Ultimate Kayak Fishing

   I'm fairly new at this thing called kayak fishing but I've been fly fishing off and on for many years. I was happy chasing small stocked trout in the streams that were close to wherever I happened to be living. A fly fishing trip to Alaska targeting salmon, trophy size Rainbow and Dolly Vardon trout opened a new world of big fish to me. Going to Alaska several times a year was out of the question so I began to look at the salt water that was only a few miles away to quench my appetite for big fish.

   I joined a saltwater fly fishing club and my education began. It didn't take long to discover that this new kind of fishing was going to require new equipment (rod, reel with two extra spools and three lines). Well, it won't break the budget but it's going to be close. I was ready to go fishing so I stopped off at the local fly shop for some clousers, deceivers and pop fleys. WOW! They don't give them away. I better start tying so as not to destroy the budget. Salty flies aren't anything like the ones that I had been tying I need new materials and new jaws for my vise. OK there goes the budget.

   Off to the flats at Quonny Pond with all my new stuff and most of the old fresh water stuff that I thought would be useful. It was one of those nights, a fish on every cast and I was hooked. I was waste deep in the water for five hours catching more schoolie stripers than I thought could exist. Then the tide changed and the fish quit. Back to the car and home to bed. My casting arm and back hurt for several days but it was a good hurt as it was one of my most memorable fishing experiences.

   It has taken a while but this is where the kayak thing starts.

   The places that one can drive to and wade fish are limited and crowded. On the drive to the usual spots I began to take notice of fishy looking places that were not accessible to a fisherman on foot. How can I get there? Do I trespass on private property and walk along the railroad tracks? I didn't like that option. Back at my fishing club I asked how I get to those sheltered places, Amtrak bridges and flats you can't wade to. KAYAKS they said! Kayaks will get you there and lots of other places that even power boats can't go. Don't settle for the schoolies when the cows are out there for the taking. Now my interest is peeked and my bank account is quivering.

  Kayak shopping is on the top of the to-do list, justifying the purchase of the yak is a close second. Paddling is exercise and I need exercise, so I justified and seriously dented the bank account and bought a bright yellow Tarpon 160i and completely rigged it for serious fishing. Fly, spin and conventional gear are all in play on my kayak. I'm also set up with lights, compass, fish finder and GPS all a must to be safe and find fish. Of course there is more to safety on the water than I listed, please do what is necessary to be safe.

  Some of my favorite places to fish on the Connecticut shoreline are courtesy of "Amtrak"; they build their bridges in such nice places. They are usually built in sheltered coves and under those bridges the current creates mini rips, washes out deep channels and exposes rock structure that hold big stripers waiting for an easy meal to wash by. I like to fish the bridges at night when the tide is approaching full and is moving slowly. I set up a drift and bounce a live eel on the bottom. If my fish finder shows fish at the surface or I see bait fish boiling on the first pass through I set up another drift and fish on top with the fly or spinning rod. I like to let the water I'm fishing rest a while between drifts so the fish can settle in again after being disturbed. I go to the bridges prepared to fish at whatever depth the fish are.

    "Amtrak" bridge fishing is a very leisurely kind of fishing. I fish slow drifts on the end of the incoming and the beginning of the outgoing tides. I even get to take a quick nap while the tide changes. On the paddle back to the car I troll a tube and worm. The rhythm of the paddle, the occasional twitch of the rod tip and the beauty of the night make for a very moving experience. Of course I don't being interrupted by a big cow striper. Excitement is good too.