Anchors are one of the first things people add to their fishing kayaks. There are many ways to do it, and there will be several YakAngler Workshop Episodes on the subject. In this episode, I add a dog leash type anchor setup to my Jackson “Coosa”.

I regularly get asked about what my favorite lures are. I normally come up with a response like “It depends on the situation,” or “The one that they are biting on…”. Now I know these answers aren’t terribly helpful to people, and I normally expand on them. However, I have made it a point to not try to tie myself to one lure or technique over the years.

On April 21, 2012 the New Jersey Chapter of Casting for Recovery(CFR) will be holding a raffle to raise funds for their programs. CFR provides opportunities for women whose lives have been profoundly affected by breast cancer to gather in a natural setting and learn the sport of fly fishing. Just as importantly, the retreats offer an opportunity to meet new friends, network, exchange information, and have fun.

Most “angler” edition kayaks come from the factory with flush-mount rod holders already installed. What do you do if you have a standard kayak without them, or you decided to purchase the “standard” model so you could save some coin and install them yourself? Luckily, flush mounts are easily installed in just a few minutes with some basic tools.

The weather in the Northeast has been unseasonably warm this past week, with temperatures in the 70s and even breaking into the 80s. On Friday afternoon I got out of work a few hours early and took my new Jackson Kayak “Coosa” out to a local pond for its maiden voyage. I picked up the Coosa this winter specifically for this purpose. Last year I did not fish fresh water as much as I would have liked, since I rig my kayak very differently for stripers then for chasing bass in ponds. Couple this with the fact that my old kayak was quite large and cumbersome - it made quick trips for an hour or two more work than fun.

Welcome to the YakAngler Workshop. This is a new series of articles and videos I am putting together with tips, tricks, and how-tos centered around kayak fishing. In these articles, I hope to share with you not just how I do things, but why. I’m also looking for your requests and ideas for new episodes. If you have a suggestion, please post it in the YakAngler Workshop Suggestions forum. As with most things in life, there are multiple ways to do things, and I will be presenting one or maybe a few ways to do a project. We will have a forum topic for each episode so everyone can share their thoughts.

Due to a commitment at work, I missed out on the incredible Chokoloskee Boondoggle trip to the 10,000 Islands area of South Florida. Well, this past week work paid me back. I got a chance to go to Florida to work for a few days, and had the bonus of taking Thursday and Friday off to do some fishing. I quickly hatched a plan - not only was I going to get out on the warm Florida waters, but I was going to get to finally get to give the new Jackson “Cuda” a sea trial.

When I woke up Sunday morning, it was 9°F. I wasn’t going to go fishing, so I decided to watch some of the Sunday morning fishing shows while planning out the day. On one of the shows the host mentioned something about keeping a log book, which reminded me about my New Year’s Resolution.  

Last fall, I received a YakAttack “Mighty Mount™ Scotty® 241 Track Mount Kit” to try out. This kit comes with two “Mighty Mounts”, a Scotty “241” base, and the hardware to install it on Wilderness Tracks (5/8” track) or ½” wide tracks like the YakAttack “Gear Track”. The kit retails for $30 on YakAttack’s website, and for an extra $5 you get both sets of hardware so you can mount it to any track system. I don’t have a kayak of my own with a track system, so I had to sneak my wife’s Tarpon out to give it a try.

While kayak fishing last year, I “discovered” that my camera did not float. I needed a camera quickly for an upcoming tournament, and at the time did not have $300 to buy another high-end waterproof camera. After doing some research and talking to some friends, I decided to order the $65 Kodak “EasyShare Sport”. A few days later, an Amazon.com box was waiting for me at home after work.