Kayak Koz

Try fishing a kayak tournament on a spotted bass lake and having to place and hold the fish on your Ketch measuring board while grabbing your phone, opening the camera app, and taking a photo. I swear, spotted bass are on meth they flop so much. I lost three of them over the side on one tournament while trying to do that until I learned to position my net so they flopped into the net instead of escaping over the side.

Do the Japanese have to contend with wake boats and pontoon boats blasting around the lake? Maybe they do, but maybe it's not as bad as here because their culture has a higher degree of respect for others. There are a lot of lakes here (Lanier and Hartwell come to mind) that have no go zones for me on my kayak because I'm terrified to be out there in that traffic. I imagine it might be the same with boats like this. Cool concept, but I'd be worried out there on our lakes.

IN my younger days I stood all of 5' 7" and now that I'm in my 60's I've shrunk about an inch. Since I'm closer to the water, having that shorter rod really helps. I started skipping as a back seater on boats. But a few years ago I moved to a lake house and I would practice skipping from the seawall to under my dock. I love that technique, but I need the right bait tied on. I've seen people skip buzzbaits - a technique I have yet to master.

I’m going to give you a piece of advice that may not make sense at first but when you figure it out it will blow your mind. It’s something that I have been working on. The key to finding fish is eliminating unproductive water. That means different things in different lakes in different times of the year. There are lots of videos on this. Too often I looked at maps looking for sweet spots instead of eliminating large areas of unproductive water. Second, in a boat or kayak the temptation is to run and gun. If you’re in what should be a productive spot and don’t get a bite in a dozen casts or don’t see fish on electronics it’s easy to pick up and move. But productive spots are not productive every minute of the day. Bass can be hit and run feeders, waiting a distance away before they make their move to feed. If the bait is there, the bass will show up. Your timing of being there just may be off. This is something that I have to keep reminding myself.

That looks interesting, but I don't think I have the track space available to mount it with my dugout crossbar.

A full tournament load out for me is 9 rods. If it's a lake I'm very familiar with I might cut that to 6 or 7 rods. Spinning Cashion ICON FFS Spinning Rod 7'4" Medium Fast - Exclusively for shaking a minnow Falcon Lowrider 6' 9" Medium Light - Worm rod and drop shots Casting Kistler Z Bone Fishing Rod - Casting / 4.5 HMH Heavy Medium-Heavy X-Fast / 6' 9" - skipping rod Kistler Helium Fishing Rod - Casting / 5 H Heavy / 7'6" - Jig rod Kistler KLX Fishing Rod - Casting / 5 H Heavy / 7'3" - Topwater rod Kistler Helium Fishing Rod - Casting / 4 MH Medium-Heavy / 6'9" - A second skipping rod or all purpose rod Expride A 7' 3" MHF - all purpose, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs, crankbaits, etc. Expride B 7' 3" MHF - all purpose, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs, crankbaits, etc. St. Croix Bass X 7' 1" MHF - all purpose, underspins, etc. I had a Shimano glass rod that I like for crankbaits and decent size swim baits, but I broke it rather quickly. I've got a bunch of other Dobyns, Lew's, Falcons, and St. Croix's gathering dust that I may break out now and then, but I really like my Kistler's and Exprides. Being in a kayak, I find it easier to use the 6' 9" rods to skip from a seated position. I will stand in my kayak, but I'm a chicken out there and if it's windy or there are a lot of waves or wakes I won't stand. As I've grown older I've found my balance isn't as good. Plus, spot lock on a kayak isn't always stable. It keeps me in the general vicinity of where I want to be, but my kayak is constantly correcting with the slightest wind or current. I choose not to be a man overboard statistic!

Kistler Magnesium rods are good at a $149 price point but it's worth it to spend the extra $50 for a Kistler KLX. I have Kistler KLX, Helium, and Z-Bone rods and they are all great, though they have a higher price point. I have Bass X rods as you mentioned as well and I have never had any problems with them.

It's a very interesting bait. I started off with the 5.3" with a weightless Texas Rig setup. But you rig it on the flat side so it's like a ray or a flounder. But even though it's a big bait with some heft, with rigging it flat and the holes in it, it does not sink quickly. With that, I think it will end up being a good alternative to a weightless worm or even a flutter spoon when bass are feeding on larger baits. What I ended up doing is keeping it T-rigged but adding a tungsten weight. I fished it in open water and tossed it into wood and laydowns. But I didn't get bit on it. In fact, I only had a few bites all morning and those were on an underspin. A front had moved in overnight and even after sunrise the temperatures were dropping. There were some big bass blowing up on baitfish balls for about 20 minutes just before sun up but I couldn't get them to hit anything I threw at them. I think that the Flux Gill is an interesting bait and I will throw it again the next time I'm out there. I do wonder if it will be durable or not. The undulating up and down action and the side to side action looked great in the water. Next time I'll throw the 3.5" version as well. I may even try it on a drop shot rig.

I'm on the side of the ones that said to throw a spoon. Personally, I'd start with a flutter spoon and let it fall near the bait balls. If I toss is on top of the bait balls, the bait will usually scatter.

That would be tomorrow - I'm going to throw the Flux Gilly for the first time.

In theory, spot lock is great - but not so much on a kayak. Even a big kayak is fairly light and is susceptible to the slightest changes in wind and current. Maybe it's just the Minn Kota on my AP120, but on breezy days when I engage spot lock that motor is working overtime and constantly pivoting. That has to impact my stealthiness. It also makes it hard to pick apart docks and along teh bank. But it's a big help fishing offshore even on windy days. I also have FFS, but I find it to be a mixed bag. I use it in deeper water around brush piles and submerged trees in reservoirs. But I find myself using it maybe 50% of the time. It sits on the rail when I'm on the move or fishing shallow water. I keep telling myself I need to get out there and really learn it, but I get antsy and would rather fish than put in the work. So in my case it can be helpful and be a hindrance.

I am admittedly not the best decision maker on the water. I head to the lake with a plan but often get distracted from that plan. But as I analyze the issue, a lot of it comes down to the limited speed of my kayak. On a boat, it’s easy to map out 10 or 20 waypoints and blast off to a new one if the one you’re at isn’t paying off. At 3.5 mph on a kayak it might be a 30 or 40 minute jog to my next waypoint. With that, I might stop and fish a few lower percentage spots along the way. Or I might have to head back to the ramp, load up, and launch at another ramp. Big, unfamiliar lakes are my nemesis. So I study maps, Google Earth, and use AI before hitting a new lake. I can catch fish, but I need to get much better at eliminating water.

I trailer my AP 120 and wet launch, but occasionally while on land I need to take the kayak off teh trailer to service the trailer. To do that I push the kayak a little further off the bunks with the stern still off the ground. Then strap my Wilderness Systems cart to the bottom of the kayak. From there I push the kayak the rest of teh way off and gently set it on the wheels. From there I can grab the handle on the bow and guide it the rest of the way off the trailer and set it down. Thankfully, I have a winch when I need to load it back up. Can't you just load your kayak bow first on your truck and then strap the cart when you want to pull it off?

I will if it's a friend or a family member. I honestly don't understand the folks who don't wear a PFD. Things can go wrong quickly out on the water.

This was a Bassmaster Kayak series event, not a college event. Bassmaster has strict kayak series rules that PFD's must be worn at all times. If you're caught without one it's an automatic DQ. In fact, the day after Peyton went missing an angler was DQ's for not wearing a PFD.

It really depends upon what part of the country you are in and even then it can vary from body of water to body of water. Some lakes in my area still have water temperatures hovering around 83 while others have dipped into the 70's. I was on one body of water last weekend with maximum depths of just over 20 feet but I saw a distinct thermocline on my electronics.

I strongly suggest that every time you hit the stop motor button on your remote that you also set the speed to zero or a minimum speed. You definitely don’t want to hit the Go button from a dead stop to be jolted and realize you had left it on maximum speed. If it doesn’t nearly toss you out of the kayak, you may have to change your underwear! Thanks for the update. Keep us posted.

Exaggerate your hookset and try to cross their eyes. When you set the hook on a kayak, the kayak moves towards the fish and slacks the line. That makes it extremely hard to reel down and get hook penetration. If you've ever had a bait snag on a kayak, you realize that even a slight pull on that snag moves your kayak considerably. The same principle applies when a fish grabs the bait.

Sad news. His body was recovered this morning. No other information is available at this time.

Inflatable PFD’s are light and quite frankly I don’t even notice mine when I wear it. The only time mine comes off is when I’m shedding layers of clothing. But I always come to a full stop when I do that. It’s to the point that even when I’m fishing on a bass boat I keep my PFD on at all times. I’m in my 60’s now and my balance and reaction time aren’t what they used to be. BTW - Bassmaster kayak rules are that your PFD must be worn at all times. It’s an automatic DQ if you get caught without wearing it.

They must have updated the article since I first saw the news.

During practice for this week's Bassmaster Kayak Series event at Toledo Bend an angler has been reported missing. He is a college angler that was fishing with his teammates and did not report back to the designated rally point yesterday. Let's hope that he just had mechanical problems and is stuck in some remote area without cell service or his phone stopped working. https://www.bassmaster.com/kayak/news/b-a-s-s-statement-on-missing-kayak-angler/

This may be good news as they will be relocating production from Mexico back to the US in Missouri. Hobie seems to have been struggling the past few years, including dropping their kayak bass series.

No rudder. It's designed specifically for bow or stern motor use.

I'm definitely interested in your impressions of the Minn Kota. I'm thinking of selling my AP120 along with a ton of extras and buying the XTR130. But in order to rig the XTR with lights, power system, motor mount, and the new Garmin motor and wireless pedals I'd still be about $3,400 out of pocket. And that's without upgrading my 100Ah 12V batteries to a 24V 100Ah battery for the new rig. I could save money by going to the Minn Kota, but I would be relying on the remote for steering. I don't want to add a rudder and foot pedals to that build.