Kayak Positioning and Angles Are Key

Having the nice rod and reels and the premium baits are great, but there is another small detail people tend to miss when it comes to have a good day of fishing to having an amazing day. This detail is the ability to have total control of your kayak.

Knowing your kayak and how it reacts to most conditions that may arise is key to being a more successful kayak fisherman. There are many times that the fish are near you, but the way you set your boat and the presentation given is all it takes to catch those tricky fish. This idea of mastering kayak positioning for me really became more apparent which I started fishing rivers. On most river systems there is a source of current really makes it hard to hold good positioning. Areas with current, fish tend to be in very specific spots and tend not to move far from that area. Fish stage in key spots like, eddies and large boulders to ambush prey easily; therefore, it is really important to position yourself correctly to increase chances to catch these aggressive fish.

The common habit I see a lot of people tend to do on rivers is just riding straight down along with the current. This is a great way to cover water, but many times way your kayak is facing can make it difficult to present bait so it is in the strike zone. With the bow of the kayak face down river, you are going to have to twist your body to fish the bait down with current. Why toss your bait up river? Most times predator fish face towards the current, and pulling your bait along with current allows for fish to see the bait coming ahead of them rather from behind them, which may spook or miss their strike zone. Every extra fish that you catch from positioning the kayak up current, rather down current can make or break tournament.

The new approach I use now most times is start from the bottom of the river and paddle up the river. This is a definitely a more tiring fighting up current, but I am much more efficient fishing because I am presenting the bait from the most ideal angle first. Once I start heading down the river, I fish some of the same spots I fished at an upward angle, with a down current angle. This allows me to make sure I haven’t missed any possible fish in that area. Of course, there are always expectations. Some days the fish only want it coming from the down current angle, the best rule is to let the bite tell you which angle is the best and position your kayak based on that. Tight lines!