Contributed by Chris Funk

 

When you are riding current in a river there are times the movement is too fast to fish a hole effectively. The bad part of this is that you will spook every critter in it if float through the hole. One of the best solutions when conditions allow is to get out of the boat. This will let you slow down and thoroughly fish the area at your pace, not what was set by the river. It will also allow you to systematically blanket the high percentage areas in a given spot without spooking other fish when you hook one. Working from the outer edges in will help pick up fish in the fringe areas that you might have missed on a fast float by.

 

 

When you reach a spot that is begging to be fished thoroughly, either dry dock your kayak on a nearby rock or keep it tethered to you. That way it is close enough to grab another rod, different lures or hopefully your CPR camera! Tethering works great with a bungee cord to help stop the shock of the boat pulling on you.  Also use the bow handle of the kayak to steady yourself as you wade the shoal, it will give you just an extra bit of stabilization. If you pull the kayak up on a rock or log don’t forget to check it frequently, wind and current can send it downstream without you!

 

It has been said “that ain’t kayak fishin’, it is wade fishing with a floating tackle storage device”, and that would be mostly correct. It is also however a very effective way to fish place thoroughly and a lot of fun as a bonus. I have learned so much from my local spots by taking the time to methodically fish them from pool to pool learning the hot spots along the way. On a hot summer day waist deep in a cool refreshing river is a great place to be and lipping a big bass in the process just makes it even better.

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