I can say with little ego that I'm a pretty decent bank beater. My friends and family go to me for fishing advice. I can land upwards of 30-40 fish on a good morning.

I've recently made the switch to focus on kayak angling and the transition has been humbling. I'm dealing with a lot more variables. There's suddenly more surface area to fish in front of me, I've got information coming in from a fish finder, I'm drifting post cast, there's wind, there's current, I've got an anchor line to consider, other watercraft to deal with, I'm having to consider how to rig my boat, etc.

A good day for me is now five fish out of the yak. I hooked up this morning with a good sized bass (3 lbs-ish) and he shook loose of my crankbait at the side of my boat. I get blown into cover I'm trying to pick apart and blow my spot.

I'm a grind it out kind of guy, so I'm not giving up. But man, it's been really eye opening. For those of you who transitioned from shore to kayak/canoe what got you back being successful? Maybe I've just got a case of the yips or something.

Get used to the boat, the boat handling, the fish finder, etc all without worrying too much about the fishing. Once it becomes second nature, the boat is just a tool to get you and your stuff into other places. The same thing applies going from boat to kayak.

Also, while you’re getting the hang of the boat,treat your trips like shore trips. Fish the same areas as you would have from shore, just do it going the opposite direction.

1 hour ago, Rucksack said:

I can say with little ego that I'm a pretty decent bank beater. My friends and family go to me for fishing advice. I can land upwards of 30-40 fish on a good morning.

I've recently made the switch to focus on kayak angling and the transition has been humbling. I'm dealing with a lot more variables. There's suddenly more surface area to fish in front of me, I've got information coming in from a fish finder, I'm drifting post cast, there's wind, there's current, I've got an anchor line to consider, other watercraft to deal with, I'm having to consider how to rig my boat, etc.

A good day for me is now five fish out of the yak. I hooked up this morning with a good sized bass (3 lbs-ish) and he shook loose of my crankbait at the side of my boat. I get blown into cover I'm trying to pick apart and blow my spot.

I'm a grind it out kind of guy, so I'm not giving up. But man, it's been really eye opening. For those of you who transitioned from shore to kayak/canoe what got you back being successful? Maybe I've just got a case of the yips or something.

I agree with @casts_by_fly .

Your number 1 mission at this point is not to catch fish—that will come.

But you must learn how to fish and present your baits effectively in all of the conditions and situations you routinely come into. You can skip this step, but you'll be making the learning curve quite a bit longer.

This doesn't usually happen by accident, although many anglers will no doubt go that route.

In my world, preparation equals performance.

So my advice is to plan on making several trips—and I mean more than two—where your job is to learn what you can fish in and what you can't.

How to set yourself up to present baits so that they run right and fish in a manner that will elicit a strike.

Fishing moving baits as well as slow-moving bottom-contact baits from a moving or drifting platform is just asking to miss strikes or perhaps not even get any—sound familiar?

You've entered into a whole new world where you are at the mercy of the environment.

It's not the easiest deal, but it's totally doable once you master the mission.

There are so many super successful kayak fishing bassheads on this forum, there's no way to list them all.

The first two that come to mind for me are @Bluebasser86 and @pdxfisher

Both seem highly skilled and able to be successful in a variety of sporty conditions from a kayak.

It's very impressive IMO.

#madrespect

Good Luck

A-Jay

@A-Jay @casts_by_fly really could not have said that any better.

I kayak and canoe fished and bank fished for years. And this year for a small 14 foot aluminum boat. I had the same feelings. Only I knew to expect it. You’re a sail in the wind. Everything affects everything. After a while you’ll start fishing further out from a spot and working to it. You’ll learn to sit on Some emergent grass as a spot lock and such. Biggest thing is be safe. Don’t sweat the fish. They will be there. Everything is different sitting down fishing you are used to standing. Like they said just reverse what ya have been doing. Cast at the bank and work out. Fish those same types of spots. But most of all make trips to get comfortable. And sure of yourself and the boat.

@A-Jay ”more than two (trips)”? heck, the difference between year 1 and year two is a lot. And that’s with 35-40 trips in a year. Based on my own experiences (bank to kayak, kayak to boat), a solid year in the boat in all the conditions and then a break to reset has been a huge difference maker. Last year was the first in the boat and while I had been a back seater for a long while it is different when you have to do it all. I bet it was 10-15 trips before I was just comfortable and in a natural rhythm of operating the boat smoothly. Now, after a season of doing it and 2 trips to shake down in year two everything comes second nature. And that’s after having a kayak with spotlock and similar electronics (moving to a boat with the same).

It’s a learning curve and there is no substitute for time.

I bank fish more than I take my kayak, but enjoy what the yak has to offer. I also cuss it out and talk ish when it gets blown out of position in the very little breeze needed to affect it.

I've improved with two manual anchors and no system in place. I have no electronics or motors or stabilizing of any sort. I also use "half" a paddle and go canoe style...which builds my body.

Fishing is my mind and body vs nature and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm truly not out to be the best bass guy around; if I get it handed to me, so be it. When it comes together on those special days though...the satisfaction and appreciation is not matched. If I pound town'd every trip; it just wouldn't be the same to me.

1 hour ago, casts_by_fly said:

@A-Jay ”more than two (trips)”? heck, the difference between year 1 and year two is a lot. And that’s with 35-40 trips in a year. Based on my own experiences (bank to kayak, kayak to boat), a solid year in the boat in all the conditions and then a break to reset has been a huge difference maker. Last year was the first in the boat and while I had been a back seater for a long while it is different when you have to do it all. I bet it was 10-15 trips before I was just comfortable and in a natural rhythm of operating the boat smoothly. Now, after a season of doing it and 2 trips to shake down in year two everything comes second nature. And that’s after having a kayak with spotlock and similar electronics (moving to a boat with the same).

It’s a learning curve and there is no substitute for time.

You missed the point.

A-Jay

#1 - Wear your PFD. Don’t just bring it, wear it. Getting flipped or falling out is almost never a planned experience.

#2 - If you are kayak fishing and end up not in your kayak anymore, you are no longer kayaking nor fishing, you are swimming. Please action your survival accordingly.

#3 - Go complete #2 while executing #1. It’ll make you much more trusting of your boat and its (and your) abilities and reactions.

@Rucksack , welcome to the brotherhood! I don't know what kind of kayak that you have. I think that a pedal drive of some sort makes it a lot easier to control and fish out of a kayak. I used to fish with a buddy and at first he had a paddle kayak and he could not compete with me when it was windy and wavy and there was current. I would hold myself in place by pedaling and fish. He would get in one or maybe two casts before being blown way out of position. He probably only fished about 30% as much as I could in a given day. My buddy's solution was to get a pedal kayak.

If you have a paddle craft then I would ask @Swamp Girl for pointers. She is the master of fishing from a paddle craft.

In general though I think it just takes time on the water so that all the little things you have to do in a kayak in order to fish effectively become second nature. You take that paddle stroke just before you need it., you always approach a spot at just the right angle given the wind and waves, etc.

Eventually you don't even need to think about what you need to do to be effective in a given set of conditions - you just do it without even thinking about - all of your active focus is on the catching of fish.

Also, I want to add that I am still improving as a kayak angler. Every trip teaches some small new thing and I always strive to be a tiny bit better fisherman at the end of each day.

Good luck and hang in there!

4 hours ago, pdxfisher said:

If you have a paddle craft then I would ask @Swamp Girl for pointers. She is the master of fishing from a paddle craft.

Thanks, Buddy!

A few pointers:

Watch the wind forecast and launch accordingly. If you're fishing water with bays and islands, you can launch in all winds as there are places without wind.

MOVE! The whole advantage of a boat is that it allows you to move, so fish on the move. Every time I launch, I paddle at least three miles, looking for the most aggressive bass.

If it is windy, then drift fish. I set up a "run" where I position my boat to be blown over the water I want to fish.

Listen to VolFan.

I'll share more later, but I'm going fishing first!

A few more pointers:

I own four canoes and kayaks and have owned at least a dozen others in my life. I bought nearly all of them used to save money, but I paid top dollar for my carbon fiber bent shaft paddle. It's the motor for all my boats. Buy a good paddle.

Also, consider a canoe paddle for your kayak. I've literally kayaked thousands of miles with a kayak paddle, so I'm quite comfy with one, but when I'm fishing, a kayak paddle gets in my way.

Also, learn these canoe strokes: Forward, backward, draw, and sweep. There are probably YouTube videos to teach you.

Don't launch where there are ramps. You have a small boat, so launch where the big boats can't launch. This is the great fishing advantage of paddlecraft. We can reach places that trailered boats can't.

Welcome aboard, Matey!

Thank you all for the kind words and detailed responses.

19 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

Also, while you’re getting the hang of the boat,treat your trips like shore trips.

This is a great idea. I felt kind of goofy doing this ("But I have a kayak now", etc) ao didn't, but I really should have started here.

18 hours ago, A-Jay said:

So my advice is to plan on making several trips—and I mean more than two—where your job is to learn what you can fish in and what you can't

I'll do that. So far moving baits have seemed the easiest with jigs/weighted texas rigs for target fishing runner up. Weightless soft plastics have been a disaster.

Thanks for all the safety advice @VolFan . Unlike a cat, we only have one life to lose.

10 hours ago, pdxfisher said:

I think that a pedal drive of some sort makes it a lot easier to control and fish out of a kayak.

I'm paddle. My kayak is a used recreational one I bought from a friend who ran an adventure outfiter they closed down. I could totally see myself going peddle drive whenever I have money to spend on that. My only concern would be using it in shallow water. I guess they're removable?

22 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

Also, consider a canoe paddle for your kayak. I've literally kayaked thousands of miles with a kayak paddle, so I'm quite comfy with one, but when I'm fishing, a kayak paddle gets in my way

I have literally never considered this. I have some old canoe paddles I can source to test this out. I grew up canoing, but it's been probably 30 years.

I also really like your run idea. I tried doing that and it was awkward, but I'll try setting it up properly. It did feel like it could resemble the bass pro trolling motor running the bank thing if done well!

Like everything in life it takes practice. There are rarely any shortcuts. You didn’t start off good from shore.

I love my kayak. It’s fully replaced how I think bass fishing should be for me. I do not even want a bass boat.

You’ll figure it out. You will soon realize how it works. Have fun, be safe, and don’t go buy everything 😄

Welcome to the world of kayak fishing. And get ready to encounter the cousin of the Bait Monkey, the Kayak Monkey. He's much more insidious.

You've opened up a whole new world on the water, but fishing from a paddle kayak can be frustrating with wind and currents. My suggestion is NOT to invest in an anchor trolley. Hear me out.

For now, your best bet is to fish ponds and not lakes. If you find some shallow ponds you can get by with a simple anchor rather than an anchor trolley. No doubt, you'll still have some frustration with wind and current, but you will actually be able to fish more than struggling with drifting and cast angles.

I also wouldn't invest a lot in your current kayak if you have even the slightest thought of upgrading in the future. Trust me on this - I wasted a lot of money early on. If you enjoy being on the lake in a kayak, save your money for a fishing kayak, whether it be paddle or pedal. My first kayak was a Seastream Angler 120 pedal drive. It was inexpensive for a pedal kayak, but it was stout enough and stable enough to handle bigger lakes. I really loved that kayak, but moved on to a motorized kayak. Speaking of that - I'm going to be upgrading again this fall. So, if you're interested in a fully rigged Autopilot 120 and trailer...

42 minutes ago, Kayak Koz said:

For now, your best bet is to fish ponds and not lakes. If you find some shallow ponds you can get by with a simple anchor rather than an anchor trolley. No doubt, you'll still have some frustration with wind and current, but you will actually be able to fish more than struggling with drifting and cast angles.

Yes.

I only fish smallish rivers and use an 18" length of 3/8ths chain for an anchor. I have a carabiner on the front handle to run the anchor line through and a clam cleat to hold the line where I sit in the kayak. Easy and fast to deploy and weigh. The chain sits just above the water when it's weighed so it doesn't drag in the water. That should hold you enough to thoroughly fish a spot.

On 6/27/2026 at 1:46 PM, Rucksack said:

I can say with little ego that I'm a pretty decent bank beater. My friends and family go to me for fishing advice. I can land upwards of 30-40 fish on a good morning.

I've recently made the switch to focus on kayak angling and the transition has been humbling. I'm dealing with a lot more variables. There's suddenly more surface area to fish in front of me, I've got information coming in from a fish finder, I'm drifting post cast, there's wind, there's current, I've got an anchor line to consider, other watercraft to deal with, I'm having to consider how to rig my boat, etc.

A good day for me is now five fish out of the yak. I hooked up this morning with a good sized bass (3 lbs-ish) and he shook loose of my crankbait at the side of my boat. I get blown into cover I'm trying to pick apart and blow my spot.

I'm a grind it out kind of guy, so I'm not giving up. But man, it's been really eye opening. For those of you who transitioned from shore to kayak/canoe what got you back being successful? Maybe I've just got a case of the yips or something.

There are two types of paddlers, those who’ve had that close call and ended up in the bad situation and those that will. Always wear your PFD. You are sitting on a tiny, unstable, low in the water hunk of plastic. Take your boat out empty and flip it. Practice flipping it back over in deep water. Get used to climbing back in once it’s upright. Familiarize yourself with the weight and drag of pulling it around while swimming. I didn’t do those things on my Titan 12 and when a yacht on Norris Lake came around a bend doing 35 it put a wake up to my chest. I had a bad time, lost a lot of gear and had to swim my 150lb boat upside down to shore before it sank. Don’t be me.

Not to sound dramatic but at some point a pleasure boater is going to fly past within feet of you. Be prepared and stay safe.

Now that we covered the most important part, we can get into the fishing. Your feelings about being overwhelmed is normal and expected. You’ve trained yourself over years to attack fishing under a particular set of rules. You’ve become extremely good at producing results within those boundaries. The fish are out there points at the water and you’re here points at the bank. Your skills still translate, the fish are now everywhere.

Slow down your approach on the water and think of how you’d fish a 20 foot stretch from the bank. Imagine how each piece of cover needs to be fished. You do this automatically from the bank, now let’s unlock that same feeling and let your instincts help you. When I walk up to a bank I have a process that works for me. I stay away from the waters edge to not spook anything up shallow. I set down my rods and select the first thing I’ll throw up close. I work my way toward the water casting towards the cover closest to me until I’m at the edge of the water and then fan cast out. After that I’ll repeat the process up and down the available space. No bites? Change rods and repeat.

Do the same on the boat. Target a nice laydown. Start off from a distance and pick the tree apart from tip to trunk. Use small movements of your paddle to keep you in position. Become comfortable making those adjustments mid cast. If you wait until you’re turned halfway around before trying to correct you’ll overdo it and end up spinning in place.

Channels and depth changes are your friends when there isn’t a ton of cover. Points and submerged vegetation can produce year round depending on where you live.

The last thing I’ll touch on is advice I wish I would have taken when I bought my Titan. Do not buy stuff. You don’t need the gear tracks. You don’t need the crate. You don’t need the electronics. You don’t need the pedal drive, or the two trolling motors. You certainly don’t need a two thousand dollar trailer to pull it all around. Beat the brakes off your current boat before you spend a ton of money.

I now fish out of a bonafide ss107. I paddle. I bring 2 or 3 rods. On paper it’s a downgrade but I enjoy the experience of fishing more than when I had the Titan. If I wanted to drop 8k again I’d buy a tin boat.

I don’t have a kayak. I did fish out of a canoe with a trolling motor for years. Then I got a boat.

One of my biggest issue with both was I felt I needed to fish EVERYTHING. There is a 300-acre lake? I want to fish every square inch. Even though I knew better I went with the same issue with the boat. Especially when I could fish new water.

There is nothing wrong with picking areas and exploring. You just can’t do it in one day or every time out.

Some things I had to learn.

Positioning yourself for the perfect cast. Make that cast because you won't be sitting there long.

Anchoring: I don't use one. I just haven't taken the time to try. But I'll use whatever is at my disposal. If there is vegetation I'll paddle right into it to hold my position. If there's flooded timber that will do. Just try not to get "high centered" on a stump. That's scary and you can dump yourself in on top of things you can't see. Be ready to bail out if necessary to save your equipment. I've only done it once with my first kayak, which was less than stable.

Using the paddle with one hand against your belly as a lever so you don't have to put the rod down. Assuming you have a "fully manual" kayak. I usually do this just to back myself away from the target I'm trying to fish.

Recognizing cover or structure just comes with practice. I don't fish where there are lots of other boats. And the ones I see are pretty much electric. Watch YT videos and do as they do. One constant is fishing docks. You'll find fish from big water to creeks stopping along the way at docks. In between use a search bait, like a Whopper Plopper, Trap, spinnerbait or bladed jig. Fish have to get from one spot to another somehow and there are objects between like stumps, brushpiles, laydowns, etc.

I don't fish big water with boats running. That's the whole reason I got the kayak. If I did, I'd isolate a big creek arm and work it all from the opening to big water all the way to the back. You can't fish the whole big lake. Look for places boats won't or can't go. This is where kayaks get their advantage. Remember, the smaller the water, the more likely you will drag your bait across fish. You can fish the whole pond (several times around) or 20 acre lake. They'll also be way less pressured. The more you fish repeated areas, the better you'll get at expecting fish to be on targets.

I started out bank fishing and did pretty darn good, sometimes better than a kayak or even boat fishing. I even won a national tournament against 94 anglers fishing the bank only. You said it yourself that you’re a decent bank angler so just take what you learned from bank fishing and apply it to the kayak. Simple as that. You may have to change a few things or make a few adjustments but apply that same knowledge and you should do just fine. That’s what I did. Just make sure you tether everything in that kayak and always wear a life vest!