Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr
As you mentioned Mitch, wind, and conditions will play a big part. Kites are designed for different wind ratings. On a kayak, light wind kites are desired as windy days are not practical.
The standard-sized kites like SFE and Bob Lewis are designed to fly with three clips with baits on 20lb gear. On long-range trips, these same kites are typically deployed with only one larger bait on heavier gear. The kite needs to support the weight of the line the whole time, and heavier baits are frequently skipped along the surface as the kite is deployed.
In general, ballons are used when there is a lack of wind to help keep the kite in the air. However, I see no reason why a beefy ballon could not be used to increase the weight capacity of a kite in windier conditions.
The answer can vary widely on many factors, One could design a kite set up to support whatever weight they desire.
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I'll second what John said. It can really vary depending on they type of kite, wind speed and forward momentum. We typically use a large white balloon and fill it up pretty good, filling it a bit on the larger side if wind is super light. Careful not to overfill it because I've had them burst before and it's not a lot of fun trying to save your kite with a colt sniper as it's slowly sinking away lol. With that said, I'm using a standard SFE kite(5-25mph model) with large frozen flying fish and rarely have a problem keeping them in the air. It also stays pretty stable at higher speeds too so you can still chase foamers. In my experience, lighter baits can be a little trickier to keep "pancaked" just right on the surface in windier conditions, but part of that could be due to the thicker braid on that particular reel causing more wind resistance(or so I've been told!).