New Jersey Back Float

I just got back from spending the last 6 days on the south Jersey coast for a wedding.  Being the fisherman I am I brought a rod and some gear with the hopes of getting a day or two of kayak fishing in.  My plans were foiled however because most of the kayak rental shops had stopped renting boats for the season.  Determined to fish I talked to Chris at http://www.thekayakfishingstore.com/ and he told me where to go.  He pointed me to a great location where I caught a nice redfish and a ton of bluefish.  I even got my friends into a few fish.  With the water near 70 degrees and nary a wave in sight  I decide to break free from the shore and take kayak fishing back to its most basic form, back float fishing. 
Back float fishing is not for everyone or every condition.  Being right on the water’s surface I could not see very far and was constantly needing to arch my back and kick to keep my head above the water.  If the conditions were just a bit worse, I don’t think I would have been able to last very long out there.  Standing back on the ground after about 20 minutes or so of floating around proved a bit more difficult than expected as I was greeted with a nice light headed/ disorientated feeling that lasted several minutes.  Luckily for me I was only in chest deep water. 

The act of fishing proved a bit tricky as well.  My casting distance was very limited and every cast resulted in my head going underwater.  Once I had a fish on keeping it on was even harder, because floating and hook sets are not conducive to each other.  Yes, I know I probably could have stood up to cast and hook fish, but that would have taken away from the purity of the sport.  After several unsuccessful hook sets I finally got a fish to stick.  I kicked hard and got ready for the fight, without being able to see the fish and only the blue sky to orient myself I had to rely on the constant jeering and directions from my friends to keep me from getting pulled out too deep or into a small rock jetty.  When I finally got the fish near me I ran into another unforeseen problem with back float fishing I had no clue the fish was near me and ended up losing it in the whitewash behind my rapidly kicking feet.
 
Overall back float fishing was fun, but I think I am going to stick with my kayak for a bit longer.

I heard it is very effective for shark fishing. 

That, my friend, is awesome! Redneckery in its purest form. Don't got a boat, don't need a boat. Shoot, I'd bet Michael Phelps ain't never caught nothin even with all his swimmin.

That again is awesome, thanks for sharing. I hope to read this again in a magazine somewhere. And after it becomes the next "purist" phenomenon, I promise to grab at least one random stranger and tell them that I'd met that guy before he was famous and that I read it first on NWKA.

Red fish, Blue fish, friends got a few fish...thought it was a Dr. Seuss post.

Looks like we're gonna need a bigger PDF!

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I saw a u-tube video once where a guy was doing this at night catching monster stripers.  Looks like a blast to me, if you can deal with the Prune hands and feet

skishing...That's how them Jersey folk refer to it. Looks like fun in those conditions!

Million ten dollar thought of the day
Skishing + Camera + Sturgeon = YouTube $$$

..or certain death.

Million ten dollar thought of the day
Skishing + Camera + Sturgeon = YouTube $$$

..or certain death.

I like your thinking.  If it weren't for all the power boats I would consider giving  it a try. 

did you have a pdf on?

They did that on Off The Hook: Extreme Fishing. Sounded neat but not for me.

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skishing...That's how them Jersey folk refer to it. Looks like fun in those conditions!

Yep, even a couple web sites for it.  More popular in the Montauk area for stripers.

PFD, Wet suit, SEALED reel. Flippers, HeadLight, Bright orange headwear. absolute minimal gear. Just don't try it in the shipping lanes!

I keep getting this technique confused with the "New Jersey Front Float" which  I believe involves a large amount of cement and isn't very effective in terms keeping you afloat.

Here's a video out of Long Island from someone doing technique.  Looks fun, but I kept thinking he really could use a kayak.

Well ... I guess that is his thing. Seems like the perfect place for a kayak but I guess he wants it to be more challenging. He clearly can afford a kayak just chooses not to.
Sweet reel, but I am still not sold on a 700 dollar spinning reel with no bail.....

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That looks like a fun thing to try.  I bet even a medium sized fish would tow ya pretty good.

Man, the bird activity in that video gets my heart thumping!