I hit a Rhode Island salt pond yesterday with the kayak in hopes of some sight fishing. Well, that part wasn't to be....overcast with bouts of patchy fog and drizzle that at one point near the end of the day turned into a downpour.
Nevertheless, I took the lemons and made lemonade. I paddled over to several sections that are not accessible without the kayak, so it was virgin water for me. Since I couldn't see fish, I worked obvious structure and current seams as the tide flooded. I was rewarded fairly quickly with a few schoolies, and then went to a boulder field and took a break for lunch.
As I sat on a rock and munched on a sandwich, the tide continued to flood and the whole area began to look very fishy. After another half hour of waiting I began to work the area and shortly hooked into what I thought was a large bluefish. It ran straight away from me across the boulder filled flat and tried to reach the channel on the other side. When I finally got the fish within view, it was a keeper striper. I rechecked my leader, removed the part that had been frayed on the boulders, and continued to fish. Another keeper striper was on in minutes. :smokin:
The funny part about all of this is that I don't have a lot of sight fishing experience, so if the sun had been out and I'd spotted these fish I may very well have blown the presentation. I'm very comfortable fishing structure, but had gone fishing yesterday with the hopes of getting some sight fishing practice. Not that I'm complaining too much. :wink:
The rest of the day had an occasional schoolie and a handful of shad near dusk. Overall I'm still very pleased with the kayak. Without it, I wouldn't have had any access to several of the fish that I caught, and it was great to wonder around the pond and learn a little bit more of it.
But the next time I go, I want sunshine. I need the practice to keep up with some of you other flats rats. :wink:
Nevertheless, I took the lemons and made lemonade. I paddled over to several sections that are not accessible without the kayak, so it was virgin water for me. Since I couldn't see fish, I worked obvious structure and current seams as the tide flooded. I was rewarded fairly quickly with a few schoolies, and then went to a boulder field and took a break for lunch.
As I sat on a rock and munched on a sandwich, the tide continued to flood and the whole area began to look very fishy. After another half hour of waiting I began to work the area and shortly hooked into what I thought was a large bluefish. It ran straight away from me across the boulder filled flat and tried to reach the channel on the other side. When I finally got the fish within view, it was a keeper striper. I rechecked my leader, removed the part that had been frayed on the boulders, and continued to fish. Another keeper striper was on in minutes. :smokin:
The funny part about all of this is that I don't have a lot of sight fishing experience, so if the sun had been out and I'd spotted these fish I may very well have blown the presentation. I'm very comfortable fishing structure, but had gone fishing yesterday with the hopes of getting some sight fishing practice. Not that I'm complaining too much. :wink:
The rest of the day had an occasional schoolie and a handful of shad near dusk. Overall I'm still very pleased with the kayak. Without it, I wouldn't have had any access to several of the fish that I caught, and it was great to wonder around the pond and learn a little bit more of it.
But the next time I go, I want sunshine. I need the practice to keep up with some of you other flats rats. :wink: