New to Homer Yak Trolling-looking for company and advice

Just completed the trailer for my new outback and am looking for others who frequent Kbay, the spit specifically, throughout this winter and on. Been out a few times enough to figure out what I truly need on the boat and what I don't. Still getting the basics of staying warm. Moved from a Hewescraft to a Hobie and would appreciate some tricks of the Yak trade. Drop me a line if you're heading out!

Welcome to NWKA!

I personally have been on one of my longer "no fishing" streaks in decades.  A couple of trips to Seattle, taking care of my parents, work, and the sudden winter we had in Late October has put a damper on my fishing.

In October one of the issues I had was the strong winds.  Not because they kept me off the water but because it seemed like there wa a lot of surf action the day or two prior to me fishing and it really murkied up the waters around the spit. 

From Mid November through April, the fishing definitely gets tougher.  But as you know from your powerboat experience they are still there. I think the one aspect that was different for me was that in the past few years, I have found the fish shallow just like at any other time of the year.  In the past, I was told to go deeper the colder it was.  Doesn't seem to be the case for me at least.  There are definitely fish deep, but I seem to do okay fishing in 25 to 50ft of water about half way down the water column to start.

One of the differences I see from my set up and some other folks when NOT using a downrigger is that that I use a LOT more weight.  Usually a minimum of 8oz but I like 12oz and even 16oz trolling sinkers if I want to get below 30ft.

I haven't decided yet but I am thinking I will be fishing Thursday.  I will post something as soon as I firm up my plans. 

I personally have been on one of my longer "no fishing" streaks in decades.  A couple of trips to Seattle, taking care of my parents, work, and the sudden winter we had in Late October has put a damper on my fishing.

Don't understate your absence from the fishing grounds. Nearly everyone was checking the Obits daily to see if you were still treading water. LOL

I too was eyeballing the weather window on Thursday. However the family Thanksgiving reunion thing took priority. Still....Friday/Sat wasn't looking too bad either until I saw the 75% chance of snow with 1 and 3-5 inches possible those days.  Then it looks like we are going into the Big Chill next week.

trobak, welcome aboard. Glad to see a Homerite joining the fleet. You may get badgered relentlessly as "johnny on the spot" for the rest of us as "remote eyeballs."

I'll give you my extremely limited (but fairly fresh slime) take to tack on to K_84's extensive experience and knowledge.  I've spent many hours on a friend's charter boat fishing/filming feeder king fishing all year. He fishes every month of the year but we always traveled far from the harbor. So I've never put my own boat in the water to work the near shore Spit fishing grounds until late August. And because I've already seen what works, I find myself in the experimental mode to see if there is something new to learn besides the traditional tackle.

Since I need to drag a 13# canonball GoPro camera system for my trials, that was not possible from my kayak. So I'm speaking from my last 3 powerboat trips, end of October to Veteran's Day. I'm batting 1000, got a 2 king limit each of the 3 trips plus a ping pong paddle. Only used 10 pieces of bait. All 7 to 12 lbs.
I've been brining my troll herring; red and green label. After that I dyed a number of green label with Double Redd Hot Procure egg treatment. Another batch was dyed blue from Mike's Brite and Tight brining solution. And another batch was left chrome. I also brined and then Procure dyed some hooligan.

I took the most fish on the Procure red dyed herring. But blue and natural caught fish too (after I ran out of red dyed). I even tried Procure hooligan to see if they had an appetite for that. Although I didn't get a takedown, the camera showed one salmon following with a lot of interest with short strikes and another cruised by not impressed. I believe there is still hope for hooligan in this fishery. Just need to crack the code. By March the kings will start showing hooligan in their bellies.  Right now my fish had 6" capelin and 3" sandlance in their bellies. I would suggest by March bumping up to green label size to match the hatch. Purple might not be out of the question if you participate in the Feeder King Derby in March and are looking for that $50,000 fish.

I was running my rigs at 40 feet. And covered ground from 50 feet to 120 feet deep. No other troll depth on my rigs seemed to produce. The camera showed deep fish coming up, fish at the same level gliding in, and fish from above rocketing down to the bait. So it may not be super critical what depths you are dragging at as long as there is an ample column of water above your hook to perhaps contain fish.

I did observe on each occasion that wherever I hit the first fish was where I ended up picking up the second king that same day, within that general vicinity. So if you can mark a waypoint for a takedown you might try Figure 8'ing around that area when you make another pass in the zone. It worked for me out at the Can and straight off the end of the Spit. But subsequent trips trying those areas didn't produce. Fish move around.

As far as hardware, needlefish immitations are a basic go to lure in the hardware department. You will find sandlance in many of the fish bellies. Coho Killers are a favorite, but long slender chrome spoons or hootchies showing a close resemblance will also find favor.

Hope to meet up with you some day down there. I intend to sample the winter fishery this season when favorable weather permits. (K_84 is a tougher bird and gets out under more inclement conditions.) I'm up here in Soldotna.

Keep your hooks sharp!

Ok...kayak is loaded.  Staying at Land End.  Gotta do something with the long weekend and as KK points out, its supposed to snow Fri to Sunday so I think I am going to hit it while everyone is feasting on turkey.  I'd love to get a great video shot of catching a fish off the kayak in a snow storm, but I am worried about the dive down.  Snow doesn't bother me when there is already lots of it on the ground, but this new study seems to get packed down and icy in the strangest and unpredictable places so I hate it.

I can tell I am coming down with a cold, but heck with it.  Sick or not, ya gotta be somewhere.  Might as well be somewhere I want to be,  Besides, more viruses around a Thanksgiving Table than out on the ocean while its 32 deg.  I think I will take my chances with the ocean.  I don't have the kids this Thanksgiving so it make it an easier attempt.  I'll be fishing solo.  I'm stealing my sons outback so I will be in 2016 blue outback. 

I plan to run green label herring till my hand gets cold since I rarely if ever wear gloves.  Then I will switch over to a spoon.  Hopefully the trolling will keep me semi warm.

Good deal yeah no better way to spend the holiday, tho a cold has hit here as well. Guess it'll be sniffled out on the chilly water. What time do you plan on launching? I'm rigged and ready to roll as well.


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Not sure. Just got in to Homer.  Hopefully I can be out at first light but I'm in no hurry.  930 is the goal but probably will be later.

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  Hope you guys can get out and slime up that pretty new boat of troback's. That could be a Happy Thanksgiving.
   Good luck and stay/be safe.

Great day on the water. Figured out a few new things yesterday: how to stay afloat and manage liquid intake (if you catch my drift) and how to keep my feet warm. Fished about 6 hours and hooked one by the green can at about 50' in 70' of water using the downrigger. I neglected to pedal faster before grabbing the rod--may or may not be the reason I lost it. Lost a few herring as well so I know they're here, as was proven by kardina_84's end-of-day catch. Great to see him bring one in! He'd deny it but it looked like a textbook workshop on hooking, retrieving and landing. He's put his time in!

Thanks for the company and I'm still looking forward to baptizing the outback!

Great day on the water. Figured out a few new things yesterday:

Ah you're getting closer. One day its gonna happen....just like your virginity!! Heheh  Hmm, I guess its close to the same thing.  You got to third base with the hookup. You know its gonna happen now. LOL

And about those lessons, you did learn a few already that are critical to the sport so glad you are a "good student" who has his eyes open.

1) YES, don't quit pedaling (actually increase if you can manage) while popping the rod from the holder. Same on a power boat....keep it in gear until you are on the fight. Especially if you are using single hook mooching or solid tie rigs. Any slack and these fish know how to shake that hook loose. That is why I quit using those rigs and now use a single Gamie or VMC short shank round bend treble hook at the narrow part of the caudal fin. Of the six kings I took on the last 3 outings, every one had all the barbs embedded in the roof and lower jaw of the mouth. Literally suffocating it because the mouth was held shut.  They wear out faster when they can't "breathe." But its a bitch to get the hook out with the jaw "wired" shut. Keep spare rigs handy and ready to replace a bent hook to save time.

2) Liquid management: next to safety I consider this near the top of the list and actually it deals with safety. Dehydration and muscle fatigue is going to be your enemy in any sport involving use of your legs. Muscle cramps in your legs will incapacitate you not to mention the pain. We have all had them that are screamers! Duck hunters mucking through mud and marsh often end up with leg cramps after the hunt. But if you get cramps out on the water and can no longer pedal you are a boat with no power and up a creek with only a paddle, and Outbacks don't have racing strips on them for a good reason. (BTW, I like your detailing mats! I gotta get some too.)
GATORADE is your best friend to prevent muscle cramps or even "cure" them if they occur. I learned this a long time ago as a lifelong waterfowler. The secret sauce ingredients in that drink does rehydrate and does replenish the missing elements in your muscle tissue to prevent or eliminate cramps. If you browse through some of Kardinal_84's photos of his and his son's yak (I've seen just about all of them in the past 5 years), you may spot a bottle of Gatorade in the cup holder in some. That is by no accident.  I consider a full quart or more of Gatorade on any of my boats(even my PBs) as a secondary safety item for me. Yeah, I like my coffee too but its a diuretic that contributes to dehydration and increased urine production.

Who dat Kardinal_84? You are definitely in the right company. Spy on this guy every time you see him on the water.  That includes checking every inch of his kayak when you are in close proximity....he can't hide all his secrets. LOL  You don't know how much I have gained by analyzing his photos closely. Oh shit, Rudy don't cut me off!!

Continued good progress to you and looking forward to pairing up with you one of these days. Crappy weather window for the next week. HURRICANE force winds in the Aleutians heading this way according to NOAA. 3 inches of snow here in Soldotna last night....more coming each of the next several days....opps, that includes right now at noon.