Fly Fishing From A Yak?

[BillyBlanks]

Hey Guys,

I'm thinking about getting a kayak. I do a lot of fly fishing, but would also do some conventional and spin casting as well. Anyone have any suggestions for a good one man yak, and know of anywhere to get a good roof rack for a subaru wrx? Any of you guys fly fish?

Thanks for any suggestions or advice.......

Billy

[Raven]

Hobie kayak for self propelled without having to paddle
so your hands are free is the ultimate rig

a cobra fish and dive is the balls for stability
a little on the heavy side for paddling tho
some might beg to differ on that

or you can google "the quiet man kayak"
and look at his set up with a trolling motor

best to try different models before you buy

[Ake G]

What's your height, weight?

[Ake G]

Fly fisherman do best with the most stable platform they can comfortably cast from . There's a lot of body motion and movement with all that false casting. I'm 6'4" 220 lbs and fish from an Ocean Kayak Prowler 13.

[falkners]

I have both sit inside and sit on tops that I flyfish from and it is much easier to flyfish from my sit on top (Tarpon160). The act of casting and stripping is much easier from the higher position without interference from the gunwales. Casting distance is usually not a factor since you can usually sneak up close to your quarry.

[BillyBlanks]

I'm 5''10 150. Was thinking about a Tarpon. Do any of you guys fish solo out of a 2 person? Is it easy enough to get around, or too much for one person?

[joebe]

I am thinking about the same thing. I was looking at the Native Ultimate at the Maralbrough Fly show. The shop showing them had some real good deals, but I want to try it first. There was also the Freedom Hawk. That is the one the back opens up like pontoons to make it super stable. I like to keep my stuff simple. ALways found the simpler I keep my gear the better it works.

[CaptMike]

I've never tried to fish out of the one person by myself but I can say with confidence that fishing out of a good sized canoe on a windy is a challenge by yourself.

[falkners]

Kayaks typically have a much lower center of gravity and have less windage than a canoe and are less apt to be pushed around by the wind. However, sitting lower and closer to the water presents other challenges when flycasting. You need to modify your casting style somewhat to keep your backcasts up higher. I built myself a 10 1/2 footer that works well. Better yet is to overline your rod 2-3 line sizes to minimize falsecasting. The less falsecasting the better. As far as tandems go, I have never fished/paddle one myself but maneauvering a single is hard enough at times. It takes a certain knack to control the drift of your boat and line especially when wind and current are involved. A small one handed paddle is sometimes useful to make small corrections so you don't have to put your rod down to grab a paddle. I have a racketball paddle that I sometimes use (when I remember to bring it along) that works well. I think a peddle powered boat might work well but would be better if it had a reverse in it since sometimes backing up is required. Also, a drift sock can be very useful in windy conditions. One other thing... trolling can be very effective. Try a fly on a circle hook. The fish will hook themselves which is sometimes a problem with a "J" hook tied fly because by the time you put the paddle down and grab the rod the fish is usually gone.

[Dpollipo]

I'm 5'6" and 175 pounds and the Tarpon t 120 (12 ft sit on top) is perfect for me - been using it for four years now, almost exclusively fly fishing. SOTs especially the way to go if you want to hop in and out to wade the flats.

My view of two person kayaks is that yoyu would be infinitely better off to get a second one seater than to struggle with two aboard. Very different from canoes.