RE: [Paddlewise] Trolling

>   Does anybody out there on the list actually fish......and catch, from
> their kayak?  Especially any salt water paddlers/fishers - how do you
> deal with handling fish in an environment where there are large toothy
> creatures around?

I pretty much always carry fishing gear when I'm out, although I only
usually fish if the sea isn't too lumpy. Most success going for bottom fish
on a high tide: Pollock, Saithe, and Mackerel. I used to use an old coffee
tin as a handline/reel that I could cast spinners with (clever technique I
learnt in Chile), but now use a commercial handline that I found in Norway.
Quite heavy line (probably 50lbs) for the 1-3lb fish I usually hook into,
with a trace which consists of a eight mackerel feathers/squid lures spaced
at 2 foot intervals followed by four feet and a large ledger. The handline
is very neat, with a rubber strip which holds the lures securely, which I
just slip under the decklines when not in use. To fish I wind out line until
I'm on the bottom, then wind out another couple of meters and tie the handle
off to an elastic bungie belayed to the closest foredeck line. Technique:
paddle slowly for a couple of strokes then stop, feeling for tension in the
line with one hand. Wait as I glide for the ledger to contact the bottom,
then repeat. More often than not I'll hook into fish just as I paddle away,
so when I feel for tension in the line I know if I'm into a fish. Not
exactly sporting, but because I use overly heavy gear I just paddle off for
a few strokes, then wind in the catch. I always carry a large dive knife on
the foredeck when I'm fishing, which gives me the option of cutting the line
should I hook into a seal/porpoise (which has never happened) and I simply
knock the fish on the head with this. I store the catch in exactly the same
way that I would if I was fishing with a rod on land: put them into two
plastic grocery bags. In the kayak these  then go on the floor of the
cockpit. If I do fish its usually for ten to twenty minutes at the end of
the day just before I land, and the catch is either in my stomach or my
freezer a few hours later :-).

Cheers

Colin Calder
57º19'N  2º10'W

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