Busted my cherry today on a small ulua. About an 8 lb+ 'omilu (smallest of the ulua, or trevally)taken trolling an 'opelu (mackerel scad) with a small squid skirt (king king) in front to cover up swivel hardware.
Fortunately had an experienced kayak fishing partner. The fish ripped off some line, and while I managed to get the hook set, ended up being towed backwards. My buddy screaming at me to get the rod pointed at the front of the yak. Well I couldn't the line was caught on the rudder! I pedalled a bit, but then the fish just took line off against the drag, so I decided to at least get my first ride.
Here I am the owner of the Adventure, and he's the one that reminded me I could flip the rudder up. Which I did and freed the line. Quite a backward ride there for awhile.
Next time I'll pop the rudder hard port (my forward rod holder on that side) before grabbing the rod and flip the rudder up pronto.
But reviewing the rudder lesson afterward kind of got me thinking. What do you do with the Mirage drive. Leave the fins down? True there may be a greater chance of your line catching, but then again if you have the fins up against the hull what if the line slides in there? Probably a worse disaster.
What are the ocean guys doing with big fish. How are you fighting them in your Adventure? Drive up against the hull or straight down.
For those with a different Mirage yak, do you pop the rudder up? What is your drive positioning?
Edit here's the fish: