Bottom Fishing from the Kayak

Terrible picture but first fluke of the
day and 29th species for the year.

After getting back from New Hampshire, I really hadn't done much the last two weeks. Most nights I went for bike rides then watched the Sox lose. I was determined to do productive things on my days off.

I've said many times I don't really enjoy saltwater bottom fishing from shore. I just don't really enjoy casting four ounces of lead on a ten foot rod with thirty pound line to hopefully catch two pound fish. If I'm going to bottom fish with heavy rods, carp are usually my quarry.

Since summer fishing is tough for many species, I came up with the idea of trying for bottom fish from my kayak. I discussed my idea with my friend Dave and he helped me come up with a game plan.

First order of business was to find a place protected from summer winds. Dave suggested a spot that is safe during even . the strongest southwest wind.  Once location was decided upon, it was a matter of knowing the tide, parking issues during the summer, and how I was going to fish.

So yesterday I put the kayak on the car and packed my gear. I stopped at Quaker Lane and bought some squid then headed to 'gansett. I had a walk of over 100 yards through sand to drag my kayak over, but it wasn't to bad. I brought two seven foot rods. One was set up with a 1/2 ounce bucktail jig. The other rod had a two ounce sinker and a hook for the squid.

The wind although fairly light was coming straight in. I shoved off, paddled a couple hundred yards and drifted back toward shore. This was how I fished for the next four hours. I'd paddle way out, drift in, repeat.

I ended up using the bait rod most of the time. The reason was because I could drop that two ounce sinker really fast. I could bounce it up and down off the bottom with a lot of feel.

 I ended up doing really well. Action was very consistent. I would hook a fish or two on each drift. I didn't keep score but I caught about 15 scup, 10 fluke, 3 sea robins, and 1little baby black sea bass. I kept a few scup but let everything else go.  I may have caught a couple scup that were sub legal, but for the most part they were good size. I didn't catch any legal fluke, as they ranged between 12-15 inches.

I caught all of these fish on light tackle. My seven foot rod was my winter time schoolie rod with ten pound line. Between feeling the strength of the fish and never knowing what I was going to reel up, I had a really fun day. It was the most fun I've had fishing all summer. I will definitely go again. The only downside was getting stuck in beach traffic on the way home.

One last note; fluke are species #29 for me this year.