Swimbait Fishing On A Kayak

[DEPS_250]

How hard is it to throw 4oz+ swimbaits from a kayak when seated?

When seated inside the kayak, your body is bent at a 90 degrees at your waist and your legs are parallel with the water and does not help much with casting baits. Most experienced swimbaiters already know that its best to cast large swimbaits with a lob style cast using the power in your hips/waist and stomach/center of gravity. That way, you can take some load off your arms and shoulders. 

Based on pure physics alone, I would imagine it would be very difficult to cast large baits with no help from your legs when seated in the kayak. Therefore, you are relying mostly on your arms and shoulders to do most of the heavy lifting. I would imagine it would be very fatiguing and tiring throwing large swimbaits all day from a kayak when seated. 

With that said, would it probably be best to stand in the kayak when casting large baits versus just sitting? Are most fishing kayaks stable enough for casting large swimbaits when standing with no chance of toppling over or losing balance? 

Edited July 3, 2023 by DEPS_250

[Morgan Y]

It’s not horrible casting while sitting down,  even with an 8’6” rod throwing 250s on a cheap lifetime tamarack, but if you aren’t standing you’d better learn to. If you have good balance you’ll be able to stand in nearly any kayak but if you don’t you’d better figure out how to. Big baits and sitting down don’t go well, you can’t flip fish into the boat, net them if you prefer that, fight them, or hook them properly while sitting down. It’s overall just a bad scenario to be caught in because so many angles and ways to apply leverage are working against you while sitting. Anything that’s heavy or requires heavy hooksetting isn’t all that great from a kayak while you’re sitting down from my own personal experience, I’m standing 95% of the time. 

[AnthonyCatlow]

I agree with Morgan, from my personal experience I find the most awkward part of fishing a larger bait from a kayak to be the hook set and not necessarily the cast. I have far more success in my hook up ratios if I’m standing versus sitting down. I find that I get better leverage when standing when initially setting the hook however, when grinding the fish in I find that my kayak will slightly turn from me pulling on the fish and that makes it awkward fighting a fish but nothing unmanageable. I use a Bonafide SS107 and I’m very pleased with its stability and performance.

[jthod]

Bigger taller kayak will help tremendously, if it fits in your budget.  I fish out of a hobie pro angler 14.  I can comfortably stand to fish, as long as the wind permits.  

[swimbaitrookie]

I stand the majority of the time in my yaks, but in cold conditions or rough water / wind I stay seated.  Casting large baits is a challenge when seated but you learn to adapt and do what you can.  Obviously you aren't going to launch a bait as far and it's more tiring, but it's doable.  As for hookset and landing fish, I honestly haven't had a problem either seated or standing, single hook or treble baits.

My current yak is a nucanoe pursuit, previously fished from a Jackson coosa.  

[danthefisherman]

Your rod/reel selection can be a big factor. You want something that won’t get in the way but will load up and launch a bait for you. Your back and shoulders will let you know if you are using the right setup or not at the end of a long day.

Edited July 4, 2023 by danthefisherman

[swimbaitrookie]

58 minutes ago, danthefisherman said:

.... Your back and shoulders will let you know if you are using the right setup or not at the end of a long day.

This is the truth!

[dannyboydb8]

1 hour ago, danthefisherman said:

Your rod/reel selection can be a big factor. You want something that won’t get in the way but will load up and launch a bait for you. Your back and shoulders will let you know if you are using the right setup or not at the end of a long day.

Yep! I threw a citizen and a tiny klash almost exclusively for one day in a tournament for 9 hours and my shoulders were definitely feeling it. I know I’m not in that 4 oz weight class but it still hurt. I stood for probably 30% of the time too.
 

I fish out of a native slayer 10 propel with a terrova strapped on to it. Easy to stand on, and lots of weight capacity.

[dj1975232]

Most everything has been covered so far but the biggest issue is the hooksets like stated in previous posts.  I compensate for that but using braid to leader and giving a full swing on the strike.  Although the kayak does move and turn as you are fighting a fish, you can work with this by changing direction of the fight with your rod.  That being said I generally don't fish heavier than 4-5oz from the kayak.  

[5-20]

Yeah, I’d say it’s somewhat fairly awkward and fatiguing throwing big baits from a yak. 
 

Yeah, it’s not too hard standing up in some kayaks. If you’re in reasonably good shape and have good balance it shouldn’t be an issue. I actually think standing up is somewhat easier than sitting down. And actually… whether you would want to do it repeatedly all day is probably another question altogether.  

[buzzed bait]

i'm kinda opposite of others here, but i've fished out of a kayak since like 2010 and used to it by now.  i have a hobie pro angler 12 and i sit much more than i stand, just way easier to keep the kayak in the right direction while seated.  i usually always have rods behind vertically and never really lob or cast overhand, much more of a roll cast from the side than anything else.  i'm often fishing for 10+ hours out of the kayak and am usually no more fatigued on it than my boat or the bank or anywhere else for that matter.

[SwingAway]

9 hours ago, buzzed bait said:

i'm kinda opposite of others here, but i've fished out of a kayak since like 2010 and used to it by now.  i have a hobie pro angler 12 and i sit much more than i stand, just way easier to keep the kayak in the right direction while seated.  i usually always have rods behind vertically and never really lob or cast overhand, much more of a roll cast from the side than anything else.  i'm often fishing for 10+ hours out of the kayak and am usually no more fatigued on it than my boat or the bank or anywhere else for that matter.

This^. I'm in the same boat. Just need to learn to adapt. I do lob and overhand cast still sitting quite a bit though. No, I don't get as much distance as I would if I were standing, but figure it cancels out somewhat because I can get fish a lot closer to the yak without seeing me and spooking than if I were standing. Many of my bites come within 15 feet of the yak. I always chalk that up to correct positioning (shadows) and sitting instead of standing. Just my experience though...

Edited July 6, 2023 by SwingAway