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[booyaki]

Hey all,

New flyfisher (new to fishing in general actually...) here and really enjoying it so far.  I'm hoping to get some tips on trolling with a kayak on the local lakes.

I'm having pretty good luck getting bites off some olive micro-leeches, but I find I'm having trouble getting a good hook set.  By the time I see the bite and grab my rod, the fish is already gone.  I'm paddling backwards and it takes me a couple seconds to get the rod up and start stripping the line.   

Also, if I miss a hookup, can I just float in that area hoping the fish comes back?  or I have I pretty much lost my chance with that one?

Any tips/suggestions would be awesome!

Thanks!

[skaha]

--need a little more information...depth you are fishing and speed....assuming you're going for trout?
--are you using a sinking line or sink tip... lines have different sink ratings so you have to adjust speed depending on what the sink rate is to get fly at the same depth in the water.
--for shallow water you could use dry line and use leader length and slow speed to keep fly of the bottom but almost at the bottom and catching bottom you're likely close to where the fish are.

--even if you have fished a while can still get fooled by weeds.. catching on the fly or could be very small fish nipping a the leach although with a small micro should get a hook up.

--for sure you can stop and slowly retrieve... let sink a bit then faster retrieve... varying speed may cause the fish to get more interested.

--some would troll while searching for fish once near the spot stop, cast and work the area.

[4TheKids]

I have done a bit of kayak fly fishing but not a lot. One trick to set the hook is give the line a whack with your paddle. Odds are the fishing is swiming towards you when it takes so you may have to strip while the rod is still in the rod holder. But I have always found casting to be more productive than trolling. You need an anchor, a fish finder, and position yourself in a good spot. Also use the fish finder for bottom structure and contour. And don't forget to look straight donw sometimes. It can be surprising what you see it you stare for a bit.

[colin6101]

I probably spend 20-30 days a year out on the water in my kayak and a lot of that time is spent trolling around. I find that if I am missing strikes this is usually more to do with smaller fish then anything else. Usually if I switch to a smaller pattern I will turn these short takes into hookups but the fish don't have much size to them. I also troll backwards with the rod positioned between my legs (my kayak has an excellent notch there that the butt slides into). I tried using a few different models of rod holders but wasn't happy with my response time with any of them.

[doja]

What do you guys mean "trolling backwards"...? I paddle forward (like normal) with the line out back. Is this the same or opposite?

when a fish hits I have the butt of rod bettween my legs in a notch and the rod further up leaning against my knee so I can feel hits and don't have to pay attention at all to what is going on and when I pick-up my rod the angle at which it points from the boat is as close to the paddle area as possible so that when I pick-up the rod it kinda sets the hook its self. rod holder's kinda suck for anything but just holding the rod. Also keep your hook sharp...

and yes if you go back to that spot it very well might just hit again.

also if the rod is in a holder your time to react is slower so you might want to give a good hard dig with your paddle to set the hook via moving the boat faster then grab the rod.

the differnce between my yak and yours may also effect hook set. My sot is on the heavy side and glides much more than my siting yak.... If yours is a sit in and on the lighter side with poor glide this may be more of an issues requiring a good paddle dig to set the hook.

oh and a soft rod= have to give a hard hook set but holds fish well due to lots of play in rod.
heavy rod = hooks better as you don't need to set too hard and the speed of the boat may be enough at the start  but can easily loose the fish after as not enough play to keep it on.

I like soft rods but you must remember to give a hard hookset or loose the fish.... It's real easy to forget.... Till it's too late. I learned this with my 3wt.

Also try other fly's like a pumpkinhead and others and vary the size too as they may hook better. I've also snag ed fish when they hit and miss the fly but make body contact.... This hapens and results In  hits with no hookup.... Try slowwing down and stuff.

what kind of yak and rod you got?

[colin6101]

By trolling backwards it means we are facing opposite to the direction of travel. Although this isn't great for watching where you are going (has never been a problem for me yet), this does allow you to have the rod right at your fingertips and you are able to see your rod tip at all times in case you are getting soft hits from fish. I also prefer this method when trolling a floating line since I can quickly cast towards rises if I see something come to the surface away from where my line is.  I agree that if you are using a softer rod then a harder hookset is needed. I notice a big difference when I use my 3wt greys versus my 5wt TFO for trolling. If switching to a smaller fly does not solve the hookset issue, try a different fly or better yet try tolling faster/slower. Sometimes the fish just need to have less time to look at your pattern to really commit to it.

[jimmywits]

I troll in my pram and sit facing the stern and as soon as I see a strike I heave on the oars heavily and that almost always sets the hook, also I can grab the rod so fast I don't lose very many. If I do miss a strike and I feel that it was a good sized fish I will give it a little while then head back over the same area and try to entice it again, sometimes you win sometimes not, but at least you know there were fish there, and you were at the right depth.