TAKEOFF
KAYAK FISHING
4 TIPs FOR FIgHTINg
FIsH FROM A kAyAk
A FORMER NATIONAL CHAMPION’S APPROACH TO
IMPROVING LANDING PERCENTAGE
A
By Matt Ball
38
lightweight kayak is a great craft for accessing
tucked-away areas where a lot of unpressured big
bass are waiting. However, the same attributes of a
kayak that make it great for access – light weight and
compactness – can also make fighting and landing big
bass a tough job.
I’ve learned to deal with the challenge first hand while
competing in kayak fishing tournaments, and I’ve assem-
bled a list of tips based on my experiences to help you
land more big fish, too.
1. STICK THE HOOKSET
The first step in landing any fish is the
hookset, which is much more difficult when
sitting in the confines of a kayak than it is in
a bass boat. The best strategy I have is to
keep slack out of the line when fishing, so
when it’s time to set the hook I can drive it
home in an efficient way.
Proper gear selection and setup are
important, too. I prefer a reel with a high-
speed retrieve ratio, which helps to remove
slack quickly before the hookset. When I
first started kayak fishing, I erred toward a
loose drag setting, because I thought it was
necessary for fighting fish. Consequently, I
wasn’t getting good hooksets. Now, I tend to
tighten my drag down more than I would in
other fishing situations.
2. KEEP IT PINNED
Coaxing a big fish out of the thick stuff
requires more finesse than brute force
because the kayak is often moving toward
the fight, which makes it tough to horse in
FLWFISHING.COM I FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018