What rods?

[johnh]

I'm new to kayak fishing. So new in fact that I haven't even picked up my Yak yet. My son and I pick them up from Brookbanks on Thursday ;D ;D. His is a Prowler 13 and mine is a Big Game.

I used to sea fish about 35 years ago from the bridge in Barmouth (where I lived) and along the estuary for flatties and bass. Gear was crude. A seven foot boat road and a fixed spool. No thought to test curve or casting weight. I also did some boat fishing for black bream, using a 7 foot trout spinning road and 6lb line. Great crack. But for the past 30 odd years I've been course fishing. All my sea gear has long gone. But looking at some of the great photos on this site - - a feel a purchase coming on.

What type of rod do I need for sea fishing from a yak? Ideal length? Casting weight? Oh yeh - what the hell is an upcurrent rod?? Am i best with a multiplier or fixed spool? I never got on with mulitpliers in the past. I always used to get birds nests.

I'd be happy to mostly lure fish, but can see the advantage of having a bait over the side as well, whilst spinning.

Any advice would be gratefully received. Oh yeh. A big thanks to Hatter for the phone call the other and advice regarding yaks.
cheers
John H (Deganwy)

[rink123]

Hi Johnh,there is a new rod out now made just for kayak fishing,it is made by faden and cost £40 it is about 4 foot and very light .

[stargaizer]

Hi johnh. I'm certainly no expert on the matter and had the same dilemma a few months ago. From my previous experience in fly fishing, I've always took a bad buy to be, gearing up too heavy and ruining any fun. But then I've just started a thread on asking for tips on how to catch Tope, so?
An option that i can give you is i purchased a single handed " bait casting " rod for fishing off the yak. It has took me a while and a lot of tangled braid, but I'm finally getting the hang of it and reaping the benefits. Maybe not the best idea for the boy as it can be pretty demanding on the wrist when hooking into something substantial. You get a good buzz when hooking into any size of fish.

[jonnychaos]

They are called the Fladen Ice/Pike originally made for fishing in the lake huts in Canada and such for Muskys but have picked up quite a following amongst Yak anglers. The are made from a solid carbon blank and from the demonstration me and rink were given at ABC tackle in Beamauris they look the business.

[jonnychaos]

I use something similar to that stargaizer as one of my 4 rods I take out ;D I like to have choice

[jonnychaos]

But tbh john any 6ft - 7ft boat road should do the trick.

[ZEBRA]

for the majority of sea fishing around our coast A 20/30 lbs class rod is fine and will do most things length as a few of the guys have said there is a trend towards short 4 ft rods at the moment but the problem with these is if you do hook into a big huss. skate or tope and it goes under the kayak you have limited control with a shorter rod but with a 6 /6.5 ft rod you can pass the line around the front of the kayak and get more control and leverage over the fish .

Reels for most of the time we tend to use small multipliers like the abu 6500 size they will do the job very adequately the fact that you don’t need to cast from a yak means you wont get birds nests some people do cast from the yaks and this means you will need a bit more control over your reel but the 6500 size reels are great for the job.

[johnh]

Thanks guys. I've seen a couple of nice cheap boat rods I may get. Although they may have to wait a couple of weeks, as I've spent enough already in the past week. I have an old solid fiberglass 9 foot rod I use to use for Salmon and pike fishing years ago. I may use that as well. It's only gathering dust in the shed at the moment. It's built like a battleship and will hold most things, weight wise.
thanks again.
cheers
John

[dorado]

John H - one thing not mentioned so far. When fishing off the kayak if you hook a decent fish that goes UNDER the kayak you need a rod long enough to be able to reach around the bow, so as to get the line around the bow rather than sticking the rod tip into the water and trying to play it with the rod up and down in the air (handle up) - for this you need a rod of about 8 feet. When bent into a curve by a good fish a 4 foot rod is now only 2 foot! Even an 8 foot rod is a reach with one hand - i use a Snowbee Deep Blue 8lb class baot rod. 9 foot salmon spinning rod for the lure work and a 9 foot rod for fly fishing (whichever weight - all 9 footers).

A short rod will be handy to stow etc, but can be a let down if you get a big fish go under you - and they do tend to!

[dorado]

A couple of good rods for kayak fishing which won't break the bank:

1. Shakespeare Ugly Stik Boat.
Comes in several sizes but I recommend the 8lb - 12lb for general fishing, including tope or the 15lb - 20lb if you prefer something heavier.
8'6" so ideal length for good line management on the yak - 2 equal length sections. Fuji guides and reel seat. Nice blank but nothing fancy.
8lb-12lb retails at £38
15lb-20lb retails at £40 - so both very competitively priced.

2. Ugly Stik Conger. 7' 11". 2-piece, but one piece rod section with just the butt and reel fitting coming off the bottom.
Alloy reel seat. Heavy Duty Titanium guides throughout. Rubber butt pad comes off for gimbal fitting for a fighting pad. £60

3. My favourite is the Snowbee Deep Blue IGFA 8lb class 7' 7". 2 piece - but again one piece rod and removable butt section. Top quality Fuji guides throughout - braid proof. The blank is superb and is a proper 8lb class test curve - not cheap at about £180 but worth every penny when you get a decent fish on the end - I'll use it for blue sharks happily. For big pollock or tope it is right in its element.

Hope that helps.

[johnh]

I've bought two Fox 7 foot -30lb boat rods from Cheshire Fishing. They have some great bargains in that place. I reckon it's because they are in the middle of nowhere, so their business rates are low. The only thing is they don't have a large selction of sea gear; but what they do have is well priced. The rods are really well made. Beautiful finish and reduced to only £18.99 each.

I also bought two Okuma Diezel multiplier reels, reduced to £28 (each). Again really well made. They hold 380 yards of 25lb line.

I then popped into Foxtons in St. Asaph on the way home to get some end tackle and lures and ended up buying two chunky Wychwood Fixed spool reels for spinning (reduced to £18). I was shocked at the price of lures though. Blimey they are expensive. I wouldn't want to loose many of them.

I checked out my old solid fibre glass salmon rod this evening, which I was going to use for spinning; only to find every ring is rusted to hell. By the time I get new rings put on it I could have bought a new one for the same price. So it's looking like another visit to Foxtons to see if they have a nice cheap bass spinning rod. Then I'm geared up and ready to rock and roll.

I've got the anchor trolleys installed on mine and Gareth's yaks. All the reels are full of new line. We've got the crates to hold the tackle, complete with additional rod holders tie wrapped on. We've got the lures. Just waiting for a decent evening and we'll be out on them. ;D ;D Let me at them!!!