This list of must haves when kayak fishing for bass will help you consistently catch more fish. Jim Morrissey, a Freshwater Tournament Director of Chucktown Kayak Bassin’ and Low Country Kayak Anglers, offered these insights to Kayak tournament angling of 5 must have lures when kayak bass fishing. Hopefully, you can gain some insight on ways you can catch more fish fishing from a kayak.
Must Haves for Kayak Fishing – Tournament Style
Gigantic yellow rubber spiders and neon blue swimming topwater parrots (yes like the bird) are just a few examples of some of the new school lures available to bass fishermen. With so many products, colors, and styles it can be a daunting task to pick out a bait. Below are some tried and true offerings to up your confidence the next time cold hard cash is on the line…
Spinnerbait
Spinnerbaits are simple to use and relatively weedless. Copper color blades for stained water and silver for clearer water. Willow leaf blades create flash and can be worked a little faster. Circular Colorado blades push water and tend to slow the bait down. Simply cast and retrieve around weedlines, ledges, and structure.
Ned Rig
Some love it and some cant stand it but for me, when the bite gets tough, the tough gets NED. This small soft plastic offering doesn’t look like much, but big things can come in small packages. The profile and weight of this finesse presentation is what commands the bite when other offerings refuse to work. Dead-stick on the bottom, bounce, or slowly glide through center of the water column. Not as weedless as other offerings on the list but a top producer in low snag environments.
Top Water Frog
You are the puppet master with a frog – get creative. The froggier you make it look the better. Nothing is more exciting than bombing a frog deep into the lily pads, making it “hop” and seeing an explosion. Weedless Texas rigged or hollow bodied frogs are a great option to skip under shallow docks, underneath overhanging trees, and through pockets in lay downs. Try slowing down the retrieve and downsizing when the bite gets tough.
Wacky Rig
A Senko wacky rigged with a small hook running perpendicular to the body doesn’t look like much to you and me but to a bass it is irresistible. The slow fall of these baits and maximum time in the strike zone allow you to pinpoint specific areas. This minimalist approach can fool even the highest pressured fish.
Texas Rig
Weedless T-Rigs are perfect for punching through lilly pads and working every side of a cypress tree. I prefer a screw in style bullet weightt and an offset hook. Just be sure to match the sizes of hooks to weights to plastics. Worms, Brush Hogs, Craws, Lizards, the plastics list goes on.
Must Haves When Kayak Fishing Video
Here’s a quick video of Jim running through these baits, to help you get a better understanding of how they can help you catch more bass.
Remember that space is limited kayak fishing, and a little planning can go a long way. Test out new gear on off days.Remain flexible and do your research. Weather, the Season, and your competition can all play a part in your lure selections. Confidence is key so pick something that you are comfortable with. It may just pay off in the end…
Article Courtesy of-
Yak Bassin’ LLC – Aug 10th, 2019
Jim Morrissey
Freshwater Tournament Director – Chucktown Kayak Bassin’ and Low Country Kayak Anglers
CKB Angler of the Year – 2018
Co-Founder of Yak-Bassin’ – www.yakbassintrail.com