Kayak and larger fish

Been thinking about buying a kayak and had the guestion below.

What happens when you hook a big blue and it goes 90 degrees to the side of the boat (or behind you)? Does the fish pull the kayak sideways or can you turn it while both hands are on the rod?

Andrew (apb) had the following answer for me which is pretty interesting and sounds like even more fun.


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With larger fish, the yak follows the striper (or other large fish) pretty well. Just point the rod tip in front of the yak and the yak will follow. You can stear the yak/fish some by moving the rod around. When I hooked that 35# striper last fall, I was trolling. The striper quickly caught up with, and then over took me. The one issue that you might have is if the fish decided to go under the boat. You might have to put the rod tip in the water and follow the fish around like you would in a boat.
Certainly worth looking into. There are a number of places that you can launch a yak and fish that would be difficult or impossible to hit any other way.

Seen some vidio's of anglers catching big fish & looks like a blast being pulled around.I've had some pull me but nothing like the vidio's yet that is.I want too fish for muskie & think i'll get that ride.
Terry Adolph:cool:

Part of it is also knowing the species that you are chasing so you keep yourself out of trouble. For example, when we were targeting stripers and bluefish in saltwater we always carry some type of lipping devise (boga grip or similar). Bluefish have some nasty teeth and are not afraid to use them on you. Definitely don't want to sling one into the yak and not have complete control over it! We also used single hooks on the tail (bluefish are tail biters) and crimped the barb. In many cases you can release them at the side of the yak by grabbing the tail hook with pliers and rotating the hook around.

The fastest that I've ever been in the yak was when I hooked a 35# striper. A decent wake behind the yak when it ran and took me on a sleigh ride!

Andrew

To add on top of what has already been said...

When fishing for big fish on the bottom its important to keep your rod pointed to the front of the boat. If you keep it perpendicular with the boat and the line suddenly breaks it can send you on over the other side. You also want to make sure you have a rod long enough to reach over the bow of your kayak in case the fish goes under you.

And yes, sleigh rides are as fun as they look.