New to kayak fishing. Advice needed!
 

Hello!

I have been fishing my whole life but am by no means an expert, esp in the salt. I just bought a 15' Malibu X factor as my first yak and am looking for a little advice.

What upgrades are a must have? What safety devices r a must (besides sunscreen, PFD and whistle)?

What will make my kayaking life easier?

Etc. Any advice you want to give.

Thanks in advance!!

Jesse

Where do you plan on fishing? If you go out to LJ it's smart to go with experienced group, my first time out I flipped. (Silly) everyone suggest you go flip your yak and practice getting back into it. Ensure all your gear is lashed down properly, if going for yellow tail it's really good to have a live well to store the bait you catch. Ummm go fish the bays and get a feel for what you like positioned where and how to move around and access your hatches. X factors are mega stable so you shouldn't have to many problems. There Is a sticky called show your innovations that's useful to browse through.

What area are you in? I live in OC and fish pretty often. I would be more than happy show how to get started. I won't be around for the next couple of weekends but after that we should be good to go.

I have one too. If you'rs is the newer model your center forward hatch can be dialed in as a bait tank especially if it has the scupper holes set for it. Otherwise older models are best suited for bait tank behind you.
Bulky to move around, very stable on the water

Thanks for the welcome!
 

I live in good 'ole Hell Cajon, here in SD. I'd love to fish the kelp eventually... But agree it'd be wiser to start off in the bay. I grew up fishing the bay for spotties and HolyButts in a 14 foot aluminum Gregor, so I'd be very comfortable there. I prolly need to build up my cardio a bit before I hit the ocean anyway, but by the end of this summer, I deff want to be on the kelp.

As to flipping over, how do u prevent your rods from falling out of the pole holders? I imagine it'd be good practice to flip once or twice in the bay before hitting the surf

Also, I'd like to fish lake Cuyamaca with the kiddo, if SOT's are allowed there?

To keep all your gear just buy or make leashes about 3 feet long that you secure all fishing poles and any other loose gear on top of the deck. practice getting back in while wearing your PFD. It is a lot different while wearing your gear than just in a bathing suit. Get a VHF radio and a whistle if your going to go out in the ocean and clip it on to the PFD, do not put it in a pocket or your likely to loose it as others have. A VHF radio isn't any good on the bottom of the ocean. Get a floating one if possible. After the PDF, whistle a Fish Finder is the most useful for finding bait and fish. Build up the cardio while paddling in the bay and get used to your Yaks handling to the boat waves and paddle input. Time on the water is the best teacher. Also read all the post you can on BWE and use the search menu to find answer to your questions on rigging and targeting different kinds of fish. Yes you can fish Cuyamaca but you'll need to pay to have it washed off with some chemical to protect against the quagga mussels. I took my X Factor out there but was disappointed to find that most of the lake is less than 10 feet deep. Good Luck see you out there.

Kayaks are allowed on lake Cuyamaca. Have taken mine there many a time. Just have to watch for the wind that comes up around 10 am most days. They charge like 6 to 8 bucks to launch but you also have to have them wash it down for quagga mussles. Think it's 10 bucks.

Very cool. The bay it is...

Its a PFD (Personal Flotation Device)
A PDF is a file used in computer dork world.

"Jeeees Napolean, friggin' IDIOT!"

I have a 2014 XFactor and I've mounted a couple of slide-traxxs on the rails of my yak right in front of my seat so I can have the adjustable/sliding ram balls and rod holders on them. Pix in my avatar kind of shows that a bit. That's been pretty convenient for me, mostly so I can have my rods in front of me when paddling.

I have my livewell plumbed.

I plan to mount a blacktip three rod holder in the rear cargo area, right behind the seat.

That's pretty much the extent of the mods I've made.

Paddling out through the waves, a bit of water tends to get into the yak and that ends up getting most of the stuff in my hatches wet. Those cloth boxes do not keep your stuff dry and so I always have everything in plastic bags and generally have to take those cloth boxes out when I get home, otherwise your stuff will stay damp... and everything will rust pretty fast (don't ask me how I learned this...) :)

That's about it. It's a barge of a yak that's safe and stable. Not the fastest yaks but you'll be very happy with it if it's your first yak and you're just getting into all this.

Definitely practice flipping your yak and climbing back into it before you take it out into the ocean. And before you take it into the ocean, I'd practice paddling out into the waves and returning with an empty yak. I generally back paddle with my nose pointed into the waves when returning -- a lot easier to do this than to surf the waves but everyone has their own way of doing things! You might even want to flip a few times in the waves just to get an idea of how that feels and how you'd handle that.

Enjoy!!!! Post some pixs!!!

I wouldn't start in the bay. Fishing the ocean is a lot more fun.

It's not really that difficult. Just paddle out there, tie off to the kelp, and fish.

Everything you said is good. A fish finder would be great. It's pretty necessary to use if you want to fish yellowtail off your yak. I don't have one on my kayak so I only fish the kelp off the kayak and fish for yellowtail off my boat. I did try yellowtail off my kayak once and it was a disaster.

Start in the bay. Get used to reaching for things, making long casts and having sneaker sets of swells hit you broadside (boat wakes). There is a reason people suggest the bays first. Find your comfort level, do you get seasick that close to the water. How strong is your paddling. Do you paddle properly so you can maintain forward motion into a strong wind face on. See if someone that's done this for a while will fish with you and answer questions as they come up.
If you are free Monday I can show you around Coronado/Tidelands answer question you may have. I won't be an assh@le elitist I promise.

MrPatrick, I'll have to take u up on your offer but prolly not till next month... Already taking a day off to go on the Chubasco Monday :)


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Let me know when


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If your up north a little more near Orange County, just hit me up we can go to Newport and I'll show you around.

Easy day, that's funny.... I drove to Newport to BUY my kayak. Lol

What's the fishing like up there???

It can be decent, I've had some great days in the harbor there. Really can't beat SD or Mission bay, but it's close to home for me. Lake Irvine is also another overlooked spot. There is some BIG cats being caught there.

practice, practice, practice.... go to the bay in shallow water and intentionally flip out of your boat, and practice getting back in. Make sure you have your life vest on as it is different. Self rescue is the most important thing, especially offshore. That said, a good pfd, floating waterproof vhf, whistle and strong paddling skills are the best safety features you can have. Also going out with a buddy is a good way to keep safe until you feel confident to go out on your own.

Trying out SD bay tomorrow with Daniel S. Can't wait!!!!


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On the safety gear front. I don't think anyone has mentioned a compass yet. You can get something fairly cheap, as long as it is waterproof. Basically a plastic encased compass zipper pull on your pfd. If the fog rolls in and your electronics (phone, GPS) happen to die, you want to know which way is to shore. And you want it on your pfd, because you want to know you are going in the right direction that much more if you end up having to swim for shore.