Fishing From Kayaks

Fishing from kayaks is not like any other kind of fishing you will do. When it comes to fishing from small boats, an outing on a kayak is about as small as it gets. Even with today's ultra modern designs, materials, and configurations, even the largest kayaks are........small. In a kayak, you will fish with whatever you can fit between your thighs. Bait, odds and ends you need to have handy, rod and reel, all right there.

Even what you have stowed on the front, back and in any hole or hatch is still mostly out of reach while you're on the water. Accidentally sit on something, it's probably stuck there until you get out again. I learned how to fish out of my Pelican Kayak on the White River below Beaver Lake Dam in North Arkansas. By the time I reached the end of this seven mile paddlefest, I was just about an expert.

Fishing from kayaks means fishing with very little movement unless you want to spend time in the water swimming to shore. Those of us used to bass fishing with violent hook sets, have to get over that technique in a kayak. Give a hard full upper body hook set in a kayak and you'll disappear over the side. You learn to use you upper body, except your arms, sparingly. You don't use your legs at all. Getting out of a kayak after sitting in it imobile for a couple of hours makes you appreciate what it's like to be a paraplegic. That all being said, with some preparation, fishing out of a kayak is great fun and opens a world of possibilities fishing from small boats. Even a big guy like my friend Marty below slides effortlessly through the water because he knows what he's doing and how to do it.

He fishes expertly out of his kayak and he's the one who taught another friend and me how to get this river fishing done with spending time in the 45 degree water. You don't want to figure this out on your own.

On the other hand, fishing from kayaks on ponds, lakes and warm water streams can be worked out with just a little instruction and some ideas for rigging. The first thing you need to work out on your kayak is where you are going to put your rod(s) and reel(s). Trying to take more than two is not advisable. Having a rod holder front and center is important for the entire time you're on the water. A lot of fishing kayaks have them built in. If not install one. You'll need it here. The other one will need to be on the back right behind your seat where it will be out of your way, but acceissible when you want to access it. Here's my rod holder on my Pelican Kayak. The holder is two piece and is built in to my kayak. Since these pictures were taken I've graduated to a Wilderness Ride Kayak.

Kayak fishing picture

Others are built into the back of some kayaks like mine and my daughter's Pelican sit-inside fishing kayak. They hold the rods in vertical position for fishing or access.

This Pelican Kayak below, belongs to my good friend Ralph and had no rod holders. He mounted one right in front of the cockpit. Another one behind the cockpit would be helpful to hold a second rod out of the way.

Fishing kayaks come in two basic styles. Sit on top and sit inside. Each has their advantages and disadvanatages. I prefer the sit on top type because it allows more equipment to be layed in, and accessed in the cockpit. The down side is your center of gravity is higher making it a little more challenging to get used to the back and forth movement. Below are two pictures. One is of Marty's Kayak, the other of Ralph's. Marty's is a sit on top, Ralph's a sit inside.

14 foot sit on top kayak
Kayak picture