INSHORE BRENDAN BAYARD


Hobie Fishing pro Brendan Bayard has an impressive list of inshore accomplishments, including the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour National Angler of the Year in 2013. He is one of the founders of the Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club (www.bckfc.org) and KayakFishingU facebook page. He hosts a weekly kayak fishing report on the syndicated radio show Outdoors with Don Dubuc.


LISTEN CAREFULLY


Learn to walk a topwater with your ears. Try different cadences until you hear the perfect click-clack, click-clack of the lure darting back and forth. Listen for the pattern to keep the lure working at a steady pace. Match that sound on each cast.


POP LOCKED


Cold water slows a fish’s metabolism. When using a popping cork in the winter, make longer pauses between each pop of the cork. In the summer, work the cork faster.


ELEPHANTS EAT PEANUTS


When big fish are keyed in on small bait, use a weighted popping cork to cast a 1/8-ounce jig or a small fly. To cull through smaller fish in search of the tournament winner, use a jumbo- size jig under the cork.


BAITCASTERS VS. SPINNERS


An angler should be proficient with both baitcasting and spinning gear.


DIY: KAYAK


Baitcasting reels give the angler more casting control. A spinning reel will cast a lighter bait and lighter line.


NERVOUS TWITCH


A twitch bait is designed to sink slowly and hold at a specific depth. Twitch the rod tip from side to side and then pause to let the lure sink again. Count the seconds between twitches to determine how deep the lure sinks. To avoid snags, bend the lower treble hook up towards the lure.


GET MY DRIFT


Use a rudder to control direction and speed when drifting along a shoreline. To slow your drift and keep the kayak facing down wind and current, hang an anchor off the stern so it drags behind the boat.


STAND AND PADDLE


A standup paddleboard paddle works great for standup kayak fishing. The large, triangular blade is deeper at the tip to place more of the blade in the water. Keep your rod in a standup rod holder when paddling, and when fishing, clip the paddle to your waist.


GO BASSIN’


When the tide is high, reds will feed deep in the marsh grass. Use weedless freshwater bass fishing tactics such as a bullet weight pegged to a weedless soft plastic. Cast the lure into the grass and let it drop between the stalks.


OFFSHORE RIC BURNLEY


As an outdoor writer, photographer, author and editor of Kayak Angler, Ric Burnley has had the opportunity to fish from the backwater to tidewater, but his favorite is always offshore fishing.


GO VERTICAL


Vertical jigging is an effective way to score a variety of offshore species, however, a kayaker is too low to the water to effectively work a jig. To gain a few extra inches of elevation, kneel in the kayak. This keeps the rod tip out of the water and allows the angler to lift and lower the rod higher and faster for a more erratic jigging motion.


GAFFELESS GAFFING


The best way to land a big fish is with a gaff. Always gaff a fish with the hook of the gaff pointing towards you. When the fish is in range, reach over and across its back with the gaff and pull towards you. Try to gaff the fish in the head or shoulder. As soon as you sink the gaff, turn the fish over so the hook is not pointing at you. A four-foot gaff with a three-inch bite is sufficient for most fish.


LEASH LAW


When the wind is howling and the waves are pumping, leash your rods, dry bag and paddle to the kayak. Attach the base of the leash directly to the kayak. Surf to Summit’s coiled rod and paddle leash stays out of the way, but stretches far enough to reach the bow or stern from the seat. Also, the


STRIPPING APRON


BY JOSEPH ALBANESE


The key to successful fly casting begins with line management. To keep stripping line from piling up and tangling, build a stripping apron. Start with non-slip shelf liners, painter’s pyramids, cable ties, adhesive hooks and some parachute cord. Use the cable ties to secure the painter pyramids to the top of the shelf liner. Then, use the parachute cord to tie the corners of the shelf liner to adhesive hooks on the kayak’s cockpit. The apron will keep the line off the deck and the painter’s pyramids encourage the line to coil neatly and stay untangled.


leash has a clip on the collar so it can be removed while you’re fishing.


LAUNCH PAD


When launching from a mothership, use a bow line to lower the kayak into the water on the upwind or up-current side of the boat. Have someone hold the bowline so the kayak is parallel to the boat. Swing your legs over the side and plant both feet in the center of the kayak. Hold the gunwales of the boat and sit down in the seat. Have someone hand you your paddle and rods after you are secure in the kayak. To move a short distance, tie the bow line to the stern cleat on the mothership and tow the kayaks. For short, slow moves, staying in your kayak is okay. Otherwise, get back in the mothership during transit.


ON THE MARK


Use a GPS, compass and fishfinder to find fish on deep-water structure. As soon as the structure appears on the fishfinder screen, mark the waypoint on the GPS. Before dropping lines, make a test drift to determine the direction that the current and wind will push the kayak. Watch the kayak’s track on the GPS and note the direction of your drift. Then, use the compass to paddle past the structure. GPS data has a short lag-time making the compass a more accurate indicator of direction. Each time you mark the structure on the fishfinder, enter a waypoint on the GPS. The collection of marks will map the orientation of the wreck or reef.


www.kayakanglermag.com…57


PHOTO: JOSEPH ALBANESE


PHOTO: BRENDAN BAYARD


PHOTO: DEVON LACHNEY


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