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| Bass Fishing From A Kayak By Team OEX Pro Staff Member Brian "Cowboy" Long |
Could kayak bass fishing be the next big craze? Aside from the glittery gel coats, ultra powerful
outboards and carpeted decks, kayaks have a lot going for them in the bass fishing world. To take
full advantage of this potential, it will take an open mind and a new approach to standard bass
fishing styles and practices. There will be no run and gun spinnerbait slinging here. We’re talking
about a slower, stealthier, more thorough approach to bass fishing so forget about conventional
bass fishing strategies and let’s see how kayak fishing can apply to America’s biggest fishing sector.
While typical bass fishing usually involves running a stretch of shoreline with the trolling motor and
casting at every piece of cover, we’ll have to mix it up a little bit in a kayak. Outside of the pedal
driven Hobie’s, or kayaks equipped with an electric motor, it’s not an option to move the kayak and
cast at the same time. So we’ll need to take a different approach to bass fishing and that’s not
always a bad thing.
Bass fishing from a kayak is a much more selective style of bass fishing. We don’t have the luxury
of taking a shotgun approach on a given stretch of shoreline. We need to pick out spots A, B and
C and concentrate our efforts on those spots. It’s about recognizing potential hot spots and fishing
them as efficiently and thoroughly as possible. It makes for a much more challenging and
rewarding style of bass fishing for those looking to take it to a whole new level.
So let’s look at an example. We’ve got a stretch of shoreline with some tulles, a tree and some mud
bank. Right off the bat we can say that the tulles and the tree would be the prime target areas. If
we’re in a bass boat we would probably start at the tulles, throw a few casts on the mud bank on the
way to the tree and position the boat for a perfect cast on that tree. Maybe we do a couple casts
with a crankbait or spinnerbait on the tulles, and the same on the tree. After two or three casts with
the reaction baits maybe we pitch a jig or worm in there for good measure once or twice before
motoring to the next stretch of bank. In a kayak we need to take a more thorough approach than
just a once over. I’d suggest a minimum of three rods with three different baits. Say a reaction bait
such as a rip bait, crankbait or spinnerbait on one rod, a jig or creature bait on a second rod and a
worm or dropshot on the third rod. The more different presentations the better. Standard rule of
thumb applies, run the reaction bait through there first and move toward the finesse lures with each
attempt.
So that tulle bank would see us put into position where we can hit a few good looking areas in the
tulle bank, or maybe in perfect position for one especially good looking spot. We’d run our reaction
bait through there, followed by, say, a jig; and before moving on a dropshot or weightless worm or
any type of ultra finesse presentation. Don’t give each bait a one and done approach. Spend
some time with each bait to make sure you’ve hit every angle and every cast sufficiently. Be very
stealthy and quiet with your casts and your kayak since we’re spending a lot of time at each spot,
spooking the fish in the area is disastrous. Only the most thorough of bass boaters would
approach the area this way, but as kayakers it’s the mindset that we must adopt at all times. Once
an area has been adequately covered it’s time to identify the next likely hot spot and repeat the
process; oh look, there’s that tree…
Now the nature of bass fishing is to find a productive pattern and repeat it in similar situations
throughout the body of water being fished. As kayakers we’re looking for two or three patterns that
can be repeated with various productivity. So maybe that crankbait, jig and worm we’ve got tied on
prove that the crankbait bite is really hot but occasionally the crankbait won’t get touched and the
jig will get bit on the follow up instead. And even more rarely both the crank and the jig are ignored
but the worm results in a fish. In a bass boat we’d be content with the hot crankbait bite and run
the lake looking to repeat the success we’re having on similar shorelines. As kayakers we’re not
only looking for that hot crankbait bite, but also the mediocre jig bite and the pretty bad worm bite
which normally would be overlooked if we were blasting around the lake in a bass boat.
As most bass fishermen know, the crankbait bite (or any bite) will normally correlate to a specific
type of cover. So our example above would keep all things equal, say each spot we fish is a
flooded tree hence the running around the lake in a bass boat looking for flooded trees to throw
that crankbait at. So when we throw in the wild card of different types of cover within range of a
kayak (since we can’t hit every tree in the lake in a kayak), maybe we find that the jig bite picks up
a little on rocky areas or the worm bite does better around the tulles. This is where the potential is
endless by focusing very thoroughly on a limited section of the lake.
This style of fishing requires more patience and a desire for a challenge but at the end of the day,
taking advantage of these secondary and tertiary bites in addition to the obvious primary bite could
very well result in just as good or better results. And we burned a lot less gas…
Perhaps the best fit for kayak fishing in the world of bass fishing as we know it is in the “trophy
hunting” niche. Targeting the largest and smartest bass in the lake often requires trophy hunters
to go into stealth mode; turning off the fishfinder, staying off the trolling motor and drifting,
beaching the boat and approaching from the shore, and even anchoring for long periods of time to
slowly and methodically cover the areas where big bass are known to roam. Rather than hitting as
many spots as possible, trophy hunters usually pinpoint the prime ambush areas where big bass
would set up shop to surprise passing trout and prey items, sometimes spending all day on just one
spot. Another method of trophy hunting being used in more regularity over the last few years is
trolling; something we know quite a bit about as kayak fishermen. Many of the standard trophy
hunting techniques transfer perfectly to a kayak. Any standard research of trophy hunting
techniques can be adapted to a kayak with little or no changes, and the lack of an outboard almost
forces kayak fishermen to be more efficient trophy hunters. Some of the best big bass hunters
around are the guys that can cover a likely area until their casting arm turns blue.
While bass fishing has developed a reputation as a fast paced, “entire lake” type of fishing, a
closer look and different approach might tell a different story. With a little open-mindedness and a
hunger for a new challenge, bass fishing from a kayak just might be the next big thing for the
experienced bass fishermen and the experienced kayak fishermen alike.
outboards and carpeted decks, kayaks have a lot going for them in the bass fishing world. To take
full advantage of this potential, it will take an open mind and a new approach to standard bass
fishing styles and practices. There will be no run and gun spinnerbait slinging here. We’re talking
about a slower, stealthier, more thorough approach to bass fishing so forget about conventional
bass fishing strategies and let’s see how kayak fishing can apply to America’s biggest fishing sector.
While typical bass fishing usually involves running a stretch of shoreline with the trolling motor and
casting at every piece of cover, we’ll have to mix it up a little bit in a kayak. Outside of the pedal
driven Hobie’s, or kayaks equipped with an electric motor, it’s not an option to move the kayak and
cast at the same time. So we’ll need to take a different approach to bass fishing and that’s not
always a bad thing.
Bass fishing from a kayak is a much more selective style of bass fishing. We don’t have the luxury
of taking a shotgun approach on a given stretch of shoreline. We need to pick out spots A, B and
C and concentrate our efforts on those spots. It’s about recognizing potential hot spots and fishing
them as efficiently and thoroughly as possible. It makes for a much more challenging and
rewarding style of bass fishing for those looking to take it to a whole new level.
So let’s look at an example. We’ve got a stretch of shoreline with some tulles, a tree and some mud
bank. Right off the bat we can say that the tulles and the tree would be the prime target areas. If
we’re in a bass boat we would probably start at the tulles, throw a few casts on the mud bank on the
way to the tree and position the boat for a perfect cast on that tree. Maybe we do a couple casts
with a crankbait or spinnerbait on the tulles, and the same on the tree. After two or three casts with
the reaction baits maybe we pitch a jig or worm in there for good measure once or twice before
motoring to the next stretch of bank. In a kayak we need to take a more thorough approach than
just a once over. I’d suggest a minimum of three rods with three different baits. Say a reaction bait
such as a rip bait, crankbait or spinnerbait on one rod, a jig or creature bait on a second rod and a
worm or dropshot on the third rod. The more different presentations the better. Standard rule of
thumb applies, run the reaction bait through there first and move toward the finesse lures with each
attempt.
So that tulle bank would see us put into position where we can hit a few good looking areas in the
tulle bank, or maybe in perfect position for one especially good looking spot. We’d run our reaction
bait through there, followed by, say, a jig; and before moving on a dropshot or weightless worm or
any type of ultra finesse presentation. Don’t give each bait a one and done approach. Spend
some time with each bait to make sure you’ve hit every angle and every cast sufficiently. Be very
stealthy and quiet with your casts and your kayak since we’re spending a lot of time at each spot,
spooking the fish in the area is disastrous. Only the most thorough of bass boaters would
approach the area this way, but as kayakers it’s the mindset that we must adopt at all times. Once
an area has been adequately covered it’s time to identify the next likely hot spot and repeat the
process; oh look, there’s that tree…
Now the nature of bass fishing is to find a productive pattern and repeat it in similar situations
throughout the body of water being fished. As kayakers we’re looking for two or three patterns that
can be repeated with various productivity. So maybe that crankbait, jig and worm we’ve got tied on
prove that the crankbait bite is really hot but occasionally the crankbait won’t get touched and the
jig will get bit on the follow up instead. And even more rarely both the crank and the jig are ignored
but the worm results in a fish. In a bass boat we’d be content with the hot crankbait bite and run
the lake looking to repeat the success we’re having on similar shorelines. As kayakers we’re not
only looking for that hot crankbait bite, but also the mediocre jig bite and the pretty bad worm bite
which normally would be overlooked if we were blasting around the lake in a bass boat.
As most bass fishermen know, the crankbait bite (or any bite) will normally correlate to a specific
type of cover. So our example above would keep all things equal, say each spot we fish is a
flooded tree hence the running around the lake in a bass boat looking for flooded trees to throw
that crankbait at. So when we throw in the wild card of different types of cover within range of a
kayak (since we can’t hit every tree in the lake in a kayak), maybe we find that the jig bite picks up
a little on rocky areas or the worm bite does better around the tulles. This is where the potential is
endless by focusing very thoroughly on a limited section of the lake.
This style of fishing requires more patience and a desire for a challenge but at the end of the day,
taking advantage of these secondary and tertiary bites in addition to the obvious primary bite could
very well result in just as good or better results. And we burned a lot less gas…
Perhaps the best fit for kayak fishing in the world of bass fishing as we know it is in the “trophy
hunting” niche. Targeting the largest and smartest bass in the lake often requires trophy hunters
to go into stealth mode; turning off the fishfinder, staying off the trolling motor and drifting,
beaching the boat and approaching from the shore, and even anchoring for long periods of time to
slowly and methodically cover the areas where big bass are known to roam. Rather than hitting as
many spots as possible, trophy hunters usually pinpoint the prime ambush areas where big bass
would set up shop to surprise passing trout and prey items, sometimes spending all day on just one
spot. Another method of trophy hunting being used in more regularity over the last few years is
trolling; something we know quite a bit about as kayak fishermen. Many of the standard trophy
hunting techniques transfer perfectly to a kayak. Any standard research of trophy hunting
techniques can be adapted to a kayak with little or no changes, and the lack of an outboard almost
forces kayak fishermen to be more efficient trophy hunters. Some of the best big bass hunters
around are the guys that can cover a likely area until their casting arm turns blue.
While bass fishing has developed a reputation as a fast paced, “entire lake” type of fishing, a
closer look and different approach might tell a different story. With a little open-mindedness and a
hunger for a new challenge, bass fishing from a kayak just might be the next big thing for the
experienced bass fishermen and the experienced kayak fishermen alike.
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