So I’ve recently started bass fishing in a kayak. I’ve had great success but lately I have been losing more bass than catching. I have mainly been fishing a chatter bait. In particular sometimes when I have the fish hooked and I am fighting them after a while they some how pop off under the water. My hooks are sharp, Im using the right rod and line. I am not sure what im doing wrong.

Check your rod's tip during your retrieve. Chances are good that it's higher than when you fish standing up. Your hookset suffers because you don't move much line or have much power behind it.

Also, don't shy from a second hookset. Get in position and hit 'em again.

What he said. I started fishing out of a kayak this spring. I was losing them on a spinnerbait. A second hook set made all the difference in my ratio.

Tight Lines

✌️

Angles are everything in fishing. Make sure your rod stays bent even if it’s to the side. The bend in your rod and your drag working in one will help you land more fish. From bank, boat or kayak. 

Where are you loosing them? Right at the boat or earlier that that? Also what is your rod and line setup right now?

Last year fishing out of a kayak I used a 7’3 MH/F with 30lb braid to fluoro leader. This setup helped me land the vast majority of my bladed jig fish. 

I think the faster rod and braid helped me get a positive hookset right away and I was able to bring them in pretty easily on a big jig hook. 

I lose fish on a bladed jig sometimes too, and I'm in a bass boat.  It happens.  Usually because I didn't get a great hook set to begin with or they jump and spit it.

Don't forget to account for the extra "give" in your hookset when they kayak moves a bit. I had a hard time getting used to that when I started kayak bassing. Reeling into them while setting the hook was the most effective for me. 

I find no difference in the way I fish on my kayak or boat.... I actually find it much comfortable sitting down and fishing most of the time on the kayak... Only if I'm punching heavy cover I'll find the need to stand up more often... 

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.

I say @Kayak Koz 's response above is exactly right. This is a well-known characteristic of smaller, particularly manually propelled vessels. When I first started fishing from a 16-foot canoe, I lost more bass than I'd like to acknowledge because my rig moved toward the fish on the hookset.

Anchoring is the easy and completely successful solution. Anchoring definitely increased my landing rate, even though my rig might still move a little when I'm battling a fish.

Good luck.

A-Jay

8 hours ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said:

Where are you loosing them? Right at the boat or earlier that that? Also what is your rod and line setup right now?

Last year fishing out of a kayak I used a 7’3 MH/F with 30lb braid to fluoro leader. This setup helped me land the vast majority of my bladed jig fish. 

I think the faster rod and braid helped me get a positive hookset right away and I was able to bring them in pretty easily on a big jig hook. 

I am losing them when they are close to me. Im using a Dobyns Sierra 704c with 15lb mono.

I think all the response’s collectively is your answer.

Pulling the kayak towards the fish

Weak hookset due to rod angle not creating enough leverage 

Soft hookset due to line stretch

Poor angle on hookset not sinking the hook

 

All together adding up to lost fish. Double hookset and anchoring when possible is the best solutions. Watch the trailer on chatter baits are not too big and “smothering “ the hook, making it harder for the hook to penetrate easily.

The fact that you are losing fish on single hook baits near the kayak when your line is more vertical is pretty much all the evidence needed to blame the hookset.  All of the suggestions above can help with hooksets and minimize losing fish, but none will matter much if your hooks aren’t sharp and their barbs aren’t in good shape.  If you’ve never fished barbless hooks, give it a try by pinching the barb.  You’ll be amazed by the number of fish you hook and don’t boat.

3 hours ago, OldManLure said:

If you’ve never fished barbless hooks, give it a try by pinching the barb.  You’ll be amazed by the number of fish you hook and don’t boat.

😆

 

true dat!

On 9/27/2025 at 10:02 AM, OldManLure said:

 If you’ve never fished barbless hooks, give it a try by pinching the barb.  You’ll be amazed by the number of fish you hook and don’t boat.

 

I pinch the barbs on most of my lures with more than one treble hook.  If I'm not really focused on keeping the fish pinned they will absolutely take advantage and shake that lure off.  I had it happen a few times this past weekend and decided to try a bit harder.  Once I made it a point to always keep a good bend in the rod they tended to stay on much more often.  But, I'd rather lose a fish than get another lure stuck in my hand..

On 9/25/2025 at 7:50 PM, Jonny15678 said:

I have mainly been fishing a chatter bait. In particular sometimes when I have the fish hooked and I am fighting them after a while they some how pop off under the water.

 

Just happened to me on Friday.

 

For me I wasn't fully prepared. I had another rod in my lap that was snagged. Picked up a different rod and I haphazardly threw it into a laydown.

 

I'm blaming myself. I probably set the hook too "lazy". I don't look like any of the guys on tv. LOL

 

Bummer because it seemed like a pretty good fish.

 

 

I lose a lot of fish. It happens. Strangely, I lose fewer bigger bass. I think I rise to the challenge that bigger bass pose. 

On 9/29/2025 at 4:45 PM, Swamp Girl said:

I lose a lot of fish. It happens. Strangely, I lose fewer bigger bass. I think I rise to the challenge that bigger bass pose. 

Same here

I think it’s a simple matter of calibration.  You are calibrating to a smaller space. 
 

I lose a normal amount of LMB.  My hooksets are normal.  Sometimes I just reel into them.  
 

stay calm and fight.  You’ll find your calibration. 

On 9/29/2025 at 2:49 PM, HawkeyeSmallie said:

In particular sometimes when I have the fish hooked and I am fighting them after a while they some how pop off under the water.

 

I could be wrong, but I think bass can use a great surge in pressure to gain the leverage to free themselves, so I try to make my rod as spongy as possible when fighting fish. By spongy, I mean when the bass surges, my arm works like a shock absorber, giving way to the bass. When the fish goes down hard, my drag gives, but my arm gives way too. It helps to only hold the rod with one hand when the bass runs. I'll also extend my arm to expand the reach of my shock absorbing.