As the title would imply; never been to the Thames, but looking to try some new winter spots. I found fish on what may have been the last sunny day in a while, but they weren't interested in what I was offfering. Wasn't my primary purpose. I have plenty of days like that in western CT, so why not get skunked someplace new? So that's what I did, but it was worth the ferry ride (from Orient Point this time).
Packed a nice lunch and charged up the electric socks and gloves for a day on the water. The launch site I chose required a low enough tide to "limbo" under a small train bridge. Got out ok. Conditions were nice; cool and breezy, but sunny. I marked some spots, learned a little about a small portion of the river, and I'll be better equipped for fishing there the next time I'm able to get away for the day.
I did note different patterns about where they were located in the Thames River, by comparison to the Housatonic, but they certainly didn't seem as willing to bite, as I haven't been skunked at the Housatonic in a while.
I've got some kayak repair work to do over the next couple of weeks, but I know that soon afterward it'll be time to get back out. Interestingly - and maybe some day a point for further discussion - I've discovered a bunch of equipment problems that arise from winter kayak fishing that were never problems previously.
Still learning.[ATTACH type="full"]14396[/ATTACH][ATTACH type="full"]14397[/ATTACH][ATTACH type="full"]14398[/ATTACH][ATTACH type="full"]14399[/ATTACH][ATTACH type="full"]14400[/ATTACH]
.
Thames River Winter Bass Scouting Trip
842 views·7 replies·by KayakFisherman
KayakFisherman, two weeks ago, when I've decided to [[COLOR=#231f1b]visit[/COLOR]]('https://bestfishingdude.com/best-ice-fishing-fish-finders/') our biggest lake for a fishing, first of all, I've realized that I need to get a fish finder, just in case there would be no option to catch some fish without it, and it worked great. Model from Venterior (portable fish finder) worked pretty nice, even in winter conditions.
Deckhand4 postsSince 2020
On the trip I just returned from I was still having some difficulty getting a clear reading from my fishfinder. Mine was adhered to the inside of my kayak bottom with an adhesive sealant. It works well, but renders the temp guage inaccurate since the little metal sensor is not in contact with the water or the kayak. In all other regards it works fine and I avoid having to "fill" a pocket (that secures the transducer) with water each time, which is impossible when it's 20 degrees out. In my case, though, water got between the adhesive and the hull, froze, expanded, and separated slightly - probably less than 1/16 of an inch. It was enough to make the signal get weaker intermittently, probably in response to the flexing of the hull, but I was certain that it was an electrical problem until I got in and looked around. I wasted a lot of time double-checking my wiring.
Happy to elaborate on other "winter kayaking" issues. There are a lot of them, I'm learning. There's the obvious stuff like preparing properly with clothing and dry suits. But I've learned that there are several practical concerns that most people just don't consider. your line will freeze and there's precious little you can do about it. I think I'm going to invent the first fishing pole with heated eyelets.
Also, [ATTACH type="full"]14665[/ATTACH]Hobie kayak rudder control cables - the cables that raise, lower and aim the rudder - are encased in plastic tubing which is clamped to the inside/top of the kayak. This keeps the cables out of the way of everything else that you might have inside your kayak. But if you store your kayak outside and upside down, that becomes the "bottom" of the inside of the kayak, and any water that collects there will infiltrate the plastic tubes and freeze. So before you just grab your kayak and run down to the river for some winter fishing bring it indoors for 24 hours first and dry it out or your kayak's steering system will be frozen solid and you'll be paddling in straight lines all day.
Another Hobie-related complication relates to the drive cables. The first year that I started winter fishing I noticed small cracks in the plastic insulation around my drive cables. Ordinarily these take years to develop after the plastic has fatigued. It's my theory that the plastic that encases those cables was never intended to withstand low temperatures. When you freeze it and bend it, it cracks. I doubt they ever envisioned it being used in such conditions.
Happy to elaborate on other "winter kayaking" issues. There are a lot of them, I'm learning. There's the obvious stuff like preparing properly with clothing and dry suits. But I've learned that there are several practical concerns that most people just don't consider. your line will freeze and there's precious little you can do about it. I think I'm going to invent the first fishing pole with heated eyelets.
Also, [ATTACH type="full"]14665[/ATTACH]Hobie kayak rudder control cables - the cables that raise, lower and aim the rudder - are encased in plastic tubing which is clamped to the inside/top of the kayak. This keeps the cables out of the way of everything else that you might have inside your kayak. But if you store your kayak outside and upside down, that becomes the "bottom" of the inside of the kayak, and any water that collects there will infiltrate the plastic tubes and freeze. So before you just grab your kayak and run down to the river for some winter fishing bring it indoors for 24 hours first and dry it out or your kayak's steering system will be frozen solid and you'll be paddling in straight lines all day.
Another Hobie-related complication relates to the drive cables. The first year that I started winter fishing I noticed small cracks in the plastic insulation around my drive cables. Ordinarily these take years to develop after the plastic has fatigued. It's my theory that the plastic that encases those cables was never intended to withstand low temperatures. When you freeze it and bend it, it cracks. I doubt they ever envisioned it being used in such conditions.
MateOriginal Crew183 postsSince 2019
That's an interesting point because I've often thought of that myself as I watched things break and had to deal with problems that other kayakers and other fishermen didn't have to deal with; I was on their fishing team for a number of years and they treated me well, but they never asked me my opinion about their equipment. Hobie is first and foremost a business and unfortunately I have witnessed more than once instance where they had to be aware of the existence of a problem but (like any business) sat on it in order to clear their inventory before making the Improvement - and (like any business) never admitting that they knew the improvement was necessary.
For them, it's cost-benefit. For me, it's a better mousetrap or it isn't. My relationship with Hobie has been great, but under those circumstances, I could see us parting ways quickly. I think it almost works better the other way around; I can help more people by writing directly to the consumer, and if Hobie is dialed in to their market, they'll follow sites like this and they'll be compelled to improve more quickly.
By the way, their reversible drive is a perfect example of that process playing out right now.
For them, it's cost-benefit. For me, it's a better mousetrap or it isn't. My relationship with Hobie has been great, but under those circumstances, I could see us parting ways quickly. I think it almost works better the other way around; I can help more people by writing directly to the consumer, and if Hobie is dialed in to their market, they'll follow sites like this and they'll be compelled to improve more quickly.
By the way, their reversible drive is a perfect example of that process playing out right now.
MateOriginal Crew183 postsSince 2019
Sign in to reply to this thread.