Fishless in Homer 11/15

I made the short drive to Homer spit today to give my kayak (Wanda) her maiden voyage in Alaska waters. I launched from the end of the spit around 11:00, trying to catch the low slack tide.  My primary goal was to have a safe, uneventful paddle and test some new equipment.

Temps were in the low teens when I launched, and low 20s when I got off the water a few hours later. My new Kokatat paddling suit and two layers of fleece top and bottom kept me nice and warm. My toes were a little numb after three hours, but I chalk that up to my tight footwear restricting blood flow to my feet (it's hard to find giant sized paddling-appropriate footwear in Alaska in the winter, shocking!).

My new downrigger setup worked like a champ and I'm really happy with the mount I came up with. When I have a little more time I'll put some pics in "Drillin' and Cuttin'". Since I'm new to downriggers, there is lots of room for improvement in the software department, but the hardware is solid!  My biggest challenge was retrieving line from a paddle boat. The technique I settled on was to give a few hard paddle strokes, crank up 5' on the D/R, couple more paddle strokes, take up the slack on the reel, repeat. If anyone has a better method, I'd love to hear it.

I didn't see any sign of a fish (including on the fish finder), but the bank fishermen and couple of boats I could see weren't catching either. A local I talked to when I was taking out said the east wind always shuts them down. I did get to hang out with a sea otter for awhile, saw lots of sea birds, and had a safe, enjoyable paddle. Not a bad day at all!

Brrrr...respect!

It's way easier to mount a downrigger on a pedal kayak than on a paddle kayak, because on a paddle kayak you need to mount the downrigger where it won't interfere with your paddle stroke.  It's also way easier to use a downrigger on a pedal kayak, because on a pedal kayak you can keep pedaling forward while fiddling with the downrigger and your rod with both hands.

In the picture you posted, you're blocking the view of your downrigger setup, so I can't see what kind of downrigger you're using, and where you mounted it.  But here are a couple suggestions for using a downrigger from a paddle kayak:

1.  If there's a lot of wind, before you begin streaming out line behind your paddle kayak in preparation for hooking it to your downrigger release, turn so you're paddling downwind.  Then when you stop paddling for a minute to hook your fishing line into the downrigger release, the wind will keep your fishing line streamed out behind you, rather than blowing your kayak back over your line, potentially creating tangles with your rudder, downrigger cable, and downrigger release.  You don't need to do that when using a pedal kayak, because you can continue pedaling forward while you hook your fishing line to your downrigger release, so you don't need to worry about the amount or direction of the wind.

2. When you're streaming fishing line out behind your kayak before attaching it to your downrigger release, turn your kayak so the line swings away from the stern of your kayak, so you won't get the fishing line tangled in your rudder (if your kayak has a rudder).  This is particularly important if the wind is trying to blow your kayak over your fishing line.

3. Braided line is limp, and tends to tangle around the tip of your rod, which is a problem when you go to lower your downrigger weight.  To prevent these tangles, after you stream fishing line out behind your kayak, grab the line and keep tension on it while you stick your rod in its holder and hook the fishing line into your downrigger release.  This will prevent those irritating tip tangles.

4.  Before you start lowering your downrigger weight, glance at the tip of your rod to be sure you don't have a tip tangle, and pull on the fishing line coming out of your reel to be sure the spool is released and the clicker is engaged.  These quick checks will prevent that annoying thing where the tip of your rod dives down when you start lowering your downrigger weight.

5. The brakes or clutches on many downriggers don't provide very sensitive control of the speed at which the downrigger weight descends, which means that you may not be able to set the brake or clutch on your downrigger so the weight will descend at a moderate and controlled speed while you paddle forward.  But if you have mounted your downrigger where you can lean your knee, thigh, or some other body part on the cable reel, you can use that body part to control the descent of the weight while you continue to paddle forward.

6. In order to crank up your downrigger weight, you'll need to drop your paddle onto your lap.  Try to mount your rod holder in a location where you can reel in fishing line at the same time that you're raising the weight, so your fishing rod and line stay under tension as you raise your downrigger weight.  But as you mentioned, unless you're pointing downwind in a significant breeze, you may need to raise the downrigger weight and/or your fishing line some distance, grab your paddle and paddle for a couple of strokes, and then return to raising your downrigger weight and reeling in fishing line.

way to get out AND survive!  glad everything worked out. East wind of some sort happens a lot. the spit protects you. I haven't had issues. the water clarity diminishes when west winds pound the shoreline and that I think is worse off the spit. just got to put in the time. you will catch one if you keep at it. thx for the report.

what fish finder are you running and how do you have it mounted. you had a blank screen all day?
great stuff pmpete.

Pete, great tips. I figured most of that out through trial and error.   I figured out an organized deploying procedure, and I was pretty impressed with the drag control on the Cannon Lake-Troll. I was able to control the cannonball all the way down and land it exactly where I wanted it, and it actually got better throughout the day as the mechanism broke in. 

I have my boom coming off the port side, and my rod holders are behind me to keep rods out of the way of my paddle stroke. I may experiment with a rod holder on the center tunnel, but I'm not sure even my gangly arms would be long enough to run a downrigger behind me and fishing reel in front of me simultaneously. I may just have to settle for bringing things up slowly, 5 feet at a time.

Alaskans,
On my way out of Homer I pulled into the Homer Overlook (on the right side of the road, at the top of the bluff before you get into town). I saw three powerboats trolling a race track together and a gang of sea lions mucking around. I'm guessing they knew where the fish were. Is there any access near the overlook, or would I have to launch closer to town (Bishop's Beach?) and paddle west?

what fish finder are you running and how do you have it mounted. you had a blank screen all day?
great stuff pmpete.

Rudy, I'm running a Lowrance Elite-4x, mounted right on the center tunnel. I saw a couple little blips about 8' down in 15' of water right when I launched, but that was it all day. I'm also very much a fish finder noob and have always wondered if I'm doing it right. So far I haven't been able to hook up with a trained fish that's willing to swim around under the boat and help me dial it in

Pete, great tips. I figured most of that out through trial and error.   I figured out an organized deploying procedure, and I was pretty impressed with the drag control on the Cannon Lake-Troll. I was able to control the cannonball all the way down and land it exactly where I wanted it, and it actually got better throughout the day as the mechanism broke in. 

I have my boom coming off the port side, and my rod holders are behind me to keep rods out of the way of my paddle stroke. I may experiment with a rod holder on the center tunnel, but I'm not sure even my gangly arms would be long enough to run a downrigger behind me and fishing reel in front of me simultaneously. I may just have to settle for bringing things up slowly, 5 feet at a time.

Alaskans,
On my way out of Homer I pulled into the Homer Overlook (on the right side of the road, at the top of the bluff before you get into town). I saw three powerboats trolling a race track together and a gang of sea lions mucking around. I'm guessing they knew where the fish were. Is there any access near the overlook, or would I have to launch closer to town (Bishop's Beach?) and paddle west?

It's about 3 miles out I think from bishop's beach.  Its a great spot but its three miles..... lol  I am lazy so that prevents me from trying.  If I was more fit and lived there, I am sure I would give it a try.  maybe even use the sail system I have for the hobies.  It's just really hard to fish three miles out when I am catching fish 20 yards from my parked car.   Having siad that, I used to have the same attitude for halibut off Whiskey Gulch.  I never ventured out more than a mile. But lately I am reaping the rewards of heading out 3 or more miles on a good day for halibut. 

Give it a try.  When I first started fishing the spit, all of the boats were hanging at the green can.  It seemd only like after I started posting more that the powerboats moved in closer.  I know the charter catains ddon't fish here much becasue they can't justify the price they charge unless they travel further.  lol.  Simply put, give it a try.  The fish go deeper as the water gets colder but who knows,  maybe the hottest spot in Kachemak Bay is in between Bishop's beach and the boats you saw. 

You should definitely be picking up clouds of bait on an elite 4.  I've heard the humpbacks are still around and even in shallow water.  There has to be a ton of baitfish around.  What you haven't purchased my trained salmon and halibut kit???  LOL  I will say that I was seriously disappointed in some of my underwater footages as I would go through what appeared to be big clouds of baitfish on the sonar and my gopro showed nothing.  I have come to realize that the small thin lines that go from top the bottom are not  bait fish but they are gas bubbles from the sea floor rising to the top.  But I definitely feel like I get more strikes when the sonar is showing something. 

Hi -
I run the same FF, Elite 4x, and have been able to spot fish and bait up close along the stretch from the tip of the spit to the north side of the condos where the surf breaks on the shallows.

I did have to work on the elite 4 a bit, it seems they dont always come with the same settings.   My wife's cam in and had to be completely reset back to factory defaults as it was pretty wild.  My friend Larry's arrived and he saw nothing for several hours until he realized that there was a 'sonar off' setting that had been toggled to the off position.  He would get a screen and depth, but no fish returns. 

If you have a spare memory chip, I would recommend that you download the latest firmware, follow the update recommendations, and then reset the factory defaults.   There are several choices that you have for sonar mode that come up when first powered on, or right after a software update. 

See if that helps - it did for one of mine so I promptly updated firmware for the other one too.

Thanks for the report - it was -3 in Kenai when I woke up there this morning.   Didn't think it would be that warm in Homer!!

Thanks for the tips on the Lowrance, AKRider. I will fiddle with it some more when I'm on the water tomorrow. It's supposed to be a little colder than it was yesterday, but considering I broke a sweat a couple times, I think Wanda and I will be just fine

Oh yeah - last time I was out I dropped those chemical toe warmer packs in the feet of my dry suit.   Worked well for about 3-4 hrs. 

Stay warm !!

Still fishless in Homer, but at least I SAW a King this time.... or at least the butt-end of one, hanging out of a sea lion's mouth.

When I rolled up to the end of the spit I saw birds, that sea lion, and presumably Kings  working bait right up against the beach, but the tide was switching and I think the murky water that rolls in pushed the fish out. By the time I got my boat in the water there was nothing going on.

AKRider, thanks again for the tips on the fish finder. I reset it to factory defaults and it started behaving much better, but I'm still having fits trying to get the depth scale right. I did actually see some fish on it this time. 

I think I will try one more time on this days off. By this weekend the tides will be switched around so I can catch the high tide around noon. Maybe my luck will be better on a different tide!

that's a good sign. you are one tough cookie. way to get at them. traditional in the areas off the condos. about two hours after high tide is when it can turn on.  if you can cat h peak flow about 3 to 4 hours after high tide as the light diminishes, it can be excellent.

I drink anti-freeze, Rudy. It gives me super powers!

I just checked out the 10-day forecast and it's not looking good, but I'll keep any eye on it.

I drink anti-freeze, Rudy. It gives me super powers!

I just checked out the 10-day forecast and it's not looking good, but I'll keep any eye on it.

Nice!  We will have to fish.  Not so much my entire body, but my super power is that my hands are mostly immune from the cold.  I don't need a scoop to get the ice out of my ice fishing holes.  I find my hand to be more efficient.  Lol. 

Forecast is ugly.  I need a November King...my ten year old son has already caught his!  Argh...   But I will say that I enjoy ice fishing.  I have learned a lot about fish behavior and how they strike and what triggers fish by being able to catch a fish strike my lure/bait only a few feet away from my face. 

Let's fish!!