What side do you land fish on?

Hi guys. I'm new to the forum but I just got two questions for you pros.
(I've introduced myself on the Intro Board already...)

Well I'm normally bass guy who fish 99% of the time out of a heavy duty gas gurgling boat with the outboard but due the nature of a mid life health crisis, I've abandoned the heavy gear and picked up a kayak in attempt to solve my health crisis.

So I've spent the past two days practicing how to paddle and retrieve the kayak if I capsize. Well after two days of practice, I felt pretty confidence so I decided to bring a rod along to work a local lake. As it turn out, I happen to catch a decent size bucketmouth on this exercise with the yak and as I tried to land the fish, I capsize! I don't know what went wrong, I got the fish to my left side and leaned very little to grab the mouth of the fish then all of a sudden boom, the yak goes over! Luckily I didn't lose the rod but I lost a pocket knife, a lighter, and a granola bar...

So my two questions are, what side of the kayak do you guys land fish on? And; How do you avoid capsizing trying to land fish?

I'm a noob at kayaking but not bassin but apparently kayaking and fishing are two opposite art!

Left side for me.
I reel lefty so for me it seems natural to hold the rod in the right hand, net or gaff in the left.
That way I'm not crossing my body when tending to business.
The kayak is a lot more stable than you think.
Imagine 2 tall invisible walls extending straight up from each side of your kayak. Keep your head inside the walls and you'll be just fine. Remember, the body follows the head. Put your head too far outside the walls and your body will follow.

I get most of mine from the right side but I also reel right handed you might want to look into gettin a landing net just so you don't have to lean over so far to lip a fish that seemed to help me out a bit 

I'm right handed and without thinking about it just comes naturally to bring the fish to the left side,

Depends on which hand you are holding the rod so you can turn the crank. If  you are holding the rod in your left hand you land of the fish on the right (starboard) side, right hand port side.

I always land fish on the left side. Im a righty. If I landed fish on the right my reeling hand would be jammed into my side. Landing left side, my arm can extend out and my elbow is free to move around.

left side.

Either. I let the fish decide.

I'm right handed but left eye dominant so fish and shoot lefty.

Telescoping net and some plastic floating fish grippers.

Salmon- right side every time/ rockfish- either side

I fish bass without a net. I'm right-handed. Tend to land them on the right side. Let the fish mellow on the side of the boat and then switch the rod to my left arm so I can lip them or lift with my right (good) hand/arm.

Each circumstance is different though. I'm generally trolling or casting on the right side of the boat most times. You just can't lean over or be in a rush to land a fish while on a yak.

 

I hang to the right.   

-Allen

First, welcome! And second, I commend you for wanting to learn how to be safe out on the water. Knowing how to get back into your boat safely is something too many folks take for granted. You never know when it will happen, but it will - even if you try to avoid it.

Consider taking a self-rescue class just to get some tips and pointers (and guided practice), both with and without your gear. As a person that paddles different types of boats, I am always trying to improve my paddling and kayaking skills, because they will help me no matter where I am. I even just took a rolling class up in Lotus! Never thought I would do that, but here I am.....

So I tend to land fish on my left....I also am always rotating from my waist rather than reaching. My bottom half keeps things stable while my top half leans and turns. I know how far I can turn and lean before reaching the "tipping" point.

The telescoping net helps - and I try to keep things out of my way. Also, I cover the fish's eye if I can to help it not flop around as much (it starts flopping and you start moving).

-Cherie

i generally go to my right if i'm lipping/gaffing/gripping fish. im very right hand dominant so its difficult for me to aim when trying to grab a fish on my left.  if i'm netting it, i'll take it wherever the heck the fish ends up, but i still hold my net with my right hand.

I let the fish chooses which side it want to be landed for a big fish I put my legs in the water to increase the stability.