Kayak Comeback

[boneless]

I had so much fun getting shut out in April that I went out and bought a kayak of my own. I've had a couple of chances to get out on the water now and I've even caught a few fish. The boat I picked up is a used Ocean Kayak Scrambler XT. It's not as wide as the Drifter that I had rented so there's no standing up. That means that sight casting is pretty limited because I'm so low to the water. I mostly just cast to fishy looking structure along the banks. The maiden voyage was on 5/15. I headed N from the ramp. Saw a lot of surface activity that day. I had decided ahead of time not to be proud so when I saw some red devils I tied on a fly I had made (a very home made attempt to copy one of Stan's from the website) just for them. I was happy and a little surprised to find it worked. I was on the board. After that I focused on trying to get a Tuke. At one point I was up tight to the shoreline and made a really short cast to the underside of a fallen tree that angled into the water. A nice Peacock slashed at my fly (one I call the Ugly Buggah) but I missed setting the hook. In fact, I didn't feel a thing. I cast to the same spot with the same result; violent slash but no pull. Again. Again. Again. I stopped counting after lucky 13. I think I was on about 20 when I finally hooked and landed and released that fish, my first flyrod tucanare. I think it was maybe 2 1/2 - 3 pounds. I was stoked. I swear to you that it was only later in the day that I realized that what I was seeing were probably defensive strikes from a spawning fish. Then I felt kinda bad. What's the consensus on the ethics here? Anyway those 2 were all my fish for the day. I went out again this Thursday with pretty much the same tally only this day's bass was about 1/4 the size of the first one. Still, I caught it at the end of the day so I was grateful. I'm going to attempt to add some pictures but I give you a warning: If you are a fly tier or have an otherwise delicate constitution, stop here. My Frankensteinian creations are an insult to the fur and feathersmith's art. Looking directly at my flies may cause your head to melt like that guy at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The same goes for photographers. My favorite is the the one of the little tuke where the fish is fuzzy but my feet are in perfect focus. Aloha.










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[Stan Wright]

That is kind like the flys I tye..... only better looking.
The important thing is they seem to work just fine.

You should visit Sean and Clay over at Nervous Water Fly Shop. They know what flys work and will show you how to tye them. (they make it look so easy)

As for the spawning fish. Some people leave them totally alone. Some of us target them. I'll usually just catch one of the 2 fish guarding the nest and leave the other one alon. Move on to another spawning area.

Even after the peacock bass spawn they will continue to guard the fry. That's when the smaller peacock bass in the 2 to 3 pound range circle around trying to eat the babies. They think your fly is a baby that got spooked away from mommies protection and really go for it.

[Ahnkochee]

I'm with Stan on this one, catching and releasing a nesting Tuc is fine as long as you target just one, release gently, and move on. Spawning time is best time to hook into a sizable Tuc with any regularity in my experience. Your flies look fine, beside they have to look like weak vulnerable prey to get strikes.
As far as kayak stability you might consider what I did for my 11' canoe which used to be quite squirrelly, I made a lightweight removable outrigger setup using PVC pipe for the iako, and either 2 lobster trap floats, or a cheap ($3.99) "pool noodle" for the ama.
http://www.hawaiibassfishing.com/forum/ ... ight=#2344
I can stand and cast all day without suffering from huli-ova-fobia. I've tested my outriggers in rough seas 3 miles out in Kailua Bay with flying colors. Here's a couple pics:

Pool Noodle Ama


Lobster Float Ama

[boneless]

Ahnkochee, the outrigger setup looks like a great idea. It really would be nice to be able to stand up and see the fish. I'm going to see if I can figure something out. Thanks for the spark.