Swimbaits/Tips/Hooksets From a Yak

[1984isNOW]

I've got a pretty light yak, looking at getting into swimbaits to try to break 7 pounds (those fish don't exist around me but at least I won't be catching anything).

 

Can one get enough of a Hooksett from a light yak to actually stick a fish with a beefy hook? Have to use braid to make up for the extra give?

 

8 inch savage gear line through, 8 inch savage gear pulse tail rtf, 6 inch line through savge gear, 6inch magdraft(regular and freestyle), s-waver 200 and the littler one.

 

Don't bother with them and just catch fish instead?

 

Risk throwing them from shore?

 

Do they work at night?

 

Any advice on any of the lures listed?

 

Any swimbait advice at all?

 

Have the Dobyns Fury 795 and Lews Super Duty 300 - line recommendations (considering yak, lots of vegetation in my waters)?

[WRB]

On 11/1/2023 at 7:39 PM, Kites R4 Skyfishing said:

I've got a pretty light yak, looking at getting into swimbaits to try to break 7 pounds (those fish don't exist around me but at least I won't be catching anything).

 

Can one get enough of a Hooksett from a light yak to actually stick a fish with a beefy hook? Have to use braid to make up for the extra give?

 

8 inch savage gear line through, 8 inch savage gear pulse tail rtf, 6 inch line through savge gear, 6inch magdraft(regular and freestyle), s-waver 200 and the littler one.

 

Don't bother with them and just catch fish instead?

 

Risk throwing them from shore?

 

Do they work at night?

 

Any advice on any of the lures listed?

 

Any swimbait advice at all?

 

Have the Dobyns Fury 795 and Lews Super Duty 300 - line recommendations (considering yak, lots of vegetation in my waters)?

The answer is yes. You hook set like a crankbait strike....reel to load the rod then sweep back firmly while continuing too reel.

Stay with swimbaits in the 6” to 7” length no reason to use the “big “ swimbaits. Line through with a magnet require less force to hook set.

Back in the day I had to make my own magnet hook holder line through. Today you have a selection to choose from.

My advice is s l o w down on the retrieve.

Tom

 

 

[fishingtx]

Lots of vegetation, braid 50lbs. 7in zaldaingerous swimmer with vmc underspin hooks but swap the screw lock with one off an owner beast hook. You should be able to get enough of a hard hookset with braid like that. In my opinion I would use the Dobyns fury 735c for that situation. I fish extremely heavy grass and this seems to do the trick. If you have grass just stick with the weedless 6 or 7 inch swimbait and I promise you will get the fish you're looking for. There is no need to go buy a bunch of expensive glides if you have heavy vegetation. Good companies are 3/16 Swimbaits, Megabass, Imaktsu, Big Bite Baits, I personally don't like huddleston or savage gear but others do. As @WRB said magnet hook keepers are great. I prefer the magdraft to any other on the market if you fish them straight out of the package. The berkely cullshad is extremely durable but poor color selection and action compared to magdraft. Great option if you have pike in your are that would tear up a magdraft in a heart beat, those things aren't durable. As for line thru swimbait I think the best one out there is a B6 by big bite baits, it has the best action. Another good option is the new unreleased sixth sense line through or the 6th sense panoramas in 9inch version fished fluke style side hooked. Despite the panoramas being so hard to find and confusing for some people to fish I have caught more than 20 6-9lbers since their release. Good luck! Repost on this thread if you catch some with pictures!!

[PhishLI]

2 hours ago, Kites R4 Skyfishing said:

I've got a pretty light yak, looking at getting into swimbaits

Explain further. A 10 footer? Not very stable, or very stable?

2 hours ago, Kites R4 Skyfishing said:

Have the Dobyns Fury 795 and Lews Super Duty 300

Note that rods made for specifically for yaks have short handles. There's a reason why. Are you tall with a long wingspan? Have you tried fishing with a swimbait rod with a 2' handle while seated? Personally, I'm not bringing any of my normal swimbait rods on my light yak. Maneuverability sucks with those. It's awkward using them. Also, think wrist and shoulder pain. The iRod Jr Swimbait is almost OK with its short handle for a swimbait rod, but I'd rather opt for a beefy enough stick for the bait with at least a standard-length handle, then work out the details with line choice for stretch, or lack thereof, and drag settings.

 

Remember, you're stuck in a seat with a backrest, and maintaining your center of gravity is crucial. Hooksetting is done without any leaning of your body whatsoever. It's all in your arms. You don't want to dump.

[einscodek]

Agree with BenBurke, braid helps. I've also installed an anchoring system fore & aft it helps too.  Taken alot of big fish on a yak so no worries.

[Zcoker]

I've been getting some nice 8 and 9 pounders on swimbaits out in the everglades. I like the slow sinking 6" Trace baits in bluegill or wild shiner, which is matching the hatch where I fish. I don't use them often but when I'm after big fish, or if the conditions warrant, they are the sure thing. I target edges, casting strait at heavy cover and then slowly retrieving back to the kayak. Sometimes the wake that follows the bait is unbelievable, like heart pounding, like a big submarine in tow! So I slow it down a wee bit, just a bit to let it sink a bit more and then BOOM! She hits with pure fury! I pull back with a firm sweeping motion. My setup is a Daiwa Tatula 7.6 M/H casting rod with a 20lb copolymer line. All my other rods have 50-65lb strait braid but for the swimbaits I like the mono. I find the added stretch just perfect to keep the those big girls pinned--not too much stretch but just enough! With braid I've had them come unpinned. I usually fish the swimbaits in the daytime but I've caught some giants at night. Night requires a known area to avoid snags and so forth. My tactics at night are the same as the daytime. Happy hunting! 

[Bankc]

7 hours ago, PhishLI said:

Explain further. A 10 footer? Not very stable, or very stable?

Note that rods made for specifically for yaks have short handles. There's a reason why. Are you tall with a long wingspan? Have you tried fishing with a swimbait rod with a 2' handle while seated? Personally, I'm not bringing any of my normal swimbait rods on my light yak. Maneuverability sucks with those. It's awkward using them. Also, think wrist and shoulder pain. The iRod Jr Swimbait is almost OK with its short handle for a swimbait rod, but I'd rather opt for a beefy enough stick for the bait with at least a standard-length handle, then work out the details with line choice for stretch, or lack thereof, and drag settings.

 

Remember, you're stuck in a seat with a backrest, and maintaining your center of gravity is crucial. Hooksetting is done without any leaning of your body whatsoever. It's all in your arms. You don't want to dump.

There are ways around all of that.  I mean, I'll agree that a long handle can be cumbersome, but it can also work to your advantage.  Bury the end of the handle into something, and you've got a pivot point.  That gives you a lot more leverage for hooksets without needing to use your body.  Though, I will often lean forward to allow my body room to back up, and to adjust my balance so I'm not sitting in the same position for 8 hours straight. 

 

Now, where to bury the butt of the rod depends on the angle of your rod in relation to your kayak.  I'll switch that up on almost every cast.  Sometimes I'll bury it in my inner thigh.  Sometimes I'll bury it into my hip.  Sometimes I'll bury it under my arm pit or on the edge of my seat between my legs.   And sometimes it helps to hold the rod sideways, so the handle faces up.  Just whatever's comfortable.  It complicates things, for sure.  But it's not something that can't be worked around.  And with enough experience, it all becomes second nature.  

 

And while the longer handle presents challenges on the retrieve, I still prefer them for the increase leverage on the cast.  With a heavy swimbait, being able to generate most of my power by using that leverage instead of using my muscles really helps out.  

 

 

[flyfisher]

Yes, you can set any hook on a kayak like you do on any type of boat that you would sit in unless you have a really unstable kayak.  If you can stand, it is no different at all.  If I can get a solid hookset with a fly rod and using a 4/0 hook, a hookset on conventional will be fine as well,  

On 11/2/2023 at 1:48 AM, PhishLI said:

....Note that rods made for specifically for yaks have short handles...

Those are purely a marketing gimmick.  I don't know any kayak anglers who prefer those types of rods to fish from a kayak.  There is also a reason not many companies even offer them.  

[Darth-Baiter]

hook-sets are no problem with respect to hook penetration.  make sure hooks are like surgical needles.    

 

if you are asking about stability..that varies.  I have seen a dude so thrilled at the bite, he hookset himself right overboard.  he had a video about it and he panicked a little until he stood up waist deep in the water.  he still got the fish.  

 

I would love the ride a big big BIG bass would give me on my kayak.  the catfish rides are awesome. 

[Bluebasser86]

Don't know what kayak you have, but I don't have any problems throwing a swimbait out of mine. 

[Hammer 4]

I think that if you have to remain seated, and you are on the smaller side. A shorter rod would be easier to cast. When I was Float Tubing, I could easily throw a 2 3/4 to 4 oz+ oz swimbait on my 8' Dobyns swimbait rod. In a float tube your more confined than you would be on a yak. I'm 6'1" so that may have been an advantage.

[1984isNOW]

On 11/2/2023 at 1:48 AM, PhishLI said:

Explain further. A 10 footer? Not very stable, or very stable?

10 ft

Minimally stable to stand in calm conditions, but I wouldn't hook set a jig standing in it.

On 11/2/2023 at 1:48 AM, PhishLI said:

Note that rods made for specifically for yaks have short handles

I'll keep that in mind, part of the reason I began building my own rods.

 

On 11/2/2023 at 9:43 AM, Bankc said:

Bury the end of the handle into something, and you've got a pivot point.

I'll also keep that in mind haha

 

On 11/3/2023 at 11:17 AM, Darth-Baiter said:

would love the ride a big big BIG bass would give me on my kayak.  the catfish rides are awesome. 

This summer a 5.5#er pulled me nearly into a dock, then brought me to shore into the overhanging trees. I tore my shoulder and wrist up nice trying to fight and paddle with one hand and deal with some wind. I'm going to be looking for a peddle yak with instant reverse once I save up enough and find a deal.

 

Thanks for the input y'all

[Darth-Baiter]

@Kites R4 Skyfishing  wow.  that bass owned you!!  great story nevertheless.

 

my Hobie, I think just having the drive poking into the water offers some resistance.  if a bass or cat is yanking towards something, I turn my rudder so my boat lines up perpendicular to the fish.  it pulls me forward and my kayak does a slow turn, adding resistance.  dumb move on a giant ocean fish, I imagine..but so far, no freshwater fish has flipped me.  

[FishTank]

On 11/3/2023 at 8:33 AM, flyfisher said:

Those are purely a marketing gimmick.  I don't know any kayak anglers who prefer those types of rods to fish from a kayak.  There is also a reason not many companies even offer them.  

 

I know a few that use them including myself.  I have the St.Croix Mojo Yak 7'  M and have always enjoyed it. Another one, and I use it for swimbaits, are the Megabass Valkyrie rods with the adjustable handle. I shorten the handle by about 2 or 3in when I am in my kayak.  The P5 line of rods for the most part also have shorter handles. Another series is the Kistler Hunt BFS rods.

 

Do I prefer these rods over others? Sometimes. It just depends on what I want to throw and where I'm going.

 

[flyfisher]

20 hours ago, FishTank said:

 

I know a few that use them including myself.  I have the St.Croix Mojo Yak 7'  M and have always enjoyed it. Another one, and I use it for swimbaits, are the Megabass Valkyrie rods with the adjustable handle. I shorten the handle by about 2 or 3in when I am in my kayak.  The P5 line of rods for the most part also have shorter handles. Another series is the Kistler Hunt BFS rods.

 

Do I prefer these rods over others? Sometimes. It just depends on what I want to throw and where I'm going.

 

Yeah I can see that, it is totally a preference kind of thing.  I also imagine a person's girth is a factor when fishing seated and having a longer handle too.

[FishTank]

4 hours ago, flyfisher said:

Yeah I can see that, it is totally a preference kind of thing.  I also imagine a person's girth is a factor when fishing seated and having a longer handle too.

 

I'm not big around the middle but if I'm wearing my life jacket the handle can get in the way. Also, my casting style when throwing in specific situations changes, like side casting when seated, which probably is my most common cast around trees and docks. A long handle will hit my forearm.  Also, when casting big baits in tight quarters, I need the shorter length to grip and propel the bait. Another situation is jerkbaits, working them seated with a long handle puts the rod away from body, making hook sets and jerking the bait a little harder.

[Dwight Hottle]

The single biggest improvement to better hook sets is increasing the sharpness of the hooks you are using. You want tacky sharp hooks. Try using some Owner ZoWire STX hooks. 

[1984isNOW]

Appreciate the insight yall

 

On 11/12/2023 at 11:55 AM, Darth-Baiter said:

I turn my rudder so my boat lines up perpendicular to the fish

 

 

I'm picking up a used Brooklyn Kayak Company pedal drive today. Hopefully that will help with all this, that instant reverse is calling my name haha.

On 11/14/2023 at 9:51 AM, Dwight Hottle said:

increasing the sharpness of the hooks

Anybtips on actually increasing the sharpness myself? I have about 200 hooks already, do expensive sharpeners make a difference?

[Alex from GA]

For hook sharpness I use the diamond file on my Leatherman.  Fast and thorough.