Kayak Drift Fishing with Bait and Lures 02-06-13

To maximise my chances of catching fish when drift fishing on the kayak a method I find useful is to combine lure fishing with bait fishing.  When working lures I can only operate one rod at a time however, under certain conditions, I can leave a bait rod in the rod holder to fish whilst continuing to work the lure rod.

Conditions that suite these methods are when drifting over clean ground or a mixture of clean and rough ground.  Over the clean ground, the bait rod is placed in the rod holder slowly dragging the bait along the bottom and whilst that rod is fishing, the lure rod is worked.  When approaching rough ground, the bait rod is wound in and the lure rod continues to be worked.
 

Today's fishing is an example of using these methods.  The ground I intended to drift over starts with a clean sandy bottom, followed by a large patch of kelpie rocky ground, followed once again by a clean sandy bottom.

After paddling out to the desired location and working out the direction of the drift, the drift chute is deployed at the bow to slow down the drift.  With the bait lowered to the bottom, which on this occasion was a fillet of Launce with beads as an added attracter, and the rod placed in the rod holder, I could then focus on the lure rod.

 

 

 

 

I like to set up two lure rods, one with a Herring Rig and a 50g jig and the other with a Savage Sandeel.  I use the Herring Rig over the clean ground, which may catch Mackerel, Herring, or Launce and the Savage Sandeel over rough ground, which may catch Pollack, Wrasse, or Cod.

 

After about 30 minutes into the first drift, the bait rod produced the first fish a Turbot. 

Turbot is rated as one of the finest eating fish and I would definitely agree with that.  The Cornwall Inshore Fishing Authority's size limit is 30cm and I am pleased to say this fish was over the limit.

 

The next fish came from the lure rod.  A nice Whiting took the 50g jig as it was jigged down the bottom over clean ground.

The next two fish were Lesser Spotted Dogfish and both came from the bait rod.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the rocky kelpie ground, a Pollack took the Savage Sandeel.

 

 

Three more Lesser Spotted Dogfish were caught all with the bait rod over the clean sandy bottom.

 

The purpose of using these mixed methods is to maximise the chances of catching fish particularly when drift fishing over mixed ground.  Without the bait rod, arguably, I would have only caught a Whiting and a Pollack however, with the addition of the bait rod a Turbot and some Dogfish added to the days catch.

 

 

 

 

Using this method can be one way of adding a bit of variety to the catch and it certainly keeps the mind occupied.