The plan was to see if crappie were back on the brush piles on my local lake. I took my ten foot crappie rod and a smaller drop shot rig just in case. I marked fish in the brush but just couldn’t get them to take my jig. I didn’t have long to fish so I punted early and went to the drop shot knowing I could at least catch a baby bass or two. The crappie rod I prefer is a rear seat rod so it won’t go into a rod holder, so I use the paddled holder to lash it along side the boat. It rides great there. The rod doesn’t go past the bow but it does stick out about ten inches from the side of the bow since the contour of my Seastream is sharp at the bow.

I hooked a decent bass, maybe a bit over two pounds. It ran under the bow before I could catch up to it. The crappie rod is lashed on the left side of the boat. The bass ran from right to left. It went under the bow, I had my rod held out to the right trying to get it back that way, but it jumped on the left side of my bow, over the top of the crappie rod and back under the boat. Now, I’m fighting the bass while trying not to let it drag my crappie rod off the left side of the boat. I had a strap on the bow that I used to stand up and to pull it up on shore. That strap went into the water and got wrapped in my prop.

Now, I’m dead in the water, crappie rod on the left side of the boat hanging on by a thread and a bass now jumping on the right side of the boat. It finally threw the hook and stopped the madness.

It took me about twenty minutes to untangle the rods and my prop. Lesson learned. What a mess.

I can't relate because props and flappers are banned from all my kayaks.

Hahahahaha.
Glad you didn't loose anything. Could've been worse.

LOL, reminds me of a friend’s dilemna on Raven a few years back. He was bad about reeling his baits to the rod tip and storing his rods, which bugs me more than it probably should. I had “suggested” to him that it was a bad idea for several reasons, but he was undeterred. So one day we meet up at Raven to entertain some of the bass there. I’d been catching solid bass up to eight lbs. probing the deep hydrilla edges with a texas rig, and that was our plan of attack for the day. Both of us had several extra rods rigged with various baits. I had mine in a rocket launcher behind me which angled them rearward at about a 45 degree angle. The baits were hooked to the reels, or to a keeper just ahead the reel seat. He had three rods standing straight up behind him in his crate. As usual, the baits were reeled up tight to his rod tips. We were getting a few hits, but nothing big. Suddenly he reared back with a mighty hookset, and promptly snared his rod in the trebles on a Rat-L-Trap at the tip of one of his stowed rods. As I watched, unable to keep from laughing (at least I was paddling his way to try to help), he tried to turn his kayak and turn in his seat as he fought the bass with his rod pinned behind him. The Rat-L-Trap rod popped out of the rod holder and the butt end fell between his rudder cable and his hull, further restricting his rod manipulation. He was cussing louder than I was laughing, as I recall. He tried to stretch back to his rudder to grab one rod while holding the other. That’s when his kayak decided to do the old “bottoms up” thing. And somewhere in the middle of all that, his bass fell off the hook. Miraculously, neither of his rods broke. It took a bit of effort to get everything untangled and him finally back in the boat. It wasn’t until after he was back in the boat that he began to view the incident as humorously as I did. And he still reels those baits up tight to his rod tip……….

Every time I see a Rat-L-Trap I remember that day.

Fishing from a kayak is so much different than fishing from a boat, not that I haven't managed to create a few unmitigated disasters in a boat, it seems to happen more in the kayak.

This one was from 2019:

Fished LBL this Sunday (getting to be a pattern). Overall a good day. Put in at Austin HS around 6 am (have to get there early to get a parking spot by the boat ramp). Since the sun wouldn't be up for another hour decided to head down the lake, I've never fished the boardwalk. Fished the brush and branches in the water and bridge pilings. Caught 3 LMB (all under 3 lbs) and about a dozen blue gill and sunfish, all on a small ( 9/32 oz ) crankbait, including a Bluegill that measured 9 1/4" . Would have been a great day...except.

Fishing the south bank behind some apartments something BIG hit my crank . I was fishing with a light action rod and 8 lb test mono. I knew I couldn't just horse this fish in. The first time it jumped I realized how big it was. My PB large mouth is 7 lb, 14 oz. Caught it in 2005 in Kansas. This fish was bigger. I don't know if it was 10, I've never seen a 10lb bass in person, but it was big. Was just concentrating on keeping the line tight, his head up, and letting him take line when he ran so I didn't break him off. Of course, I'm also thinking...is this a Sharelunker? How do I keep him alive until a game warden shows up? Maybe I just release him and take enough pictures to have a mount made .

Got him to within six feet of the kayak, he saw the boat, decided oh hell no, and ran again. Kept his head up, he's jumping, two Austin Bike Cops are on the jogging trail watching, all is right with the world. Get him close to the kayak again. I realize I can't boat flip him, I think he weighs more than my line can hold. Decide I'm going to net him. The net is behind my seat. As I reach behind the seat...he goes under the kayak. No problem as long as he doesn't.........wrap himself around the Yak Blade Transducer mount. So of course...he does. I reach in, hoping to slip the line off the transducer arm...and snap.

I yelled something like.... oh fudge. One of the bike cops at the same time yelled something like... oh fudge. We looked at each other. He said, "Brother if you're not going to cry, I'm gonna cry for ya."

Better than being at work! Lol!