Anyone do kayak fishing in eastern Iowa?
- Thread starter CyCloned
- Start date
My girlfriend and I just bought the same kayak, and took them out bass fishing this weekend on Millwood Lake in Arkansas. It was my first time fishing from a kayak. We had a blast. She caught a 6 lb largemouth and we both caught a number of 2-3 lb'ers. I was able to quickly figure out how to silently maneuver to sneak up on a good area and how to land a fish from the kayak. I used an anchor, which helps a ton if it's windy at all. We are going to install anchor trolley systems to make it easier. We also bought 12"*12"*18" (approx.) plastic egg crates from home depot to hold gear behind the seat. The elastic cord works great to hold it in place if you cut a few notches in the plastic rim to secure the cord and keep it from slipping off. We also installed flags with a light installed at the top for safety (and to be legal in Texas) if we are on the water at night. Don't forget a life vest, it's required in most places I believe. Foam practice golf balls do well to plug up the skupper holes (spelling?) to keep water from splashing in from the bottom. One thing we'd also like to do is install a "skeg" in the rear to help keep us tracking straight in the water when we paddle. Have fun! I can't wait to get out again.
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nice fish. I ordered a trolley system from Walmart for $22. The anchor is only 1.5 pounds, but I can always buy a bigger one later if it is too small. It was cheaper with the anchor than a lot of the systems I saw without one. I bought the actual skiffer (sp) plugs from Walmart since they were only $6. Saw a lot of guys that use the egg creates as a trunk. I like the idea of the storage areas in the boats, but can also see losing stuff in there as it shifts around.
Yeah, I have not figured out how to best put the inside kayak storage space to use. I was thinking about gluing or taping some foam strips or something across the bottom to keep items I do put down there from sliding too far forward or back. I did put some velcro on the front lid and mounted a 2" x 8" plastic box (Wal-Mart office section) to have a nice little spot to set down my pliers or a couple lures I want to switch to.
I found an ice cream bucket that fit pretty tight in the back one. Not a lot of storage, but it will be right there when I need it.
You may know this, but just be sure not to anchor in current. Had some dude yell out to me two years ago that anchoring in the current makes it easier...he of course was swimming a main channel with no life jacket.
They're nice though if you get into some slack water or out into some backwaters or something.
I don't use a system for that either...just anchor and some rope tied up to something in the boat.
And good idea to use caution for getting too many things...I got it down to a science of having most things in a dry bag and then a fly rod or two flattened out along my hip sticking out the back.
I lived in Iowa for about half a year. It's a great place, I like to change the place where I live, so a couple of years ago I was brought to Iowa. I'm a big fan of kayaking so I immediately started looking for a place where to kayak near me. Not everywhere the experience turned out to be pleasant, but Prairie Park turned out to be a really good place. It's been a long time since the creation of this thread, I wonder if you got the experience of kayaking in any other places in Iowa and whether you liked it. I plan to visit this state again sometime and maybe I should try some other place for kayaking?
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And be aware of strainers, and maybe find a friend to paddle with till you're experienced.
I still haven't used my anchor. Unfortunately the rivers in eastern Iowa have been high pretty much all year so far. Sometime I am going to go back to Peasant Creek and give it another try. One of those lakes that looks like it should have a ton of fish, but I never see anyone catching anything.
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