Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge - View Single Post

-scallywag- · 05-01-2009, 09:51 AM

The new pro angler don't have nuthin on us!!!

SURF LAUNCH TIPS: this is the easy part
1. tie everything down, especially stuff in the front seat
2. pull the yak into knee deep water and put in the drive fins, and strap them back in landing mode
3. Keep the rudder UP!!! use the paddle to steer while peddling through the surf. don't get sideways
4. dont panic and peddle to fast, your boat will handle even 4-5ft waves breaking right on your lap (D50 seen me do it last weekend!!), the only time ive lost stuff was from peddling to fast over a cresting wave only to launch of the top and come slamming down on the other side which catapulted a rod out of a holder.

TRAVELING:
1. Trim, these boats are back heavy so as soon as im clear of the break i will usually re-distribute as much of the weight to the front as possible, this will make the boat more level in the water and it will "glide" much better.
2. Profile, if i think wind is going to be a factor I will try to stay "low-profile" which simply mean i try to keep stuff from sticking up above the deck. Instear of one big cooler, I will use two smaller ones that sit about level with the bow (one for bait, the other for beverages) using a small cooler for a bait tank is easy cheap and very light, i just use a hand bilge pump to change the water every couple hours, and the extra weight up front also trims the boat out nicely and lowers the profile.

LANDING: fun time!!!!
1.Wait until you get just outside the break (15-20ft deep)) to tie down, this will give you a chance to get a feel for the sets while you tie down, remember that big sets usually come thu as much as 15min apart...this will give you a chance to see what ur up against.
2. Empty coolers/tanks. Stoe and tie down eveything...
3. You want as much weight to the rear as possible
4. Pull up the rudder, rudder down in the surf is always a bad idea (trust me!!)
5. 90% i also pull up the peddles and strap them down between my legs, the onlt time i leave them in is when the sets are huge and i need to speed thu the impact zone.
6. Confidence, your on a giant almost un-tippable boat. The ONLY way to spill is if you try to catch a large cresting wave and you get sideways on it while it is breaking, if you find your self on the steep face of a wave that is getting ready to break use the paddle as brakes to keep the nose pointed at shore, hopefully the wave will pass under you and then you can follow it in and the next wave will break behind you....
7. White Water, the main goal is to get thu the impact zone and catch a altready broken wave, at this point its all gravy (on an outfitter at least) even with the largest walls of white water (ive lost hats catching head high foam balls) just use the paddle as a brake to keep the nose going twards the shore, but even if you do get sideways lean into the wave and as long as your peddles are up you can ride it sideways all the way in, peddles down=flip.

All these tips are for large heavy surf which the LJ launch rarely sees, my point is that you have what is most likely the most capable ocean fishing kayak out there, which mean that you have the ability to launch and land places most people would not even think about...put in the time scowering your local beachs/ocean front and find your own little secret launch spot, then reap the rewards!!!! don't forget to post pics!!!

05-01-2009, 09:51 AM	#4
-scallywag- Banned Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: on the road... Posts: 598	The new pro angler don't have nuthin on us!!! SURF LAUNCH TIPS: this is the easy part 1. tie everything down, especially stuff in the front seat 2. pull the yak into knee deep water and put in the drive fins, and strap them back in landing mode 3. Keep the rudder UP!!! use the paddle to steer while peddling through the surf. don't get sideways 4. dont panic and peddle to fast, your boat will handle even 4-5ft waves breaking right on your lap (D50 seen me do it last weekend!!), the only time ive lost stuff was from peddling to fast over a cresting wave only to launch of the top and come slamming down on the other side which catapulted a rod out of a holder. TRAVELING: 1. Trim, these boats are back heavy so as soon as im clear of the break i will usually re-distribute as much of the weight to the front as possible, this will make the boat more level in the water and it will "glide" much better. 2. Profile, if i think wind is going to be a factor I will try to stay "low-profile" which simply mean i try to keep stuff from sticking up above the deck. Instear of one big cooler, I will use two smaller ones that sit about level with the bow (one for bait, the other for beverages) using a small cooler for a bait tank is easy cheap and very light, i just use a hand bilge pump to change the water every couple hours, and the extra weight up front also trims the boat out nicely and lowers the profile. LANDING: fun time!!!! 1.Wait until you get just outside the break (15-20ft deep)) to tie down, this will give you a chance to get a feel for the sets while you tie down, remember that big sets usually come thu as much as 15min apart...this will give you a chance to see what ur up against. 2. Empty coolers/tanks. Stoe and tie down eveything... 3. You want as much weight to the rear as possible 4. Pull up the rudder, rudder down in the surf is always a bad idea (trust me!!) 5. 90% i also pull up the peddles and strap them down between my legs, the onlt time i leave them in is when the sets are huge and i need to speed thu the impact zone. 6. Confidence, your on a giant almost un-tippable boat. The ONLY way to spill is if you try to catch a large cresting wave and you get sideways on it while it is breaking, if you find your self on the steep face of a wave that is getting ready to break use the paddle as brakes to keep the nose pointed at shore, hopefully the wave will pass under you and then you can follow it in and the next wave will break behind you.... 7. White Water, the main goal is to get thu the impact zone and catch a altready broken wave, at this point its all gravy (on an outfitter at least) even with the largest walls of white water (ive lost hats catching head high foam balls) just use the paddle as a brake to keep the nose going twards the shore, but even if you do get sideways lean into the wave and as long as your peddles are up you can ride it sideways all the way in, peddles down=flip. All these tips are for large heavy surf which the LJ launch rarely sees, my point is that you have what is most likely the most capable ocean fishing kayak out there, which mean that you have the ability to launch and land places most people would not even think about...put in the time scowering your local beachs/ocean front and find your own little secret launch spot, then reap the rewards!!!! don't forget to post pics!!!