Jigging from a Yak

[Bayvalley1]

I can stand in my Outback but I don't feel confident unless the water is very calm. As a result I have to fish mostly from a seated position and I feel it's difficult to work a jig properly when seated. Does anyone else have this issue? Any suggestions? I am referring to Bass fishing and trying to work around cover.

[YakMan1731]

I've had the same issue, and I agree it's definitely challenging, especially when you're trying to sight cast into holes in the brush and can only see what's near the surface since you're in a seated position. I'm by no means an accomplished jig fisherman, but a couple of things you could try- Use a longer rod so you'll have good leverage on a hookset and you'll be able to keep the tip up and the jig working through brush much easier than with a shorter rod. Also, since you're in a kayak, consider pulling up your Mirage Drive and getting as close as you can reasonably get to the cover you're fishing. That'll help alleviate the challenge of working the jig from cover and give you a better angle. Lastly, and maybe this is a stretch, but you could stand briefly, eyeball the cover you're trying to fish so you can see gaps and pockets, then sit down and make your casts based on what you saw. I feel your pain man, jigging cover from a yak is a challenge for sure haha I've dealt with so many snags due to having a poor angle when dragging the jig through branches or hopping it around cover.

[Mark]

Bayvalley1,

I don't share your difficulty fishing while seating but I also know "jigging" has different meanings to different people. The term has caught on here in tidal MD but to me "Light Tackle Jigging" is merely casting a good distance from the boat and retrieving with occasional pauses and manipulations of the lure to either bounce it off the bottom or to keep it moving. It's something I was doing for many years before the term became popular. Others simply drop a lure over the side of the boat in deep water and move it vertically and they call that jigging also.

Are you speaking of flipping jigs into patches of hydrilla for bass and working it mostly vertically? That shouldn't be difficult seated in a kayak. Perhaps you would be aided with a longer rod to improve your reach and to compensate for being low to the water. Or using a spinning tackle as opposed to bait casting tackle may improve your casting/flipping distance while seated. I can see where being seated could hamper the flipping motion with a bait caster. But again a 7 foot rod and spinning reel may make that process easier while seated.

However, a kayak allows you to get closer to most fish than you can in a large boat. Long casts are typically not needed, especially in freshwater.

I work cover in freshwater very easily while seated. For the ponds I fish that cover mostly means spatterdock and lily pads. I work the edges of that vegetation, moving my lure closer to the edge with each successive cast to draw the fish out. Or I'll toss a weedless lure directly into vegetation and slowly retrieve over and through the growth waiting for an explosion. Very little finesse or subtlety involved.

I'm probably off the track with my answer but I think with practice you should be able to do seated what you can do while standing.

[Bayvalley1]

Bayvalley1,

I don't share your difficulty fishing while seating but I also know "jigging" has different meanings to different people. The term has caught on here in tidal MD but to me "Light Tackle Jigging" is merely casting a good distance from the boat and retrieving with occasional pauses and manipulations of the lure to either bounce it off the bottom or to keep it moving. It's something I was doing for many years before the term became popular. Others simply drop a lure over the side of the boat in deep water and move it vertically and they call that jigging also.

Are you speaking of flipping jigs into patches of hydrilla for bass and working it mostly vertically? That shouldn't be difficult seated in a kayak. Perhaps you would be aided with a longer rod to improve your reach and to compensate for being low to the water. Or using a spinning tackle as opposed to bait casting tackle may improve your casting/flipping distance while seated. I can see where being seated could hamper the flipping motion with a bait caster. But again a 7 foot rod and spinning reel may make that process easier while seated.

However, a kayak allows you to get closer to most fish than you can in a large boat. Long casts are typically not needed, especially in freshwater.

I work cover in freshwater very easily while seated. For the ponds I fish that cover mostly means spatterdock and lily pads. I work the edges of that vegetation, moving my lure closer to the edge with each successive cast to draw the fish out. Or I'll toss a weedless lure directly into vegetation and slowly retrieve over and through the growth waiting for an explosion. Very little finesse or subtlety involved.

I'm probably off the track with my answer but I think with practice you should be able to do seated what you can do while standing.

I agree LTJ in the bay is no problem I guess I am referring to flipping and pitching in cover.