Mothershipping, Big & wild? Not kayak fishing at all?

Yes, as long as you hook+land the fish under your own power (on a kayak), then it counts as kayak fishing. Right?
PK

I'm no paddle purist, I'm just in it for the fish and to have a good time.  99% of the time I will go with whatever is convenient....the other 1% I'll fish off a yak 

An interesting second question to this would be, were you a paddler before fishing or a fisherman/woman before paddling?








BTW, If we're talking about "record" keeping....it should be a paddle only affair.   

I would (and did) say "yes".  As long as you catch and land the fish from the yak.  There is something special about hammering your way through the surf and then being at peace paddling with the ocean.  But, paddling miles out to sea just isn't possible. So, if you want the sleigh ride of a big tuna or other deep water game fish, you just mentally separate the ride out from the fishing.

I gotta say no, doing it all yourself is what drew me to Kayak fishing.

for all of you that can paddle out to san clemente or any of the other islands off California, or maybe niihau off of Kauai or good halibut grounds 30 miles off shore in some of the sounds in alaska, more power to you. on the first islander Trip I was 2nd on the water right after Freddie and did not get back on board 7:30 that night, loaded with a power bar,5 dates and a 6-pack of bud. We hit every condition out there that day, fishing was very slow and we covered miles of ground. It was my longest day in a kayak ever. did it make a difference I launched from a mothership or the beach,no not a :smt003t all. if I was to say this is not kayak fishing, it would be ludicrous. I guess what I am trying to say is that sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, screw the purity of it. I wouldn't miss another islander trip for anything

We kind of had this discussion back when people were talking about setting up an official kayak fishing records like IFGA. I think it was Jim Sammons who brought up the fact that what is the difference between driving to a launch site or being boated to a launch site? I will have to agree that from a purest stanpoint, launching from a shore is part of the experience but does it define the sport? Having been on a mothership I will say that the mother ship puts you in the neighborhood, just like driving to Bean Hollow but you still have to find the fish and catch them. So the only real difference is whether you launch from shore or climb in from a boat. I will admit that launching and landing in surf takes more skill, but climbing in and off on a mother ship in swells isn't like jumping on your living room sofa. I seem to recall a few went swimming on the last Islander trip.   I think that if the mother ship is chumming or creating a slick, helps you hook the fish (trolling, kite) or helps you land the fish it would not be kayak fishing, but that is not what happens on the Islander. Like Sean said, it is really fun and it requires the same fishing skills so it doesn't really matter what you want to call it, IMO.

Scott

I've never done mothershipping but whether it's kayaking or not...???...
Of course it is......absolute no-brainer.
Farallones are 30-miles one-way.
Overnights on the Farallone islands are prohibited.

So for a kayaker....how else...???.....

Mothership would be a neat way to "do" Prince William Sound and the Inner Passage and all of those otherwise fairly inaccessable regions north of Seattle.

Judd

The comment I heard by the skipper of the Islander is that we northerners took our Kayak fishing to the extreme in comparison to others who have chartered through them. I am a firm believer that you use the tools that are afforted you to accomplish the task. I know I had a blast on the Islander with the same commeraderie that we had at several of our own events up in the Northern Coast.
I loved the fact that I was a radio call away from the Mother ship and that if I was parched or out of bait they were there to assist.
Then to be 80 mi. out in territory I had never fished was a big plus. Hooking up with people who also knew the lay of the land was what I paid for, then getting to spots like When Jim took me to the rocks and we caught Calico's from, was an experience I would recommend to anyone.
For those purist we also paddled out of La Jolla (regular vehicle means ) to do battle with the Ghost of that area. Buuya total fun..02 Frankfishing

Okay, here's my take on the subject:  "purity" is sort of an abstract concept, unless you're making rules for record catches, in which case you need to have definitive criteria. So I'll leave that conversation for late night beer fueled philosophizing...or give the subject a pass entirely.

I will say this though: the experience of kayak fishing from a mothership like the Islander is very much like any other kayak fishing, once you're on the water: you paddle many miles, choose which species to target and where and how you want to fish, and succeed or fail according to your abilities. The big boat gets you to the fishing grounds, but the fishing experience is for the most part independent. And I like that, with the obvious advantage of not having to fight for rail space with the great unwashed, or worry about crossing lines.

If I could target pelagic species by launching from area beaches, I'd be all over that. Since that isn't the case, I'll have to get my ass there by any means necessary.

Who cares?  I'm with sean:  Whatever's the most fun.  Fun lowers my blood pressure.

I've been mulling this over and haven't come to a decision yet...I guess it really depends on if you have a killer whale sticker stuck on the bottom of your kayak or not.   

The first day on the islander after lunch once everyone disembarked the islander decided to motor something like 3 miles down-wind and across a massive kelp field for the pickup.  That turned out to be one heck of a slog through the kelp and was more difficult than the paddle to chef's kitchen and back.  Just because there's a mothership doesn't mean there isn't long paddles involved, and unlike a beach the MS can up and move on ya in a not-so-great way.  We still had to dismantle our boats too for storage, so it wasn't much less work in the morning than setting up on a beach, just no drive or carrying gear down the beach.

If we found an out of the way protected little beach and had a big group campout there for a few days it'd be about the same feel as the motherboat trip.  I don't think it's legal to camp on most beaches though (I have no idea where 'touring' kayakers 'tour'), it'd be sweet to set up some kind of beach camp fishing trip like that though.  Just drag the yaks up the beach beyond the high-tide dune and enjoy festivities for the rest of the day.  I'd be highly interested in a trip like that if someone knows an appropriate place to do it.

Paddling from shore, hooking and landing a big fish, and paddling back on your own in is the ultimate.

Getting mothershipped out to a remote area, like we did on the Islander, and getting dropped off is still kayak fishing to me as long as hook and land the fish on your own.  Like Sean said, there's no other way to get to productive areas 60+ miles from the mainland.

Hooking a fish from a motor boat, hopping in a yak, and have the rod handed to you ......  F#ck that... not for me!

Nice thread Z,
this has been an interesting read and really got me thinking about how we as a group define things.
Pure vs Unpure is  difficult to define in a lifestyle that allows for so many different styles and attitudes.
Ive never done the mothership thing for kayaking but have taken boats out to dive locations and it seemed very practical.  Looks like a fantastic time and Im looking forward to trying it.
But at the same time, Im not sure If I could support someone that called themselves kayakfisherfolk if they needed assisitance from the crew of the mothership to get back in their boat after a situation.
Thats just being weak.

I think a good example of a difficult definition of purity in our subculture is the Hobie mirage system. I have a huge amount of admiration and respect for some of the NCKA that choose to fish from this platform but do I think that they are kayaking? no I dont. But do I think they are having a great time? most definately.

I have done the mothership. I have done beach launches. I have hauled my kayak up and down Cardiac Hill at Elk. I have been dumped off my kayak in the surf. I have been dumped off my kayak from a mothership. To me it is all kayak fishing.
I love this sport and the people associated with it.
I am guessing that the majority of those dissing the mothership aspect of kayak fishing probably have never been on a mothership trip. It was the single best vacation I have ever had. It had everything. Food, friends, kayak fishing, ocean everywhere and my Gf was along too.
Experience it all THEN form an opinion.
On the Islander trip I didn't get my YT until the 11th hour of the last day and I was definitely trying my hardest. It was one of, if not THE greatest fish I ever caught from a kayak. Hell, caught period!
I didn't do any less paddling than I do headed to Shell Banks from CC.
The first day we paddled our asses off trying to get outside of the kelp and we never really did. It was never ending.
What if I live in a barn house at Bodega Bay    and I can literally walk my kayak to the beach and it is a FAC day and I paddle 30 feet out and hook a salmon or halibut, call it a day and go home and the entire trip from my front door and back to my front door took a total of 40 minutes? Is it more of an adventure or "pure kayak fishing" than if I drive 400 miles one way, unload all my gear and kayak from my vehicle onto another vehicle ( mothership ) travel another 80 to 100 miles, set up my kayak, launch my kayak in big swells and spend the entire day paddling miles with only one fish to show for it?
What if I do only beach launches? Is one day more pure than another depending on the conditions?
I say if you hook your fish from a kayak and land your fish from a kayak it is kayak fishing.

Hooking a fish from a motor boat, hopping in a yak, and have the rod handed to you ......  F#ck that... not for me!

WORD!!