Paint

Please don't paint your kayak.  Unless you really know what you are doing.  Rattle can plus saltwater plus abrasion plus time equals potential shit leaking into a lot of bodies of water.  I'm not saying that every brand of paint will leach off and make even more chemical-laden stew, but we shouldn't ignore the fact that kayak plastic can be a tough medium.  There's enough crap polluting our waterways; don't make it worse just because a trusted friend says that it's your gateway into his wisdom. 

Your kayak is mango colored, yes?  OK, that makes it transmit a wavelength of light somewhere between red and orange.  Good news for you and your color-shocked salmon - red and orange are the first colors to get absorbed by all those fathoms of sea water.  When the sun hits your kayak, and shoots its rays down toward those finicky cones and rods within the salmon's eyeballs, a funny thing happens.  The color of your boat doesn't penetrate very far into the deep.  Remember my first post about Roy G. Biv?  Well, that's a little oceanography slang for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.  Those are the relative powers, ranked least to god awful amazing lazer-powered, of the various colors within the UV spectrum as they relate to penetration into H two oh. Mango is not full penetration.  The color of your yak shoots down, say 8-12 feet, and then turns to gray.

Besides, salmon are olfactory-based creatures.  If you use sunscreen, or spray yourself in DEET, your potential catch suffers far more than in situations in which you paddled a violet kayak with a sloppy, splashing stroke.  We're talking parts per million here.  Touch the sunscreen bottle, touch the lure...screwed.  Paddle a mango kayak? Well, unless you're fishing in four feet of water...you should be fine - just another gray blob.

I don't figure it will instantly increase... but I can learn from him, and put those things I learn to use where I fish with him as well as other places... does this not seem logical to others? 

Your want to learn from him is perfectly normal. What is illogical IMO is his rule of not fishing with you due the color of your yak.
All I was trying to say is make sure you think it through before you change the appearance of a perfectly good yak and end up wishing you didn't.
The guys on this forum know a thing or two about kayak fishin and so far nobody's steered me wrong. On purpose.


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Andy - thanks.  Frankly, I hadn't consider the water pollution issue.  Perhaps what I shall do is use my, already green, 13 footer to go with him... I will just take out the scupper transducer... assuming I can figure out how to do that without damaging it.  I just need to get  a stinking cart.

RR - He is just funny about that stuff.  I wore a blaze orange stocking hat steelhead fishing with him earlier in the year... he asked me not to wear it next time... for the "scare the fish" reason... he is convinced.

Revjcp...

I'm not a band-wagon kinda guy...more of a "lead the pack only to find the pack went a different direction" kinda guy...
I've fished with alot of nutcases that all had, well lets just say "different" takes on fishing and superstition...do's and dont's...the cans and cant's...

No bacon before fishing...the grease got on everything...fish don't like bacon
No eggs...they make you fart...fish don't like the smell
No beans...see eggs above
No onions, garlic or peppers of any kind for a couple days before going out...you sweated it out through your skin...fish don't like veggies I guess
Couldn't wear ANY bright colors...fish like dull colors
Couldn't wear anything nylon (windbreaker stuff)...fish don't like the sound it makes...
No yellow (Eagle Claw) fishing poles...too bright
No eating...fish don't like candy bars, egg salad sandwiches...just worms I guess
No sunglasses...Makes you look like a big bug (too big to eat...made them not hungry...) I really never did even start to figure this one out...

There are tons more...I just can't think of them now...I've pretty much filed them in the "Bullshit" file....and it's overflowing

Your friend says the color scares away fish...take a good long look at all of your lures...I know I've got some about that same color...caught alot of fish with 'em too...
I think he's just not down with the color...so be it...to each his own i guess...

As for the paint, I think you would be wasting your time and $$$...
Not even going over the pollutant factor as stated above...just how long is that gonna stay on I wonder??
With the combination of the current, the "bump into" objects in the water, and the bottom/ beach when you launch and land...that paint is gonna be coming off quick...not all of it, but you will have huge Mango sploches and stripes...

The part I don't understand AT ALL is WHY you would even consider going through the hassle of all this if you have ANOTHER kayak that is of "ACCEPTABLE" color???

But, like I said...To Each His Own...

Wordz

Bananas, don't bring those.....they are bad luck according to fishing Captains/Guides/Charters...

I bought the smaller yak (mini-x vs T23) for the river... that is why I was considering it.

Forgot about that one...

No fishing with women...if they touch your gear...bad luck...
I know a guy that will not even let women cashiers scan his bait...he does it...if they touch it, he puts it back and gets a different one

Forgot about that one...

No fishing with women...if they touch your gear...bad luck...
I know a guy that will not even let women cashiers scan his bait...he does it...if they touch it, he puts it back and gets a different one

Yeah, um, about that.  Every fish I've caught in the last year and a half has been with a woman...



That's her, not catching fish again.


Also, if the fish gets spooked, it's not by the boat color, it's by the boat, period.  You got too close for comfort.

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My wife and 3 daughters out fish me all the time...and no, not becuase I'm a slacker either! 

Why not use contact paper instead of painting the bottom.  It may not last as long, but it does come in all sorts of great fish catching patterns
http://www.designyourwall.com/store/Self-Adhesive-Shelf-Liner-Contact-paper-c-123.html

Uh oh... I sense the slide for the chum bucket coming...

Just so you don't get frustrated when your expectations pop, you might want to find out exactly what eats, wears, and what body wash he uses.  I strongly feel that my crappy luck fishing has more to do with my human scent.  Fish must really not like it.   

You know, his friend might have something there!  I have NEVER!! seen you catch anything with that bright orange hat of yours on. 

Hmmmm, that orange hat was likely responsible for our recent skunking on the Hagg backwaters.  Next bass hunt, it's ghille suit for you!

Yeah, um, about that.  Every fish I've caught in the last year and a half has been with a woman...

That's her, not catching fish again.

Is that a blue ling?  And obviously she out fishes you because she fishes sideways. 

Yeah tapatalk rotates the pictures sometimes...  It was light blue ling.  Some of it went to Holtfisher so I could make good on a promise.