Anybody here ever use their OC1 to tow a fishing lure during training? If so, any tips or advice about how you go about it? Do you use a rod or strong handline? How do you get fish back to shore, especially if they are large pelagic species?
Submitted by Stiphodon on Tue, 05/02/2006 - 5:41pm
I tried fishing from the OC-1 for the first time this winter.
I attached my beach casting, rod, close to the hull using bungees. The reel sits back by the rear iako and the tip clears the front iako with the line running down the ama side of the kanu. I didn't have any issues with the line fouling in the rudder and when I got a fish on I kicked the rudder to the left and kept the fish on the ama side until I was ready to pull it aboard. There is an issue with paddling on the ama side with the rod right there. I can't get really good water with the paddle so it's not like I am out there hammering. For me this is a good thing...take it easy once in awhile and enjoy being out on the water.
I hooked a 3 foot striped bass (no big teeth), pulled it aboard, squeezed it between my legs and went to shore to deal with it. It felt great to get out on the ocean, cruising along and then BAM! Ono grinds.
There is a pic in the community gallery, back in January.
I carry a pillow case on a line now ( I think I read that in Pacific Paddler, in an article that Kai wrote.) to stuff more than one fish and to keep the goo off da kanu.
Aloha,
Bill
www.sandbridgeocc.com
#1 Wed, 05/03/2006 - 4:32am
My husband does canoe fishing all of the time on the West side of O'ahu. He uses a PVC pipe rubbered onto his back 'iako like a rod-holder on a regular fishing boat. The rod and reel is slipped into the PVC pipe and a small bungie is used to secure the fishing pole to the pipe. He uses a dive/mess bag for his catch and a small waist bag for his supplies. This adds considerable drag for added workout. We just ate a nice sized Kawakawa last night that was caught the evening before. It's always a better workout when a fish is landed!
Mikala
Oh yeah...don't forget some sort of knife or gaff for those big teethy fish. I speak from experience (through the hubby)!
#2 Wed, 05/03/2006 - 6:10am
Lots of guys on Maui fish from OC-1s and V-1s. Rob Phillips "The Fishing Paddler" is very proficient and fishes all over the island. He always seems to have fresh shashimi ready to grind. We did a Keanae run recently and he landed a small Kawakawa and a nice 15 pound Uku. I thought he was The Man, until the next day when I saw Kai Bartlett's 58 pound Ulua that he landed the same day on his OC-1. Although, I think it's Chris Smith that still holds the record on Maui with a 72 pound Ulua caught from his OC-1.
I troll a lot, but I don't seem to catch very much...
#3 Wed, 05/03/2006 - 11:02am
I use the same technique as mikalakayaker's husband does and have caught about 8-9 so far in the last year and-a-half. Most of them have been Papio (jack crevally). I caught a 2 pounder about a month ago between the last and second to last channel marker in Hawaii Kai. I use a telespcopic 7' pole and will only tow a line when the winds are down. I use an egg floater with a 5 foot leader which creates a lot of drag on the boat and makes for an excellent workout. I enjoy fishing from an oc-1 so much that I just bought a fishing kayak with pole holders. An inexpensive fish finder is next on my list.
#4 Wed, 05/03/2006 - 1:41pm
Thanks for the tips. I'm located in Cairns on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Most of the fish we catch trolling a very large mackerel and I was wondering how I would get one of these monsters back to shore. They wont fit into a fish keeper bag and I was a bit worried about just towing the fish by the tail behind the kanu with a rope as there a lots of large sharks in the area which we often see paddling. I don’t want to become the lure! I was thinking of stringing up some netting between my iakos to place the fish in. The other thing I was worried about was if I used a rod a reel and I huli, it will be a disaster. On the other hand, if I use a really strong handline tied off on the rear iako, it won’t matter if it gets dunked or wave splashed. But then I was thinking that if I get a large spanish mackerel, 30kg plus, it may do some serious damage!
#5 Wed, 05/03/2006 - 3:11pm
I'd stay away from tying stuff to your iako. If you don't want to use a pole, you can always tie the line to a piece of surgical rubber and put the rubber around your waist. You'll have better control of the fish that way.
Speaking of control (or rather, "losing control"), the last time I pulled a line, I inadvertently crossed the path of an adult humpback whale. The whale surfaced at my 10 o'clock position and was headed right at me. It was so close, I saw its nostrils open up and close. I paddled like hell to get out of its way but then realized that my line was trailing about 100 feet behind me. I think that's the fastest I've ever paddle in my life. I kept thinking about hooking up and being dragged several miles along the coast and how no one would believe my "fish" story and how it got away.
#6 Wed, 05/03/2006 - 6:01pm
there was a fellow in Cooktown some years back nicknamed "Tragedy" because things kept happening to him.
He lived up the inlet on an old fishing boat and used to get to town and back on a paddleboard. He used to always tow a lure from the back of the paddleboard trying to catch a barramundi.
One day he hooked up something big, probably a big ray, and it proceeded to tow him backwards all over the harbour. He couldn't reach the line to cut it and was too afraid to jump off because of the crocs.
The Japanese tourists on the jetty loved it!
On a more practical note, I'd suggest carrying an icepick to use as a brainspike in case you do bring up anything big.
#7 Sun, 06/11/2006 - 9:58pm
Tried it out today... Lashed a PVC rod holder to my rear iako with some bicycle inner tibe strips, and trolled a segmented yozuri swimming plug for about an hour in Marina Del Rey. It was blowing out past the breakwater, and there was a pretty good sized swell running too. I opted to stay in the marina since I wasn't sure how secure my rig was. At one point I noticed that the rod tip wasn't vibrating the way it normally does with the lure, so I reeled it in thinking there would be some debris like a plastic bag or something on it. I was surprised to reel in a small barracuda, about 22" - 24".
I released it carefully (I didn't bring pliers with me!), and then trolled the lure again. About five minutes later I had another one on that was almost the same exact size. I even wondered if it could have been the same one, but that would be one dumb fish. Anyway, I was surprised that I never felt anything either time. I know they were small barracuda, but still, I would have thought I would feel something. In any case, I am encouraged that I may get something worth keeping eventually if I keep trying.
Not bad for a first foray with the rod!
#8 Wed, 06/14/2006 - 5:22pm
That's unusual that you didn't feel anything. Over here in Hawaii, cudas put up a pretty good fight. But then again, there are several different species of cuda. You guys may have the "stoned" version. :)
#9 Wed, 06/14/2006 - 10:09pm
I have gone out trolling on a number of occasions and I find that using a handline works best for me. I thread it through a surgical rubber to aborsb the shock of a big strike. I loop it around my leg and run the line under me and out of my way. I also carry a dive knife around my ankle just in case I have to cut the line. I use a mesh dive bag to put the smaller fish in. However I have also caught fish too large for the bag. I don't carry alot of things with me because I don't want to have to keep track of everything especially if I huli. My handline consists of a mainline made of 300# dacron about 25 feet long then I attach 100# monofiliment about 30 feet long. Now you can see why I carry a knife to cut the line, just in case. I troll a several different types of lures but I find that a small jethead with white, pink and blue skirts works best for papios as well as the bigger fish. I am told that the ideal speed for trolling this smaller jethead is about 7mph so you can see that there is a workout involved too. I usually start off close to shore just behind the breakers and head upwind here I can catch the papios as well as smaller baracuda. After about one hour I will head out towards the deeper water, at least 2 - 2 1/2 miles out and head back downwind. Here I can catch Ono (Wahoo), Ahi, Mahi Mahi. Check out the 25 lb Ono I caught a couple of months ago. Anyway it works for me.
#10 Thu, 06/29/2006 - 9:57pm