Kayak fishing
Encyclopedia
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
from a kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
. The kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
has long been a means of transportation and a means of accessing fishing grounds. Kayak fishing has gained popularity in recent times.
History
- See also Kayak origins
Kayaks (Inuktitut
Inuktitut
Inuktitut or Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, Eastern Canadian Inuit language is the name of some of the Inuit languages spoken in Canada...
: qajaq, Inuktitut syllabics
Inuktitut syllabics
Inuktitut syllabics is a writing system used by the Inuit in Nunavut and in Nunavik, Quebec...
: ᖃᔭᖅ) were originally developed by indigenous people living in the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
regions, who used the boats to hunt on inland lakes, rivers and the coastal waters of the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
, North Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
and North Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
oceans. These first kayaks were constructed from stitched animal skins such as seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
stretched over a wooden frame made from collected driftwood, as many of the areas of their construction were treeless. Archaeologists have found evidence indicating that kayaks are at least 4000 years old. The oldest still existing kayaks are exhibited in the North America department of the State Museum of Ethnology
State Museum of Ethnology
The Bavarian State Museum of Ethnology in Munich, Germany is a museum for Non-European artworks and objects of cultural value.-The building:...
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
Modern fishing kayaks
- See also Fishing kayaks
While native people of the Arctic regions did not rely on kayaks for fishing, in recent years sport fishing from kayaks has become popular in both fresh and salt water, especially in warmer regions due to the ease of entry. Kayaks can be purchased inexpensively and have little maintenance costs. Kayaks can be stored in small spaces and launched quickly. Many kayak anglers have started customizing their kayaks for fishing.
These manufacturers offer special models for fishing that are designed and accessorized for this sport, including specially-designed hatches, built-in rod holders, catch bags and equipment mounts. Specially designed fishing kayaks usually have designs similar to those of recreational sit-in and sit-on-top kayaks characterized by very wide beams (up to 36 inches) that increase lateral stability. These kayaks provide a considerable space for storage inside their hulls which allow the angler to stow rods, fishing gear, batteries for fish finders, extra paddles, anchors, and wheels to tow the kayak fro vehicle to the water. The cutouts molded into the top of the kayaks are well-suited to hold milk crates with additional supplies. Some fishing kayaks are equipped with outriggers to further increase stability.
The most popular kayaks for fishing are rotationally molded from polyethylene
Polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene is the most widely used plastic, with an annual production of approximately 80 million metric tons...
due to their durability and lower cost. Generally, kayak fishermen look for stable and comfortable designs. The new generation of twinhull (catamaran) kayaks that was recently introduced into the market is stable enough to enable both paddling and fishing in the standing position. This technological development also solves some ergonomic problems that are associated with sitting for long hours without being able to change positions, and frees kayakers from the need to sacrifice speed to stability, which is another problem that characterizes monohull kayaks.
There are also kayaks propelled by flippers or propellers and a foot mechanism. These kayaks offer hands free fishing and all the benefits associated.
Kayak Fishing has taken off dramatically in South Africa. Game fish are caught along the coastline North and South of Durban. Large fish such as Marlin and Sailfish can be caught.
Fishing techniques
Contemporary kayaks can be equipped with after-market fishing accessories such as anchor trolleys, rod holders, electronic fish-finders
Fishfinder
A fishfinder is an instrument used to locate fish underwater by detecting reflected pulses of sound energy, as in SONAR. A modern fishfinder displays measurements of reflected sound on a graphical display, allowing an operator to interpret information to locate schools of fish, underwater debris,...
and live-bait containers. Kayak anglers target highly-prized gamefish like snook, red drum, seatrout, tarpon, halibut
Halibut
Halibut is a flatfish, genus Hippoglossus, from the family of the right-eye flounders . Other flatfish are also called halibut. The name is derived from haly and butt , for its popularity on Catholic holy days...
and cod
Cod
Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...
and also pelagics
Pelagic zone
Any water in a sea or lake that is not close to the bottom or near to the shore can be said to be in the pelagic zone. The word pelagic comes from the Greek πέλαγος or pélagos, which means "open sea". The pelagic zone can be thought of in terms of an imaginary cylinder or water column that goes...
like amberjack
Amberjack
Amberjack refers to 3 species of Atlantic fish of the Carangidae family , which includes the jacks and the pompanos.Greater amberjacks, Seriola dumerili, are the largest of the jacks. They usually have dark stripes extending from nose to in front of their dorsal fins...
s, tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
, sailfish
Sailfish
'Sailfish' are two species of fish in the genus Istiophorus, living in warmer sections of all the oceans of the world. They are predominately blue to gray in color and have a characteristic erectile dorsal fin known as a sail, which often stretches the entire length of the back...
, wahoo
Wahoo
The wahoo is a scombrid fish found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. It is best known to sports fishermen, as its speed and high-quality flesh make it a prize game fish...
, king mackerel, and even marlin
Marlin
Marlin, family Istiophoridae, are fish with an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long rigid dorsal fin, which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to derive from its resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike...
.
While bottom fishing
Bottom fishing
Bottom fishing, called legering in the United Kingdom, is fishing the bottom of a body of water.A common rig for fishing on the bottom is a weight tied to the end of the line, and a hook about an inch up line from the weight. The method can be used both with hand lines and rod fishing.The weight...
or jigging
Jig (fishing)
Jigging is the practice of fishing with a jig, a type of fishing lure. A jig consists of a lead sinker with a hook molded into it and usually covered by a soft body to attract fish. Jigs are intended to create a jerky, vertical motion, as opposed to spinnerbaits which move through the water...
can be done from small boats, it was long thought that effective trolling
Troll (angling)
Trolling is a method of fishing where one or more fishing lines, baited with lures or bait fish, are drawn through the water. This may be behind a moving boat, or by slowly winding the line in when fishing from a static position, or even sweeping the line from side-to-side, e.g. when fishing from...
required speeds of five to ten knots, a speed well out of the range of someone paddling. However, the discovery that fish could be taken at much lesser speeds has increased the popularity of kayak fishing.
Some anglers launch kayaks from larger boats well offshore so they can play game fish from the kayak. They find much excitement fighting a game fish as it pulls the kayak through the water.
Recently kayak fishing has started to move inland to freshwater lakes and rivers, where anglers target gamefish like largemouth bass
Largemouth bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...
, smallmouth bass
Smallmouth bass
The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...
, trout, muskellunge
Muskellunge
A muskellunge , also known as a muskelunge, muscallonge, milliganong, or maskinonge , is a large, relatively uncommon freshwater fish of North America. Muskellunge are the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae...
, and salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
.
Some of the biggest benefits of kayak fishing are in the ease of use and transportation, the affordability of the equipment compared to boats, they're an eco-friendly watercraft, and they provide both form, function, and fun.