Fishing:

Connecting with Kelp Paddies

Guide for Gear Guys

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If you're an experienced kelp paddy fisherman, the previous sections probably didn't tell you too much that was new. You probably saw that the major differences between fishing a paddy with gear vs. fly are:

• Depending on the situation, you might need to careful with chum. At times, there can be a zone where too much live chum can make it hard for fly fishermen to get a strike.
  
  
• Don't expect to get the fly deep. If it's a true yo-yo jig or torpedo sinker situation, it isn't likely that you'll be able to a get fly down deep enough. Instead, see what you can do to bring the fish up.
  
  
• If you're fishing IGFA-legal tackle, and are after yellowtail, you'll probably need to work on drawing the fish far enough away from the paddy so that you'll be able to stop a hooked from making it back to the paddy (or be able to divert it).

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Summary

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Don't let all the info in these pages fool you. There's still a lot of room for figuring out improved ways to fish kelp paddies with fly gear. Whether it's a new way of enticing a finicky yellowtail or dorado, fighting a yellowtail determined to make it back to safety in the paddy, or trying to draw a tuna up from the depths, there are a lot of challenges to catching fish from kelp paddies on fly tackle. We encourage you to give it a try, and share your successes (or frustrations) with us here at BTB. Good Luck!