# Casting from kayak



## msujmccorm (Nov 6, 2010)

Bought a fly rod a few years ago and have been using it some each year. I'm not the greatest at casting but have decided to try it from my kayak. I have the Ascend FS12t and haven't tried standing in it yet. Any tips on casting from the kayak? Any lessons y'all learned the hard way that I should know? Any pointers for casting while sitting?


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*Keep your back cast high*

and don't work too hard trying to cast far. In a yak you get close to the fish. Standing up is more for looking than for casting. Also a good way to get wet.


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## daniel9829 (Jan 31, 2009)

I sit and fly fish all of the time. It does limit the distance some but I easily reach out to 60 ft. Just make sure you use good form.


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## basshole (Apr 21, 2014)

I have the FS12t as well and while it's advertised as stable enough to stand and cast I have found otherwise. I tried it once. If you do, make sure the water is warm and you have a dry pair of skivvies in reserve.


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## hsiF deR (Oct 4, 2009)

Get a stake out pole, if you dont have one already. The slightest breeze will spin your kayak and you will pierce your ear on your back cast without one. Also, a towel works well as a stripping basket.


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## andrewsa43 (Mar 1, 2015)

Don't think you can stand and cast in am ascend. I had one and could stand in no wind and flat water just to stretch my legs. Would never dream of standing to cast or fight a fish


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## raptor45 (May 7, 2015)

A number of years ago when Native Watercraft came out with its Ultimate and Manta Ray boats the company hyped these boats as perfect for fly fishing the marshes and in its promotion NWC also noted that you could stand and fly fish from them.

I've fly fished from a number of Native boats and I'm somewhat familiar with the Ascend boats and I have never, in all of my years of fishing from them, felt the least bit comfortable or assured that I wasn't gonna get wet if I elected to stand in them.

Try it once or twice, if you must, in shallow water with no wind and if you're comfortable with that, sally forth out into a bit of chop and wind and see how you feel. Hint: Stay in shallow water, wear a life preserver and do not take a bunch of valuable equipment with you during these test runs. One other thing, do not try fishing the beach areas with anything but a SOT yak. Any canoe style boat, such as the NWC Ultimate series will easily fill with water and if they do, they're a bitch.


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## jonasmagn (Mar 3, 2009)

*longer rod - shooting head - switch rod?*

Obviously when sitting in a kayak you loose height. Your back cast now has to be higher or the line will tick or slap (touch the water). You instinctively will raise your arm which will fast become tiring and the cast suffers. A solution to this could be a slightly longer rod say 10'. Now with a longer rod landing a fish becomes a little harder. You can also add a shooting head to the equation. The advantage of that is just one back cast and then the short heavy head flies out. Accuracy suffers but you now have much better distance. The best technique is to employ sidearm back cast and then over the shoulder on the forward cast (Belgian cast, oval cast). A bonus is that big heavy flies kick less with this maneuver. A possible solution is to employ a switch rod (10' - 11') because most people find it much easier to cast two handed. 

Jonas


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## wtbfishin (Dec 2, 2011)

It's a pain in the ass especially if there much wind. Some better if you have a raised seat. Work on that cast or it will be very frustrating :yes:.


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## yakitiyak (May 1, 2013)

I have a Hydrobike for sale that is super stable when standing and a blast to fly fish from.
pm me if interested


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## Tres (May 8, 2010)

Biggest thing for me, if you are going to stand, is to have a stripping basket. In the small space you'll be working with there are a lot of things to wrap around on a kayak rigged for fishing. A small basket from the dollar store, a bungee cord, and some zip ties make a cheap and functional basket.


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## wyld3man (Oct 4, 2011)

You could practice casting while sitting in the same position/height that you would be while on your kayak, this way you could get a feel for it. Place a few Frisbee's or hula hoops at various places around your seated position to help you figure out what you need to do.


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## wtbfishin (Dec 2, 2011)

Well since this has re-surfaced and you've had plenty time to get out since the original post. How'd it go fly flinger ?


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## Chef of the sea (May 11, 2015)

Kaku kahuna. It's a hybrid that allows standing (in the right water condition) and also has a Larry chair that keeps you a foot or so off the water. I've kayak fished for several years and finally am liberated from my back cast piling up on the water behind me. I promise I do not work for this people. Great on rivers, lakes, and now I've found the gulf and bay areas


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## SupremeHair (Mar 8, 2014)

I fly fished from a Wilderness ride for years... seated. It's great for stealthy night dock lights fishing. Inshore grass flats found me bailing out and stalking the grass flats. Much prefer standing when casting my 10ft 7wt Redington. The wind makes it much more challenging fly fishing from a yak.


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## raptor45 (May 7, 2015)

I've fly fished from my NWC Ultimate 12 for years and I've found that making a good back cast isn't too much of a problem if, rather than having your back cast go straight behind you, you make your back cast higher in the air than normal. It's an easy technique to master but you should learn it standing up on land first.

Another cast that works particularly well from a kayak is a conventional roll cast. Besides being a cast that works well with single hand fly rods, a roll cast is also the basic cast that is used with two handed switch rods and with a little work and patience it's easy to learn. I particularly like it because you can use it in tight places where a back cast is not possible or feasible.

You can find plenty of examples of these casts on Youtube.


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## Dunt (Aug 14, 2015)

Try not to get too mad when your line hangs up on literally everything it can find!


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## msujmccorm (Nov 6, 2010)

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions. It's been going pretty well and I am going to learn the roll cast also. I guess it's just like everything else, practice, practice, practice. Unfortunately I go under the knife on the 30th for shoulder impingement/possible rotator cuff. Gonna be on injured reserve for a few weeks.


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## wtbfishin (Dec 2, 2011)

Hope your not laid up to long. You may want to look into Lefty Kreh casting method as it use much less shoulder movement. For the very reason you spoke of shoulder issues. In one of his books he has a whole chapter discussing shoulder injury and avoiding it.
Also call me crazy but a Roll casting sitting in a Kayak :no:. It's a great cast to master. I just don't see it sitting down out of a yak being to effective?:shifty:


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*Nobody mentioned a Clouser. Good deal!*

*CLOUSER'S HURT.* Pick flies that cast and lift off the water easily. My favorite from the yak is a Cockroach. In the right color they mimic a shrimp both in look and action. In bait fish colors they mimic small minnows just fine.

For shrimp imitating flies, just a very slow long strip _works for me_--no jerks or twitches. For bait fish imitating flies, strip-strip-pause _works for me._

I usually fish a 3" or so fly but, when big Snook are busting Mullet, I go all the way to 8"+. Of course, big flies limit casting distance. 

Re: Casting distance. I seldom cast more than 40 feet and catch lots of fish on 20' casts.

Just for fun, cut a Sabiki rig in half and fish it on your fly rod. You may catch 100 fish in a morning. This will do lots for your confidence level.

I use a floating line 90% of the time when fishing from my yak. I use a fast sinker when trolling with a fly rod.


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