Not sure if they have any scheduled with the COVID stuff though.

 

[Member 5605]

Nephew from Saturday, zero experience. Couldn't get the hang of keeping momentum going. First experience on a kayak.
11 years old. Did well considering age and experience. "dig deep, don't go shallow..." we kept telling him when trying to get up to speed.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I had balance problems as a child and one trip in a canoe told me never again, I've got to have a stable craft when I'm on the water.
Good luck with your fishing and kayaking aspirations Dyj.

 

[bill1225]

Yeah, I've seen folks take kayaks out into the open ocean to fish. Somewhere between badass and stupid seems appropriate descriptions, but regardless, mouth dropping impressive certainly describes it. I don't have those kinds of stones, or skill, but respect those who step up and do.

 

[nwwoodsman]

Until recently I had never even sat in a kayak. But last summer I picked up a cheapo Bi Mart kayak because it was cheap and I decided I really wanted a damned kayak. It will never see a river or ocean, it might even drown me some day, but man, has it has helped me catch a lot of bass. Best few hundred bucks I've ever spent

 

[Flymph]

Until recently I had never even sat in a kayak. But last summer I picked up a cheapo Bi Mart kayak because it was cheap and I decided I really wanted a damned kayak. It will never see a river or ocean, it might even drown me some day, but man, has it has helped me catch a lot of bass. Best few hundred bucks I've ever spent

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I'll see ya out on the water!

 

[Mikej]

Until recently I had never even sat in a kayak. But last summer I picked up a cheapo Bi Mart kayak because it was cheap and I decided I really wanted a damned kayak. It will never see a river or ocean, it might even drown me some day, but man, has it has helped me catch a lot of bass. Best few hundred bucks I've ever spent

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Is that Vernonia pond? Looks like those poor bass could use some forage. Is there a lot of small bass? Maybe some stunting happening?

 

[nwwoodsman]

Is that Vernonia pond? Looks like those poor bass could use some forage. Is there a lot of small bass? Maybe some stunting happening?

It is the Vernonia pond. Fishing used to be a lot better when I first moved there 20 years ago. Unfortunately too many people found out about it and it is way over fished. Still some good sized bass to be found. I like to wait until the lilly pads come up in the summer and hit them with top water lures

 

[Member 5605]

It is the Vernonia pond. Fishing used to be a lot better when I first moved there 20 years ago. Unfortunately too many people found out about it and it is way over fished. Still some good sized bass to be found. I like to wait until the lilly pads come up in the summer and hit them with top water lures

Too many people don't catch and release. Greedy bastards causing the populations to dwindle to nothing. (Over harvesting)

 

[Flymph]

Is that Vernonia pond? Looks like those poor bass could use some forage. Is there a lot of small bass? Maybe some stunting happening?

I don't think so...

 

[Flymph]

It is the Vernonia pond. Fishing used to be a lot better when I first moved there 20 years ago. Unfortunately too many people found out about it and it is way over fished. Still some good sized bass to be found. I like to wait until the lilly pads come up in the summer and hit them with top water lures

So does everyone else I've noticed!

 

[Mikej]

I don't think so...

Don't think so, what? Not Vernonia Pond? Bass not big headed/skinny? You don't think there's a lot of small bass or there's no stunting?