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Sea Kayaking How To: Rigging a
Sea Kayak for Saltwater Fishing
by Dave Williams (Adam Bolonsky)
Tips and Pointers for Fishing
from a Full-Length Sea Kayak
 Here's
how to set up a sea kayak for kayak fishing --
suggestions useful for saltwater fishing on species
ranging from yellowfin tuna to halibut to bluefish to
striped bass to grouper.
Adapted to sea kayaks of any type, from the widest roto-molded
sea kayak to the narrowest fiberglass or kevlar sea
kayak, the suggestions will get you into the fish and
home safely.
First consider a sea kayak's size and shallow draft,
both which make sea kayaks good boats for trolling
'alongshore shallows, structure, rocky coasts, and
shallow flats where larger boats can't tread, and where
fish, especially stripers, are often plentiful and
pressure non-existent. Easy to car-top, easy to launch,
sea kayaks are also good boats for venturing offshore to
fish more distant areas.
Here's a few ways to rig a sea kayak for saltwater
fishing inshore and off; how to rig to stay in one place
in current and swell and wind when you want to still
fish, and a few gear considerations.
Gear is as much a part of kayak fishing as a good put-in
is, which means some gear is better than others.
First off, you might want to consider a spinning rod and
reel. Boat rods don't cast, surf rods are long and
cumbersome, and fly rods require a lot more equipment
and expense, including tippets, blended floating and
sinking lines.
 One
good inexpensive but durable rod to consider is a
Shakespeare Ugly Stik --- this line of rods are known
for their low price and decent construction. A fishing
rod in a sea kayak tends to get knocked around a lot.
And since a fishing reel tends to spend a lot of time in
the water, choose models that are either inexpensive and
disposable or better made, and more expensive but easier
to service. Also consider buying a rod short enough that
you can grasp the reel with one hand, the other to free
fouls from the tip.
Short rods also make housekeeping tasks like changing
lures and leaders and clearing weeds from hooks easier,
especially if you also have snags and line twist to deal
with. A rod short enough to hold the butt with one hand,
grasp the leader with the other is a good length to
consider.
Chunking offshore and working groundfish in a kayak is
also a highly productive option and two pieces of gear
--- stabilizing sponsons and an anchor make the job
easier. The beauty of sponsons and an anchor is how
easily they can be thrown together from odds and ends.
For anchor rode, consider 40' to 50' of 1/4"
stretchy-braid stored in a bag and stashed beneath a
bungee on the foredeck. Tie the rode to your bungee with
a bowline and run the tag end forward through the
forward toggle.
Secure your rod to the sea kayak with a 3/4" side
release clip, a ladder lock and a three-foot length of
1/8' bungee cord. The cords' stretchiness provides scope
while you use the rod, and the side-release clip makes
for easy detach- and attachment.
Same for your paddle: leas it the same way you leash
your rod. Bringing in a fish takes two hands, and that
means letting go of your paddle. You don't want to lose
your paddle while you're landing your fish. As with your
rod, leash your paddle with a bungee and a side-release
clip.
Once you leash your rod and paddle, you don't need to
worry about whether your paddle will float off while you
reel in. And since your paddle is such a crucial piece
of gear, you don't want to lose it.
Storing Bait and Fish
 Like
watching a magician pulling items from a hat, I never
know what my East Boston friend Marvin is going to pull
out of his bait-can next. He's an incorrigible
bait-changer: pogie, herring, clam, mackerel, worms,
live eels, clams, week-old bread, you name it.
Something his bait always has in common is that it's
slippery tricky to grasp in a bobbing kayak, and easy to
drop.
To get a better grip on your bait, keep a bandanna tied
to your kayak's foredeck. Its express purpose is using
as a live bait straitjacket.
To pry frozen bait apart, keep fastened to your foredeck
or your pfd (lifejacket) a small hasp knife. In
addition, keeping fillet knife stuck into a foam block
and a small rug lashed between the foredeck bungee-x is
useful for slicing bait and scaling and filleting your
catch. In my case --- since my kayak's made of wood ---
a rug also protects the finish from scratches and nicks.
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