# First time solo



## MetroMan (Mar 7, 2009)

I went kayaking solo for the first time today. I've always been with mytmouse and grady-black, but today I flew solo. I am pleased to report that I did nothing stupid like falling out. I am sad to report that once again, I got skunked! 

I launched from Truxton Park. I trolled several different lures during my journey...nothing yielded me any success. I trolled from Truxton Park all the way to the Severn River. It was a nice calm day out there. Passing the Annapolis Harbor area I had a take on my bucktail/mullet bait. The line was peeling off the reel pretty quickyly (I knew it wasnt a snag). Unfortunately, the fish didnt bite the hook. As I went for a hookset, that was the end of the action. Exciting nonetheless. 

On the way back upstream, I stopped at the launch site to stretch my legs. After a minute, I hopped back in the kayak and went further upstream. Same result. I was on the water for just over 3 hours and paddled a path of about 4 miles.

Better than a day at work I suppose...


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## shadyfisher85 (Mar 17, 2010)

You'll get em next time. Glad you made it out. I really want to get out on the Severn again soon. Might think about a night trip...


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## MetroMan (Mar 7, 2009)

We have been toying with the idea of a night launch as well.


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## mytmouse (Jan 24, 2009)

Did you see any hours posted for the park? 

MYT


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## MetroMan (Mar 7, 2009)

I didn't see any!


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## Fishwander (Jul 2, 2010)

MetroMan

Do you have , and use a depth finder ?
You may have just been "out of the zone"

I generally drop my lure to the bottom while not moving , and then give it a couple of cranks up to keep it close to the bottom when drifting with the current.

Whenever I am paddling and am under power/ movement , I want more line out for sway , or "scope" to stay in the zone.

A depth finder / fish finder would definitely be an asset.

Fishwander


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## bbcroaker (Jan 6, 2005)

Today I didn't get skunked. Baught a Heritage 10 (throw in the truck yak) and stoped at Sandy River Res. to try it out and ended up catching 4 -6 SM. small bass .Nothing to brag about but no skunk. I have a fish finder on my main yak and still get skunked a lot.I think it's in the 'genes"


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## Grady-Black (Mar 25, 2007)

Sorry I couldn't hang with you, well kinda, since you didn't catch anything!

Its a drag getting your kayak near the end of the season, huh. 

GB


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## shadyfisher85 (Mar 17, 2010)

never launched from truxton, I would launch from jonas green park. You can night fish from the pier there, so I think you could launch a yak and fish at night.


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## yakattackn (May 18, 2010)

Hay MetroMan, I hate to switch gears like this, but did you say a while ago you had purchased an umbrella rig? If so, did you have a chance to use it kayaking? Thanks,


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## MetroMan (Mar 7, 2009)

Hey there. I didn't purchase one, but I was toying with the idea of doing so. I ended up attaching three 6" swim shads in tandem with 50lb mono. I never ended up using it though


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## yakattackn (May 18, 2010)

OK. I’ve always pondered the idea of utilizing a rig such as this kayaking, but unsure of the depth in which they can be used effectively or if it would increase the likelihood of a strike if the bite has slowed. The only time I have personally used them was trolling offshore in a boat with downriggers and the whole nine yards. Thanks anyway!


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## ComeOnFish (Apr 8, 2009)

I used umbrella rig often. I used them while trolling with both regular paddle kayak and Hobie.

Here are some tips:

1. 12” and 16” 4 arm umbrellas rig are not for kayak-trolling
2. 6-9” 4 arm umbrella rig is do-able under 1 foot waves. I could paddle at 2.5-3 mph for 2 hours then I needed totake 30 minutes break to continue on . It was a good exercise.
3. On my Hobie Adventure, I can do 8 hours because I can use legs, arms or both. Sometimes I cast additional swimbait while trolling an umbrella rig.
4. Pulling a 9” 4 arm umbrella rig is harder than pulling a Stretch 25.
5. Going against wind (waves) is much harder than expected. 
6. Since you can cast out the umbrella rig, you need to have a rod holder in front of you to let the line out if you are using a regular paddle kayak. The best way to let out the line, you set the drag light and keep paddling until the lure hits the certain depth.
7. Any time you face strong wind, high waves (wakes), kayak will slow down fast and the umbrella rig sinks very fast. Start with no sinker on the umbrellas rig. My lures are 1-2 oz parachute (with big hook – I made them).
8. It is very hard to maintain the constant speed, so the lure will get hung up a lot. For this reason, I do not troll umbrella rigs in the water shallower than 30-35' if I troll with a regular paddle kayak.
9. On a Hobie, it is a different ball game. You can maintain higher and constant speed. And the letting out the line is a piece of cake.
10. I don't think one umbrella rig is a lot more efficient than the tandem trolling rig (1oz on the top and 2-4 oz on the bottom) by a lot. Pulling a tandem rig is not labor intensive as pulling an umbrella rig.
11. You need a mid-size trolling reel to operate the 9” umbrella rig.

Safety:

1. tether the rod (all not just the one you troll). The reason is that if you ever get overboard and get wrapped by fishing line with umbrella rig – which is far away from you, the umbrella rig will get hung up. The tether line will keep the kayak with you.
2. I tether my self to the kayak when I troll an umbrella rig for the same reason

I prefer to use a small sail on my Hobie when I troll an umbrella rig. The sail gives me additional speed by 1-3 mph.

Here is one of the umbrella rig videos. I was using one tandem umbrella rig, All rods and I were tethered to kayak. You will see How I add inline sinker to the rig. Trolling an umbrella rig is more exercise/adventure than fishing to me:






Bottom Line:
It can be the most inefficient way to catch fish.

Thanks,

Joe


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