Kayak Fishing

[Lawman60]

I have been seeing more and more programs on television where Kayaks are being used as personal platforms for fishing instead of the good 'ole boat. Does anyone on the forum utilize this method of fishing?? There seems to be several versions of a "fishing kayak" available. If you are using a kayak which do you feel it the best, sit in or sit on?? What length?? I am interested because I am not considering giving it a try.

[Stoneroller]

Bought my first kayak a few years ago and haven't looked back since. You need to ask yourself where you will be fishing. some kayaks are made for flat water, a few are made for rivers. if you are a river angler you'll want to check out the jackson coosa. I have one of them it's about 11 feet long and can be handled by one person with ease. has a great seat, it's very manuverable and has the features you'll need in a river kayak.

if you intend to do mostly lake fishing, you might want to check out the ocean kayak trident and tetra lines. I have a trident 13 I lake fish out of, has some great features and is awesome on the lake. not so great in moving water though. Wilderness systems also makes some kayaks worth looking at in their tarpon and ride series.

[Bullgill]

x2 on stoneroller post. How big a boy are ya matters also I`m rather portly so I had to go with a boat a Wildy 135 Ride their good for lakes and i fish the Elk,Indian and Sugars and it does great.Hey check out Kayak Bass Fishing . com I learned a lot thier. Bullgill

[Lawman60]

Well I am not a great big guy, just a little over 200# I am sure there is a difference in which Kayak you use depending on the water you will be on. I have no intention of doing white water style kayaking, but fishing on slower moving rivers would be my goal. We are considering moving to the South Florida coast within a few months and I hope to be able to fish the bays and a lot of "skinny" water for snook and redfish. But for now I just want to be able to drift fish or fly fish in the Little Red.

[Wayne SW/MO]

They are a great fishing platform on the right water. For fishing it is hard to beat a SOT. You have stability, safety and secure storage. I've had a Wilderness Tarpon 12 for many years the only con is the same one that plagues all SOT's, weight. It isn't all that bad if you handle it right though. I can sit on the side of mine with my legs over the side without worry.

[moguy1973]

Just picked up an ocean kayak trident 11 for myself. I'll let you know how awesome kayak fishing will be in a couple months.

[lunkertrout]

I prefer a personal pontoon over a kayak. It's more stable and easy to fish from IMO. I put a trolling motor on mine to make it easy to get up the river then float back down to your car. I'm sure it works fine in a lake as well but I use it for my river trips.

They fit in a bag and you blow up the pontoons when you get the the river. Easy to transport. Takes me about 15 minutes to assemble. Last summer I hit the upper JF after the canoe rentals stop putting floaters in that part of the river and had it all to myself. Great day of smallmouth fishing.

[Stoneroller]

even a lightly flowing river can be a task to manuever my trident 13 in. because it is made to track straight over long paddles, ie the ocean or a lake, it has a sharp and deep bow keel, which when the current hits makes the boat impossible to turn.

A Coosa will easily hold you and your gear, it tracks well enough on open water but really shines in any kind of current along with being one of the most stable kayaks on the water. Look around, take some for a test spin. Check out a local kayak guide.

[TroutRinger]

even a lightly flowing river can be a task to manuever my trident 13 in. because it is made to track straight over long paddles, ie the ocean or a lake, it has a sharp and deep bow keel, which when the current hits makes the boat impossible to turn.

Very good point here.

[Flatbottom Boy]

I bought the Ascend FS10 this weekend and for my first kayak I'm very impressed. It has some cool features that are set up for the fisherman. I got the camo color with the intent of slaying some ducks next winter.

Question for the other kayakers out there.. Life jackets, I am using the same jacket I use in normal boats but this is not going to work in the kayak. It's too bulky and hot. I am looking at the auto inflating or manual inflating that bass pro shops sells. Can I get some help or suggestions from you all on what you use?