1. Use a Spinning Reel
While there are kayaks that are stable enough to allow for fishing standing up, most anglers remain seated, flat on the water, with no elevation while they fish. the position immediately presents a casting challenge, and makes it nearly impossible to flip or pitch with a baitcaster. My personal preference is to switch to spinning reels when fishing from a kayak.
What’ s problematic for casting reels can be an advantage for spinning setups. the low angle makes it easy to skip under and around cover. if you’ ve ever struggled getting your skip-casting down, kayak fishing will make you an expert.
2. Use Braided Line
Where spinning reels once forced us to downsize tackle and sacrifice heavy-cover bass fishing, today’ s braided lines allow spinning gear to get into the nastiest places and drag big bass out. sufix 832 advanced superline, for example, comes in at a 20-pound-test rating in the same diameter of most 6-pound-test monofilament, and is nearly unbreakable.
3. Add a Leader
Braid has a tendency to dig into laydowns and stumps, leaving anglers hung up in the process. to prevent that from happening when fishing soft plastics and jigs, i utilize a 4-foot-long leader of 20-pound-test fluorocarbon joined to the braid with a double uni-knot. in the event that a break-off is imminent, the leader will fail before the braid. a fluorocarbon leader will also improve the action of many subtle lures – a Yamamoto senko immediately comes to mind – and will increase the number of bites as opposed to using straight braid. leaders should also be considered for many cast-andretrieve-style baits when using braided lines. crankbaits and bladed jigs simply work better with moderate-sized fluorocarbon, and mono leaders are a must for any topwater outfitted with treble hooks in order to prevent hook-and-line tangles that can be an annoyance when lures are tied directly to braid.
4. Drop an Anchor
While casting angles might be tough for kayak fishermen, boat positioning can be equally difficult. Kayaks are extremely lightweight and draft only inches of water, which is why they can quickly and easily spin around. Just the drag of a lure in the water, especially something with a lot of displacement such as a big-bladed spinnerbait, has enough resistance or“ pull” to actually move the kayak. drifting a shoreline with the wind or current occasionally works and negates the effects of the cast and retrieve on boat positioning, but anchoring up in short intervals is far more effective. anchor systems range from the incredibly simple and effective to advanced and costly. i use a 5-pound rubber-coated exercise dumbbell. it’ s cheap and simple, and works in most circumstances. the rubberized finish reduces noise and damage to the boat, and the center handle is a good spot to tie up.
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