fish issues

well, last year during the thanksgiving sales i went and finally bought the kayak i had been saving up for. its a nice little thing, and is light enough that i can carry it with one arm. i thought this would be a convenience. as it turns out, when fishing in it it does not take much to move it, and trying to stay in one spot is a B****. even catching a small bluegill is getting the boat moving. not much, but enough to be a bother.
but anyways, i had decided yesterday to go catfishing in it. chicken livers, shad, giant hooks, the whole shebang. and it wasnt long before i hooked a big one. and thats when i found out that a 7-8 pound catfish can tow my boat wherever on earth it wants. i ended up losing that catfish because he headed straight for the shore and then made a sharp right turn running parallel to the shore. the momentum from the run to shore ended up putting driving me right up on shore. i lost the fish as i was hassling with getting my kayak back out.

but now to the point: How do you all deal with large fish pulling youre kayaks around? do you use an anchor, or just let the fish pull you around until it tires?
thanks for any help.
-Ryan

I have a larger kayak (OK Prowler 15) but I also tend to catch larger saltwater fish. When I start getting pulled around either let the fish pull me, or I throw out a sea anchor or folded up claw anchor. To do this, you have to have an anchor trolley system, or at least some means of trailing the anchor off the stern. You also want something that will slow you down, not stop you. That is why I keep the anchor folded up so it will slide along the bottom.

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How do you all deal with large fish pulling youre kayaks around?

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This why it's a good idea to have a rudder
You need to turn yourself sideways

The worse is when you get a large fish near to you thinking its played out and then it decides to make a run behind you towing your rearward.

I have a very secure rod holder on my gunnel. I put the rod in it with the drag set fairly light. Steer with the paddle. I find being towed all over the Ocean by a large chinook or Coho to be a hoot.

It is amazing how fast a 35lb salmon can tow an 18ft kayak.

A tip when hooking a large shark ...... loosen off the drag all the way and row to shore. The last thing you want is a po'd shark next to you in a Kayak. Fight it from shore. Sometimes its better to just cut the line and call it a learning lesson.
Bin dere done dat.