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for all you yakers

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  • Super User

There are certainly techniques that are made more difficult from a kayak. If you aren't able to stand up in yours it can limit how you work a lure. If you can stand I really don't see why you wouldn't be able to do pretty much everything you could from a boat. The only difference is you are lower to the water, with your feet being either just above or just under the water's surface depending how high up your kayak rides. So a longer rod might makes pitching more difficult. I am sitting down most of the time in mine, although I do have outriggers if I choose to stand. If I am trying to make an accurate cast to cover I kind of make a "roll" cast. 

  • Super User

i can use them both effectively...  if you get a good stable yak that you can stand in it makes all those worries obsolete! 

  • Super User

Pitching definitely difficult but is doable with practice.  However I don't do that much anymore, what I do now is roll cast.  

I faced this same concern. There is a certain pond near me that has no bank access. I want to be able to punch some thick mats in this pond but don't feel I can do that effectively without standing. I don't like the idea of trying to stand in a kayak and I also don't like the limited space. So here's what I decided to do...

I took a Pelican Monaco DLX and cut out the fiberglass top. I removed the peddle gear and rutter, then installed a support frame and plywood platform top. I'm close to finishing this project and am very happy so far with the results. I'll post pics once it's done. 

By the way, I was inspired by this: http://www.livewatersports.com/products/l2fish I just didn't want to cough up $2300 just to fish this one pond, but if you don't mind spending that kind of dough, that L2Fish rig might be a good option. 

I personally liked shorter rods in a kayak/canoe. When pitching or skipping lures I used a side arm/roll cast. Flipping with a long rod while sitting down can be rather uncomfortable, but you will adapt with practice. Sometimes it's the only way to catch fish.. My biggest annoyance with kayaks was the lack of a trolling motor or anchor when fishing out a spot, so  id look at one with pedals. I'd personally prefer to buy a cheap small John boat or a wide bodied canoe so I could stand up comfortably. Just a thought. 

I use 8ft rods, I use bait casters, I use spinning rods. I basically use the same gear I used in my bass boat on my kayak.

  • Super User

No problem here.  Takes a bit of practice but same principles apply

I don't stand up because I have bad knees and don't trust my balance so for pitching I use a back hand technique where I hold lure in my left like usual and back swing low to the water.  I also use a roll cast technique.

While I can stand in my Wilderness Systems Ride 115 for flipping and pitching more frequently what I do is put my seat in the high position and pitch from that elevation. I can get an extremely accurate presentation with a near silent entry with my baitcasting gear. I believe my lower profile (seated) allows my to get very close to bass in cover without spooking them. My big for the year was caught on a pitched spinnerbait with about 12 feet of line out.

  • Super User

I haven't changed any of my gear or techniques because i am in a kayak.  Sure some are a little different but they are all doable, especially if you are able to stand.  I use rods from 6'6" up to 9' with no issues.

  • Super User

I don't pitch or flip, but I feel I've gotten pretty good with a roll cast.  I prefer rods with a shorter handle and as long as I'm using two hands, I feel I'm as accurate as I am standing in a boat pitching.  The biggest challenge is getting a straight drop from the surface to the bottom since the lure travels so close to the surface that there isn't much slack for the drop like there is on a good flip/pitch.  The benefit of a yak, though, is that I can move in closer/quieter with confidence to mitigate that.

  • Super User

I haven't used my yak as much as I would like so far. When I first got it, I used whatever rods I thought right for the day. I now tend use the  rods I have with shorter handles. They're  easier for  me  to  use,  probably due to  my dickey-do  disease.

  • Super User

I do both a roll cast and a side-arm pitch, which takes some practice to get the aim and distance right, but definitely doable. I'm also practicing a "loop pitch", which I found in Denny Brauer's book "Jig Fishing Secrets". I can't find a good online depiction, but scroll down two pages in the book preview linked below, and there is a figure that appears to be reproduced from the Brauer book:

https://books.google.com/books?id=vzh6liejRJIC&pg=PT69&dq=loop+pitch+denny+brauer&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjCm5uK-8_MAhVoxoMKHXYpC58Q6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=loop%20pitch%20denny%20brauer&f=false

 

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