April and May are cold kayak trips: numb fingers, a dusk launch into a salt pond, holdover stripers sipping worms in water so flat every sip leaves a ring. By June the window moves to first light and after dark inside the harbors, because the southwest fills in by late morning. Calm summer mornings mean the close-in rocks. In September the drains flush bait, and if the wind lays down, albies swing past the jetty tips.
Short windows, one crate, no room for a tackle box. The kayak angler wins by being quiet and already rigged when the fish show. This lineup is two systems in that crate, casting and trolling, every lure pre-rigged on a single hook.
A kayak angler who casts and trolls the salt close to shore, launching from a beach or a town landing, not a ramp. Trips are short and early, first light or an evening tide, inside a harbor, a salt pond or along a rocky shoreline. Everything rides in one crate behind the seat, so every lure earns its space, and anything that needs rigging on the water stays home.
They care about quiet, simple gear and getting a fish unhooked fast with it in their lap. If they own more rod holders than rods and know every town landing with a parking spot, this is them.
The full set is $85.70 MSRP. One of each covers a kayak season, from the spring salt ponds to albies at the jetty in the fall.
Want to keep it small? The Protail Paddle and the Epoxy Jig are the casting system on their own. Add the Pocket Tube and they can troll too.
Already has some? Buy them anyway. Rocks eat jigs, and I carry two of every lure I count on.
Giving the full set? Print the guide and tuck it in the box.
THE LINEUP
1 Protail Paddle “The 7-Iron”
WHEN Estuary drains on the outgoing in May and September, bass at the mouth facing the current as bait flushes out. Close-in boulder fields on calm summer mornings.
FISH IT Set up up-current, cast across, and let it swing through the seam slowly. Bumps but no hookups: slow down so the tail loads. Nothing: let it touch bottom first.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT Nothing to rig in the seat: it comes pre-rigged on its own single hook, and pre-rigged baits last longer. It casts, jigs and trolls, three jobs from one slot in the crate.
“The 1.25 is my favorite lure of all time” James A.
Add to cart | MSRP $7.95See details ›
2 Surface Eraser Classic “The Shape-Shifter”
WHEN First light on a Cape Cod Bay flat or a south-side beach in June and July, bass swirling on silversides. September mornings when albies slide past the jetty.
FISH IT Swirling but not eating: tip low, soft twitches, long pause. Blitzing: tip high, reel fast, let it skip. It's a wake bait. Don't work it like a popper.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT It does a soft stickbait's job without the rigging or the durability problem: through-wired, so a blitz won't wreck it, and one single-hook plug covers topwater, subsurface and the drift.
“Striper wouldn't leave this thing alone in the flats the other day.” Douglas H.
Add to cart | MSRP $15.95See details ›
3 Epoxy Jig “The Every Day”
WHEN September and October, when the drains flush silversides and albies push in to the harbor mouths on calm mornings. You can't chase them, so you get one cast as they pass.
FISH IT Sit on their lane, lead the fish, and burn it back faster than feels right. Following, not eating: stop and let it flutter. Bass on the same bait want it slower.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT Reach. A kayak can't close the distance, so the lure has to. It throws a small profile a long way, then hovers on the fall, extra seconds in front of a fish they get one cast at.
“I've recently caught both stripers and bonito on this jig at two different spots.” David P.
Add to cart | MSRP $14.95See details ›
4 Squinnow Jig “The Finesse Tool”
WHEN Tog on the inside rock in May and October, sea bass and scup on calm summer days, fluke along the harbor channels in July. All a short paddle from the launch.
FISH IT Drop it, lift a foot, let it flutter back on a tight line. Most bites come on the fall. For tog, keep it on bottom and thump it. Don't rip it like a knife jig.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT Groundfish from the kayak without a bait bucket or a multi-hook rig tangling in the cockpit. No bait, no complicated rig: one pre-rigged jig covers tog, sea bass, scup and fluke.
“These are incredible for seabass, porgy, and even fluke.” Rafe W.
Add to cart | MSRP $12.95See details ›
5 Perfect Pocket Tube “The Bullpen Ace”
WHEN July and August, when the heat pushes resident bass down onto the rocks and nothing shows on top. Troll the rocky shoreline at first light while the water is flat.
FISH IT Tip it with a fleece strip and troll slower than feels right, just off the rocks. Make S-turns: the tube drops on the inside of the turn and gets hit. No bite? Run the same line again.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT A kayak trolls slower than a boat ever can, and slow is the speed a tube wants. It corkscrews where nothing else swims, and with its built-in swivel it's the simplest trolling system there is. The 12 inch is made for thin water.
“Really like the design for kayak fishing.” Alfred G.
Add to cart | MSRP $13.95See details ›
6 Mesh Jig & Plug Bag, Large
WHEN Every trip. A kayak has no tackle drawer and no dry floor, so the jigs live in this, rolled up in the crate.
FISH IT Every lure in this guide fits, the 12 inch tube included. Unroll, grab, roll it up. Hose it down with the kayak after.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT Loose jigs in a kayak end up hooked in the seat, the net or a leg. Full-length heavy-duty Velcro keeps every hook covered, and the mesh drains instead of rusting.
“Well-made like all Hogy products and sturdy I expect it to last a long time.” Howie G.
Add to cart | MSRP $19.95See details ›WHICH ONE, WHEN
| WHEN YOU SEE THIS | TIE ON |
|---|---|
| Drain on the outgoing, or a channel edge with nothing showing | 1 Protail Paddle |
| Fish swirling on a flat at first light | 2 Surface Eraser |
| Silversides flushing out, or albies in range of the jetty | 3 Epoxy Jig |
| Tog, scup or sea bass on the inside rocks | 4 Squinnow Jig |
| Hot summer day, bass down in the rocks: troll it slow | 5 Pocket Tube |
| Packing the crate | 6 Mesh Jig Bag |
Two 7-foot medium spinning rods: one rigged to cast, one with the tube on it. Rig both on the beach; retying in a rocking seat costs you the window. 30 lb braid, a 20 lb fluorocarbon leader for bass and groundfish, 12 lb when the albies are around.
Every lure here rides a single hook. That's the thinking behind Hogy's Hook One switch to singles: in a kayak the fish lands in your lap, and a single comes out fast. Unhook it in the water and let it swim. PFD on, always.
Looking for a launch? Start with Paw Wah Pond in Orleans on Salty Cape.
More from Hogy: skinny water trolling with the 12 inch Pocket Tube and my albie lure guide, for the Epoxy when the albies swing past.
QUESTIONS ANGLERS ASK
What are the best kayak fishing lures for stripers?
Pre-rigged, single-hook lures that cast, jig and troll from one crate. My striper casting lures are the 4.25 inch Protail Paddle, the Surface Eraser and the 7/8 oz Epoxy Jig, and the 12 inch Perfect Pocket Tube is the troll for summer bass down in the rocks. The Squinnow covers tog and sea bass. Nothing needs rigging in the seat.
Where and when can you kayak fish for stripers on Cape Cod?
Close to the launch, at first light or on an evening tide. April and May are salt pond trips for holdovers at dusk. From June the window moves to first light and after dark inside the harbors, because the southwest fills in by late morning. Summer mornings mean the close-in rocks, and in September the drains flush bait and albies swing past the jetty tips.
What rod setup works best for kayak striper fishing?
Two 7-foot medium spinning rods: one rigged to cast, one with the tube on it. Rig both on the beach, because retying in a rocking seat costs you the window. I run 30 lb braid with a 20 lb fluorocarbon leader for bass and groundfish, and 12 lb when the albies are around. Every lure here rides a single hook, and the PFD stays on.
