| TKF Tip Exchange? |
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General Some days are nice and slick and made for fishing; some are cold, wet and windy and made for drinking. DonÕt be drinking when you should be fishing, and it will take you years to know when not to go fishing. If you want to go fishing, but conditions are just too bad, then make it a scouting expedition instead. Look for put-ins; study bottom features in the dead of winter; study a map etc., etc. For new kayakers or someone new to salt fishing I would suggest booking a guide. What you learn in 6 hours will last you a lifetime and will shorten your curve like you would not believe. When you get your first yak, take it somewhere it is safe to swim and test your limits, deep water reentry, etc. I found out a mainstream kingfish is almost impossible to flip in calm water. This gave me more confidence in my boat and I spent less time worrying about flipping and more time fishing. I also learned that I can stand up and fish comfortably. Be sure to wear a PDF and it also helps to have a few buddies around to laugh at you when you give this a shot! Always take a Friend or family member. Fishing is meant to be shared those you love. Try to go on a fishing trip with your significant other once a year. Do not row your kayak. Plant the paddle and pull yourself forward. When moving to your next fishing spot, be sure to pull your anchor up. You can paddle a lot faster this way. Don't attempt to go very far up the beach at Matagorda [or Padre IslandÉ] in a two wheel drive truck. First Aid Carry a well stocked first aid kit, and know how to use the items that are in it. Take a 2-liter soft drink bottle of water, a bottle of peroxide, and a tube of antibiotic ointment with you in the yak so you can rinse and treat cuts promptly when you're miles from nowhere Use scissors instead of a knife for your cutting tasks on your kayak. They may save you some stitches Barbs on hooks were invented to help keep bait on the hook, not fish. So if you aren't baiting hooks, you don't need barbs. Mash them down with pliers. If you should happen to hook yourself, you will greatly appreciate the lack of barb. If you get finned by a hardhead, rinse the wound and rub it on the hardheads belly. I don't know why but it stops the pain. Carry a leather glove with you to handle hardheads. Going to the ER by ambulance or falsely saying you have chest pain won't get you seen and out any faster and you are wasting someone's time. Try an urgent care clinic. Personal Always take your TP in a dry bag or dry box -- makes cleanup much easier! Diaper wipes come in handy for you know what. Wear compression shorts beneath your usual clothing that you fish in. (Available at Wal-Mart in the sports section where they sell knee braces and ankle braces and such). Then go in the water and don't be afraid of rash because it will never happen again for as long as you wear the compression shorts. Baby powder helps prevent yak-butt. Putting baby powder on after you rinse and dry off will help keeping sand from sticking to you Get a good pair of polarized sunglasses and a hat. Use a wide mouth Nalgene bottle in your ice chest for snacks. Beef jerky, candy bars and other small snacks will stay cool and dry. Even with fish in the cooler, you can take the bottle out, wash it off and grab a snack. Carry the little moist lens cleaner wipes for when sunglasses get smudged. The same one can be used multiple times if kept in the package. I put a couple of these in the hard sunglass case so I don't forget them. Safety Try to never go alone. Always wear your PFD. Take a kayaking class to learn techniques and safety. It's the best money you'll ever spend. Make a float plan and give it to someone before you go out. Let someone know were your going and what time you think you might be back Always take a dry box with cell phone or carry a marine radio with you with the weather channel. If you have an old cell phone even if its been disconnected for a year it will still call 911. I know I paid too much for my new phone to drop it in the water Just stick the sim card in the old cell phone and take it with you while on the water. Then switch it back when finished that way you don't risk ruining an expensive phone. If you drop the whole thing in, sim cards are cheap If you take a cell phone, program the local coast guard station into it and the local marine patrol. And also the Game Warden for Operation Game Theft: 800-792-4263 To report a Search and Rescue Emergency: By Telephone Look in the front of your telephone directory for an emergency number listing for the U. S. Coast Guard or Dial 911 or Call the nearest U. S. Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center listed on the USCG Rescue Coordination Centers (RCC's) page http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-o/g-opr/rcc's.htm It Appears the Rescue Coordination Center for Texas gulf coast would be coordinated out of New Orleans and that number is 504-589-6225 By VHF-FM Radio Emergency Radio Call Procedures:
Gear Maintenance Shower with your rod and reels after a trip (ignore stares from spouseÉ) The water hose should be your close friend when it comes time to unpack after a trip. A few minutes spraying down your reels, arties, bogas etc. will save you heartache down the road. A small plastic bug sprayer from home depot will run you under $10 and can make a great portable wash down hose. Good for gear, yak and "whatever" needs to get cleaned off or cooled down. Remember when hosing your reels do not use high pressure to keep water from getting into your reel housing And don't forget to hose down the car, too......especially if you went to the beach. Sitting on the beach your auto is subjected to wind off the water and that saltwater mist coats it good and will rust it out if not taken off. Corrosion X is your friend. Spray some on a rag and wipe down your gear. Saltaway on your reels helps and it doesnÕt hurt your line. Wipe your reels down with Corrosion Block and store with the drag loosened after each outing (keeps the drag discs from being compressed all the time). Don't forget to lube the line roller (on the bail) of your spinning reels WD40 may be a great lubricant for nuts and bolts but it definitely isn't good for reels. WD40 is attracts sand and will cause sand and grime to stick in it. Use WD40 on your PFD zippers and soft tackle bags so they don't freeze up after exposure to salt water Rain-X is the best (I have found) coating for bottom of yak for performance. Any wax or silicon is quite good if it will bond to the plastic and stay for the day. You can lose up to 30-40% of the surface drag on the water. It does wear down in the course of a single day. It is part of my clean up at the end of each trip. Get any thing (spray can) that has silicone in it. Put it on any painted surface or plastics. Most surfaces have minute pinholes on the surfaces, and applying the silicone fills up the holes and that will keep the painted surface from breaking down, plus it makes it much more slipperier as in faster. Buy the bulk-pack of terry-towel rags from Costco/Sam's Club (white rags)...they come in handy for wiping down the 'yaks after washing, or grabbing a fish, or just wiping your shades clean. I always keep a few in my tackle box, trunk, dry box, etc... Put a drop of fingernail polish or super glue on the threads of nuts, bolts, screws, etc. That'll keep them wherever you torque them but they'll still break loose when you need to remove them. When removing delicate fasteners treated this way, a bit of acetone will dissolve the nail polish or super glue. Many commercial products (like certain Loctite products) will lock fasteners in place, but they perform as advertised - you'll have to drill your fasteners out. Brass screws and hardware will not rust in saltwater.......use them on mounting things in the yak and use brass snaps for attaching anchor lines and accessories. Only the top grade of stainless steel doesn't rust. Keep a tube of quick-set silicone in the 'yak (just in case...) Leave your kayak on the top of your car and take it into a DIY carwash and wash the kayak and your car at the same time. Costs about $3 at most places. Put all your usual kayaking stuff (like paddles, paddle leashes, PFDs, rod holders, anchors, sea anchors) inside your kayak each time you store it so it's all there next time you go out. Vinyl stickers - it doesn't matter what's printed on them - make pretty good temporary patches for small holes in your hull. They're virtually weightless and take up almost no room. Keep a few on board , whether that say PGA, Jim Beam, or TKF. You're not going to make a pretty hull repair, but keeping a cheap soldering iron handy and a piece of poly you drilled out for that rod holder may save a weekend. Treat sunglasses with glass lenses with Rain X and they don't fog up or salt over as quickly. Don't try this on acrylic lenses. Kayak Rigging Take your new kayak out a couple times before installing rod holders, fish finders, etc. Figure out where EXACTLY you want these accessories. I even suggest taking a sharpie and marking were you would like them. If you put these things on your kayak before taking the time to find a good spot, it is likely that you will put them where they will be in the way of paddling, casting, basic body movements, etc. Don't cut a new hole in your yak which has a screw top on it. No matter what I do, I'm always draining water. Paddles- separate the 2 halves right when you get back to the car. If they stay together to long, they will get stuckÉand I still havenÕt been able to get mine apart Buy a cheap paddle and always keep it below deck, you never know when you might need it. Kayak anchor - Cut a pool noodle about 12in long run the anchor main line through it and put a crab float at the end. At the other end of the pool noodle wrap the rope around the pool noodle. Easy to cast anchor and keeps the line neat and makes a good bayou marker when BTB on a sleigh ride and you can paddle back to the same spot. Also cut a 12in long pool noodle and slide it up the handle shaft till to the end of an aluminum landing net so if you happen to lose it in the water it will float. Pool noodles have many uses for a fisherman and I get them every time they are on sale after the summer. Tackle Rigging Don't be cheap, go ahead and get a good pair of pliers. Come in handy with almost every fish you catch, and are great for getting hooks out of you too. How to make a collapsing surf rod holder:
DonÕt reel your swivels or knots through or against your rod tip it will knock out the eye. When you secure your lure/hook to your rod it is best you use the hook keeper on your rod, reel or buy one. DonÕt hook it on your eye or it will pop out or start chaffing your line. You can hook it to the frame of the eye if no hook keeperÉ A bead between your line, swivel and leader will prevent broken inserts in your tiptop due to reeling the swivel through it 2 liter bottle caps works great if you lose your drain plug on your igloos. Pull the end cap off of dip nets, and fill it up with insulation foam. It makes it float like a champ. Put a piece of carpet at the bottom of your livewell or ice chest if you are keeping shrimp alive. Keep the water cold!!!! Fishing It's better to fish and learn one area than to fish them all and not learn a thing. If you see cows lying down chewing cud, the fish wont bite--go back home! If they are up grazing, the bite is on! Read the signs. The water will tell you where the fish are. Baitfish is the number 1, 2, and 3 things to lock for when scouting out a spot. No baitfish...no fish. 50% of potential record-book fish are lost because of poorly tied knots. 30% are lost due to line-fray caused by a previous fish. The remaining 20% are lost because of dull hooks. (BTW: I made up the %s). Learn to tie a dependable knot, and learn it so well you can do it after drinking 10 cups of coffee (to replicate your motor-skills while surrounded by a trout/redfish feeding-frenzy). Check the last 3+ feet of line for nicks/frays after catching every fish. Even brief contact with small fish, shell or other abrasive objects can easily cause damage to line that might spell disaster if you hook a trophy. Pull the line through your fingertips to detect potential problems. If in doubt, re-tie! Keep your hooks sharp enough to "grab" your fingernail when pulled across its surface; and check for damaged hook-points if you hang-up on anything. It's cool and fun to look at, but you most likely don't need all the "hot" lures out on the market. How often do you fish? If it is not very windy, try rigging your soft plastics weightless and weedless and work them that way. Use pliers to trim off the front hook for each treble on the topwaters to keep the grass down. This is easier I think than switching to single hooks, and you still have 4 barbs. Make sure the trebles are rotated so the two barbs can lay flush to the lure body. He who cast the farthest and most catches the most Get rid of the mono, use the braid Always use some type of leader line. Use a loop knot when throwing plastics and topwaters...not a swivel Lubricate your fishing line knots before cinching them up to keep the friction from burning the line. I use spit! Pick up a spool of lead wire from a fly fishing shop and wrap your hook shanks to make flutter hooks weighted to suit your needs. Seal with nail polish (quick) or epoxy (durable). When hooked up with a good red, keep your rod tip up...their mouths are soft on the side and hard on the top When you finally decide to set the hook on that flounder that has been playing with your jig for the last 5 minutes, set it like Bill Dance. Then when you get him to the boat, try to keep him under the surface and into the net. As soon as his head hits the surface that mouth will open and if you didn't put a good Bill Dance on him he will spit that jig at you and see if it will stick in your skin better than his Fall and early winter are great for surf fishing. Use cut mullet, especially heads, on a circle hook (10/0 or bigger). Also, don't cast out too far. After the water cools off and the crabs go away, you can cast from the beach without even getting your feet wet and catch nice bull reds. Save your canned tuna drainings in 35mm film canisters, and dispense while fishing. Fishing BTB for baitchunkers: Shrimp and squid are ok but sardines on a double hook rig are the best for smacks, kings, sharks, big specks, bull reds, etc. The smallest speck I've caught on sardines in the surf in the last 8 years was 20". Most are in the 22"+ range. When you buy the sardines frozen, divide them up into ziplock bags, cut holes in the bags to drain the water and put them on a tray in your cooler. Sardines get squishy when kept wet. Keeping them dry and cold will net you many great fish. When you're lucky enough to nail a bunch of shad in the cast net and have many left over, layer them in an old cooler with the drain open. Put a layer of shad (or whatever baitfish), layer of salt, layer of baitfish, layer of salt and let drain and you can freeze them and use them next trip if you can't find any bait. Remember to let the water drain thoroughly though. GafftopÉnasty GafftopÉif you want to keep them and eat them, put them on a bed of salt in a cooler with about 2" of water. It will "purge" them and the meat will taste great. I do it with freshwater catfish too. Once the water turns black, drain and pour in another 2" or 3" of salt and 2" of water and repeat. Just like ya do with crawfish... Throw them on the sand and rub the slime off. Then, skin them like you would any catfish. I fillet them (they don't taste as good "steaked" as freshwater cats) and throw on some Tony's, wrap in saran wrap and put in the cooler 3 or 4 hours then grill or fry. If you want to go over the top, blacken them and serve with some veggies or rice pilaf. If you fry them, dip them in a mixture of mustard and beer, then into the bread crumbs. If you don't tell people what they are, they'll eat them like crazy and say you're the best chef ever. As far as Gafftop go, I've heard that keeping them in a burlap bag for a while when you catch them will remove the slime. If you want to keep you fish alive longer on the stringer run the line through the lip and NOT the gills and keep them in the water When stringing a fish run the stringer up through the bottom lip then through the top lip to keep the fish alive longer. Those fancy golf towels with the clips on them are great for wiping slime off your hands. The clips keep them handy. Take a rag to handle the fish. When handling "schoolie" Trout or any Trout that you plan to release.... never handle with a towel. In fact you should wet your hand before grabbing them. This keeps you from removing their protective slime and gives them a much better chance for survival in the long run. |
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