I kayak fish throughout NC and the surrounding states. I've loved fishing since I was 5-years-old and hope to share my passion with as many people as possible.
Just practice, I started fishing two months ago and I don’t backlash anymore maybe once if I’m not careful but just set your breaks really high and adjust your tension so that your lure free falls about a foot per second.
I'm just west of Jordan/Sharon Harris and want to get setup for this exact style of fishing in my kayak. This video answered so many questions, thanks! One question I do have is why did you setup where you did? Were you fishing a structure or a feature or just picked a spot or what?
I like to fish points or somewhere where it goes from a flat to a steep drop off, as I think the fish gather around those areas and transition to the shallows at night to follow the bait. Right now, surface temps are in the upper 70s to mid 80s on the lakes, which is very uncomfortable for the fish. On my livescope, I’ve found a lot of the crappie to be right above the thermocline in the evenings (about 15’ down), so I’d fish in a spot that’s about 15-18’ deep along a drop or slope. Easiest way to find this would be on a Navionics map (on your finder, the standalone app, or the FishBrain app) and zoom out until you see dark shading around the edges of the lake. Those are the areas where the bottom drops rapidly that you should try to fish. Good luck!
@kayak_chris Couple more questions... I was wanting to get out this weekend. I know it's a holiday so I was kinda thinking of getting out at like 3am since. It suits me as I work third shift anyways. What ramp would you recommend? I was thinking Ebeneezer or Robeson? Ebenezer looks more fishy but I've read Robeson would have less pleasure boating?
@@caniaccharlie You won't have much (if any traffic) anywhere on the lake at 3am. Robeson doesn't have as much deep water as the main lake body and right now, I'm finding the keeper-sized crappie closer to the bottom during the day and night. The thermocline on Shearon Harris seems to be about 14-15 ft down, so I've been tightlinine minnows 1-3' off the bottom at night, just above the thermocline. There's a cut out on the right side of Roberson, about 1/2 way down the creek that usually holds fish. The mouth of the creek may also be good, too. If you were to fish Ebeneezer, look for a point or flat next to deeper water and fish around 14-16 feet deep, especially if it's an area where you're already marking fish. Using a light will take 20-60 minutes before it starts attracting many fish. I'll usually fish one rod in a holder with a small glowstick on the tip and have another rod in hand with a jighead and minnow combo, unless the bite gets really hot. Aim for 10" fish or bigger to keep, as any smaller isn't really worth cleaning. Good luck!
I’ve been please with them so far. Haven’t really had the chance to fight any really large fish on them yet, but we might get a chance to do some shark fishing in a few weeks, so I hope to test them more then.
Any chance you have photos of the highlander towing this rig from a bit of a distance? ...I have the same car and am shopping for kayak trailers right now.
You're confused about the "action" of the rod versus the "power" of the rod. A rod rated as "fast action" means that the rod has a faster taper thus making the rod stiffer. "Heavy power" just means its rated for heavier loads. Most of your somewhat higher end rods list both the power and action right on the rod. You can have an ultralight power rod with a fast action and it will be a stiff little rod, but it won't hold up well to big blues or flatheads
When you publish your videos, make sure to export them 2k@60fps. It'll get rid of the avc1 codec that they're giving you. Makes your content play back at 360p
I actually upload them in 4K... I don't know if RU-vid had finished rendering it before you got a chance to view it, but you can view it in 2160p down to 144p now
@@kayak_chris gotcha. YT was killing me for the first year or so because gopro footage automatically goes to 59FPS. A friend with a much larger channel would upload 1080 and it would look 10 times better than mine just because of the codec.
😂 Been there man. About 12 years ago, I had a great horned owl swoop down and grab my topwater plug at about 2am. Took several seconds to realize it wasnt a fish. Just be thankful the osprey didnt get any hooks. Owls are really really scary up close when they're pissed off.
Well, this was his first attempt. The second attempt, he got hooked. I got him as close to my kayak as I dared and then realized it wasn’t worth going to the hospital over a hooked bird. I cut the leader as close to the hook as I dared and he flew off. I felt bad about it, but I don’t think I’m the first one to ever hook an osprey there 😕
@@kayak_chris I wound up doing same exact thing with the owl. He flew into a tree that had fallen over water. No way to get to him. Still feel bad about that after all these years
@@kayak_chris will do man. I usually fish the most on weekdays when I have time. Have to take my son to school and pick him up. Sometimes my wife will pick him up so I’ll have all day to fish. Saturdays and Sunday I only fish for a couple hours when I get off work
Wow 15.25” is a massive crappie here. My PB on Falls is 13.25 so far. What part of the lake do you fish? Was thinking of launching from Farrington ramp and fishing above the bridge when I give Jordan a try. Have you had any time on Falls? Really wish I had a day with Freddie Sinclair to learn. I couldn’t talk him into guiding anymore recently.
I fish all over Jordan. During the warmer months, fish are everywhere, but I spend most of my time catching them in the creeks slow trolling jigs, minnows, and crankbaits. I’m going to try and spend more time this year getting more proficient with my livescope and casting to them. I did it yesterday at a farm pond. It was fun, but they were all small fish, so I need something larger to target.
@@FishingwithBrewski I originally had an Echomap, just to see if I liked the livescope format. Last fall I upgraded to the Gpsmap, for better performance, resolution, and to be able to export video directly w/o having to record it with my GoPro. I spend too much money on fishing stuff… 😐
@@kayak_chris I just monetized this year. If I can find someone to handle my taxes I'm gonna sell everything and buy all new stuff and write it off. Lol
@@FishingwithBrewski yea, that was originally my plan. Taking a while for me to get things rolling to hit the minimums for monetizing. I’d just like to offset the cost of some of my trips. I at least like to be able to go back and look at videos of my good trips and re-live them a bit. And see the bloopers, lol…
cool content we caught a bunch of shad on the Delaware and the guide said to smoke them . We had a hell of a time getting them lit and gave up after an hour or so
So you were fishing a single 1/16oz jig on each rod it looks like. How many feet of water and what depth were the fish? I have a very similar boat to your except mine is a PDL. Thanks.
Yes, a single jig. Probably 16’ or less, but the jigs are only going down 6’-8’ being fished at 0.8-1 mph. I usually start with 1/16 and 1/8 jigs to see where they might be in the water column, then adjust accordingly.
I need to get back down there sometime and do some fishing on the Neuse. I was stationed at SJAFB back in the 80s and used to bank fish it up around the base for catfish and bowfin. Not much but channel cats back then. Is your autopilot the 120 or 136? I've been looking real hard at the 120. I'm in a Crescent Shoalie right now but want to add to my fleet. If I do get down there (I live just north of Winston) I might hit you up to fish with you. Anyway, enjoyed your video and hit the sub button.
I’ve got a 136. It’s bigger / heavier, but it can hold a lot more gear. It’s nice to have when I bring bigger coolers or fish on the winter and need to have a place to put extra stuff.
I looked at the bcf hellcat a few times and I gotta be honest the wrapping on the guides was horrible with that said the original bcf rods the quality seemed great
Yes, I take them home and vacuum seal them and put them in a chest freezer. I'll primarily use them for catfish bait, but shad, stingrays, and sharks also like them, too!
Definitely not same manufacturer. MK rods are heavy and glass. CTF are carbon composites that responds better than a MK. MK rods fade even when not in sun. And to top it off they snap when you cast them. I’ll stick with a Triple City Angler Force Rod or a CTF Rod.
I prefer the stiffer action of the MadKatz versus the more limber CTF rods. I just feel like they have more backbone for getting in big fish quicker. I guess everyone has their own preferences.
They're Scotty Orca series rod holders (#400)... they take a little getting used to, but they're generally a lot easier to use than a standard rod holder when a big fish hits.
Nice video! What time of the year were you fishing ? you said temp was in the 80s? the best bite for me in Falkland is mid Feb, maybe i’ll see ya in a couple months .
This was in late February... water temp was about 60 degrees, so I'm assuming the air temp was probably in the mid to upper 60s. It was a really good bite last year!
I'm thinking about buying that trailer in the low bed model. I don't travel long distances to fish. I was wondering how would my kayak ride on that trailer if I don't put the bunks on there like you have. Will the kayak ride okay sitting on top of medal cross bars? What are you thoughts because I think you trailered you kayaks like that before you put on the bunks if I'm not mistaken.
This model originally came with a pair of Malone MegaWings, which are the molded plastic wing shaped kayak carriers. They weren’t wide or sturdy enough to support my Autopilot kayaks, which are very large (13’6”) and heavy (probably about 130 lbs without the motor or accessories). If you just have a single kayak, it may be fine sitting on the crossbars. A lot of people prefer to have some sort of bunk or rail because it makes it easier to load / unload the kayak and keeps it from sliding around on the cross bars. It’s a bit of trial and error whenever you are using a new transport system and I’d advise you to experiment until you find a method that you like.
How deep do you have the light down in the water, I’ve tried few times before but would have it pretty deep down in the water but wasn’t very successful with it. Also are you fishing near structure or just in a middle of the lake? Just curious lol.
Don’t put the light down very deep, maybe only a foot below the surface. If you look at the livescope, you’ll notice how the fish tend to stack. Bait fish at the surface, swimming around the light, then smaller predatory fish, while the largest fish tend to be beneath it all. It takes some time for all of the fish to start to congregate, usually it’s at least 30 minutes to an hour before the bite starts to get consistent. You’ll need to experiment with the depth to see where the bigger fish hang out (so maybe start at 6 ft, then 8, then 10). I also try to fish the edge of the light and use a small glow stick at the tip to watch for light bites. A good spot to set-up is around drop offs or points where the fish can transition from deep to shallow water more easily. In the peak of summer, the crappie are deeper in the hotter parts of the day and move shallow to follow the shad at night. I just park myself on crappie road and ring the dinner bell for everyone, lol…
I have a 106 pdl and do alot of catfishing from it. Do you think the stainless tracs improved the sturdiness of your rod holders enough to justify the costs?
Yes, absolutely. Although I never had issues with the OEM tracks failing during a takedown, I did have them fail several times while I was attempting to transport the kayak with my Boonedox Landing gear (wheels). The weight of the kayak was simply too much and the bolts pushed through the tracks. And although I’ve caught some fish in the 30-50lb range in that kayak successfully, I was concerned that if I hooked a large enough catfish directly below the kayak, they might have enough torque to rip the rod and holder from the track. So I upgraded the track from plastic to aluminum and also switched for the single point Scotty Gear Head adapter to the two point Scotty Locking Gunnel Mount (0343-BK). Together, it’s a much sturdier set-up and I think it could withstand the pull of a 50lb+ fish much better.
Thanks! The fish have probably started to migrate away from the shallows now. I’m waiting on a replacement display from Garmin (mine died after that video). If you see me out on Jordan sometime in my orange Autopilot, stop by and say hi!
I’m moving closer to Harris in December, so I’ll probably be spending a lot more time fishing there in the next year. I think it’s an excellent crappie fishery that could rival Jordan Lake
Were the ones you were catching around any structure? Most of the ones in the video were schooled up around a large rock, which you can see on the livescope
Thanks. I think they’re still pretty shallow and really haven’t started migrating to deeper water yet. The majority of those fish in the video were in 6 feet of water or shallower around structure (rocks). And they were nice fish… I think only 2-3 crappie I caught were under 10”… I was surprised how many big fish were stacked up in such skinny water, but I guess it’s more common than I initially realized.
