Jerkbait Fishing Smallmouth Bass from a Kayak

McKeon “Keys” Roberts slips out in his fishing kayak for an afternoon targeting prespawn smallmouth bass on jerkbaits. Although this was filmed on a boat-ridden public lake, a kayak provides the values of exercise and stealth over conventional boats. McKeon’s approach to boat control when targeting pressured fish is to pedal to the tip of windblown points and let the breeze carry the kayak across rocky prespawn staging flats. Subtle ruder adjustments allow him to stay silent while keeping the kayak in the right depth zone when drifting along these flats.

Packing simple and light can be a joy in kayak fishing. For this outing, Keys brings along 3 proven jerkbaits and a single shorter rod for fishing them efficiently. This reduces slapping the rod tip against the water on the retrieve and makes controlling fish at the side of the yak more manageable. *Our apologies for the audio technical issues.