KAYAK FISHING TIP # 34

SLOWING DOWN THAT “NANTUCKET SLEIGH RIDE” or FIGHTING A BIG FISH FROM A YAK MORE EFFICIENTLY

My first big fish from a yak was a Jack Crevalle of about 35 pounds.  Two hours and 3 miles later I “Released” a dead Jack.  Long before I reached that point in the fight I had realized there must be a better way and had 2 ideas already in the works.

A simple drogue, trailed from your trolley definitely works and it will allow you to put serious heat on a fish.   A drogue can also cause problems because you cannot steer and, of course there is also the possibility of your line fouling the drogue or its line if your fish circles.   

A large and powerful rudder is the ultimate solution for more than one reason.  You can control the attitude of your bow in relation to sea conditions, obstructions, current and other boats.  I like to keep my bow as “Hard over” as possible so the fish has to pull the yak almost sideways. 

After several minutes of fighting the fish over my port side, I put the rudder hard over the other way and fight the fish from the starboard side.  This has two positive effects.  First, it reduces strain on me and second, it keeps the fish off balance.  Perhaps this confuses the fish also.  This is an especially effective technique on Jack Crevalle, Cobia and Tarpon in shallow water.  Sharks sometimes charge the boat if you see-saw back and forth. 

The shorter the fight, the greater the chance a fish will survive.  The muscles of a fish that has been fought for a long time are loaded with lactic acid that causes stiffness, sometimes to the point it paralyzes the fish.

Long fights increase the probability of shark attack too.  If you haven’t seen it happen inches from your yak, believe me, it isn’t pretty and it could possibly be life threatening.

Notice that the rudder is set to steer away from the fish in drawing A and C.  The angler in drawing c is puting a lot more heat on the fish because of the rod angle.  In fact, the pull on the fish is much closer to the center of the yak, making the fish pull the yak almost sideways. 

The angler in drawing b is putting no heat whatever on the fish.  He is in for a long fight.

Life is too short to catch little fish.

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"The great thing about life is not where you have come from, but where you are going and how you get there." -Dr. Dan Erikson

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