Rigging a sit-on kayak for spearfishing?

[IB Boyd]

I just skimmed the thread, sounds like you guys are getting it figured out. Here are a couple pictures of my Yak. I use it for hunting the outer kelp beds here in SoCal. I carry a gps ans somtimes a hand held VHF. for anything that needs to stay dry, I have a small drybag (celphone, fishing license) ALL my gear goes below when In transit. I launch and land through surf, so its important that everything is secure, in case I get dumped. I usualy just tie off in the kelp, but kelp around here is thick. Kayaks are a lot of fun, and are a great way to check out your coast, if your not in a big hurry. My only advice when rigging is to keep things simple. less is more on a Yak. Happy hunting,
Boyd

 

[Mr. X]

Lidls Roof bars 12.99

At Lidls from Mon. 17th April: car roof rack "for most cars with roof railings",Max load 60Kg length 116cm. £12.99 128cm £17.99:
http://www.lidl.co.uk/gb/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20060417.p.Car_Roof_Rack_Small
http://www.lidl.co.uk/gb/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20060417.p.Car_Roof_Rack_Large
[Decent looking Mountain biking shoes & gloves too. If you have small kids, the tandem pole looks like a good deal.]

There is also a garage bicycle hoist system for 3.99 rate at 20Kg [not strong enough for my tandem ]. Costco in the US sell something similar for kayaks -- perhaps sturdier -- the ideal is, I think, that if you have a garage big enough, you drive in with the kayak on top, then just hoist it to the ceiling, and leave it there, above your car.
http://www.lidl.co.uk/gb/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20060417.p.Bicycle_Lift.
Here are ebay ads. for similar kayak-oriented products:
[ame]http://cgi.ebay.com/Deluxe-CANOE-KAYAK-BIKE-HOIST-Garage-Storage-Lift-200lb_W0QQitemZ7232625173QQcategoryZ87089QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem[/ame]
[ame]http://cgi.ebay.com/HARKEN-HOIST-CANOE-KAYAK-STORAGE-GARAGE-LIFT-SYSTEM_W0QQitemZ7234344483QQcategoryZ23800QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem[/ame]
[ame]http://cgi.ebay.com/Lift-Hoist-for-Bike-Kayak-or-Canoe_W0QQitemZ7233523790QQcategoryZ7295QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem[/ame]

Lidls still have boxes of spinners & lures left in our local store. The rod bags have gone. Really pleased with the Lidls rod bag. Mine takes 90cm speargun inc. spear, 1 pair of long fins, one or two fishing rods with reels, & 2 tackle boxes + side pocket space for bank sticks/kites/nets/poles/....

 

[deadeye]

Fantastic thread Mr X. Well done. I learnt loads. I've just put together instructions for attaching a paddle leash. I will change the clip though. However the method for attaching the leash to the paddle works really well. Check out www.aoteatech.com/marine/Marine/PaddleLeash.html

Less is more.
Lots of leashes for attaching things is the key. In transit I loop a leash through my flippers, mask, and weight belt.

I also tie on an icebox and bungee it closed. Gloves, and things go out in it and the fish come home.

 

[Mr. X]

Re. Leash
Great info. Deadeye, & timely. The leash design above is quite ingenious, it appears to be designed for quick release (the loop at the paddle), shock absorbtion & break away under extreme force (the plastic clip). My natural inclination is to lock everything down to avoid loss but I guess plastic deck clips can only take so much force & it is better if the boat itself is not the point of failure. I already have a couple of plastic clips too.

Re. boat rod
Pav suggested cutting down an old rod for the kayak. On holiday I found a discarded, snapped beachcaster -- unfortunately somebody had tried to burn the broken ends. I managed to salvage most of the top section and the the rather huge diameter handle & reel clamp. I am thinking of removing the bottom ring of the top section & fitting some kind of handle -- prob. not the bulky beachcaster handle. Any suggestions for reel (or not?) -- Pav mentioned the salt water tends to ruin them.

Chandler/anchors
Also found a tiny local chandler (for the canal/rivers rather than the sea), with a small selection of products. Although some things were very expensive, others were quite reasonable. For example, he had folding anchors in 1.5Kg & 2.5kg sizes, suitable for kayaks for under £5.

 

[Tim1]

PMFJI chaps. You may be interested in checking out http://www.porta-bote.com/

I have a 12 footer and I am immensely pleased with it. With my 16 stone bulk and my 8 year old son on board a 4 hp outboard puts us up on the plane...

It does what it says on the tin with the only downside being the price.

 

[Mr. X]

Hi Tim,
Good to hear that you are enjoying the porta-bote. There is actually a separate parallel thread that we have been using for discussing boat options, called "Spearing: Boat, RIB, Dory, Dinghy, Dive Kayak? " at http://forums.deeperblue.net/forum53/thread64567.html.

By the way, you are not the only Porta-Bote fan, I believe Foxfish has had some fun with his too (before he built his catamaran). It is always good to hear the details though.

 

[Mr. X]

... I use the to attach the paddle leash to the kayak once I've stopped and am getting ready to dive- not worried about losing it while paddling, just while diving.

.... In the past I dove off of an O.K. Scrambler and had a mesh gear bag strapped to the front to hold everything- it keeps everything together if, and when, you dump it.

One thing I haven't seen too much mention of are paddles. I have a pretty nice paddle for the boat, which makes it easier to paddle long distances with a fully loaded boat, but I had a chance to try a carbon fiber "Wing" paddle this past weekend. Has anyone else gone this route- or with a bent shaft to make it easier to paddle longer distances?
...

Like the mesh bag idea. I have something that would be ideal for that (RA do some good, heavy duty net bags).

Not sure about fancy paddles, a lot of yaks come with paddles over here, almost always the standard aluminium & plastic. Carbon stuff tends to have silly prices (they don't tend to do the American "stack 'em high & sell 'em cheap" very often ). Light, strong paddle -- sounds like a great idea though.

Turns out my plastic clips won't work on the yak. The deck loops need about a 7mm gate opening, which is quite large, yet the nose of the clip has to be fairly narrow to fit the relatively small hole. Still looking for clips...

 

[Jon]

I've tried both the wing and the bent shaft paddles.

The wing was interesting because as you paddle it wants to shoot the blade out to the side- and the idea is to let it! It was very strange to get used to, but if speed were your only concern it might be worth getting.

The bent shaft I found to be a lot more to my liking. It made for a nice, relaxing, paddle with out having to readjust every stroke for a fettered paddle blade. It does cost almost as much as the boat itself, which means I won't be getting one any time soon, but I did like it better than my current paddle- which wasn't cheap by any means, but still didn't force me to sell a kindey.

As far as thing sliding around inside my boat, I have always had luck with tying things off inside with short bits of line and dog clips. I clip off a mesh bag inside to keep things like water bottles and granola bars in. I also clip off a small dry bag to keep my wallet, sunglasses, hat, and GPS in.

I've never needed anything stronger than a wreck reel and a folding anchor where I dive but, as they say, YMMV.

Jon

 

[Mr. X]

... It does cost almost as much as the boat itself, which means I won't be getting one any time soon, but I did like it better than my current paddle- which wasn't cheap by any means, but still didn't force me to sell a kindey. ...

Yes, there seems no end to how much you can spend on this stuff. Looking at roofracks recently, if you get accessories -- you could easily go crazy and spend 500 pounds ($900) or more if you were so inclined.

By the way, UK kayakers, I found this useful list of places to canoe & kayak in the UK (incs. some coastal restrictions): http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/hqdocs/facts/pdfs/br120151.pdf
Dib, dib, dib.

 

[Mr. X]

Lidl's this week: diving gear, anchors, ropes, etc.

I just got tipped off that Lidls is selling diving gear (& boating stuff) this week. Here is the link: http://www.lidl.co.uk/gb/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20060601.index

e.g. anchor rope with chain, anchor, underwater camera, snorkel sets, net bags (£1.99), 4 LED dive torch (£6.99), diving gloves (£8.99),..

 

[IB Boyd]

Dont know if anybody has posted this link on the thread. Good websight about kayak fishing here in socal. Go to the forums section and there is a section where people put up some pictures of their boats
http://kayak4fish.com/

 

[Mr. X]

Ocean Kayak Malibu 2

This week I finally got to try out my OK Malibu 2 kayak. Conditions were near perfect, very flat & calm although the wind was moderate & mainly off shore.

Some initial observations about the Malibu 2:

Its pretty big but I was surprised how light it was to pick up again -- I could carry it alone unloaded although I got some help for loading & unloading it from the car (still have not got my lifting bar in place).

With me in the back seat, the ride was a bit wet for me but completely dry for the small forward paddler. The large difference in our sizes (4:1) meant I was the critical item to balance. So, with me sat on the middle seat (which is behind the "tub slot" - which I suspect most people mistake for the middle seat - although I guess it could be used as a seat), the ride was quite dry for me but a little wetter for the front paddler (avoiding paddle bashing became more of an issue); the boat also sat flatter in the water.

For serious tandem kayaking, large folk would be better off with something of higher carrying capacity. I'm thinking the Cobra Tandem might be a good bet with 600lb carry capacity. Or perhaps the longer Ocean Kayak Malibu 2 XL. However, the OK M2 worked out pretty well for us. I was surprised how easy it was to paddle solo (there are some advantages to being large!) - which also left plenty of room to carry gear. The modern paddles also seemed surprisingly light (although I am probably stronger than I was when I last kayaked :hmm).

At this stage, we still have no seat backs. For more than 2 hours of paddling, I would definitely want one -- but for an hour or two we managed with just a minor twinge in the lower back.

We only used the anchor to hold the boat in place after beaching it -- but it was good to have that security.

I think Pav and/or Portinfer mentioned they just use their kayak to access remote beaches then park the yak before diving. I think this will be my approach initially. There is plenty of new stuff to get familiar with kayaking or spearing, without combining them both so soon.

 

[Mr. X]

More on the Devon kayaking: fishing from the yak

In tandem mode, I was able to get out the hand-line while my partner paddled. This worked well. The home made hand-line was, perhaps, 30 feet of parachute cord, with a large swivel clip, followed by about 15 feet of 10lb mono with a small swivel clip. This allowed me to try various lures/feathers from my extensive (but cheap) collection of (mainly Lidls) lures. No bites yet .

The handline is wrapped on a small, simple, homemade wooden winder. With two screw in picture rings to keep everything in order. The boat end of the line is tied to a hole in the winder and a short end length has a plastic clip - so the hand-line is remains clipped to the boat (via a deck loop) throughout the trip.

From suggestions by forum members & from various bass fishing links, I am going try some different lures next time...big ones, maybe blue or grey topped. In fact my largest Lidl's plug performed well, casting & trolled, but the bright orange "perch" colouring scared even me, so I have painted in blue & white (with the trraditional red mouth) with artists acrylics* (inc. some "gloss medium & varnish") & I replaced the dive "lip" which broke off. I am surprised how well it came out. Quite fun & much cheaper than the £17(!!!!) Rapala lure at the holiday fishing/gift shop. I've ordered a few more lures to try out too.

As I had the paints out, I dabbed a few more colours onto my snorkel*. Despite the shine & flex of the black snorkel, it seems to have taken & looks quite effective (or daft, depending on your perspective ). Time will tell if it will stay put.

Other kayaking thoughts:
The heavy duty USA luggage trolley did not work as a kayak trolley. It would be handy but I reckon 60% of them would be useless in 60% of situations.

The lifting bar would definitely be useful. The roof is quite high on my car. There was quite a slope at the unloading area too.

Worth tying the yak at the back (better yet, back and front). Even with two tensioned straps holding it solidly, the yak can move a few inches under normal acceleration/braking/hills.

*By the way, I can recommend Winsor & Newton Galleria (econo) Metallic blue for lures but not camo - it is very shiney as it includes granules of mica to reflect light.
Shiney metallic duct tape adds a little extra sparkle too.

 

[foxfish]

Very good & informative report Mr X. Was the small person up front your son?

 

[Mr. X]

Very good & informative report Mr X. Was the small person up front your son?

That would be my faithful man servant, Nick Nack [ref. http://www.jamesbondmm.co.uk]:

Da Da D'Dah D'Dah Da Da D'Dah D'Dah

Even at the beach, standards must be maintained.

(If I told you ... I'd have kill you.)

 

[Mr. X]

By the way, I noticed this kayak on ebay. This is Bic tandem mentioned earlier in the thread (probably the actual one):

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7245002586&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

Apparently used in the Devizes to Westminster race.

 

[Mr. X]

First yak catch!

Took the kayak out for a couple of spins down on the Dorset coast today. Perfect - no wind, flat, calm & clear! Lots of kayakers around, met one guy who'd done 8 miles (4 there, 4 back along the coast) in a stubby little sit-on yak.

Trolling my home made handline, I made the mistake of crossing a very weedy reef in fairly shallow water (1-3 feet). Unfortunately I was trying out some new gear: I'd rigged with some "prawn feathers" ahead of a rapala-style lure (fortunately I chose to a cheap one) & even a thin wire trace (not necessary, just experimenting). Too much snagging power for so much weed (the shore was clear - so had not expected it). I freed the lures once but lost them shortly before coming into shore. I expect a snorkeller or perhaps even somebody around at low tide will pick them up -- I dived around the area at high tide but could not see them.

Lesson learnt, second time out I decided to go cheap & simple: I grabbed the cheapest, most rusty, festery, least likely to snag lure I could find: a 30 year old, single hook, blue & white rubber Edison Eel* - I bought as a nipper and have never used before. Tied directly into the main line. Anyway didn't seem to catch anything except some weed. When we pulled the kayak on the beach we removed kit & I started to pull the troll line in (normally I do this before hand). Seemed very light but just as I got near the end it started pulling away. We'd caught a small pollock, good looking fish but not worth eating, so we returned it.
[*By the second trip out I had dived and knew that their were a fair number of real shiney blue sand eels about).

1st kayak catch. 1st pollock (first time I've seen pollock -- & there were lots too, all small though).

Later in the day my yak partner (Nick Nack) snagged an old fishing line while spinning & pulled in an elaborate rig that included a 3oz weight, numerous swivels, etc.. I guess you win some & loose some! [Found a large squid lure last time out, a big breakaway lead the trip before that. Nothing I would use unfortunately!]

[Trip report on Dorset 2006 thread].

 

[spaghetti]

ciao Mr X, pollock (merlano in italian) is not bad cooked with onions. The recipe is from the traditional cuisine of the wonderful city of Venice:
-Cover the fish with a "film" of flour then fry it in oil normally.
-Meanwhile, in another pan, fry a dressing of onions cut in very thin slices, with olive oil, garlic, half glass of white wine, a little vinegar, a very little salt and pepper.
-When the onions turn slightly blonde, take off this dressing and pour it all in a bowl.
-When the dressing is no more hot, pour it on the fish and serve. Have a dry white wine served cool as a drink.
---Kinda off topic. But if you call it "pollock kayak style" we're back on it! ;-)

 

[spaghetti]

Ah, forgot! the wine has got to "steam off" before the dressing can be considered ready: it doesn't have to be liquid to be the proper dressing of "pollock kayak style"!

 

[Mr. X]

Home made kayak trolley ...

Saw this home made kayak trolley fetch a good price on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....50011367898&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1

Here's part of the description:

"...SCUPPER POSTS ARE CURRENTLY SPACED AT 440 mm TO SUIT THE MALIBU TWO, BUT THE CROSS BAR HAS ALSO BEEN DRILLED AT 330mm TO SUIT THE FRENZY. THE AXLE CLAMPS ARE FULLY ADJUSTABLE FOR WIDTH.

IF YOU REQUIRE THE CROSS-BAR DRILLING TO SUIT YOUR PARTICULAR KAYAK THEN PLEASE STATE SO WHEN YOU HAVE WON THE ITEM.

AXLE IS SOLID 12mm STAINLESS, WHEELS ARE DETACHABLE GOLF TROLLEY DESIGN.

VERTICAL TUBES ARE PLASTIC COATED FOR PROTECTION.

I HAVE DESIGNED THE TROLLEY STRONG ENOUGH TO CARRY TWO KAYAKS AT THE SAME TIME, UNLIKE PROPRIETORY ALUMINIUM TROLLEYS..."​

Looks relatively simple but effective. Pretty cool.

CLA Gamefair
BTW Recently got to see a large variety of kayaks at the CLA Gamefair at Broadland, Romsey, Hants.. Including British made Perception(they reckoned their Gemini 2 seater has more buoyancy in the back than the OK Malibu 2 - a problem I mentioned, although less obvious last time out). Perception also had a fishing rigged kayak on display - looked good. Saw several Sevylor inflatible kayaks and some from one or two other companies. Also saw a couple of the Hobie pedal kayaks -- much better than I expected, the pedals drop in place & pull out, relatively lightweight too. One had a paddle strapped to it too ...for emergencies or extra power presumably. There was also a BIG RIB and an aluminium canal long boat.