Kayak fishing etiquette on the ocean

I dont want to make a fellow kayak angle mad at me by me not being up on etiquette.   I'll be solo fishing quite a bit I think, so when launching someplace like Sunset, Depoe Bay, or PC, how close is too close?  100 yards?  200? Go fish another reef?   Does it matter?

 On the river I wouldnt drop in anywhere I saw a rig already parked, nor would I go fish the same hole as another fisherman, unless I was with them.  As I am fishing the stream or river I head the other way if I run into someone.  This is a personal choice as I despise combat fishing.  Its about respect, there is plenty of water there is no reason to intrude on someones fishing especially if you dont know them.     

Some of this comes from me not fully understanding how much fishing space is out on the reefs until I get out there more and see them for myself. 


Have a GREAT day
Lance

 I doubt your going to be able to lay claim to a 100 or 200 yard circle around any of our local reefs, its not just kayaks that fish our coast and the guys in power boats don't really care if you were there first

If I'm catching fish, come on over.  Plenty to go around.

If I'm not catching fish, come one over.  I'll have someone to blame

  and the guys in power boats don't really care if you were there first

yeah that's for sure the norm just about anywhere you fish at, it's especially fun when a pb goes zipping by behind you lol had that pucker moment more than once

There are no hard and fast rules but in the ocean 50 to 100 yards should be plenty to avoid conflict.  Personally I'd be fine with you fishing 50' from me if conditions allowed for it.

On the river I wouldnt drop in anywhere I saw a rig already parked, nor would I go fish the same hole as another fisherman, unless I was with them.  As I am fishing the stream or river I head the other way if I run into someone.

You may need to rethink your freshwater strategy during salmon season.  It's common to pass within 20' of another boat at most of the popular fisheries and have another 20 or 50 boats within sight.  There are ways to find solitude but your hookup rate will usually drop accordingly.

Dang monkeyfist and here I thought that was just my opinion lol

I have yet to see any kayak anglers on the ocean be uptight about fishing space, but the yelling matches on the rivers - even the big C - haha.

I have found many times that fishing on top of anyone in the ocean is actually pretty hard to do.   Even when my son and/or fishing partners for the day try to stay near each other, we still tend to drift quite a ways apart when we are working an area 100-200 feet or more.   When we all agree it's time to move to another area, we may get within a few feet of each other during the transit, but inevitably we each may see something on the fish finder at various points along the way and stop to drop a jig on it, thus spreading the gap pretty quick.

For the most part, fishing within 50 feet of another kayaker that you don't know while out fishing in the ocean on a given piece of structure, normally isn't a problem.  If it is, the kayaker with the issue with it will just move away silently.  If you notice this more than once, might be your sign to just move along.

Don’t show up at the mouth of the rogue on Labor Day. You’ll have a bad time.

Don't worry about the space; Just talk to people.  If you wallow into five guys fishing close to each other and just sit around the edges sniping then you're asking for it.  Say hi, talk shop, and keep some space.  It's a big ocean.  You might find yourself naturally included in the group.  If you see someone else out alone and offer a friendly chat then you're good to go, unless they're die hard loners.  I think that applies everywhere, not just in a kayak on the ocean.

Stay within 200 ft of me so when I see your rod bend from a fish I can sneak in behind ya and try to get on the same school there plastic if you bumped my boat I wouldn’t care as long as you don’t tangle my line unless you got a fish on and let me untangle  the line

Great stuff guys, thanks!  made for a good read with the after dinner drink lol.   It sounds like I am going to fit right in,  Im happy to share my cooler with fellow like minded fishermen anytime   You can probably count on me not showing up on a crowded salmon steelhead run with the kayak,  Although there are some streches of the Umpqua that would probably be fun in a kayak instead of a drift boat.  And I'm a noob out there right now so its my duty to take the blame isnt it??   We all gotta pay our dues. 

Looking forward to meeting you all out on the water!!

Lance

Great stuff guys, thanks!  made for a good read with the after dinner drink lol.   It sounds like I am going to fit right in,  Im happy to share my cooler with fellow like minded fishermen anytime   You can probably count on me not showing up on a crowded salmon steelhead run with the kayak,  Although there are some streches of the Umpqua that would probably be fun in a kayak instead of a drift boat.  And I'm a noob out there right now so its my duty to take the blame isnt it??   We all gotta pay our dues. 

Looking forward to meeting you all out on the water!!

Lance

I make 'solo' trips out of Sunset Bay whenever conditions are good, look forward to seeing you out there.  There are always other kayaks/DB/PB out there on the good days so I really use the term 'solo' just in terms of launching.  I often fish my way over to other small boats close enough to say hello and maybe chat a bit, then head off to some totally open water.  The one issue I have had with PB out there is some of them don't realize that their wake can travel and add to the swell so as to occasionally catch a kayak off guard and scrambling to re-position for the swell+wake combo.  But in the end, it's just about keeping your head on a swivel out there and loading the stringer with fish.  cheers, roger

Don't worry about the space; Just talk to people.  If you wallow into five guys fishing close to each other and just sit around the edges sniping then you're asking for it.  Say hi, talk shop, and keep some space.  It's a big ocean.  You might find yourself naturally included in the group.  If you see someone else out alone and offer a friendly chat then you're good to go, unless they're die hard loners.  I think that applies everywhere, not just in a kayak on the ocean.

+1 on the talking.  If someone rolls up on me to within, say, fifty feet, I'll usually say "What's up?" or "How's it goin?" If they reply, we're cool.  It's big water out there and I enjoy BSing with other kayakers.  When one of us hooks into a solid fish, it's fun to share the stoke.

It's the guys who don't say a word who rub me the wrong way.  If a dude rolls in front of me and silently cuts off my drift without speaking, it feels like the equivalent of getting low-holed on a quiet steelhead stream.

Definitely just talk and be friendly with guys. I've actually netted Salmon for a guy who was trolling along side me and was by himself, he was having trouble managing the fish, his boat and net at the same time. I told him he owed me a cold one or fillet but I never heard from him again