# outriggers for kayak



## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

I saw a picture some time back of this guy who had 2, 8-foot outriggers on his kayak and was curious if anyone had ever seen or used them on their yak before. I'm sure it would help when fishing offshore for pelagics and helping keep more than one line spread apart.


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

I never saw a yak with riggers so I can't say much with certainty and definitely with no authority. IMHO, outriggers would complicate a boat that should stay as uncomplicated as possible. Might bea PITA when fighting a fish too.

Why not rig extenders for your rod holders with bends to orient your rods more in a horizontal position? Fish one bait closeand another further back or one bait on top and another weighted?


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Thats what I've always done andhave no intentions of ever putting a set ofthem on my kayakbut curiosity got the best of me and thought i see what others thought. 

I use scotty power locks and they might as well be outriggers. I can't really find a rational explanation for outriggers other than to "look" like you might know what your doing by complicating things.


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## Framerguy (Oct 2, 2007)

I don't know how other kayakers feel but I personally would never want to have 2 or 3 rods all hooked up at once anyway offshore!! Heck, it's difficult enough keeping one strike from tangling in the other line that I drag when trolling let alone have a whole handful of baits out there and hit a school of kings and have them hit all mylines at once!!

Yeah, that is one of my fish dreams! I just wanted to throw it out there to see if anyone "took the bait"!! Ha! 

I try to get a "plug" in for kayak fishing whenever I see a thread on the subject! 

I was just tryin' to "feed y'all a line"! (Oh I'm on a roll now!)

Seriously, I thought you were asking about those little arms that some kayakers build out of lobster pot buoys and PVC pipe that allow you to stand up and fish from a kayak. The use of a line outrigger never occured to me at all. Like Capt. Ken says, keep things as simple as possible if that _*is*_ possible at all!! 

Most 'yak fishermen and women are constantly looking for more bells and whistles to install on their fishing 'yak!! Just take a look at sheyakfisher's rig to know that there are some pretty pimped out 'yaks on the water nowadays!!! I still can't figure out where she buried the central A/C that I _know_ she has hooked up on that 'yak!!!

Ha! Another gotcha, Pam, put it on the list for me!!


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## Big Red (Oct 1, 2007)

<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt">Actually, quite a few Yakers use them for sight fishing.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt">Here is a link to a "DIY" article.<o></o>



<U>http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/articles_view.asp?Kayak_Articles=31</U>http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/articles_view.asp?Kayak_Articles=31


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## rhumbrunner (Sep 27, 2007)

I have the Yak Gear Outriggers in stock! $129.00


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## SheYakFishr (Oct 1, 2007)

> *gulfshoreskayaks (9/10/2008)*I have the Yak Gear Outriggers in stock! $129.00


Where on your site.... are these located? I hunted around for a while... and couldn't find them. It would be good to have a link straight to them.... :- )

It seems the more lines I have in the water... the more MESS it becomes. I try to troll two lines out back and they sure can be a pain in the butt... trying to undo the tangle should they cross each other. I can't see where one would need outriggers... unless your talking about the ones that are off to the sides for stability. Or... you could be talking about pvc pipes standing out... holding the rod at a certain angle to be able to troll? In all the time's I've been out... I've never seen anyone trolling with outriggers... but then again... I have only been out a few times this summer... so someone might have gone over the edge..... :doh

*********************************************************************

Dangggggggg it Tom... <U>NO ONE</U>... was suppose to know about the AC unit I have riggedbelow deck. :doh







Hey... don't you be picking on my yak.... hehehehe:angel :clap


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## Framerguy (Oct 2, 2007)

> *Big Red (9/10/2008)*<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt">Actually, quite a few Yakers use them for sight fishing.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt">Here is a link to a "DIY" article.<o></o>
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## David Ridenour (Sep 28, 2007)

I'm not a yak guy but it seems a couple of surf rods would work as well without having to have outriggers and a rod you would just have the one item to deal with and still have the separation.


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

OK some of us are talking about apples and others are talking about oranges. I assumed the original post referred to outriggers like used to troll skip baits. 

Somebody else is talking about outriggers like a Polynesian canoe. 

We ain't all on the same page here.

Re: Outriggers for stability. I tried a yak that had commercially built outriggers that allowed you to stand. (Not me, man) Paddling the yak was about like paddling a pig. Not that they were in the way so much as the way they they slowed me down and made steering a PITA.


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

I found this pic this morning. Maybe it will be of interest to someone here. It appears to be a workable system and cheap and easy to fabricate. It uses the large pool noodle.


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## Private Pilot (Oct 3, 2007)

Im thinking about making some outriggers for my pelican andI have a few questions. Are two riggers necessary, or is 1 enough? Where could I find the best floats?Am I going to regret doing this?

It would be for stability, so I could stand up all the time.I saw the DIY site and I would like to do something similiar to that.Is this a good idea, or should I just continue to stay in the seat?


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## Framerguy (Oct 2, 2007)

The floats used on those outriggers that Beefisher illustrated are sold at Half Hitch tackle in Destin. I would check at Half Hitch in P-cola. They are the lobster pot buoys that I mentioned in my other post. I bought mine from a buoy manufacturer up in Maine when I was working on my ideas for outriggers. Mine were like the ones in the second and third photos in Beefisher's post. They are mounted on ram tubes on Scotty ball mounts and will swivel up, down, and fold away depending on where you mount them on your yak.

And I know the difference between outriggers and "outriggers" just in case anyone thinks I wasposting out of ignorance of the terms. My personal preference, as stated earlier, would NOTbe to troll using "outriggers" as they would be in the way in my opinion and not enhance the fishing experience on a kayak at all. As far as building a set of outriggers goes, I would recommend building a _pair_ if you are going to get into a project like that. They are very inexpensive to make and one would not be a very feasible idea if you happened to throw your balance off to the side _without_ the outrigger extended!! If you design them to fit into ram tubes and mount on the ball mounts, you can simply raise them out of the water if you want to paddle to another fishing spot close enough to not require folding them completely up. Study the photos that Beefisher posted and also go to the link on theKFS site to find illustrated directions to build a set.


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## Team Hobie (Oct 9, 2007)

Yes I have outriggers or Amas as they are referred to by Hobie. They allow me to stand although I usually only do this to pee. They allow me to sail (15 foot mast) and troll way out into the Gulf where the big fish are rumored to rome.

They fold up and stay out of my way when fighting fish.

I troll more than I sight fish and I only run to lines. 7.5 foot rods angled to maximize the spread but they are held on the yak not on the Amas.

Yes I have had double hookups. The beauty of the Hobie pedal drives is that I can use my forward momentum to keep pressure on one fish while I fight the other. For the most part I use the steering to keep the fish apart. It does not always work and on one occasion, I handed one of the rods off to another yak angler.

Trolling live hard tails can often lead to line tangles so I usually weight a dead bait to keep it low and troll only one live bait at the top.

I hope this helps

Ted


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

I don't think anyone read the original post to this thread. It was more about fishing outriggers than ones for stability. I think that they are a terrible idea but was just curious if anyone had ever seen them used.


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## Framerguy (Oct 2, 2007)

Quote from tunapopper:

<SPAN id=_ctl1_ctlTopic_ctlPanelBar_ctlTopicsRepeater__ctl16_lblFullMessage>_"I don't think anyone read the original post to this thread. It was more about fishing outriggers than ones for stability. I think that they are a terrible idea but was just curious if anyone had ever seen them used."_ 

I think that you can tell by the wording of my posts and the fact that I mentioned that I _know_ the difference between "outriggers" and outriggers that I read and understood the meanings _and_ the differences. I have been sitting in a kayak for the better part of50 years and I _do_ know the difference in the basic terms as used by blue water fishermen on large ocean going fishing boats for keeping a spread on their baited lines and those used by us kayakersfor helping to stabilize the watercraft so we can maneuver better and be able to stand up (to pee_ or_ to sight fish!)in an otherwise rather unstable craft. And all these quotes seem to reflect thatmost of us who respondedunderstand the difference in terms.

Quote from captken:

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=smalltxt vAlign=top>

<SPAN id=_ctl1_ctlTopic_ctlPanelBar_ctlTopicsRepeater__ctl2_lblFullMessage>_I never saw a yak with riggers so I can't say much with certainty and definitely with no authority. IMHO, outriggers would complicate a boat that should stay as uncomplicated as possible._ </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Quote from Framerguy:

_"The use of a line outrigger never occured to me at all. Like Capt. Ken says, keep things as simple as possible if that *is* possible at all!!" _

Quote from SheYakFishr:

_I can't see where one would need outriggers... unless your talking about the ones that are off to the sides for stability._

Quote from Framerguy:

_Regarding the fishing outriggers (line outriggers), I still would think that they would be much more of a hindrance and a pain to operate from a kayak than just using some Scottie rod holders or a few flush mounts for the rods. You are just too restricted in your movements when you are sitting in a kayak ....._

Quote from David Ridenour:

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=smalltxt vAlign=top>_<SPAN id=_ctl1_ctlTopic_ctlPanelBar_ctlTopicsRepeater__ctl9_lblFullMessage>I'm not a yak guy but it seems a couple of surf rods would work as well without having to have outriggers and a rod you would just have the one item to deal with and still have the separation. _
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Quote from Framerguy:

_And I know the difference between outriggers and "outriggers" just in case anyone thinks I wasposting out of ignorance of the terms. My personal preference, as stated earlier, would NOTbe to troll using "outriggers" as they would be in the way in my opinion and not enhance the fishing experience on a kayak at all._ 

I really don't think that whether we understand what was said in someone else's opinion matters as much as the simple fact that, in most instances, using line outriggers (or downriggers) or any other kind of "riggers" to run a "set" of lines behind a kayak would not be a feasible method of fishing from a kayak! As I stated before, you cannot move around on a kayak and you can't get help from a bait boy or someone else on board to take one of the hookups from you if both rods take hits. In most cases you don't have an alternate means of locomotion other than your paddle so your hands are already occupied with something to do if you are running 2 lines out back and trolling. The only thing that you may be able to do, as Ted stated, is hand one of the "fish on" rods to a buddy in another kayak and both of you bring them in or use your pedals (if you are lucky enough to own a Hobie kayak!!)to keep line tension on one while you work the other to the kayak if you are out there by yourself. (And going out in the Gulf solo isn't the best idea in any weather!)

I think that the original question was "has anyoneseenthis used?" and I believe that the question was answered by nobody referrring to any instances where they DID try this method of trolling bait or rigs behind a kayak or seen it used. Now that may lead to somebody picking apart our posts on what we HAVE tried on a kayak involving the type of outriggers that ARE feasible to use on that type of watercraft but that is happening all too often on this forum as it is so I don't expect that will change in the near future.


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## Team Hobie (Oct 9, 2007)

I knew what the post was talking about as well. I will also add a few more tidbits.

In my first yak I rigged a set of PVC rod holders that added about two feet of width to my spread just by sticking the rods out further from the hull.

There is a guy out in Hawaii that runs a "way back" line using a release clip attached to the top of his yak sail mast. Basically, he runs two rods in a side by side spread plus a third line way far back using a point that is 15 feet high at the boat.

I do use planers and heavy trolling weights to get my baits to run deep while I am trolling. Lately the kings and snapper have been hitting on the bottom and with the recent storms the current in the Gulf has been fast. The various gizmos help get and hold the baits near the very bottom at 2.5 to7 MPH trolling speed. Of course these put a lot of strain on the kayak and the rod holders and are a bitch to reel up and can wear the legs out pedaling against so much resistance. That's why I sail whenever I can.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

I guessI worded my statement incorrectly and after reading it again realized it sounded kinda pissy. I'm truly sorry, I really didn't mean to offend anyone I was more just trying to let anyone new to the topic know that the subject dealt with fishing outriggers not ones for stability. I should not have put _anyone _as much as some of you readers may not have read or similar. I do appreciate any responses to any of my posts and will continue to reply to others. I understand posts get derailed all the time I was just trying to get it back on track.


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## Beefisher (Oct 7, 2007)

Sorry about the derail. I didn't read close enough and jumped on that canoe picture. When I think of "outriggers" for fishing I think of bigger boats not yaks. 

As was stated, we use extension tubes and a longer rod if you are concerned about spread.


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## rednex*toyz (Oct 7, 2007)

Scotty - The same company that makes all the boat/kayak access. such as rod holders, has (from what Ive seen) the only pair of commercial outriggers for kayaks. West MArine sells them - they are worth seeing on Scotty's website. Inflatable -Retractable - Removable - Stable


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