Finally made it out to the marsh

[Panama Red 0]

Great report Kirk, glad you had a chance to get out and fish. I happen to prefer the pole in circles method, multiple shots at the same targets As for where to put the pole I had a commercial belt with a plastic holder that gripped and held it in place.

 

I love to get on the platform and push the boat around, however, Lykos make a very valid point about getting wet I can't pole and fly fish at the same time without risk of serious injury to myself or others.

 

Beautiful fish brother, congrats on an awesome day.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

That really was/is an odd looking black drum. Jam and Lykos, I felt like I was the Karate Kid, standing on that little platform on the bow and putting the pole down alongside my feet and then having to lift one foot to get the pole between my feet so it wouldn't roll off the boat. There was nothing quick about putting that down and picking up the flyrod. Actually as nice as it is to sightcast on a gut slick day, when by yourself, it is nice to have a little breeze so you can set up a drift and not have to worry about the pole.

Next time I'll be better prepared, I was just a little rusty to take advantage of the conditions.

 

Thanks,

Kirk

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

Kirk, I do a fair amount of solo poling when I'm out exploring (exploring is my excuse when I can't tie one more fly or repair one more piece of gear, and the customrs are few and far between). Like everyone else, poling shallow, and seeing fish a lot closer than you'd like them to be -I struggled with handling pushpole, rod, and everything else. Here's the routine I came up with. On soft bottom when I spot a fish I immediately use the pointy end of the pole to stop the boat -then pick up the end of a short tether attached to the poling tower and secure the fork end. This does two things, it stops you as quickly as a Power Pole and frees up your hands to use a rod. If I'm fly fishing I have the fly rod laid out in the bow with line stripped out ready to do -all that's needed is to quietly get down, move to the bow (hopefully not losing sight of the fish...) and you're ready to go. If I'm using spin or plug gear I stay up on the platform and retrieve a rod already mounted up under one side of the platform (that rod sets up parallel to the deck with the tip pointed forward so that it doesn't get in the way of poling at all -yet is still reachable after you tie off your pushpole....).

 

When I'm poling on hard bottom staking out with the pushpole just isn't possible. In those conditions I keep a small grapnel anchor tied in place on a short line at a rear corner of the skiff and simply slip it over the side after securing my pushpole (either the pole is secured to a holder up on top of the platform or brought down and put back into the clips after dropping the anchor....

 

Hope this helps. When all goes well the above routines look practiced and skilled - if it's one of those days when I'm fumbling around it looks like a crazy fire drill. And, of course, you need to see the fish far enough away to have the time to do that drill...

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Bob, our bottom is so soft down here, I often just push the forked end into the mud and throw a clove hitch around the middle of the pole when I'm landing a fish. Haven't tried that when fishing to stop the boat, that could work with some visibility.

That was the biggest problem Friday, the sky was socked in with low clouds, not a spec of blue and the water clarity was only about twelve inches. You couldn't see the fish until they were 15 - 20 feet away.

 

Thanks for the tip,

Kirk