Fishing in a kayak means that the weeds are now an afterthought for accessing them or passing through; but what about actually fishing in them. I can still remember the feeling of paddling into a cove on a local lake I fish in New Jersey. The cove in the height of summer is impenetrable with thick weeds making it nearly impossible for anyone to fish it. The occasional bass boat can be seen working the outside edge and firing casts off into the perimeter of this weedy bass haven.
If only you could reach the back depths of this water jungle. In the distance you can see log jams jutting out into the water and fallen trees. This is the stuff a frog anglers dreams about and surely gets their pulse pounding. As you gave out into the cove you can see swirls coming from under the dense surface and maybe even the movement of some lily pads revealing the presence of a fish. Then without warning you might witness an explosion as a bass launches out of the jungle of weeds to gulp down a frog that was scurrying along the surface.
As I paddled past the angler fishing from his boat I could see the envy in his eyes. I was already in a section of the weeds past where he was casting. I was making my way towards the fallen trees and unpressured sections of this cove. With each paddle I made to get deeper into the vegetation it took more and more force to propel myself into this thick slop.
The smell of being so deep in the weeds was not the freshest air to breathe in but if that was what it was going to take to catch a bass I would surely endure it. I could hear the sound of sunfish nipping at the insects that where on top of the water and seen turtles scatter along once my presence was detected. By now the boater was far behind me and was fishing the open water of the lake. He had given up and moved to a different location and technique.
I knew there were fish in this cove, you could see all the signs from the presence of baitfish to the green healthy weeds that would raise the oxygen level in the water and support life. As I moved about half way into the cove I noticed a stream that was flowing in and found some deep areas that offered the bass an opportunity to ambush prey. By now the boater was nowhere to be seen and I was alone in this section of the lake now. Just me and my kayak and whatever critters were under weedy surface.
I started using a River2Sea Bully Wa frog and make clockwise casts and broke down the sections I was fishing in. As my casts made lines on the surface of the weeds I ruled out unproductive water and moved along. It wasn’t long before I noticed a v shape wake following my frog along the surface. This is the part of frogging that gets anglers addicted to the technique. The strike is heart pounding and instantly get an angler shacked up.
The best way to describe a frog strike is a freight train exploding on your bait and all you have to do is hold on and go along for the ride. The strike came and I waited a few moments to set the hook. It’s good to train yourself when fishing thick vegetation to wait a few moments after the strike and to feel the weight of the bass on your line before you set the hook. If you set the hook too prematurely you can risk pulling the bait away from the bass before he actually has the chase to inhale it.
The bass is using all its energy to push through all those weeds and just needs a few extra moments to get the bait. If you ever have a strike and the bass misses the bait leave it there for a few moments, most likely it will strike again! My rod was bent in half and I could feel the weight of the fish and it felt good.
The bass put up an incredible fight and when I got it next to my kayak it had to be at least five pounds with about four extra pounds of weeds on it. I posed for a quick photo and released the bass and watched it slip into the weeds and fade out of sight. I could not help but think about the angling opportunity that my kayak had opened up for me.
I latterly could fish anywhere in my kayak. Here I was in the middle of this dense weedy jungle paddling over sections of water that was only a foot deep and getting into unpressured water where I’m sure these fish never seen a frog with hooks in it. My kayak gave me an advantage over the boaters and shore anglers that could not reach this location. I believe the pros out way the cons when it comes to fishing out of kayaks and in this case hands down it was way better than being in that bass boat I passed on the way into the cove.
I tell anglers to implement a kayak into their frogging and you will see that no other vessel is better for this technique. I have even gotten my friends who fish bass tournaments to try kayak frogging and now they have gone out and bought angling kayaks to get into the slop. There truly is no better way to get into the bass environment and target quality fish.
That cove offered up some really great action and produced some good size bass. I had my kayak to thank for the success and getting me into the thickest slop I could paddle through. The bass don’t come to you, you have to go to the bass. Use your kayak as a tool to fish the slop and get ready for the bass freight train to come along and take you for a ride!
