[JimW]

The fishing in Plymouth has started to pick up with the arrival of significant schools of bait. I saw silversides in abundance tonight. There is also another larger baitfish, maybe young herring or pogies 4-5 inches long with a deep profile but I saw more of those over the weekend. It seems early for the herring to be this large, any ideas? I have been fishing by Yak and becoming a little more familiar with the flats. I only started fishing from the yak last fall and that was mostly chasing breaking fish and birds around. I am able to see some similarities with the cape flats. Although the flats are not accessible by wading once you get out there I think quite a few would be wadable for about 2 hours. I have been content to stay in the boat for now but it's kind of difficult keeping contact with the fly while drifting. It's different that fishing from a small boat because you cannot really orient yourself towards the retrieve. I tried trolling and it was effective and may be a good method to find the fish but not as enjoyable as actively casting. Any tips for fishing from a Yak? Over the weekend I got into backing a few times and got a short ride on just keeper sized fish but tonight they seemed to be small ones. The fish were not actively feeding and I was spooking large schools as I paddled along. Nice evening to be on the water.

 

[juro]

That short ride sounds like fun! I haven't fished from a yak myself so can't comment but I would like to use one to extend my stay during flood tides on certain flats.

Have you tried one of those collapsable nylon sea anchor sock things? At least it would hold the yak in one orientation, and slow the drift down too. They weight nothing, working on principles of fluids rather than weight.

 

[grego]

Jim,

Nice report.

They sell a small (~3 lb.) grapling-hook type anchor for yaks, which holds well & most bottom types. I think this should be required equipment if one is planning to get out of the yak & wade; you don't want to get into fishing & not notice that your ride home has drifted away!

My dad does quite a bit of estuary fishing from his yak. He finds it very difficult to effectively (& safely) fly-cast, so he also does a lot of light spin fishing from his yak.

 

[JimW]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I have thought about the drift sock but I wonder if it would create some instability, one way to find out. I have one of the collapsible anchors, they are great if there isn't much current and they throw quite nicely, even with the rope attached.

 

[striblue]

Jim, I use a small grapple hook anchor on my yak and it works fine ,especially on the flats. The anchor also folds up in the shape of a cylinder and then can be dragged without getting caught... usually.