I hit a great body of water yesterday. The water temp was 66 deg.  Bass were on beds. I just like seeing them there. I don’t always harass them. 
 

but standing up is key.  My Hobie Compass is stable. But it isn’t “super” stable.  The seat is also super low slung. You can’t get your feet under you to simply stand up. There’s grunting involved.   I push off the backrest with one hand. 
 

yesterday, I forgot all of that in my excitement. I don’t even know how I stood up so quickly. I was just up.  I even used my paddle awkwardly like SUP paddle and was gliding around the shallows. I didn’t fall off. I should have taken my iPhone out of my pocket - just in case, but duh!

 

I can cast and pitch a bait.  The hook set?  No way!  I’ll definitely fall overboard.  I sat down fast to set the hook.  Haha. I imagine I’ll get better and better. 
 

you standup kayakers.  Is it true?  You get better with practice?

Yes, it gets better with practice. You'll learn your yak's stability points

and find that secondary stability point. You know what can help...

 

A skateboard balance board . Something like this....

 

https://www.amazon.com/CORE-Balance-Trainer-Training-Skateboard/dp/B017IZW2CI

Oh yeah.  The first few times I tried to stand up in mine, I couldn't hardly do anything without fear of falling over.  Now, I can do pretty much anything.  The trick is to keep your knees bent and stand on the balls of your feet.  Also, keep the kayak locked in the secondary stability point.  So I've always got a little bit more weight on one leg than the other, yet my center of gravity is always over the center of the kayak.  As for hooksets, you learn to shift the balance of your body with your legs to compensate for the shift caused with rod swing.  It's not something you consciously think about.  It's just some submental correction you learn to do when while trying to keep balanced.  

 

It's like learning to ride a bike.  At first, you struggle just to stay up and have to control your balance as you steer.  But after a while, you don't even think about your balance and can ride with no hands.  The kayak becomes an extension of your body.

Yes you will. But with your water temps at 68 maybe you should learn to flip first. So go out with just a paddle and pfd and try to flip. Get out on edge, walk and turn around. It may be much harder to flip the boat than you think. 
 

once you are in the water you need a plan and you need to practice this. If the boat is turtled you probably need to reach under and grab the other side and pull it to you to get the boat up. Hopefully you can pull yourself back up. If not i think some hobie owners rig a sling to step on. 
 

this can be fun and is an essential skill to master. 

1 hour ago, michaelb said:

Yes you will. But with your water temps at 68 maybe you should learn to flip first. So go out with just a paddle and pfd and try to flip. Get out on edge, walk and turn around. It may be much harder to flip the boat than you think. 
 

once you are in the water you need a plan and you need to practice this. If the boat is turtled you probably need to reach under and grab the other side and pull it to you to get the boat up. Hopefully you can pull yourself back up. If not i think some hobie owners rig a sling to step on. 
 

this can be fun and is an essential skill to master. 

Oh.  I flipped it a lot and I have the self rescue down solid. Getting back on is easy if you get your legs kicked to the surface. 

I use a ATAK so standing is a breeze. The thing is a barge.

But Ive had a few other yaks over the years that were not so forgiving.

Practice practice.

The first time I took my Bonafide SS127 out (which is known for its stability) I stood up when I launched the kayak, and quickly sat down to paddle away from the current as I launched by a dam. There was a strong wind and a lot of motor boat activity, and when I tried to stand up, the side to side motion made me feel like I was going to fall over. I probably wasn't going to flip the kayak, and if I did fall off, it would be my own clumsy self losing my balance.

 

The next time I took it out, I took it out at a small local lake with no wind or motorboats and fairly still water. I had no problem standing up. Over time, I did find that I would get used to the side to side action and it no longer phases me.

 

One thing about the Bonafide is that it does provide a lot of side to side action. My youngest son's Topwater 120 might be easier to flip, but the bottom shape keeps it from rocking as much.