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 Post subject: shallow water fishing
PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 2:14 pm 
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i want to fish very shallow water of Freeport bays in the Texas Gulf that would be less than 2' at times i'm told. i haven't gotten into shallow water yet and wanted to know what to expect. i've read to put one pedal to the floor to flatten out the fins and make short stokes with the pedals. if i get into a good fishing spot should i strap down the pedal until i get ready to move on to secure the pedals no't move out of the flat position by accident by me. i do have the Lowrance 4 so i'll be watching the depth. i've ordered anchor poles that i'll be able to push out if necessary. just looking for experienced advise.

PA-14 2015


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 7:04 pm 
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Location: Lake Park, GA
I've flutter pedaled in a lot of skinny water. You basically have the pedals fully spread out and then move the pedals on short strokes (A few inches of deflection. It depends on the depth you have). Usually I can get a full deflection of the pedals in a little under 2 feet of water. Shallower than that I have to use slightly shorter strokes based on depth. The PA will move at a good speed even flutter pedaling. Flutter pedaling over a long distance can be taxing on the knees as that's where you would feel it the most.

I have flutter pedaled up until the Mirage Drive scrapes the bottom. So you can go to a decent shallow water depth. It really depends on how much weight you have in the PA and how that relates to usable depth/hull clearance below you.

I have only used the retainer shock cord maybe 5 times in 4 years of PA ownership. Usually if I just push one pedal forward to keep the fins close to the hull, they don't move unless you hit the pedals. If I was poling through a lot of skinny water I might use the retainer shock cord to make sure the fins stayed up against the hull.

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PostPosted: Fri Oct 23, 2015 7:25 am 
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Thanks Steve, i appreciate the advise. that's where i understand the reds, trout and flounder are so that's where i'll be.

Stephen Yarborough


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 23, 2015 2:47 pm 
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Location: Wilmington, NC
As Steve said, but I find the fins will seek vertical position all by themselves if you don't use the retainer hook (especially if standing up) & then as the wind/tide/current move you back to shallower water, the fins may impact or drag along a shallower sand bar or oyster bar. Gets you stuck & the kayak begins to pivot around where the tips of the fins have "grounded" which could bend the shafts if you are moving even at a slow speed. (full disclosure: I use Turbo fins).

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PostPosted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 5:21 pm 
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I fish inshore in <8ft water 99% of the time here in the southern half of Florida. The previous posters both had excellent advice. I don't usually use the bungee on the mirage drive, but mine to does fall back slightly if I have it tucked in. The one piece of advice I will give you is to just pedal easy. If you are in murky water and you have reason to believe it is <2ft, definitely go easy. I have scrapped my mirage drive on the bottom many a time , a few times I would consider it SMASHED the bottom lol. However, Hobie makes a legit product, no real damage yet ***knock on wood***. If you are getting a stake out pole, you can probe. I have never seen the gulf coast of Texas, but I would think its not dramatically different than gulf coast of Florida where I live. Hopefully, in 2ft or less you can just see the bottom most of the time.


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 7:29 pm 
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Be sure to put some gorilla tape on the front of your find to protect them. I live in water less than a foot and the PA does just fine. When I am really skinny I use a bungee card to hold the fins back and stand up and pole using the paddle. Great way to sight cast reds.


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PostPosted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 6:33 am 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
We tend to find ourselves in very shallow water at low tide more often than we like. You have to develop 'happy feet', basically you feel the bottom with your feet, this takes a little practice. As soon as the fin touches bottom you stop and reverse pedaling vs pedaling thru (attempting to pedal thru is where all the serious damage occurs).
The fins are made of TPE rubber and many adhesives stick to the fins (unlike your hull). The most likely damage that happens from nicking the bottom is for the shaft to poke thru the side of the fin. If you take some 1/16 x 1" aluminum (home depot or lowes) and fold it over the front of the fin at the very bottom (near where the shaft ends), then glue it down with adhesive, this makes the fins much more survivable (especially in oyster beds and coral heads). What we do is if we think we are coming into shallows we hook the bungy hook onto the pedal and start shallow pedaling (yes you can pedal just fine with the bungy on the pedal, actually the bungy is kind of a reminder not to pedal thru with a full stroke). Once you get used to pedaling this way you can shallow pedal almost as fast as normal. The cool part about the bungy is if you take your feet off the pedals the fins fold up against the hull where they are pretty safe. We have gone thru rocky bottom class 2 shallow rapids with the fins folded many times with no damage, and sometimes beach with the mirage drives in (as long as they are folded against the hull they are pretty safe). On our TI with the rudder mostly up we can still steer fairly well (carefully using the up/down cables). On the PA you may need to raise your rudder and steer with your double ended paddle. What we do is paddle and shallow pedal when we can until we get back to deeper water. Here is the kicker, if you have a sail kit you can just put the sail up and sail right over the shallows (thats what we have always done anyway) obviously it might not be the exact direction you want to go but it sure beats walking the boat off the sand bar or oyster bed (lol).
Bottom line those crazy mirage drives can be much more durable than people give them credit for as long as you learn to pedal with very light feet (happy feet). Actually with our boat anytime I take someone new out I spend a couple minutes beforehand explaining all this stuff to the new user, this has saved me a large fortune from mirage drive repair costs over the years.
One other pointer especially on the more narrow kayaks like the revos in rough water, your double ended paddle in your hands is your friend, the paddle provides about 70% of your stability when going though rough areas (like rapids) and surf, don't forget it's there (My observation is most Hobie owners don't use their paddles at all) if you don't believe me just watch and expert surfski guy for 5 minutes. With our boats we have the best of all worlds. Obviously I don't own a PA, but I would think alot of the general sea kayaking stuff I described could also be applied on a PA to some extent.
Hopefully some of this will help
FE


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PostPosted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 7:32 pm 
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http://youtu.be/EyI_s04XH2E

This was from earlier in the year. The PA is so stable I do most of my fishing while standing up using the paddle to push me along. The water is so clear around Delacroix you can usually spot the reds cruising the shallows.


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PostPosted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 6:56 am 
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Location: Boynton Beach, FL
The majority of my fishing from my PA 14 has been in the flats of the Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River Lagoon. It's no secret that you need to be stealthy to get near the big trout and spooky Reds. On the flats, I used the flutter technique a lot as it was faster than poling. I would cut into a flat, flutter until I got closer to where I wanted to fish and then would stand up and pole.
What I found is that I was missing a lot of fish by accidentally spooking them on my way to my spot. I believe that the rigid motion lends itself to accidental clunks on the hull and the short back and forth strokes also create unnatural noises.

I've changed my technique and I now pole as soon as the water is shallow enough to do so. It takes more time but the reward has been a lot more caught fish and less spooked fish. Standing up and sight fishing is a thrilling experience and it's even more exciting when it gets you on the big slobs.

I would recommend you use a push pole that is, at least, 8 feet in length. If you can get a light 12 or 14 footer, that would be even better as the 8 footer really doesn't allow you to use the best technique.

Below are photos of my best catches from poling and sight fishing; a 36" Red and a 27" trout. The trout was also a personal best. The Red was in an area that, historically, I would have been sitting and fluttering and I would have never seen it. The trout was up at the edge of the water so I probably would have been standing no matter what. Both were an incredible thrill and it gets me excited about fishing every time I look at those pictures and it's why I will continue to push pole and not flutter in the shallows again (of course, this is dependent on the conditions).

Image
Image

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PostPosted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 7:20 pm 
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Location: Lake Park, GA
Mike,

Great pictures! I would tend to agree with you comments on flutter pedaling and possibly spooking the fish. One of these days I need to get to Mosquito Lagoon.

Steve

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2015 Pro Angler 14 - Papaya
2018 Compass - Sea Grass


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