Five kayak fishing offseason survival tips for what to do when you've got the angling itch and the water's still frozen, from Yukoner Dave Desmarais.

The life of a kayak angler in the north is not without hardship. We are of course blessed with world class fishing, but our lakes freeze over late October and may stay frozen well into June. What is a kayak angler to do all winter? You could take up ice fishing…but really, who wants to mount an ice auger on their kayak? If you are a kayak angler living in the north here are five ideas to see you through the long cold winter.

1. Tweak your yak
Rigging or re-rigging of your kayak is a perfectly acceptable way to keep from going crazy when there is 4 feet of ice on your favorite lake. Check your set up and see if there are any improvements you can make to your boat. Does you boat resemble a Swiss Army knife with all your gear hanging off? Review how you fished last year. Do you have too many rod holders or not enough? Is there an easier way to access your equipment while out on the water? I can often be found in the shop, boat out with all my fishing gear in it looking at what I like and dislike about the set up. I have not got it perfect yet, but I like trying and it keeps my mind occupied.

2. Review what you like and dislike about your boat
Maybe you need a new kayak for the type of fishing you do or you just need to adjust what you have on your boat. Does your configuration work well for the type of fishing you are doing? If not, ask friends what they like or dislike about their boat or go online and read reviews.

3. Review your field notes
Reviewing field notes is a way of remembering an outing or a special experience. I compile my notes and photographs into folders on my computer to allow me to access the information quickly. If you currently do not take field notes, collect waypoints with a GPS, or take photographs while out on the water then you are potentially missing out on having more productive time on water next season. Basic note keeping is all about data collection. The more info you have on a specific lake or river the better you can decide where and when to fish it. This can drastically increase your odds of having a successful day. I would start with the basics of data collection: where, when (day and time), air and water temperature and lures or bait used then add photographs and waypoints from your GPS. I input my waypoints on Google Earth as a place mark then I add a dated caption with species, time and lure. This allows me to have visual records of where I have done well and allows for easy trip planning.

4. Make a wish list
This for me is an escape I can daydream about what I want for the following season. I’ll go online and research the latest fish finder, kayak or rods. I typically have a lot of fun with this and later find it difficult to keep what I buy to a minimum.

5. Take trip to somewhere that doesn’t have a 6 month winter.
Get away from the dark and the cold by going south. Plan a trip to Southern California, Mexico or Florida rent a kayak and fish. This is the number one cure for going a little crazy while waiting for winter to end.

Once the ice begins to break up it doesn’t take long before we are out on the water in our kayaks. True, the north is not blessed with a long open water season, but when midnight sun shines upon us we take full advantage of the available light. Northern kayak anglers fish long and hard because we know that once we start to see “termination dust” on the mountains…winter is not far away.

DAVE "BOWRIDER" DESMARAIS an environmental technologist living in Whitehorse, Yukon. He fishes in the rivers and lakes of the Yukon and Southwestern Alaska for arctic char, coho, chum and pink salmon, lake and rainbow trout, arctic grayling and northern pike.