A Guide to Saltwater Kite Fishing

If you have ever stood on the shore and watched the birds as they fish, you have probably wished that you could trade places with one of them for a while and sail out over the water to find the fish. The good news is that you can. Kite fishing is just about as close as any of us will come to being able to drift easily above the waves in our quest for fish. Using a rather bland looking square kite to suspend the bait just below the waves allows us access to the big ones that do not get away.

To enter the sport of kite fishing, you will need to lay out a little money to start. The kites cost in the range of $60 to above $100. You will discover that there are three primary kite producers for this market. AFTCO, Bob Lewis, and SFE are the leaders in fishing kites and their accessories. You will also need to purchase a rod and reel to manage your kite line. The rods have some variations from regular fishing rods, but many people use standard open-faced reels designed for heavy duty fishing to hold the line.

After you have shelled out the cash for the kite, rod, and reel, the cost becomes much much less. You will need specialized clips that hold the fishing line to the kite. These are designed to give a quick release when you get a strike on the bait. By releasing the line, it gives the ability to fight the fish with one set of equipment while the kite is still flying and attached to its own rod and reel.

You may want to purchase floats for kite fishing. These are generally brightly colored and can vary in size and weight. Their purpose is to identify your line and help you track your bait. Since some kites are made to handle multiple fishing lines, the floats can become somewhat important to let you know which rod to grab when a strike happens. Some anglers have just attached bright marker tape to their lines instead of using floats. It is really a matter of person preference since many floats are less than $2 each.

Kite fishing can happen from the shore or from a boat. One important note is that kite fishing is not trolling. You really do not want the boat in motion. The kite does the work by taking advantage of winds that exceed 10 knots. With decent winds, the kites are easy to launch and will move from the boat or shore in the same way that the kites that you flew as a kid moved away as you let out the line.

When you are kite fishing from the shore, it is relatively easy to fish alone. From a boat, it is best to have a partner so that one can manage the kite after a strike occurs. This is even more true if you fish with multiple lines from the kite. Either way, having some company along when you are fishing is usually nice.

Kite fisherman tend to use live bait. Depending on the bait and the type of fish being sought, you may need some sophisticated techniques to properly attach the bait to the hook or hooks. No matter what type of bait that you use the objective will still be to firmly anchor the bait in such a way that when it is taken, the hook can be set quickly in the prey.

Some will advise you to purchase multiple kites for various wind speeds. With some kites this is necessary. A general rule is that as wind speeds increase, the kite size should decrease. However, most manufacturers today produce kites that can be adjusted to compensate for wind speed.

Finally, like all fishing, you must put your bait where the fish are to make a catch. Most kite fishing takes place where there is either easy feeding for the fish or where there is significant current. This means that to catch fish, you will be well served to fish above or near reefs that offer ready food to attract fish. If not over a reef, you need to look for areas that may have rip tides that will attract fish to feed in a sort of upstream mode.