Fishing with a Kite
"Why the heck would I want to use a kite to fish?" Reach. The answer to the obvious question is reach. By putting a clip in the kite line, and learning to use that clip to carry your bait (dead, alive, or man-made) into the air just below the kite itself, you can successfully reach fish you would never have had a chance to catch. Professionals and serious amateurs have been using kites for years to catch sailfish on live "google eyes" -- but the more we learn about them and the more they find their way onto the boats of our angling friends, the more it makes sense for many of us to expand our repetoire of fishing techniques to deploy this challenging, but incredibly effective fishing method.
Expanding the reach of your fishing line
If you read the story we recently wrote about using planers or downriggers to troll baits or lures behind your boat, planers (small "wings" that pull your lure deep into the water column behind your boat) come in different sizes.
Planers
Small planers are relatively light and don't cause a major problem when a fish gets hooked. Their being tied into the line doesn't create all that much drag. The bigger ones can't be dealt with. The fact that the leader behind the device can be 20-or-more feet long is one thing, but their weight and sheer clumsiness makes them totally unwieldy -- not to mention dangerous.
Planers are often called "Poor Man's Downriggers" because they accomplish the same thing; you tie a clip to the planer or downrigger, and it keeps the fishing line connected to it while it goes deep into the water column.
Outriggers
The next place you might find experienced anglers using release clips is on "Outriggers". Outriggers are not found that much on smaller boats, but they're common on the tuna tower of the big offshore billfish boats. They act like flagpoles; angled away from the boat, they expand the width of the vessel, and use a line on a pulley (just like a real flagpole) to pull your fishing line outside the normal width of the boat.
Kites are flying outriggers
If you can imagine being able to have an outrigger on a kayak, a 17' center console, a 26' offshore boat or next to you while you're fishing on the beach for snook and shark in the springtime, think of using a kite. A kite is essentially a flying outrigger that can -- like the real thing -- hold more than one line. The kite flies in the air, and the fishing line is connected to a clip and ready to be released as soon as the pressure of the fish causes the release clip to let go of the line.
Once the release clip lets go, there is a temporary slack you have to retrieve quickly. Once the line begins to tighten, there's nothing between you and the fish except for the leader. You're off and running and the kite's still flying. Experienced kite anglers can have two -- or even three baits connected to one kite -- and be flying three of them at once. On the big professional tournament-winning boats, they're often trolling two lines or more while flying kites at the same time. Action can get hot, to say the least
Rigging for Kite Fishing: What you need to fly
The first thing your going to need is the kite. Before we start talking about equipment, though, understand that like anything related to fishing -- from the sunglasses you wear to improve your vision on (and under) the water, to what kind of rod you like the most, this is an aspect of fishing that's going to cost you money. How much you want to spend depends on how serious you want to get, and how effective you find kite fishing. We know that in the keys and on the east coast -- where private wagers between captains (called Calcuttas) can hit six figures in the big sailfish tournaments -- people have $1,000 electric kite reels and custom rods with sailfish tied into the thread patterns. Big money is made catching sailfish. And it is done with kites. As you're going to learn, though, using kites isn't the sole domain of $2 million dollar sports craft. You can use them from the comfort of the beach with a Mai Tai in tow. And you can use them from a kayak to navigate as well as to put lines in the air and over the heads of unsuspecting fish. They are used in Australia -- where kites are common in tackle bags -- for fishing in the country's many fish-filled inland lakes.
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A kite rod: A kite rod is a heavy rod -- equipped with a level-wind conventional reel. I use an old grouper rod I bought for $3 at a garage sale. We are sure you could buy one for $300.
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Line: Kites pull hard. Eighty or Hundred lb braid serves the purpose well.
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Clips and terminal tackle: A clip holds the fishing line next to the kite line, and lets it drop down to where the fish are. They're adjustable so you can use different weight baits and still have them stick until a fish hits. When the strike happens, the line "releases" or drops off the kite line. After a brief slack is taken up, the fish gets tight and the kite stays in the air. If there are more fishing lines hanging, it stays up, otherwise a team member hauls it in.
Besides the kite and the line connecting the line to a kite-rod (the first of which should be an existing or used conventional rod with a cheap levelwind reel on it), the Release Clip is the most critical component of kite fishing; it releases the line when a fish hits. These clips are like the ones used on outriggers, and give you the same ability without the tuna tower or the gas requirements.
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Kite(s): The heavier the wind, the smaller the kite you have to fly. A big kite will fly in a light breeze, but be very hard to haul in if the wind is blowing 20 knots. In simple terms, you need three kites. A small one (31 inches long) if the wind is 15kts or more. They're the easiest to pull in to re-rig. A mid-range kite (43 inches long), and a big one (63 inches long) in a light breeze. If you are going to have only one kite, the bigger-the-better. You can fly them in a wisp and still pull them down -- albeit requiring strong shoulders -- in a gale. The best way to go if you get into it for real is to have a set. We know guides in the Keys and southeast Florida who carry three of each.
You can use live baits on kites, of course. A little investigation into their use in Australia, though, shows a vastly greater range of use for the flying outriggers. In the US, they're used primarily (though the new kites are changing that fast) for sailfish in the Keys and Southeast Florida, and for Tuna offshore by Texas and west coast anglers. They're incredibly effective, and though it isn't easy to develop the skill, it is well-worth the time and effort.
In the case of kingfish, using a kite lets you put baits outside the circle that smaller fish form when they're feeding. Big king mackerel eat small king mackerel (and any Spanish that happen to be in the wrong neighborhood). The big fish hang outside the schoolies and eat them. A forty-pound fish can cut a 12 pounder in half, eat its top half, and fight five others for the tail he left behind.
In the spring tarpon migration, the fish move in packs along our beaches. People who catch them follow those packs, get in front of them, and wait for them to come alongside the boat. They then toss live baits at them. Inevitably, the packs move just beyond casting range as they get about 100 yards from your boat. Heading right towards you, they shift to get around you. If you've done it, you know exactly what I am talking about. Put two kites out, and those pods of tarpon won't move outside the dramatically-enlarged ring the kites create.
Think about using a kite. You probably already have a rod you can use to fly the kite, and enough barrel swivels around to rig an 18th century British warship. The total investment for a complete functional system will be under $100. That's the cost of five of those new special redfish lures, right?
Check out Fishing-Kite.com or visit Tampa Fishing Outfitters in Tampa, Florida to learn more about Australian-based Caught in Flight kites. They are simple and effective, excellent quality and priced right.
We will be talking a lot about kites in coming articles. In the meantime, we would love any feedback about your experiences using kites.
This is a picture sent to us by Caught in Flight of a MONSTER Tuna caught on one of their kites!
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