Tuna fishing in a kayak

Ok so I'm going tuna fishing tomorrow and the sea's might finally be calm enough to bring the yak...has anyone tried this yet ? How do you fish for them in a kayak ? Also I'm wondering how exactly do you safely mount and dismount from the boat ?



Any input would be great

Thanks

I've had more luck launching from the side of a boat, you can get stuck under the stern easier than the side. If there's chop or swell, towing the yak along at about 1 - 2 knots helps stabilize it. Leave it empty and have someone hand you the gear after your in, slip the line back once your set (if your moving forward) and once your clear of the stern let go of the bowline or have someone on the boat let it go. Commit to getting in the kayak once your over the side, keep you head/body centered over the kayak, don't think about the boat once your over the rail. If you think thru each step and commit to each step, it is easier than it first sounds. Once your free, everything else is just fishing. I'd just reverse the order for the landing, pull along side, toss up a bowline, climb up only when your kayak is snug to the hull.  ...and you know this stuff isn't safe, but your gonna do it anyway.

That is exactly what I had in mind... Thanks for the input , and like you said its pretty crazy but we're gonna do it anyways....I'll keep ya updated if I try it tomorrow.....how do you fish them out there? Usually we troll cedar plugs but I've heard in a yak you want to drop a jig down a couple hundred feet then real like crazy ?

Tuna like a speedy jig, you won't get them trolling in a kayak. I'd drop and reel fast if that's all you have. Live bait would be the best bet, or even a dead herring or anchovies. Maybe a Rapala or high-action lure like that at full-speed, but difficult. Another thing to be aware of is the vertigo you can get from paddling without any stable landmarks. When the horizon is moving, swells are lifting you up and down, and even your mothership is rocking and rolling it's easy to loose your stability/balance. Be aware of that, and keep your self centered over the kayak. It's very easy to flip in that situation and you wont even know it until your over. Tie off everything and take only the minimum gear.  Good luck.  I'd say stay safe...but you wont.

Thank you

good luck, sounds intressing
 

Eh ... its been done and a hear it is easy. Saw it in a magazine and they said something about catching most of the fish on the troll. First time out too from what I remember.

Good luck and be safe.

Oh and I would recommend a bow and stern line and not to loose sight of your mothership.

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Troll Magnum XRap-15's or swimbaits.  It works.  Or yo-yo irons or swimbaits.  Drop them down 100-200 feet and rip the back on a fast reel.  It works too.  DAMHIK.

-Allen

Nice info that's exactly what I've got and plan on using!!!.....thanks everyone

on the "that looks like fun" scale,  that pegs it   

Nice pic Allen!!!! I hope to have one of those soon!!!!.... Did you guys wait until you got into fish to drop from the mother ship or just randomly drop ? When the temp was right ?

Troll around on the big boat until you find them.  Sounds like you've been tuna fishing before ... you know the drill, you can cover a lot of dead water then all of a sudden be into them.

-Allen

Ya I do alot of tuna fishin and that's what I planned on but just wasn't sure

Last week out of Depoe Bay whenever we got into a school we'd generally get 2-4 of our 12 trolling lines hooked up. If you weren't "fish on" you'd reel in and stow the other rods and when they stopped the boat to land the fish we'd run forward and cast a 5-6" blue swim bait on a 3oz jig head as far as possible with a heavy spinning setup, let it drop for 15 seconds and reel it in. I caught one this way as did a few others, maybe 3-4 of the 24 total were caught this way.

I caught one on the trolling line and one on a hand line. The spinning rods were the most fun.

Good luck! Send a report.


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