The right rod for fishing largemouth out of a kayak

[Larryd daniels]

What is yall choise on a casting rod length and action bass fishing for 5 pound plus bass out of a kayak?

[Bluebasser86]

What baits are you fishing?

 

[kayaking_kev]

Are you fishing open lakes or skinny rivers? 

 

For me personally, rod length doesn't really matter if I'm fishing in an open area, but I prefer shorter rods when fishing skinny rivers where accuracy is more important than distance. More important for me is the handle length, I like shorter handles so their not hitting my pfd and it's easier for me to work baits.

 

As far as power and action, it all depends on what type of baits and their weight you want to throw. 

[new2BC4bass]

No kayak here.  Fish out of a square back canoe when visiting Florida.  Rods I keep there are all 7 footers...until last year when I shipped a 7'4" down for use as a frog rod.  Until my brother-in-law made a little wooden seat 2 years ago, my butt was pretty much at water level.  I had no problem fishing 7' rods.  Not fished the 7'4" from that position, but no trouble on the raised seat.  Naturally your casting stroke has to be altered.  Guess it is up to the individual to determine what works for them.

 

My 2 biggest bass were caught there.  6 plus and 7 plus.  Both on 7' MHF rods.  I shipped down a 7' Moderate action rod for treble hook lures at the same time.  The rest all have Fast actions.

[Smalls]

Whatever you fish with from the bank or other type of boat with. Being in a kayak doesn't require some sort of special rod. 

[MN Fisher]

23 minutes ago, Smalls said:

Whatever you fish with from the bank or other type of boat with. Being in a kayak doesn't require some sort of special rod. 

X2 - I'm out of a canoe and I choose my rods based on what I want to do with them, not what kind of craft I'm fishing out of.

[Smalls]

1 hour ago, MN Fisher said:

X2 - I'm out of a canoe and I choose my rods based on what I want to do with them, not what kind of craft I'm fishing out of.

The only exception I can think of is rods with really long handles can be a pain when sitting in the kayak. My swimbait rod took some getting used to while kayaking. 

[Dens228]

My shortest rod is 7 feet even, my longest is 7-05,  I'm not tall by any means and have no problem with the rods. 

I've landed a few 5+ over the last few years.  

[FishTank]

7' at the most.  I don't like to take a ton of gear when I am out on the kayak so I only take two setups, one spinning and one casting.  My usual choices are a St. Croix Avid 7' MH Fast casting with a Curado and a 6'8 M x-fast St. Croix Avid spinning with a Stradic.  I can use these two for just about everything. 

[LCG]

Casting - 6'9" MH-XF Carbonite 2.0 paired with a Curado K in 7.4:1 gear ratio. Spooled with 30lb yellow braid to a 14lb mono leader. 

 

Spinning - 6'8" M-Xf Carbonite 2.0 paired with a Stradic FL 2500, spooled with 20lb braid to a 6lb leader. I usually spool up 10lb yellow braid but wanted to try something new so went to 20lb camo braid, a bit overkill but it works. 

 

I mostly fish soft plastics drop shot, Ned rigs, neko rigs, and texas rigs. I also throw spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits, jigs, inline spinners, Frogs (still yet to catch one on a frog, but determined to one day). 

 

I fish from a budget pelican, 10 ft, sit inside kayak from Costco. I installed two rod holders in the back and a bunch of pad eyes all around the kayak for versatility. Keep a Plano 3600 weekender bag clipped onto the top front deck for ease of access. 

 

I find you have to be very organized and keeps your gear to a minimum when kayak fishing. Not much room to move around and safety is a top priority. Rods and line everywhere can get tangled around low hanging trees and become a nightmare.

 

And above all else always wear a life jacket, I keep a whistle and a folding knife clipped to my life jacket just in case. And would also recommend using short rod leashes in case you tip over. If it's not secured, you could lose all your gear.