Rod action and power when fishing from kayak

[Gera]

During this off season I renewed and upgraded my complete kayak rod and reel arsenal. While clicking the "buy now" button for my last rod I started thinking about rod action while on the kayak. Both my previous and new setup were purchased based on the same principles of fishing from a boat, but should it be selected instead taking into a account the fact that the kayak is not a very stable platform? (for people not familiar with kayak fishing, bass actually move you a great deal while fighting you if not properly anchor)

 

When you set the hook from the kayak your leverage point (your body in the kayak) moves in direction contrary of the hookset and making it weaker. following this every rod should step up  (from lets say from a M action to a MH) to gain the extra power and do a proper hookset.

On the contrary when fighting a fish, the tension in the rod tends to be less by the fact that the kayak is moving in direction of the fish, rod tension is weaker than when standing on a more stable platform. To counter this you need your action to step down to gain back the rod tension lost? on a heavy rod I have actually pedal backwards cause my rod is now completely straight. 

 

Now, I bring in this importan topic to you since I'm bored, its cold and lakes are covered with ice and snow. Once ice is out I will go back to regular questions on how not to get skunked. 

 

Thanks for your attention.  

 

[MN Fisher]

I dunno about a kayak - but in a canoe, I just went with what I'd use in a boat. If the standard for a particular technique was a Fast - I used a Fast.

 

In fact, I only have two rods that aren't Fast action - my standard crank rod (Fury 705CB) and my light crank rod (Reflections A ML/MF)

[Gera]

3 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

I dunno about a kayak - but in a canoe, I just went with what I'd use in a boat. If the standard for a particular technique was a Fast - I used a Fast.

 

In fact, I only have two rods that aren't Fast action - my standard crank rod (Fury 705CB) and my light crank rod (Reflections A ML/MF)

 

I follow the same logic, actually even from the boat I feel more confortable with a fast action rods on any technic (including treble hooks applications) I only been on a canoe once, I took my daughter out fishing and spend most of the time paddling. buy I guess it may be affected the same way.

[LCG]

I kayak fish primarily, bank and boat sometimes. I use medium and medium heavy rods with fast to extra fast actions. Medium fast and medium extra fast rods do the bulk of the work for me. The medium heavy more when the vegetation gets thicker.

 

You do lose some stability and hook setting force from a kayak, but you learn how to adapt. There is a ton of factors involved here though. But if you reel down until you feel the  pressure of fish and set the hook, you should be fine. I fish both mono and braid, which can make a big difference how the rod "behaves".

 

Love that feeling if being pulled by a big fish, pure joy

[Bankc]

I primarily fish from a kayak.  To me, the differences in how you fish from a kayak versus a boat or bank don't really effect the gear selection.  They do have an effect on your technique, however.  Like I set the hook a little bit quicker and sharper from a kayak and hold the rod in closer than I would in a big boat.  But I don't select special rods and stuff just for kayak use.  What platform I'm standing on doesn't really effect my decision.  

However, due to the space limitations on a kayak, I am forced to bring less gear.  So most of my rods will have to pull multiple duties.  So I probably prize versatility a lot more than your average boater.  But that's not unlike bank fishing.  Or a frugal angler from a boat.  

 

[Bluebasser86]

The one thing that I actually might change is reel speed. Since I do move towards the fish slightly on the hookset, using a reel that is slightly faster than I normally would use could help compensate for this. I typically use the same equipment whether in my kayak or in my boat though. 

[Deleted account]

If I hit my head hard enough to ever want to fish from a yak, I'd be more concerned with the rod's dimensions based on fishing from that thing. The power and action will be the same as when fishing from a boat or shore. 

[PhishLI]

3 hours ago, LCG said:

I use medium and medium heavy rods with fast to extra fast actions. Medium fast and medium extra fast rods do the bulk of the work for me.

I don't know if we have different reasons for this, but I'm with you, even for treble baits. With a CB glass rod, or even a graphite CB rod, I found myself breaking the center line with my body too easily, especially if the fish ran at me. I'll stick with crisp actions and set from elbow to wrist, then lift. I'd like it if all hook sets were directly in front of me, but somehow they end up close or close enough to perpendicular to my yak. One dump in 48* water was enough for me, even though over setting on a hook set and breaking plane wasn't the reason for it.

29 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

If I hit my head hard enough to ever want to fish from a yak...

If you want to feel trippy without supplementation then try it at night. It feels like I've blown up a giant balloon. Takes several minutes until I'm oriented. Messes with my equilibrium in the short term. It's weird, but it passes.

[Gera]

17 hours ago, LCG said:

Love that feeling if being pulled by a big fish, pure joy

I also think is awesome when a big fish pulls you. I don't like caching pike but once I caught one so big that pull me about 20ft while anchored it was the coolest fight. 

16 hours ago, Bankc said:

However, due to the space limitations on a kayak, I am forced to bring less gear.  So most of my rods will have to pull multiple duties.  So I probably prize versatility a lot more than your average boater.  But that's not unlike bank fishing.  Or a frugal angler from a boat.  

Same here, I carry on the yak no more than 4 rods, when I get to the lake I check conditions and leave two or three rod on the truck.. 

 

14 hours ago, PhishLI said:

If you want to feel trippy without supplementation then try it at night. It feels like I've blown up a giant balloon. Takes several minutes until I'm oriented. Messes with my equilibrium in the short term. It's weird, but it passes.

That sound fun. 

[CrashVector]

My kayak rods are all 7'.

 

Most are MH/F.

[michaelb]

I don’t think a kayak moves enough to matter on the hookset and so would not matter on the rod power or action. Use what you have and what works. 
 

kayaking is a more dynamic environment than standing on shore or on a bass boat. For example, I may think i am fishing in one direction and then find myself spinning in the wind or current. So a rod long enough to sweep around the front of the kayak is helpful and a reel fast enough to pick up slack line also can be useful. 

[J Francho]

I use the same tackle whether fishing from shore, a boat, or a kayak. 

[Gera]

24 minutes ago, CrashVector said:

My kayak rods are all 7'.

 

Most are MH/F.

I usually carry 2 MH/F 1M/F and a ML/F spinning. That I think is the most common setup where I think I can get away with everything I usually fish with, on the truck I'll keep the cranking and the frog rods. 

 

mainly 7' the M is 6'10" 

[casts_by_fly]

I don't choose rods because I'm in a kayak.  I chose the rods based on what I want them to do.  They do the same on land or on a big boat as on a kayak as far as I'm concerned.

 

The only small caveat I'll put on that is that for tip down presentation rods I'm running a 6'10" and would go shorter if I found the right rod.  My feet are roughly level with the waterline and I'm 5'9".  so a 6'10" rod with a 10" rear handle means a truly vertical rod isn't happening but even using a 7' rod makes a material impact on the angle I can hold the rod.

[Serpent Mound]

17 hours ago, LCG said:

I kayak fish primarily, bank and boat sometimes. I use medium and medium heavy rods with fast to extra fast actions. Medium fast and medium extra fast rods do the bulk of the work for me. The medium heavy more when the vegetation gets thicker.

 

You do lose some stability and hook setting force from a kayak, but you learn how to adapt. There is a ton of factors involved here though. But if you reel down until you feel the  pressure of fish and set the hook, you should be fine. I fish both mono and braid, which can make a big difference how the rod "behaves".

 

Love that feeling if being pulled by a big fish, pure joy

"You learn to adapt" Is the main point here. I'm not going to sacrifice throwing ned rigs on a medium light because of perceived loss of hookset power. If a rod is the right rod for a technique I wouldn't beef it up simply because I'm in a kayak. 

 

People do too much with their hooksets 90% of the time anyway

 

Also, an easy way to alleviate these issues is simply to trend towards lighter wire hooks rather than changing your whole rod and reel schematics around, in my opinion. 

[Choporoz]

Reasonable questions with good info on the assumptions.....

When I went to kayak fishing full time, I did undergo a bit of a shift.   For improved hooksets, I started to prefer faster tips and braid.   I don't think it was from vessel movement as much as it was partial loss of control of angles.  From a boat, I never had to set the hook on a fish behind me.  But wind and current put you in some crazy angles sometimes when you fish from a kayak 

[MickD]

I've not fished from a kayak, so have no personal experience.  But from the question it seems that the main issue is keeping a tight line when your movement is limited and the kayak itself tends to move.  If this is true it would seem to me that a slower action, one that takes the rod into more deflection, (more of the rod length will be deflected making the rod more capable of keeping a tight line when the kayak moves) would be preferable.  It might also argue for a longer rod than one might use when boat fishing.

 

I think the power would be determined by the weight of the lures and other factors which don't really change due to kayak fishing.  Some builders build with shorter handles/grips for kayaks.  

[FishTank]

To me it depends on how the kayak seat is and also how you are personally built.  If you are a big guy sitting in a seat that is lower to the water, your options are limited as to how you can set the hook and get the fish in the boat. A higher positioned seat will allow you to lean into a hook set and you will have better control over the fish.

 

As far as rods go, I personally like 7' and under fast rods, that are either a Med or MH with a soft tip. This covers 90% of my fishing from a kayak. 

 

If you can stand in kayak comfortably,  I don't see why you couldn't use whatever. 

[Scud_Muffin]

I’ve been trying to get a sense of this question too. The problem is that I often hear opposite advice. Some say go for an XF rod with an XF reel so you can quickly reel up line and get snappy hook sets. That makes sense, especially with kayak drift.

 

Then I hear other folks talk about the challenge of landing bigger fish while seated, and how it’s advantageous to have a more moderate rod so you don’t lose slack close to the boat. I totally think that makes sense. 
 

So apparently I need an XF rod that bends deep into the blank. Got it. 
 

Plan to see what my own preferences are on the water before I buy anything else. Still new to kayaks. 

[WC53]

I fish mainly from a kayak. I like a bit softer rod as it is easier to  keep the fish pinned when fighting in wind and current. The bend is your friend. I also use the rod bend in casting to get an easier toss. In a boat I prefer to toss tip down, maybe the change in elevation.  If I was lake fishing, I don’t know that it would matter as much.

 

 

[chiunganil]

light wire guage hooks ad braid will always do the trick. use whatever rod and reel combo you would use for a technique whether on land , boat or kayak. The main issue is driving the hook into the fishes mouth is bassically one of slack management and hookset force. These two issues can be best combated by use of the braid and light wire hook combo (my 2 cents)