Shopping List

Good day and Happy 4th of July!

First let me introduce myself. I'm Catahoula_Hank. I'm new to Kayak angling, but not new to kayaking. I've recently acquired a new Ocean Kayak Trident Angler 15.

I have always primarily been a fly fishermen. I want to start trolling gear, but I don't know the difference between a hoochie and a flasher. I have the fishing poles, but I need to start acquiring the tackle.

I live in Mukilteo and I want to troll Humpie Hollow and the Shipwreck area. I'd also like to try Lake Stevens and some of the other area lakes. I have a hundred dollar Cabelas gift card to get me started. Can anyone help me out with a basic shopping list?

Thank you in advance,

Hank

A good quality PFD that is comfortable.

Congrats on the new ride and welcome to NWKA!

I've got all the basic safety gear including a PFD, VHF radio, flares, and a paddle float. I need help with a tackle shopping list. I've got two poles to use. One with an open face reel and one with a bait caster. What I really need help with is the terminal gear/trolling tackle. I've kayaked for a couple of years and I am a 13 year Coast Guard veteran so I have the knowledge of safety gear, float plans, navigation, and tide and currents down pretty good. I'm just not sure what to tie on the end of my line. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Flasher or dodger, Sampo swivels (more expensive, but well worth it), banana sinkers, ball sinkers, slidos, Coho Killers (spoon), Coyote Spoons, hoochies, herring rigs, fluorocarbon leader.  Throw in a few buzz bombs for when the salmon are rising and you can cast for them.  You can jig with Buzz Bombs and/or pick up some Point Wilson jigs.

Flashers spin, and dodgers dodge from side to side to attract fish to your bait.  They come in various sizes, and you may want something smaller for kayak trolling.  My suggestion is to replace the swivels on the flasher/dodger with the Sampos.

Slidos are little tubes with a clip on them.  You thread them on your mainline or heavy leader then clip a weight to them.  When the fish grabs the bait they feel much less resistance then if the weight is hard-tied into the terminal gear.

The sinkers can be used to troll or mooch.

Rock on. Thank you. Now I have some shopping to do.

Wait a bit ... others will chime in with more specific suggestions as to colors, patterns, and weights.  Learn how to mooch which is a type of drift fishing with trolling gear (sans the flasher/dodger) when the fish are present, not hitting a troll, and so seem to want a slower presentation.  Last week, I was trolling and Zee was mooching, yes we were 3 miles apart on opposite sides of Puget Sound, but he C&R's 2 Chinook, and I only had a bump or two. 

Sinkers - 4, 6, and 8 oz.  Maybe even a 10 oz.

Man, I have a lot to learn! I have never heard of mooching before reading this. Just had to look it up and read about it. Don't recall fishing in this manner ever on the east coast.

www.salmonuniversity.com can be ypur friend.

Also check out the front pages of our community here for several good articles

Will do. I read about the herring rig and I think I will definitely try that. Keep the suggestions rolling, I'm learning a lot and I appreciate that.

I have always primarily been a fly fishermen.

Don't give up on the fly fishing.  There are plenty of saltwater fly fishing opportunities available too.

Chris

I would never give up on fly fishing. I have a few salt patterns that have served me well for searun cutts and black mouth from the beach that I'm itching to try from the yak. I'm just looking to broaden my horizon a bit.