How Hard Is It?

[Nick Williams]

Hey I am considering using a kayak for a float this weekend so I can have more independence on the water, instead of a canoe as always. But I am curious, how hard is it to fly fish from a kayak? It has been quite awhile since I've even kayaked period as well. I've seen all the sweet kayaks and mods people have on here so I am debating trying it out.

[Justin Spencer]

Fly fishing from any boat by yourself can be challenging but a kayak can be a good way to go. Storage can be a problem depending on what kind of kayak you are using. I mostly use boats as a way to get from spot to spot.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I agree with Justin, you'll catch more fish wading. There are always areas that can't be fished by wading, but unless you're in a drift boat with a good anchor system it's kind of hit and miss anyway.

Fly fishing from anything will depend on where you keep your loop. One thing about fishing from a kayak, or a canoe, is that you can keep your cast short and that helps keep the backcast up. Not all lines are equel when it comes to short cast however. Overlining will help.

[Nick Williams]

I have used conventional tackle out of a canoe multiple times, but never have I tried my fly rod. I never wanted to have to try to mess with it. Is stability an issue in casting from a kayak or while sitting down?

[Justin Spencer]

Stability is a little bit of an issue, but fly line is the biggest problem, it's always in the way when you need to adjust your drifting position and not easy to quickly retrieve like with conventional tackle.

[Wayne SW/MO]

You should probably just try it. I've never had a problem with it, but everyone has different outlooks on what is doable.

You do want a rod long enough to guide a fish around the bow or stren of the yak if necessary and if you have something like a Clouser or bass taper line i would use it.

[Nick Williams]

I will plan on giving it a go then, and I'll try to report back with how it went. My fly rod is 9' so I don't think I'll have a problem there. I can see the fly line being the problem too, especially with managing a paddle. You recommend the bass taper just for the extra weight to get the line out, am I understanding that right?

[Wayne SW/MO]

You recommend the bass taper just for the extra weight to get the line out, am I understanding that right?

Bass tapers are heavier in the front and have a shorter taper. This helps in driving wind resistant or heavy flies out, but it also makes it easier to load the rod with less line out. Shorter cast means less line to strip in when necessary, but it also makes less line in the air and makes it easier to keep the backcast above the water when you're sitting. Uplining one weight also puts more weight out with less line out and makes short casts easier.

[BilletHead]

Nick it also depends on the type of kayak you have. The wife and I have hybrid kayaks. Kind of a cross between a sit on top and paddleboard. We have low seats and a higher seat that will put us up another ten inches. Casting is a breeze. Plus so stable we stand to fly cast. Easy to paddle but you won't win any speed races with these. Mrs. Billet head just got hers last Thursday and she was standing and casting fron the first trip out. Here is some photos of her in action on our first two trips,

BilletHead

[Al Agnew]

I've done some flyfishing from my solo canoes, and what the others said is right, it isn't the easiest thing in the world to do, but it's doable, whether in a solo canoe or a kayak. It isn't so much your lack of height above the water; after all, if you're standing in waist deep water you're lower than you would be in a kayak or canoe. It's more the casting from a sitting position, which seems awkward until you get used to it. The other big thing is to make sure there is nothing in front of you on the boat to snag your line. Even at that, just having a paddle within reach means there is always the chance of tangling your excess line around it. Line control becomes critical. You don't want any more line off the reel than necessary.

It's easiest to use surface bugs and flies. That way, whenever you need to pick up the paddle for course and positioning corrections, you don't have to strip in the fly and have a lot of extra line lying in or on the boat to get tangled up, you just let the fly trail while making the correction. With subsurface flies, letting it trail means letting it sink and possibly get snagged, or at least makes it more difficult to pick up to make another cast.

Doing it effectively, though, is highly dependent upon how well you can control the boat when you're floating. If you can keep the boat moving more or less parallel to the bank, there are a lot of stretches where you can get into the groove and make cast after cast with a minimum of effort. You have to accept that you won't be able to fish casts a long way out from the bank, though, just cast, work the fly for a few feet if it's a surface bug or streamer or let it drift at the speed of the boat and current, and then lift it and make the next cast with a minimum of false casting. If you get into that groove along a good bank you can fish it very effectively from the boat. But also accept the fact that you'll run into a lot of times when it will be very frustrating.