RUTHLESS: This paddler
loves paddletails. PHOTO: CORY ROUTH
3 Redfish
WILDERNESS SYSTEMS staffer Dean Thomas doesn’t have much time to travel these days—business is booming for his eight-year- old Aransas Pass, Texas–based Slowride Guide Service. And why would he want to when the sight- casting for reds is as good as it gets right out on the wide-open sea grass flats he calls home? “Everything revolves around baitfish here,” Thomas says. That means he’s always on the lookout for nervous water and skipping bait, especially during periods of strong tidal flow. And he’s usually armed with a topwater plug such as the classic bone-colored Heddon Super Spook Jr. “With topwater, you just want a steady rhythm, a slow walk-the-dog. Make it look as natural as possible (the water’s gin-clear), and try to lead any tailing fish. Make it appear something is fleeing—if you’re a redfish, that’s what you’re used to seeing,” Thomas says.
THE RIG 2 Striped Bass
“AROUND HERE, they’re the most user-friendly species for kayakers,” says marine biologist and pro kayak fishing guide Cory Routh of the striped bass that fire up Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay. The action is lights-out—literally— with no-kidding 100-fish outings a real possibility. Of course, that means a trip to the Hampton Roads or Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnels after sunset. Routh, author of Kayak Fishing: The Complete Guide and soon-to-be star of the sport’s first TV show, debuting on the Sportsman Channel in 2010, says the aggressive fish hit everything from live bait to fly gear, but the best all-around offering “is definitely a jig of some sort. I like paddletails.” Routh likes their durability; these fish hit hard. Go with something in the 3- to 5- inch range, matched to the size of the bait that gathers under the lights of the bridges. Cast along the light line and retrieve in the direction of the current. Be patient but hang on! Routh says the biggest fish usually hold deepest.
CatchMoreFish GOING LIGHT
Kayak anglers like Jim Sammons defy convention by fishing with much light- er equipment than their powerboat brethren. Sammons’ Shimano Compre rod is a graphite trigger stick designed for muskie. “I like the cork grip, the size, the roundness in the fore grip, and the titanium tip guide. It’s very sturdy, with plenty of backbone,” says Sammons. Yet there’s nothing in Shimano’s advertising that suggests it can stand up to yellowtail—or a blue marlin. “That’s the same rod Howard McKim was using when he hooked up that
big blue last year on the Sea of Cortez,” Sammons points out. A few hours of sleigh riding later, McKim had his 250- to 300-pound beast at the leader, a feat made possible by the vessel itself. The kayak is in essence an extension of the drag system.
24 … KAYAK ANGLER summer/fall 2009
ROD: 7-foot Shimano Cumara spinning rod, medium, with a fast tip REEL: Shimano Stradic spinning reel
THE RIG
ROD: 7-foot Saint Croix Legend Inshore fast-action casting rod, medium light
REEL: Shimano Curado E7 casting reel
LINE: 20-pound PowerPro braided line with a 3-foot leader of 20-pound P- Line Floroclear
BAIT: 3- to 5-inch RipTide Mullet paddletail plastics threaded onto a RipTide 1/8- to 1/2-ounce Heavy Duty Pro Jighead
LINE: 10- or 12-pount Ande Backcountry monofilament with a short fluorocarbon leader BAIT: Bone-colored Heddon Super Spook Jr.
PHOTO: DEAN THOMAS
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