FS Digest

My boyfriend and I recently got a couple of kayaks and I’m so excited to try fishing from them. We are looking at a pole mount (but would love to know if anyone here recommends it or not), and already have fishing gear because we fish from the shore.

I’m curious about options for storing the fish we’ve caught. We don’t want them just loose and bleeding in the boat as they are also pleasure kayaks we will be renting out. I see there’s a type of pack you can mount on the front of the kayak, but I was hoping for something a bit simpler (like maybe some kind of mesh net kept in the water?).

I can’t find much on google, and not sure where to start. We are in Manitoba, Canada and will mainly be fishing for Walleye. And of course, any words of wisdom/advice would be appreciated greatly!

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by amienas

FS Digest

If you're kayak fishing off-shore for the first few times I wouldn't recommend bringing too many rods. Launching off the beach can be tough when you start out and you can easily lose rods if you flip. As for some kinda of fish storage, id recommend a small folding cooler that you can strap down onto the yak. Have fun and be safe.

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by Pieyou

FS Digest

String them behind the boat or use a soft cooler with frozen water bottles. Also try a mesh laundry bag.

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by FishFromDaYak

FS Digest

They make metal fish baskets that you could just tie to the boat and keep it in the water as you fish.

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by deimhit

FS Digest

I'd take a few trips with just one pole on a rod leash so you don't have a lot of distractions, and then decide how you want to lay out your boats, or if you even want to modify them. Then you could add holders, but you really want to know how you personally are going to use the boat before you start drilling. A crate with holders will provider removable storage while you figure out where/if you want to mount rod holders as you move to taking more gear out. I primarily use my flush mount and torpedo style holders behind my seat when I'm trolling, and fairly rarely mount one in front of me. I can move a couple of my Scotty rod holders around on my gear tracks when I'm hanging out in one spot but need my hands, but I usually just have my gear in hand once I get to where I am fishing. The exception is f I'm fishing deep cover with live bait on a line counter reel, that's when the Scotty in front of me gets used the most, otherwise I mostly use the flush mounts and rear mounts for travel and occasionally trolling. I don't have my own pics handy, but the boat in this article is rigged like my current boat to help un-muddle my terrible description of it. ;-)


https://www.canoekayak.com/kayakfish/kayakfish-boats/jackson-kraken-13-5/


There's a lot of options, but the easiest is probably to lash a milk crate in behind your seat, run a drill bit through a couple of shorter pieces of PVC, and zip tie those vertically to the crate for rod holders. You can add flush mount rod holders, but I'm assuming your boats didn't come with them, and you may not want to drill that much. You can add Scotty Deck Mounts (or any other brand, but I like Scotty) which work with a number of rod and other device holders they make. You can add gear tracks, I like the ones RAM mounts make myself, and then adapters for anything you could want will slide into those.


One of the many Scotty options:

http://scotty.com/product/no-280-bait-caster-spinning-rod-holder-sidedeck-mount-2/


RAM:

https://www.rammount.com/product-lines/tough-track


Example of a flush mount:

https://yakgear.com/product/flush-mount-rod-holder-kit-with-pad-eye/


One of 27,000 ways to rig a crate up: ;-)

https://www.canoekayak.com/kayakfish/kayakfish-tips/diy-hacks-how-to-rig-a-milk-crate/



For keeping fish, I would get a fish bag. (Or a cheap, huge cooler bag). It can bungie in behind your crate, on your hull in front of you, etc. Really depends on your boat. Fill it with ice or frozen water bottles and it should do the trick. I personally feel like dragging fish around on a stringer is a bit cruel, so I'd rather spike them and put them on ice right away. Floating coolers would probably work, but either slow you down when dragged or have to be stowed until you're ready to move it out of the way for fishing.

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by aRushinTroll

plumbob Loc: New Windsor Maryland

Hey Amienas I am new to the kayak world as well if you consider having one since January. I have a Bonafide and what works for me is a cooler with ice packs in the back section. As for rod holders I rotate between two, one on my back left side and one on my front left side. Being right handed plenty of room for casting. Keeping my net in front center on the deck for either side for the catch. Good luck and enjoy the new experience.

Joefish1268

Mesh bag for keeping fish in saltwater sounds like issues with sharks. Check out Yak Motley on YouTube for some interesting shark encounters on a kayak. Go with a bow bag full of frozen water bottles. As far as fresh water, I have a nice mesh bag capable of holding a 36”Pike. It attaches via metal clips to my mini cat and seals with a heavy Velcro strip. Got it thru Bucks bags in Bozeman, Mt.

Redfisher Loc: Florida

Check out yak attack gear on line. You won’t believe the endless items to rig your yak to the max for fishing.

CAslirod Loc: Sacramento CA

I know of and am a friend of a professional fishing guide who fishes on a kayak as an individual and team member. I'm sure he would be interested in talking with you. His name is Doug McArther.
(209) 993-3789 www.team-mc-fishing.com