Kayak Bass Fishing Magazine - Fall 2016
Transcript after the jump - I hope this proves valuable when you hit the river. Enjoy!
A Whitewater Convert’s Primer for River Fishing
- by Andy Middleton
Fishing has always been a hobby. It’s in my blood. But from
my teenage to post-college years, I found another hobby – whitewater canoeing
and kayaking. I was introduced to
the sport in high school through Explorer Post #67, led by Dr. Walter Howard.
Doc, as we usually called him, was the assistant principal and technology
director at Northwest Whitfield. He had a place in his heart for introducing
young people to the outdoors, and a trailer he kept loaded down with canoes and
kayaks. He would spend many weekends leading us Explorers on the trails and rivers
of Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Sometimes there would be day trips, and sometimes there
would be weekend clinics or camping trips. One day, Dr. Howard and I paddled a
tandem canoe down a Class IV rapid – my first and only one. I would have never trusted myself on
it, but with Doc’s encouragement we portaged the canoe back up and I ran it
solo.
It was during those adventures that I learned the anatomy of
a river, and just how dynamic moving water can be. I learned the Eskimo roll. I
took a swift water rescue class. I learned CPR. I got good at many different
types of paddle strokes; knowing how to use them in harmony with the current
conserves your energy and keeps you upright. I learned to never grab the gunwales. I spent time upside
down, bumping my head, busting my shins in mostly Class II-III waves, and
loving every minute - even though drowning is my greatest fear.
But age and bravado seem to have an inverse relationship. My
wilder days are in the past. I don’t brave the rapids in a six foot closed cockpit
boat with a spray skirt anymore. Nevertheless, the river is still my refuge.
Fishing and paddling are still two of my favorite hobbies, so combining the two
just made sense. In 2014, I sold my whitewater kayak and bought a Diablo
Paddlesports Amigo. I began fishing a few of my local lakes, but it didn’t take
long until I was back hitting the rivers and creeks every chance I got.
Luckily, I got involved with the Reel Krazy Kayak Fishing Tour in 2015. We can
hang with anyone on the lake, but ask most of us and we’ll tell you to put us
on the river any day.
After a few river fishing trips, I realized there is a lot
that translates from whitewater kayak river skill to fishing kayak river skill.
I also realized these skills are very helpful when applying what I know about
fish behavior to the river environment. I want to share a list of ten tips I
use every time I fish moving water.
Hopefully, these will help keep your boat full of gear, your memory card
full of fish photos, and the river rash (on you and your boat) to a minimum.
1.
Travel
Light.
After the obvious rule of always wearing
your PFD, this is rule number one. Often there is not going to be a boat ramp
at a river or creek. This is why you bought a kayak, right? To get you in those
places the bass boats can’t go. You may be forced to use rope to lower your
kayak down steep banks at the launch, then pulling them back up something even
worse at the takeout. Additionally, you may be shuttling with a buddy and
cramming two boats worth of gear into one vehicle. Make things easier by taking
less stuff. When I go to the river, I usually take three rod & reel setups:
one baitcaster for bottom baits, one baitcaster for moving/reaction baits, and
a spinning outfit for finesse and downsizing situations. Unless you are fishing
an outflow into lake backwaters with some big bluff walls, you probably aren’t
going to need that 3700 box full of deep diving crankbaits. Oh, and leave the
electronics at home. When you learn river anatomy, you’ll know where to find
the deep holes anyway. Leave the extra weight at home - your back and your boat
hull will thank you.
2.
Stretch
and take plenty of food and water.
This is the “motherly advice” portion of
the list. Stretch before you launch.
River fishing from a kayak is taxing on the body, no matter how good of
a paddler you are. If you want to catch fish, you’ll be paddling against current
much more than you think. Focus especially on the shoulders, back, and core
with your stretches. Burning all those calories on the river will cause you to
become hungry and thirsty pretty quickly – so prepare accordingly.
3.
Store your
rods horizontally.
Kayak fishing is controlled chaos, and it’s
even more so in moving water. Exercise extra control by taking overhanging
limbs out of the equation. Some
fishing kayaks are molded with horizontal rod storage tubes. I installed a Hobie kit on my boat.
Once you take advantage of horizontal rod storage, you may find yourself using
it on the lake, too. Tell me you haven’t snagged that rod in your rocket
launcher on a backcast at some point. Horizontal rod storage rocks.
4.
There is
more to pay attention to than just fishing.
Rivers have rocks and rapids, shoals and
strainers. With rapids, you’ll normally be able to both see and hear them
coming. There are plenty of times you’ll want to face your kayak upstream when
fishing. After all, fish face upstream and prey washes downstream. Just
remember to keep your head on a swivel. Knowing what’s around you, no matter
which direction you are facing, gives you a much better chance of staying
upright. A strainer is a blowdown that falls across moving water, and is one of
the most dangerous features on a river. The tree blocks objects from floating
downstream, yet the current strains right through. If you are not in slack
water, avoid running into these, and fish downstream of them. Fish usually hold
downstream of these features anyway.
5.
Learn and
practice different paddle strokes.
There are many more strokes used on the
river than the basic forward and backward stroke. Take a paddling class (or at
least watch some online videos) then practice on a lake or in gentle
current. Know what a sweep, draw,
rudder, brace and scull are. Use them to your advantage to get you in those
tight spots where the fish hold, and stay there as long as you want. Learn how
to ferry, and you’ll magically leverage physics to get you effortlessly across
the river. Paddling.net has a great page of paddle strokes with videos to help
get you started.
6.
The
anatomy of a river – know how to run and where to fish.
See a horizon line up ahead? Maybe some
rocks sticking up? Hear the water rushing? Is the river making a bend? This is
the time where you look at the dynamics of the river, and apply the paddle
strokes you learned. Knowing how to identify and dissect a river feature go
hand-in-hand with paddling skill to get you safely to the bottom of a rapid, or
into that good fishing spot on the opposite bank. Certain times of year,
especially in the summer, fish will hold near shoals and rapids for multiple
reasons. There is more oxygen in
moving water, and they can also sit in current breaks and pick off prey as it moves
with the current flow. These situations not only test an angler’s casting skills,
but also their navigational skills.
The first rule of thumb in running a rapid
or shoal is to look for the downstream-pointing “V” shape. Basically, visualize
your boat going through a funnel. Most shoals will have a series of these, and
you’ll have to use your paddle strokes and ferrying skills to meander your way
through them. These downstream “V’s” are the path of least resistance, and the
safest way to the bottom. Although it may be counter-intuitive to a beginner,
it’s best to keep your speed up and punch through the bottom of the rapid. Bigger rapids may have a hydraulic, or
keeper hole, at the bottom. Keeping boat speed up will help avoid getting
sucked in. Whitewater playboaters love these things. Kayak anglers? Not so
much.
On the sides of the “V” funnels, there are
usually eddies of some shape or size.
An eddy is a current break usually formed by a rock. The current flows
back upstream behind these breaks, and they make a great ambush point for a
fish. They also make a great rest stop for a kayaker. Experienced kayak river
fishermen will learn to “eddy-hop” and pick apart a shoal for bass, casting
both into the current and into other eddies. Catching an eddy involves the
kayak in motion crossing the eddy line and literally pivoting around the paddle
after a well-placed, aggressive draw stroke. Georgia is home of the shoal bass,
so we really love eddy-hopping here. Smallmouth, spotted, and redeye bass are
known to hang out in areas like this, too. Largemouth tend to like their water
a little more slack, but will venture into swift water from time to time.
Avoid hitting upstream facing “V’s” and “U”
shapes. Those are telltale signs of rocks just under the surface. Usually, the
outside of a river bend will hold the path of least resistance and the deeper
holes where fish like to hang out.
Sometimes rocks jutting out from the bank will create a large riverside
eddy. These are great places to cast your lure. Focus on the eddy line, where
the downstream current meets the upstream flow of the eddy. It will look like a
whirlpool. Catching a good fish after nailing a quick eddy turn, setting up,
and firing an accurate cast into another break the size of a doormat is a very
rewarding feeling.
7.
Use a
lighter test leader if you’re using braided line.
When you get snagged while fishing current
(and you definitely will), sometimes you want
to break off. Braid is just too darn hard to break. If the current is too fast for you to paddle back upstream
of your snag and get it loose, don’t risk damaging your reel. Just break off
your leader and re-tie. I like 30
lb braid mainline to 10 lb fluorocarbon or mono leader.
8.
Basic
logistics for shuttle partners: meet at the takeout before your trip, not the
put-in.
If you think about it for a minute, it’s
pretty obvious. But lots of time-wasting is done by meeting at the put-in. Meet
at the takeout, combine gear into one vehicle, ride together to the put-in, and
go fishing. Also, take your straps with you on the float. Nothing is worse than
getting to the takeout and realizing you can’t strap down your boats, and they
have to be left unattended while you both go fetch the other vehicle. In the
unfortunate event this does happen, make sure the person with the vehicle at
the put-in has their keys and wallet/license, etc.
9.
Tether
everything.
Eventually, you’re going to hit an upstream
“U” or get into a fast-moving chute on an outside bend with an unfortunately
placed rock. Even your best brace stroke may not keep the dreaded turtle away.
Don’t lose all your gear in the process. This is another one of those moments
you’ll be glad you stored your rods horizontally.
10. Enjoy
it, be safe, and leave no trace.
River trips tend to plug us into the wilder
side of the world a bit more than reservoir fishing. Bald eagles, heron, osprey, deer, otter, and other wildlife
are not uncommon to see on river floats. The bass are lean and mean from living
their lives in the current. There are usually fewer manmade structures around,
fewer motorboats, and more solitude. This also means that safety awareness must
be heightened. Someone on the trip
should have a first aid kit and a cell phone, and always wear your PFD. It
bears repeating. Check the USGS website or American Whitewater for current
river gauge readings, and know when the flow rate is too high.
There are too few places left that are
unspoiled, and our rivers are no exception. The river is a great place to hang
out, have fun and cool off, and avoid boat traffic on a hot summer day, but all
too often I’m seeing the remnants of that fun laying around on the riverbank by
selfish people that have either lost or never had respect for the gift of
nature. Remember - if you pack it in, pack it out. Better yet, leave it cleaner
than you found it.
This
article is written in memory of Dr. Walter Howard. Thanks for making a
difference.
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