18 June 26, 2020 VOL.39 • ISS. 14
Spotlight On Kayak Fishing...
Sponsered by Kayak City
in Citrus Heights, CA
Kayak City.Com 916.565.1400
Tactics for Catching
Trout from a Kayak
By Kevin Hofer
When I bought my first kayak almost ten years ago, the first place I went
was to a high sierra lake in search of some trout. Since then I have fished over
150 lakes in my kayak, the majority of which I was targeting trout. Following
I will share my go-to techniques and a few tips I’ve learned along the way that
hopefully will put more fish on the end of your line.
When I first started out I used what my grandpa had taught me, a set of
Half-Fast flashers with a leader
and a worm.
I would troll this setup around
the lake and yes I would catch
fish, but the drag of those large
flashers really took away from
the fight of the fish. I enjoy eating
trout very much, but as many say
“the tug is the drug” .
In an effort to get more fight
out the fish I began trying micro
flashers and then finally finding a
setup I liked. A small 4 inch Seps
dodger or one of the smaller tear
dropped shaped ones with 7”-12”
leader followed with a worm or
your favorite lure or fly.
This setup has caught me
hundreds if not thousands of trout.
Predominately rainbows , brooks
and cutthroat but the occasional
brown will fall for it as well. If
the water is cool or the fish are
feeding on top, trolling with this
setup will work just fine without
any added weight.
If the fish are deep then a small
banana weight can be added or
as I prefer leadcore line. Speeds from 1-2mph are ideal for this setup, the
fish will often follow for a while and not hit if you are just going the same
speed in a straight line. Vary the speed and do occasional zigzags to help
trigger more strikes.
While on the subject of trolling I feel I have to say that my second most
productive method is just hooking on a silver and blue Kastmaster or a J-5
Rapalla in rainbow trout pattern, letting out some line and trolling around. If
I am trying to target browns then I will up the size of the Rapala and usually
troll it on some leadcore near the bottom.
As well as trolling the Kastmaster it is also an amazing search bait, when
just drifting around in the kayak I will kick back and toss it around. First
few retrieves don’t let it sink, if no hits next few casts let it sink 5
seconds and retrieve, no hits then try 10 seconds and so on, until you
find where in the water column
or by what type of cover/
structure the fish are at.
My 2nd favorite lure to cast
and or troll around is the Thomas
Bouyant either in red and gold
or in rainbow trout pattern. The
brook trout really seem to love
the gold and red Bouyant.
So I covered my favorite
trolling setups and lures to cast,
now I will get into what has
become one of, if not my favorite
methods to catch all variety of
trout both large and small, the jig.
Jigs come in all sorts of varieties, the first I ever used for trout was a mini
tube jig. The Berkley Powerbait mini tubes in the grasshopper or white I
keep in my box at all times. Slowly and stealthily moving my way along the
shoreline I will toss the jig, let it sink for a while then reel it in twitching here
and there along the way until a hungry fish takes it.
If fishing in artificial only waters you can find the small tube jigs unscented,
or you can go to one of my other favorites the marabou jig. My personal best
30+inch cutthrout came on a 1/8ounce marabou jig. I fish them similarly to the
mini tubes, though with the little bit of extra weight I am able to feel the bottom
better and able to hop it along the rocks. I’ve caught golden trout, browns,
steelhead, brook trout, cutthroats, rainbows and even a tiger trout on marabou
jigs so don’t be hesitant to try them in any body of water!
There are many different ways to target trout from the kayak so try out
a few different techniques and see which is most productive and most
enjoyable for you. No way is the right way or the only way, sometimes you
may have to try a few different things before you figure out what the fish are
in the mood for that day.
Want to get into kayak fishing? Kayak City is YOUR official Hobie Kayak
dealer in the Sacramento are. The main store is located at 7812 Auburn Blvd in
Citrus Heights, Ca. (916) 565-1400 or visit them online at kayakcity.com.
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