New rod for kayak smallies and pickerel

[sanctuary]

What size/weight do you guys think?

I'm leaning towards 8'6 5wt, but would like to hear from someone who flyfishes from a kayak.

 

[tomgamber]

I'd go with a very tall 6wt, maybe 7wt. I think a 5wt might have you a little under gunned on a good sized fish of either species. I would go at least 9 ft if not longer if I am basically going to be casting from water level all day. I find the extra length comes in handy not only for casting but also landing fish from the yak.

 

[jayL]

I plan to use my 11' 6wt for just this purpose this summer. If you're waiting to purchase, I'd be happy to give you a report. Just remind me later in the year.

 

[jerseygeorge]

I bought a 7wt to fish streamers this year. While I will use it on my Kayak, I do not think that is as important as the size of fly you will be casting. A 5wt and large streamers does not work well for me. I have a friend that owns a fly shop and I told him I wanted a 6 for streamers, he strongly recommended going to the 7, so I did so on his advice. (Scott A3, 9', 7wt). Just rigged it up yesterday, so I can not tell you how it is yet.

Nice thing about the Yak. I use Scott rod holders. I keep two rods rigged and ready to go. One is in a holder, one between my feet. So you are able to throw streamers, then a dry, a popper and a streamer, etc on two different rods. It is very convenient.

 

[shipnfish2006]

I use a 9' 6wt out of my kayak. If you go much shorter than 9' or much heavier than a 7wt it gets a bit tiresome to cast after a while in a seated position.

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

Cabela's sold 11 footers several years ago for float tubes. Since you are low to the water you need a little extra length. Sitting in a kayak is similar to a float tube, you are pretty low on the water.

I usually fish with shorter rods when wading or bank fishing, but I have a 9' 7 weight I use in my kayak on the river. If I fished a little more in the kayak I could see myself using something longer and lighter just for kicks, like a 10' 6 weight.

 

[tocar]

On still-body waters, I usually use a 9' 7wt rod with 8wt line. Mostly for LM and carp :roll: (carp are lots of fun on the 'yak). As shipnfish mentioned above, it can get tiring.

For smallies, I bring a 9' 5wt...but only 'cause I don't have a 6wt. ;-)

Sometimes I'll also bring a 6' 3wt for panfish.

And though I've fished for them occasionally, I have never caught a pickerel on a fly.

 

[Fishidiot]

My preferance for yaking and canoeing for smallies is a 9' for 7WT. I certainly would stay away from anything lighter than a 6WT for bass and pickeral.

 

[Fredrick]

I don't use anything smaller than a 8 on big rivers or for fishing for LMB . I like to cast big flies for big fish . The bigger rod you use the easier it is to cast your flies . If your a good caster and have a good bass taper line you could get away with a 6 wt but it wouldn't be injoyable casting average sized bass flies all day .

 

[afishinado]

I agree that a 9' 7wt would be close to ideal, but like Fred, I appreciate what I can do with my 8wt, and most often choose that rod to fish everywhere except very small streams.

 

[jcspey]

Personally I have fished from a kayak with a fly rod for a few years. This year I have move on to a different boat, but the same rod setups.

I agree that line weight is really dependant on fly size. Big flies need heavier lines. Heavier line will still cast smaller flies, just not as pretty. But to me nothing is worse then trying to cast big flies on underweighted lines.

That said, in my kayak I normally fish with one of my 10'6" or 11' switch rods. One is a 6wt the other is a 8wt. I use shooting head systems on both for distance and presentation ability.

I personally would recomend any thing shorter then 9' or 9'6" rod from float tube or kayak because of how low you sit in the water in a tube or kayak.

Just my two cents.

jcspey

 

[ztroutman]

I fish a 10', 8 wt out of my SIN kayak on the Susky and Juniata. I have no problems casting from the sitting position and on those rivers many days you deal with wind, so the 8 wt. is nice. Always have my spinning rod and fly rod.

 

[kayakrick]

8 foot vintage fiberglass 7 wt... Fenwick or the like.. you'll be glad you did

 

[gfen]

I'm going to endorse a rod even though I've never used it in this situation. I bought a 10' 5wt Jim Teeny from TFO and its long enough to help give extra reach, light enough to toss all day, and I'm convinced its got tbe back bone in it to really put the pressure on a fiesty fish.