Night Fishing From A Kayak

[kayak1]

I hope this will help those of you that have not tried this kayak fishing at night,I would like to start off by letting you know that safety must always come first and never let your guard down and always have a float plan before going.

The first time, I was not at all planing on kayaking at night,I was told by some boaters that they had some great bass fishing going on just before dark in this one area,so I thought no problem, I could go out and be back by dark,so I put the kayak in and off I went,I didn't see a boat at all and no fish,I started back to the truck and found the wind had started to pick up out of the west pushing me out and as hard as I could paddle I was going no place fast,while looking back to the west the sun was going down and now I was getting nervous,I was now out in the water in the dark and man was it dark and the water looked like oil it was so black,then I came in close to shore and the wind was blocked by the shore line and the water was like glass,right in front of me this fish came up about 30 pounds and it seemed like he didn't even see me,I had to sit and rub my eyes because I didn't think I saw what I saw,then again another fish came up, I knew I was close to the shore line and started fishing,first cast fish on not a 30 but a nice fish,I had fish for over 2 hours and some of  them where under my kayak,I was putting a fish back in the water and the line was just hanging off the side of the kayak and I almost lost the rod,the fish hit with the movement of the boat,I left that one night to only find out that the boat guys where only pulling a fast one on me,well I told a friend about this and yes he said the same thing your crazy no nuts,I told him to trust me just this one time and go out the next night,again we had fish for hours,I have spent more ours fishing in 3 feet of water for big bass,most of the time in ates that you would not fish,I have found fish time and time again using my kayak at night,I have put alto of time finding spots where boats cant go and areas that hold bait fish and everyone of them hold fish,I put together a log book of tides and water temps,find a lure or two that works for you,I only take 3 or 4 plugs I know work,I take nothing I dont need,

I have put some picks of my kayak to help rig yours,I always tell first time kayak fisherman to fish first rig another time,rod holders in one area my work for me and not you.If you have any questions that I can help you with or how to rig your kayak,please ask,
Thanks

SAFETY FIRST PLEASE

[Hotrod]

Toooo Coolll!!!

Great Topic Dave


Wow.  Not Only Night.  But a cold one at that I bet.

[brickken]

Nice post and pics... luckily you got back that first trip. I assume you carry some sort of light just in case someone else doesn't see you.

As you say safety first...

[Pfishingruven]

Great info!!

 

[ped579]

Great post DAK, thanks for taking the time to help others hee that are thinking about getting a new Yak or customizing the one they now own.   

[DAK]

That's freakin awesome! That really shows the importance of location, cause I have been out at least a dozen times at night since April, and have not yet seen that kind of action. Don't want you to burn any spots, but from your description (shore blocking the W wind), that must've been out front? That's the one place I don't want to go in my SIK.

Hey Paul, that wasn't me (DAK), that's another Dave...

[ped579]

Sorry...

[barrell]

Fish are hitting staedy now at night. I havent had a keeper yet but steady action. If your still reading its time to start fishing.

[barrell]

Its four years later and the fish still bite at night. 17 bass last night.

[IrishAyes]

  Nice!!!

[Hunter 2]

 

[fluke - u]

 ...17...

[Pfishingruven]

 

[ped579]

SWEET...   

[boogeyklat]

Does a headlamp spook this fish at night?

[kayak1]

YES..... I recommend a head lamp with an adjustable light.....This way its always pointed down around the kayak and where your working or unhooking fish.

Fish can spook easy with a light that hits the water and moves around.....The street light or Dock light which is on from sunset to sunrise will never bother the fishing.....But will help.

Hope this helps
Kayak 1

[barrell]

I think the headlamp does nothing but help you see what your doing and helps boats see you. Ive had guys yell and curse at me when wearing a headlamp under bridges at night. But I caught as many bass as they did so I stopped believing lights scare bass in the dark.

[Surf Bird]

I put a green lens on my mark 2 light from tek tite. I will not be in boat traffic,but I have read in other forums that blue or green lights actually attract bait fish. On the beach you point the light away from the surf zone or wear a red lens. I used to put my mini mag light in a white bucket and it would illuminate a soft glow while on the beach.

[barrell]

 Ill tell you a story about the beach. There is a guy named PAT who is one of the top surf fisherman in Brigantine. This guys knows his stuff and always catches the big bass. He was once anti light on the beach just like everybody else until one night the beach was packed with guys and along come two guys who shine their headlights out in the water and proceed to cast into the headlights. Everybody on the beach was pissed including Pat. People were yelling at these guys about having their lights on the water. You can guess by now who started banging the fish right and left while no body eels was getting any bites. Pat told me he did a 180 in his mind about lights when surf fishing because he saw it with his own eyes. He no longer believes lights scare fish.

[IrishAyes]

I can not tell you how many articles/books I have read about fishing a pier, dock, shoreline, etc where there are lights. The light attracts bait fish and guess what bait fish attract...

Fish the perimeter of the light. Makes sense to me.