Stringer?

I am new to this fishing out of a kayak. I was wondering if you just use a stringer off the side of the yak or will the seals steal your catch? I know when I am spearfishing they try to steal 'em right out of your hands. It just seems like its an easy meal for the seals.

If I am catching largish fish I use a game clip.  If I am taking sand dabs or other small fish I will use a game bag.  I've seen more than a couple of folks using gunny sacks.

I usually use a game clip, but do you just dangle it over the side of the boat?

Mike, I keep my clips and fish inside the hatch and leashed.  It might be a good idea to get 2 clips - one inside with fish, and one empty within reach when you need it in a pinch to secure a big fish.

I got the 18" clip from kayakfishinggear.com and it's great.  Got a less-than-great but do-able 14" one elsewhere.  Had I to do over again, I'd get 2 of the 18"ers.

Mike, I keep my clips and fish inside the hatch and leashed.  It might be a good idea to get 2 clips - one inside with fish, and one empty within reach when you need it in a pinch to secure a big fish.

I got the 18" clip from kayakfishinggear.com and it's great.  Got a less-than-great but do-able 14" one elsewhere.  Had I to do over again, I'd get 2 of the 18"ers.

You save the 14" one for pictures, makes the fish look bigger!   

Ha!  Good idea...  Yeah, maybe get both sizes from kayakfishinggear.com (Hook1).  The smaller one isn't bad anyway, for smaller fish, and it's easier to handle in close quarters.  Might have that one topside as the handy empty one.

And as Fuzz says, to add that extra 4" of perception to your fish sizes!

I bought my game clips from a local dive shop.  I just leash my clip and keep the fish in the tank well.  I just dip em in the water every once in a while to keep em cool.  Usually the reds are still floppin around after a few hours.  Don't know why just the reds stay alive so long.

I'm a big fan of the game clip over the stringer as well.

But, as for hanging your stringer (or game clip) over the side, I do it because it tends to keep the fish fresher than having them on deck.  The biggest thing is the drag, so I usually pull the stringer up when I'm about to move.

I did have a scary experience with a stringer in the water last year at Fort Ross. I was fishing with a lingcod on my stringer hanging in the water, when suddenly my kayak bobbed in the water as if it was pulled down by somthing big.  At fist I thought great white and looked down to see a gray shadow slip by in about 8 ft of water, just deep enough to not be able to make out the outline of what it really was.  I quickly realized that whatever it was, it wanted my lingcod so I pulled it up and noticed a nice bite mark on the caudal fin of the ling.  A few moments later I was relieved to see a gray harbor seal pop its head out of the water about 20 ft in front of me.  If it actually had been a great white I probably shouldn't have dragged the bloody fish back into my boat and would have been better up cutting the stinger and letting the shark have the fish while I made my escape.   Anyway, I still keep my fish in the water while I'm fishing.

Brian

I mostly use the game clip to secure the fish, then slip them into a soaked burlap sack in the tankwell. Both the clip and the bag are leashed. After seeing too many sea lions come sniffing around others fish that were hung over the side, I keep mine in the tankwell. With the wet burlap bag, the fish seem to stay fresher than they ever did when I kept them in the water.

I use a game clip and hang it over the side or put it in the tank well, but I like the idea of a wet gunny sack/burlap bag.  Where can I find one?

The party boat offices/fishing shops sell the burlap bags for about two dollars.  They're especially popular for bagging the limits of rock cod they've been getting because they're cheap, durable and at that price, disposable.  If you're in Berkeley go down University Ave to Berkeley Sport Fishing or if in Emeryville go down Powell St to Emeryville Sport Fishing.

If you rinse them off with a garden hose they can be reused many times.

Also I am pretty sure OSH has them as well.

Thanks, I appreciate the tips!

......sharpen the tip of your game clip so you can easily punch through the lower jaw of the fish 


For handling the fish, I use these puncture prove gloves (especially made for fishing - available at cabelas OR locally at Mel Cottons in San Jose). The sell 'em individually. I have a left hand glove and use it mainly when rock fishing. The glove defintely works well when handling the blues,black and coppers. I can easily lip the fish (or simply grab 'em -- with no worries) to get the hook out and secure 'em to the game clip. (I was also able to lip a small ling  )

I also like Allen' idea (scallen) of keeping two game clips (one of 'em already open) Use one for storing and the other (the open one) for securing the bigger fish like a big ling or a halibut
 

Oh, and make sure you secure your clip with about 2 feet of rope. (I actually have a small float attached to the end of the rope - just in case I drop it - which I've done a few times  )

Thank you all so much. Very useful ideas from everyone...right down to making your fish look bigger for the photo! I think I will try the burlap sack idea because the thought of trolling for something BIGGER with the bait attached to my yak does not appeal to me. haha.