# Kayak Fishing Cape Point



## fish militia (Nov 1, 2004)

The first rule of fishing the Diamond Shoals is...you probably shouldn't be fishing the shoals...with or without a partner(s).

Myself and a handful of others do it, but it's not recommended. The shoals can hurt you very badly on the wrong day.

However, this doesn't mean you can't fish to the outside of them and it be very productive.

But, there would be some general rules to this.

You have to know how to get back in your yak and fast. Agility and speed mean the difference between being sucked into the shoals or not. Plenty of people can get back into their boat, they just might not be all that quick about it. If that's the case, you should rethink fishing outside the shoals or surf launching for that matter until you get quicker.

Paddle speed and efficiency makes the difference of whether or not you get into trouble.

The single greatest threat near the shoals is the current. You need to be able to be strong enough and fast enough to do battle with some of the most unpredictable current you can imagine.

Yes, the current is far worse than the waves. If it's neck breaking swell you probably have no business being in the water, not to mention near the shoals. But, most fishable days a person could survive the beating the shoals would hand you, with very little pride left and the thought of "I'd never do that again".

The current can sweep you out to sea in or out of your yak. If you were to hit the water on the wrong day, you may never make it back to your yak.

Now, there are so many factors into this it would be impossible to lay down any general or vague protocols for determining the condition of the current.

I've seen flat/no wind days have screaming current and semi rough days have hardly a lick of current.

Wind, tides, lunar phases, offshore storms, and then some, all play into this factor.

It's best to think of the current on the shoals like gravity feed water pressure. Gravity feed water pressure is built by gradually stepping down the size of the pipe from the feed to dispensary. 

The shoals more times then not work similar. As one nears the shoals and shallower water, the current can drastically increase.

Keeping a reasonable distance can give you the ability to gage what the current is like without potentially disastrous results. You should also realize there can be small areas of side current you just magically float into that is 4 times faster then any other current on either side of it, so you should be ever vigilant no matter how good you think you have it.

Make sure all your gear is secured. Milk crates, rods, boxes, pliers and so forth should be properly secured or tethered. Whether your boat gets flipped10 times in the shoals or it flips once in 3 ft of water, 6ft off the beach in a shore break.. anything unsecured will come out.

Most reasonable, fishable shoal days are no worse than a good surf launch. The boat could get swept away and turned over multiple times. Shoals, surf, sound, pond, lake or river--if the boat is upside down for 2 seconds..you will loose your sh!t.

Also, buy and wear a dive knife on your leg or PFD. If you were to flip and get hosed up in fishing lines or tethers, this would give you the chance to cut free.

But...with all that said...you do not need to be right on top of or close to the shoals to catch fish.

Most of my best catches came well to the outside of the shoals.

You have the shoals and what I like to think of as the outer shoals. This is the calmer area of the shoals on the flatter days that would be 5ft tall on a rough day.

This structure and area holds a ridiculous amount of fish of all sizes.

You really need 3 rods most days to stand a chance of catching that fish of a lifetime.

Any person with any real time spent on a pier or boat knows if you are not tied and ready for whatever swims up to you, then you might as well smile and wave at it, cause it's not going to hang out while you fumble for boxes and retie. 

Shoot...if you ever pulled up to the Point on the beach in the late evening with only one heaver and you're not ready to go--you can completely miss the 10 fish drum bite at dusk or if you only had one reel and it was blown up when the fish hit. You miss out.

I like to have a top water of any size/kind, a metal lure and a bucktail tied on at any moment.

This would give you at least a chance at anything that might swim up to you at any moment.

I also carry a snag rig for the school of live bait that might pass by and a live bait rig/Owen Lupton rig for those special moments. I keep them stored and tie on as needed.

The snag rig and Lupton rig have definitely put fish in my boat more than once.

Now whether the Point is open or not--don't fret. If it's calm, go launch Frisco and paddle back. The area between Frisco and the Point has multiple bars and tons of structure. You can catch lots of fish during the to and fro of this trip.

I do recommend you know your strength and endurance as this is a long paddle. Always know your limits.

No matter where in the world you launch, always make sure someone on land knows where and when you launch and what time they can expect to hear that you are safe or on dry land.

The last thing I do is call or text the wife before I jump into my boat for myself or with clients. She knows if she doesn't hear from me at or before the predetermined time then she is to immediately call the Coast Guard.

A phone or handheld VHF, 1st aide kit and flares are also highly recommended for any launch.

Fishing the area outside the shoals, in The Hook and along Frisco is no harder than most surf launches others do in other places.

Just be safe, apprehensive and observant.

I am basing this info on personal experience and having traveled around a little in my kayak. I've launched the shoals at Ocracoke and Hatteras and launched from the beaches of Avon, Buxton, Pea Island, and Carova, to name a few.

They all just about pose the same threat if you underestimate the conditions.

Now...Go Get Wet!!


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## roostertail (Jul 7, 2012)

Very Interesting and Informative!


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## Wilber (May 20, 2003)

I think the best bet for me is to leave the Grave Yard of the Atlantic to the younger guys that are still Bullet Proof, us old guys don't Bounce as well as we once did. I'll spend my yak time in 4 ft. of water over a nice grass bed live baiting Specks. Ya'll have fun with that.


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## fish militia (Nov 1, 2004)

Wilber, Roger that.

Surfing launching and the Point isn't for everyone..

But believe me on this.. When it's calm you can easily launch the Point and fish all around. A friend does it in his canoe


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## dnunn (Nov 6, 2010)

No longer bullet proof, don't do whitewater, heck, I can wrench something loose just trying to heave the surf rod, but there are those times when I think 'I could do that.'

Thanks for the intelligent advice.


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## sudshunter (Jan 20, 2008)

great read !!!!! i dont think you'll ever have to woory about seeing me out there like wilber said you young guys can have that. im new to yaking and i'll stick close to the shore line after i get used to it in a lake. lol....


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## EDMboarder (Mar 18, 2005)

I'll see you out there whenever I get back to the states. For now spending an hour or so on the rowing machine on the boat getting bounced around in the middle of the ocean is the best practice I can get for the shoals.


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