length of rods for kayak fishing?

[cyberfish]

I feel that 8 - 9 foot rods give an advantage as you can reach around the front of the kayak. Also fibreglass is preferable as it can take more punishment than imx.

How do you feel and what rods have you found useful?

cf

[Bluey]

Hi cf,

I use a six foot rod for spinning and bait fishing however my Kayak is only 2.7 metres long and I can see the need for a longer rod on a longer boat.

My fly rod is 8 foot and I use two small bungee straps to attach it to the deck lines along the side of the Kayak. In this position it actually sticks out past the nose of the Kayak and occasionally I hook it on mangrove branches.

The other thing I learned the hard way is to watch where the flyhook is located as on my first trip I hooked myself whilst paddling.

I have a rod holder inserted into the deck just behind my seat so in open areas the spinning rod can be stored in it but the fly rod's butt is too short and that's why I attach it to the deck lines.

In three months I haven't broken any rods on the kayak but agree that solid fibreglass rods would be more likely to survive in the long term.

Bluey

[cyberfish]

I can see your point re. getting long rods stuck on branches. Maybe there's a case for a range of rods for yak fishing depending on where your going. I've been looking at harling gear which is basically trolling with a fly rod. Like leadline you can control the depth when trolling. Good for lakes and harbouts with no trees to get wrapped up in. cf

[Rdavison]

I have used harling to great effect on rainbows in NZ, especially 5-6 oclock in the morning when the trout are on the surface. Havent tried for bream, might have to give it a shot?

riley

[cyberfish]

g'day riley, did you just troll with a fly rod n' sinking line or is there a special rod n' reel for harling? cf

[Rdavison]

As a matter of fact we just used normal rods 7 foot whipsticks with two flies attached. Normally though a fly rod would be better, obviously sinking line would need to implemented.

Riley

Hope that helps

[mattiger]

Hey guys,

if you are fishing structure I reckon as long as you can get the line round either end of the 'yak theen a short rod is the go as it is easier to get the angle for tight shots into the structure.

I use a 5'10' for a lot of my bream fishing.

[cyberfish]

Are you using graphite rods? I think a kayak is a dangerous place for a graphite rod. I've had a fmt72g (modern version of the fmt72L)made up which is a good compromise of fibreglass/graphite. cheers, Andrew.