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Just what it entails is hard to describe to one not versed in the art, but the passion to get to a point in time that one calls oneself a 'Kayak Fishermen' (Forget PC trends here) is a journey in itself. From paddling freshwater lakes inland or pedalling brackish estuaries the results are merely the same, to get to a arrive upon a destination you wish to fish. While It's a great pastime worth pouring hundreds of dollars into its not all about strictly fishing from your kayak though.
Sometimes you may use your yak to get to that other side, to fish that bank you have been eyeing off for years. One recent particular trip had it all, options of trolling for hours, fishing the edges, retrieving the depths, banks on offer, high country fly, midge hatches, aquatic snail plagues, artificial soakings and a lot more. Thinking back to days gone way by could only laugh at what I had discovered all those years ago. Be it kayak or bank it would still be kayak fishing and with so much time spent chasing the games fixated lines this trip had an almost unreeled feel to it.
Trout were blazing bank lines, bow waves pushing water deep into flooded terrain, thick fog set just waiting to be burned off by the escalating sun. Boats loomed out of the mist jostling for that perfect run, entering and exiting bays by the dozens. The rising patterns were so substantial that there was room for all, even though the place was busy on the water the experience dictated you had the place to yourself. This was a once in a lifetime understanding, right place, right time, right moment. This was what fishing was all about, a perfect escapade in a world full of work and life's roundabouts. You could of slapped me silly with a handful of frozen mud, my jaw would of still been agape (For all the right reasons).
We flicked plastic craws with stingers or sans, trolled a variety of notorious takers (Some not so known), found banks to stretch our legs and soak artificial bait from and finished the day sitting in the middle of an insect hatch (Soaking up the day's final glory). In my mind it's not always about discovering successful techniques when angling from a kayak, it's worth looking at the bigger, far wider picture. By not limiting ourselves to certain expectations we were enveloped far more deeply than I ever imagined possible, using our yaks to reach out and explore our surroundings beyond water born adventures.
