Hauling pigs out of the slop from a kayak

I need some advice from other yakers. Found a nice patch of lilypads yesterday and found the bass too. I was deep in the pads. Problem was that every time I had a hookup on the frog the fish would take me into the weeds and get off. This happened 4 times before I lost patience and moved to clearer water.

I was using a 7' heavy Veritas rod with 50 lb PowerPro...plenty of backbone to haul them out. From a bass boat you sit above the water and can leverage the fish out of the weeds. From a kayak you are down at water level with no leverage, plus the boat is pulled toward the fish when you start cranking.

I would love to hear other's thoughts on ways around this challenge.

Sounds more like a hookset issue even if they bury themselves you should be able to get over to them and have them be hooked still.

if its not a hookset issue, you can try a longer rod and a reel with a faster ratio, once you have em hooked all you have to do is keep your rod tip up and crank them in. dont give them the chance to back under the cover to either get snagged on crap or just wiggle off.

if its not a hookset issue, you can try a longer rod and a reel with a faster ratio, once you have em hooked all you have to do is keep your rod tip up and crank them in. dont give them the chance to back under the cover to either get snagged on crap or just wiggle off.

This is a good point. A reel that takes in more line per turn may help.

For me, as soon as I get the hook set I keep my rod up and maintain as much pressure on the fish as possible.

I don't mind getting pulled into the pads but that mean I need to reel faster to keep up.

After reading your replies plus the other thread about frogs, I think the problem is indeed a hook set issue. I was reacting too quickly, not allowing the fish to get a solid hold on the bait.

The reel is a Quantum Smoke with 7.1 retrieve on a Veritas 7" heavy rod and 50 lb Power Pro. I use this setup for fishing blues and stripers. This should be more than adequate for fishing bass out of the slop.

Thanks for the feedback.

berkleegrad...

when fishing frogs in the pads.. once the strike occurs I will do 1/1000 - 2/1000 count then set the hook deep as possible.
This gives the fish plenty of time to take the frog.

PJ

Thanks Rick. BTW, those "secret" lures caught me a lot of fish this past weekend. I already have to replace the skirt on the one I was using

Thats great!!
I keep extra skirts to have on hand when that happens.... they really like to tear em up!

I lost a really nice fish at Eddies Pond on Sat Morn...the pig rolled over on the "Holy Hog" and threw it at me before I could get my hand on his mouth.

Wish I could make it this Sat.. but the golf plans were made first.

PJ

You certainly have the right set up for that type of fishing. I think it is just the nature of frog fishing. You definitely lose a lot of fish because of the hookset. And like you said being in the yak is also a disadvantage in getting a solid hookset. I fish out of a yak also and probably miss at least 25% of my fish because of a poor hookset. When a fish is directly in front of me no problem. If I get turned at all and have to set from the side or towards the back it becomes more difficult

I took a Hog from the pads this morning but not using a frog...hehe

John, you know what I was using! What a fight! Did not bing my phone so I have no proof other than my word...yea I know some of you guys are thinkin..what a story!! It was still dark/dawn at that time...
I have a new frog with a different hook placement that might help you.. show you when I see you next time.

"River 2 Sea" Dahlberg Diver Frog....get em at the tackle wharehouse site! Expensive little buggers... but man what action the have!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrGL7-UUGE4

PJ

Last edited by pirougejoe on Tue Sep 11, 2012 2:23 pm; edited 1 time in total

Kind of a side question, How do you like the Veritas set up? I am looking into getting another bass fishing set up or two for next season. And I was looking into Abu since I have always liked their products. After reading some reviews on BPS, it seems like Abu rods: Veritas and Verdict break like crazy. I understand a bad review here and there, but everyone was commenting on how easy the rods shatter, even commenting on how they have read numerous reviews on the subject.

This turned me away from them, and more towards St. Croix, but I cant really afford numerous rods at a $150 price tag. I was thinking more around $80-90 a rod. I have a $60 Abu baitcast combo I got at walmart and the things caught me a lot of fish this season, rod and reel have both performed flawlessly up until last week when the insert from the line wind on the reel popped out. But its gonna be a quick fix with Krazy Glue.

Kind of a side question, How do you like the Veritas set up? I am looking into getting another bass fishing set up or two for next season. And I was looking into Abu since I have always liked their products. After reading some reviews on BPS, it seems like Abu rods: Veritas and Verdict break like crazy. I understand a bad review here and there, but everyone was commenting on how easy the rods shatter, even commenting on how they have read numerous reviews on the subject.

This turned me away from them, and more towards St. Croix, but I cant really afford numerous rods at a $150 price tag. I was thinking more around $80-90 a rod. I have a $60 Abu baitcast combo I got at walmart and the things caught me a lot of fish this season, rod and reel have both performed flawlessly up until last week when the insert from the line wind on the reel popped out. But its gonna be a quick fix with Krazy Glue.

The veritas is a great rod i have had mine for a couple months and love it. But in my personal opinion the st croix is a much better rod and worth spending a little extra check out the mojo series you can grab one for like 100 dollars

i used to be a huge Abu fan, now...not so much, rods fall apart they cant take the beating, i fish alot but i didnt think i could wear out 90$ rods and 200$ reels ever. so im done with the abu im changing out alot of my stuff this winter. just another perspective.

You may want to look at some of the BPS products.

I have a BPS Pro Qualifier reel that I paid about $80 for on sale. I've been using it all season and really like it.

The reel is paired with a XPS Extreme Rod that I got about about $60 on sale.

Pretty good combo if your looking to save a bit.

Good luck.

Kind of a side question, How do you like the Veritas set up? I am looking into getting another bass fishing set up or two for next season. And I was looking into Abu since I have always liked their products. After reading some reviews on BPS, it seems like Abu rods: Veritas and Verdict break like crazy. I understand a bad review here and there, but everyone was commenting on how easy the rods shatter, even commenting on how they have read numerous reviews on the subject.

This turned me away from them, and more towards St. Croix, but I cant really afford numerous rods at a $150 price tag. I was thinking more around $80-90 a rod. I have a $60 Abu baitcast combo I got at walmart and the things caught me a lot of fish this season, rod and reel have both performed flawlessly up until last week when the insert from the line wind on the reel popped out. But its gonna be a quick fix with Krazy Glue.

I use St. Croix Rods have 2 of them.. 1 fast action Med-Hvy for larger pike.. and 1 fast action med-light for bass and other fish...
love the rods.. both are 2 piece 6'6" and hook setting is quite easy.

I use the reel I grew up with the Garcia Mitchell 300 and I have 3x of them...I also use the Shimano Stradic 2500FJ (the white one) and love this reel...it is my primary bass reel as I want to limit my use of the old 300's....

I use Ande 12 lb test (green) for bass...great fishing line! Will not come off your reel in a tangled nest like some of the thinner lines.

Good luck!

PJ