NorthWest Kayak Anglers
Regional Discussions => Alaska Kayak Fishing => Topic started by: easyyakker on June 07, 2017, 07:57:45 AM
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The long range forecast for Cook Inlet is good for this weekend.
Today NE wind 20 kt. Seas 5 ft.
Tonight NW wind 15 kt diminishing to 10 kt after midnight. Seas 3 ft.
Thu Variable wind less than 10 kt. Seas 2 ft.
Thu Night Variable wind less than 10 kt. Seas 2 ft.
Fri Through Sun S wind 10 kt. Seas 2 ft.
Low tides happen around 11. Tides are not too abusive, around -2.
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and Resurrection Bay is pretty much the same at
Today
S wind 20 kt becoming variable wind less than 10 kt by late morning. Seas 4 ft. Higher winds and seas S of caines head. Rain showers.
Tonight
N wind 10 kt. Seas 2 ft. Higher seas S of caines head. Widespread rain showers.
Thu
N wind 10 kt in the morning becoming variable less than 10 kt. Seas 2 ft. Rain showers.
Thu Night
N wind 10 kt. Seas 2 ft.
Fri Through Sun
S wind 10 kt. Seas 2 ft
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I plan on going maybe tomorrow night to fish saturday and sunday. Homer friday night. Who wants to pedal to the wild alaskan with me? 😂🤘
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Im likely going to hit it Saturday morning. The relatively high king counts in local rivers makes me want try the kings off of WG. I really want to try Lake Louise for big lakers too. Decisions decisions....
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I plan to be at WG on Saturday.
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I'll probably see you down there. It might work well to hit halibut and then troll for a while on the way in.
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Im in Kenai. I am going to try and be there around 9am. Maybe a tad earlier. If its windy Ill wait a bit before I launch.
Im going to run halibut gear modified for possible spawner kings. Then fish halibut, then kings on the way back in.
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Headed in with a couple. How'd everyone else do?(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170611/cbba6e89ae1ef382c1f8253e3168ad71.jpg)
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Caught a dozen chickens. It was non stop. But they were ping pong paddles to about 10 pounds mainly. One 15ish pounder. Caught them even on kwikfish and spinners when i started running low on bait. Kept two small ones. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170611/67f1a0ab262171807dcf5c103621ee58.jpg)
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I showed up late to the party, but got a consolation chicken. I'm staying here tonight. The water is so flat, I'm going to have to go out again in the morning[emoji16]. Whose fishing WG tomorrow?
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Nice rudy! I caught those on the spreader bar. Been catching decent fish right on peak high tide in 50ft of water. Good to see you out there katina! It was perfect out there on the water.
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I saw you cleaning your fish, Lawngjohn! Those were pretty nice! I should have stayed in the 50' depth a little longer! Hopefully the winds will cooperate again tomorrow, and I'll get another chance. It was great to see all the kayakers out there today. [emoji16]. I'll be out of town next weekend, but I'll be back for the Barbie tournament. Hopefully we'll have more great weather and a nice turn-out. I had a blast reeling in halibut on a Barbie pole last year!
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Got 2 ten pounders my friend Tim first time on a kayak ended up with a 46 and 63 pounds anchored up in 36 feet high tide sat anchored in 16 low water mark my dad got a 25 pounder, Tim got a 27 and I ended up with a 20 ish halibut.
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Friday afternoon high tide 36 ft fish
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Mike stopped by and said hi while we were anchored watched me catch the twenty pounder. 5 mins later Tim missed one 5 seconds after that Mike gets bit, 25 + halibut!
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Man dudemandude, you guys have that shallow water halibut thing dialed in! Some super nice fish! Thats awesome! Great to see you introducing new folks to kayak angling!
Video of my chicken-fest. Lol.
https://youtu.be/flApMbRSMJE
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Good job on the video! I should wear my gopro sometime. I need to get some Boca grips
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What a great day on the water Saturday. Caught a good number of fish. Kept one pretty small one and one that was a little bigger, but still small. Great to see a lot of yaks on the water. Really nice to see a lot of fish on those yaks. Too much to do around the place Sunday. I hope all of you who got to fish had a great day.
When I packaged my fish, I decided I'd probably only keep 10 to 15 pounders for the rest of the summer. Unless I'm trying to catch fish for someone else, I make small packages for myself. Even a 10 pounder makes several meals for me. All that said, I'll be looking for the big one on the 24th.
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Very nice dudemandude! Good to see yall out there. I rode that tide down a good ways past the rig Saturday. I'll have to try coming in closer like you guys do. 50ft with the spreader bar going against the tide at peak high has been pretty good to me this year though.
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Ya done the 50 ft anchored before average size 10 to 30 pounders past the rig with a paddle kayak makes for a long paddle back. Found we can stay shallow and catch bigger fish but with fewer bites can be kinda boring waiting for bite. Just look for openings in the kelp when shallow
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I just wanted to confirm that the "Rig" everyone is referring to is the metal tower North of WG.
I've only fished WG once but did notice the Kelp beds while attempting to troll for Kings shallow (20-30 foot) along there a few weeks ago and can confirm abundance of >10 pounders out in 50 feet of water or so, in front of that metal tower, as that was all I was able to catch there...
I wonder if the larger Halibut stay shallow all summer or move back out away from the Kelp as the Summer progresses...say by the 24th of June? I've read somewhere that early summer is the time to catch large halibut close to shore...Kelp and river mouths were included in the equation...
Trying to confirm a reasonable strategy for the Tournament...
Shallow off the "Rig" within gaps in Kelp beds with a Salmon head or similar bait...
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I just wanted to confirm that the "Rig" everyone is referring to is the metal tower North of WG.
I've only fished WG once but did notice the Kelp beds while attempting to troll for Kings shallow (20-30 foot) along there a few weeks ago and can confirm abundance of >10 pounders out in 50 feet of water or so, in front of that metal tower, as that was all I was able to catch there...
I wonder if the larger Halibut stay shallow all summer or move back out away from the Kelp as the Summer progresses...say by the 24th of June? I've read somewhere that early summer is the time to catch large halibut close to shore...Kelp and river mouths were included in the equation...
Trying to confirm a reasonable strategy for the Tournament...
Shallow off the "Rig" within gaps in Kelp beds with a Salmon head or similar bait...
The "rig" is probably referring to the oil/gas rig maybe a quarter mile before the radio tower. Just Nroth of the radio tower is where the Stariski creek closure zone begins. Both are in the generally same vicinity. I think the strategy is a solid one though I have noticed the kelp beds seem thicker further south as in front of WG or to the south. Over the years, I would say 75% of my larger halibut have come within a mile of shore. More often closer to shore...about where the Kelp beds are.
As an example, my 73 pounder last year was in about 35 ft of water. Ryu's 45 pound barbie derby winning Halibut was AFTER Dan and I had already picked up our lines. Maybe 20 ft of water. I lost an 75 pound plus halibut using a barbie rod which means I was close to shore. So close is certainly a spot for catching some fish. Now the flip side is I have caught more than my fair share of 35 to 60 pound ifhs in the 50ft to 60ft zone.
I have a few different tactics planned for the derby but a lot of does include trying to focus at least a good portion of my days in the shallower water. The other tactic for me is to massively upsize the bait if I do fish in the 50 to 80 ft of water. Last weekend, I only took out a tray of green label herring and I think that was part of the reason I caught so many little chickens. I added a big plastic skirt later and I proceeded to hook up to at least a larger chicken immediately.
I have the gear and everything to anchor up. I am just hesitant to do so due to the numerous scary moments while anchoring up in a skiff as a kid,. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. If you are going to anchor up, PLEASE do NOT do it alone. Do not do it if the tide is running super fast. It is a proven super successful tactic. EVERY charter captain in Cook Inlet anchors up. But fighting and securing a fish becomes a LOT harder when you are anchored and not drifting along with the fish. If you fall off the kayak and the kayak is anchored, you better hope it is dead slack tide or you have someone who can come save you. Just understand the risks involved and try to mitigate as much of thee risks as you can. I think the best way is to not do it alone.
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I have the gear and everything to anchor up. I am just hesitant to do so due to the numerous scary moments while anchoring up in a skiff as a kid,. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. If you are going to anchor up, PLEASE do NOT do it alone. Do not do it if the tide is running super fast. It is a proven super successful tactic. EVERY charter captain in Cook Inlet anchors up. But fighting and securing a fish becomes a LOT harder when you are anchored and not drifting along with the fish. If you fall off the kayak and the kayak is anchored, you better hope it is dead slack tide or you have someone who can come save you. Just understand the risks involved and try to mitigate as much of thee risks as you can. I think the best way is to not do it alone.
Very wise words Rudy. The worst nightmare is falling off an anchored boat in a running tide by yourself or off a sailboat sailing alone. I have given thought of tossing about 30 ft of poly floating rope out the back of the boat as something to swim for and grab. You will only get one attempt at saving your own life if by yourself. With the bulkiness of PFDs and booties in even a 2 knot tide you are not going to swim against that to get back to the boat.
Which does bring up a thought about rigging up an anchor line release tethered to your body. In the event you go overboard it pops the anchor line loose and now you are drifting with the boat. Anchors and rope are expendable. Especially if you just use a heavy seiner's cord and a sand bag full of sand or gravel which you can empty out before the trip back to the beach.
The alternative if you don't anchor....use a LOT of scent. Sportsmans in Soldotna is carrying one quart jugs of herring oil for $14. And a gallon of herring oil for $39. Take some of that along and add some extra secret sauce to your bait or even a soaked piece of sponge on your hook with the bait.
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Thank you Rudy and KK for the information and advise!
Ferguson gave me his anchoring system when I bought his yak but I haven't even thought of using it. Putting a buoy on the anchor line and snapping it to your trolley would let you quick release to fight the big ones and eventually recover your anchor...but I hadn't considered an overboard man/anchor auto release system.
KK is providing invaluable advise when suggesting use of scent! I learned about the value of scent "herring oil" from several old fisherman who took me out on their PB fishing last week out of Seward...using a syringe applicator may be more difficult in a kayak though...adding herring oil to bait and keeping it out of your hand is difficult even in a PB when it's rough.
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All right now. You've all got me thinking. What kind of anchor do you use? How much line? Etc??? I might have to give it a try. Still going to have to think on it a bit though. I'm thinking my 30 pound Delta is a bit of overkill :D
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I was given a large folding "grapple" type anchor usually sold for diving duck spreads using a long single mainline...when I purchased my "Native" kayak used. I have several of these type of anchors as I duck hunt open water - they work ok and will probably hold a kayak as long as you added 5 to 10' of chain to them to keep them "hooking the bottom. I theory you paddle/peddle past the anchor and tug to release it when your done. As a rule you'd want 5 times the depth, worth of anchor line, you plan to anchor up in regularly so probably 300' of line minimum for WG.
putting a snap or quick release and a float on your anchor line will allow you to release quickly and come back to pick up your anchor later...lots of theory here but still kind of scary if you really consider getting separated from your stationary yak...
I'll use extra scent but plan to drift along while doing it...
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In my power boat when I'm fishing for live bait to fish for halibut I frequently pull up near the islands in Kbay and fish light tackle for juvenile cod. Because those are such rocky areas I switched to filling a burlap sand bag with gravel and tie off a piece of hemp rope for an anchor line in those rocks. If it gets snagged up I can just cut the line and its all biodegradable and I'm out a couple bucks is all.
Taking a sack of gravel or sand out for an anchor allows you to dump the weight before you head back to the beach. And because there is little resistance to a floating kayak on anchor you can go economy style and buy a spool of heavy duty seiner's cord (#80-120 used for mending seine nets) and have all the scope you need to keep from dragging and drifting. I use it for hanging chum sacks overboard on the PB with a 4# downrigger weight to hold it beneath my boat. So its very strong stuff. And cheap relative to poly ropes and their bulk.
Am still working on the details for a Quick Release tethered anchor system to provide more safety for Cook Inlet anglers on anchor in running tides. Very simple system and dependable.
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KK now have me thinking of how effective a chum bag just above a sand bag anchor would be...leaving a trail for halibut to follow back to my kayak...
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Just a check for my reasoning. I know, with no exceptions, anchoring off the stern in a powerboat is almost sure disaster. I'm trying to think of negatives to anchoring off the stern in a kayak. So far, I've come up with two potential negatives. One, you can't see if something (like a log or wad of kelp) is coming at you in the current. Two, is that you can't just peddle/paddle forward to create slack in the anchor line. An advantage to anchoring off the stern is that your line, and the fight, would be in front of you. It would be much more comfortable to sit with the line going forward than with the line being behind you. Also, landing fish would be easier with them approaching from the front.
Help me out with other negatives/positives. I think I have my quick release figured out. The directions in this post (http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=16289.0) with some modifications based on kayak model seem like they would work pretty well.
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KK now have me thinking of how effective a chum bag just above a sand bag anchor would be...leaving a trail for halibut to follow back to my kayak...
I know a number of private boaters that put the chum sack on their anchor at the chain/rope connection. That way the wave action against the boat tension lifts the sack a bit on swells and keeps it "milking" into the water for the scent line. (Some charter boats on the other hand drop their chum on a downrigger for easy refreshing during the day.) Only drawback is if you use the sliding buoy for power lifting your anchor if you have a very big chum sack it creates a lot of drag for the boat to pull to get the buoy to slide on the rope to lit the anchor. And the chain won't go through the ring on the lifting buoy. But for a kayak it would not be an issue since you are hand pulling the weight.
Here is something to consider for a super cheap ($2.99 at Sportsmans) chum "bag" for kayakers. Its a sheet of poly web cut and folded much like an envelope, hog ringed to hold its shape and has a bungee for holding flap closed. Mash an old herring or two, add some rag saturated in herring oil and you have a great scent line maker with almost no drag when pulling your anchor. Indestructible and doesn't soak up water either. You could fold over a salmon fillet carcass (less head) and stuff it in there and the herring oil rag. I'm using these on my crab rings for the Kodiak trip. The big safety pin is a commercial bait pin you can get at Donaldsons or other commfish supply stores.
Sorry I just bought the last bait bag at Soldotna yesterday. But they should be getting more sometime.
(http://klondikekid.com/NWKAimages/17crabbaitbagchumsack.jpg)
Help me out with other negatives/positives. I think I have my quick release figured out. The directions in this post (http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=16289.0) with some modifications based on kayak model seem like they would work pretty well.
Here's my vivid imagination at work: loose kelp, especially very long pieces of bull kelp could pose a constant nightmare getting wrapped on your anchor line. And realize if this scenario does happen and there is a significant amount of kelp on your rope with a running tide when you pop the anchor line loose the current drag on the kelp might sink your anchor buoy unless you are using an A1. You would have to wait for the tide to slow down before it would float again.
I am thinking about a stern anchoring system myself for the Kenai River for king fishing so this is a setup I'm trying to work out all the What If's myself.
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The issue with kelp and other floatsom does concern me. I've been wrapped up in rafts of kelp before in my powerboats and it can be pretty hairy. I've had it hit me, break the anchor loose, and encircle the boat. We even used to attach serrated knifes to long handles so we could cut kelp off the anchor line without having to lean over the bow commando style (with the knife in our teeth as we got in position). Granted, most of those run-ins occurred far off shore, usually in the middle rip. Still, I've seen plenty of logs and kelp floating through the trolling lanes.
All that said, I went to the Gear Shed today and picked up what I need to put my anchor set up together. Dont' know if I'll get to test it this weekend. The forecast isn't very good. Sunday isn't looking bad though.