*** Long post ***
Well, Yesterday was the first time I have ever tried to fish ledges or deep humps out of the yak. Here are a few things I learned yesterday afternoon. First off, I can tell you 100% that if I was in the bass boat I would have caught many more fish than I did. Saying that, I love fishing out of my yak.
Bring an anchor, I had one with me. I tried throwing my Fat papa without it and it was almost impossible to fish it to it's full capabilities. A large crankbait will pull your yak towards it limiting the depth the bait will reach. Make sure you carry a marker, even if you have GPS on your fish finder. The anchor helps with deep fishing all around. The wind was not rough but with out it down my jigs and C-rig were just getting drug along the bottom as I was blown away from my marker.
I found out that like many have said, bass boats will butt into your fishing spot. I was fishing a hump that's not very big and not a "community" hole. It's a decent paddle from the ramp so I was more than a little upset when I had been fishing it for less that 5 minutes when a bass boat pulls up and starts fishing around me..... at one point they were less that 12' behind me throwing past my yak and cranking it by me (they caught a fish doing this too). I had all right to be a jackass but I was pleasant. When they started that I just started paddling around "scanning" for fish right in their casting lanes to be an ass.
I left that spot after catching 4 fish off a bridge piling and losing a nice 3ish pound fish about 10' from the yak. Next lesson learned, pack light! Long paddles suck with 6 rods and a milk crate full of tackle trays, anchor, water and zip lock bags full of various soft plastics... yes I still get stuck in bass boat mode with loading the yak.
Next spot is a long rock point that I start fishing. A boat is driving by when I hook and land a bass on a carolina rig, the boat immediately slows down and pulls within 30' of me and starts fishing... they at least said hi and asked how I was doing, I was nice once again. I proceeded to catch 6 more fish and lose a few more while that caught Jack Sh..... made me feel a little better. I left as the sun was setting and headed home. It was a nice trip but still a little frustrating due to other boats and just the learning curve of fishing deep out of the yak. By the way, water temps were 92 and bait fish were everywhere, all really small yearlings.
The picture is of the first jackasses that go very close. They were floating away from me at the point. If you two are members here, have a little respect next time out on the water. I own a bass boat too and would never get that close to another boat or yak.
Rant/lessons learned now off.
