Here are five essential kayak bass fishing tips and tricks to help you catch more fish. Kayak fishing has really grown in popularity, and hopefully these tricks and tips can help you out on the water. This post was written by a tournament kayak angler Nate from virginia. If you dig his article don’t forget to check out his website Nate Catches Fish. Enjoy the post!
5 Essential Kayak Bass Fishing Tips
Kayak fishing is something a lot of anglers overlook. Anglers often would rather be in a fast bass boat or a boat with tons of room for tackle. Yet, with bass boats becoming more and more expensive one of the best ways to get on the water is a kayak. Kayaking is not only fun, but gives you exercise and gets you closer to the fish than you will ever be in a boat. This post will discuss 5 tips that will help you catch more fish on a kayak. If you’re just getting into the sport or even if you have been for a long time, this article should be able to help you in some way!
Kayak Bass Fishing Tip #1 : Use Stealth
Stealth is something people don’t always think about. In reality, stealth can make or break your fishing day. One of the downsides of kayak fishing is the plastic hull of your kayak. If you drop a bait in the kayak or hit your paddle on the side, you will make a loud noise through the water scaring away fish. One of the best ways to prevent this is traction pads on the floor of your kayak. Something like Seadek or Harmony Traction pads will keep the noise down when you’re in the kayak. It also keeps the kayak from becoming slippery when it gets wet. This can also prevent you from slipping when you stand up which is another huge plus. Another trick to keep yourself stealthy in the water is to use a push pole when you’re in shallow water. This will eliminate the noise of your splashing paddle, so the fish won’t hear you coming.
Kayak Bass Fishing Tip #2 : Use An Anchor
One of the biggest headaches when kayak fishing is battling the wind. Having some sort of anchor system will help you fight less with your kayak, and wrestle more with the fish of a lifetime. Anchoring allows you to stay on spots the wind would keep you from fishing. A great anchor for a kayak is the Anchor Wizard. What makes the Anchor Wizard great is the winch for raising and lowering your anchor without having to deal with rope or lifting the anchor manually. Another great anchoring device is the Power Pole Micro Anchor. This pole style anchor allows you to secure your kayak from moving in shallow water. Which is great for fishing beds or shallow flats. The Power Pole is a great anchoring option if you can afford it.
Kayak Bass Fishing Tip #3 : Keep Things Organized
Being organized is something that anglers often completely forget about when it comes to catching fish. Organization will increase your fishing ability by making things easier to focus on catching fish.
Having a good tackle management system is key. Using a kayak krate such as the YakAttack BlackPak or the new Wilderness Systems Kayak Krate will greatly improve your organization. Having all your tackle somewhere it can be labeled and easy to get to makes your life a whole lot easier. Especially, when you’re looking for a specific bait to get those key bites.
Kayak Bass Fishing Tip #4 : Use Electronics
Another key kayak bass fishin tip is to use electronics. Using Electronic depth or fish finders will help in all types of bass fishing, and extraordinarily when you are kayak fishing. Having a depth finder of some sort is something you can not go without. Without a doubt using electronics has contributed to a few of my tournament wins because of the knowledge a depth finder can provide you.
You don’t need anything specific or super expensive just something that can tell you the depth, water temperature, and show you fish. This will help you adapt to change the way you fish in different conditions. Also, having a depth finder with mapping capabilities allows you to mark way-points where you caught fish, or even see potential spots those lunkers could be hiding. Electronics are not something you need if you are first starting fishing. Although, if you plan to become serious about kayak fishing you shouldn’t think twice about picking up a nice depth finder unit.
Kayak Bass Fishing Tip #5 : Be Safe!
Being safe is an important kayak bass fishing tip that shouldn”t be over looked. You probably saw this and thought to yourself ‘How does being safe help me catch more fish?’. Safety eliminates worry from injury or possibly even worse out on the water. Plus, safety allows you to be focused on the fish that we all love targeting. Wearing a Coast Guard certified life vest at all times helps keep you safe if you were to fall out or flip your kayak. Another great way to stay safe is to have a highly visible flag, so other boaters in bigger boats can see you and take caution when passing you.
The final kayak bass fishing tip on safety is to make sure you have a small first aid kit at all times. This will help if you were to cut yourself badly, get a hook in you, or if you need any other bodily repair to keep prevent ending your day on the water. Staying safe is one of the most important parts to catching fish because if you take all the necessary precautions, you won’t worry if something bad was to happen.
Concluding Thoughts
Hopefully, these five essential kayak bass fishing tips will help you become a better kayak angler, or even convinced you to give kayak angling a try! Kayak angling is my favorite way to get on the water, and is something that can be fun for the whole family. Kayak bass fishing puts you in places others can’t go, and gives you a new appreciation for fishing! I want to say thank you to KrakenBass.com for letting me write this article for you to enjoy. Stay safe out on the water and go catch some fish!
-Nate
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