Why Fish From a Kayak?
Kayaking has grown substantially as a water sport over the last several years—and fishermen are taking advantage of it. Many kayaks now come with fishing rod holders and live wells, and for those that don’t you can easy buy parts to attach your own.
Kayaks are obviously cheaper than boats, and the running and upkeep of them is also significantly less. You can pick up a Kayak to go fishing pretty inexpensively. You don’t have expensive batteries to charge or replace, you don’t have to fill it with gas, you don’t have to have a trailer, and your kayak does not have to be registered, so long as it has no motor.
But other than the obvious—
Why are so many fishermen trying out kayak fishing?
Well, here are 6 reasons kayak fishing has exploded in popularity:
Kayak fishing is cheap.
As mentioned before, there’s no fuel, insurance, storage, launch fees, motor and battery upkeep, trailer upkeep… I could go on. After the initial costs, you pretty much run for free. It’s important to remember what you need though—the kayak (which can run you anywhere from $150 to over $1000 depending on what you get and which brand it is), the paddle, and a life vest. Also useful to get would be an anchor, a dry bag, a small tackle box, a small ice chest, some bungee cords, and comfortable seat if your kayak doesn’t come with one. Assuming you already own the fishing tackle, that’s not too bad of an upfront cost compared to a motorboat. Click Here to look for Kayak fishing stuff.
Kayaks are comfortable.
There have been so many improvements to kayaks—fully raised chairs, comfortable seat backs, drink holders. All of your gear is within arm’s reach of you. And you learn exactly the items you truly need to bring.
Kayaks are stealthy.
A kayak is quieter and less noticeable to fish than any motor boat. You don’t even have a trolling motor to make noise. In a kayak, the pressure from the bow of the boat is so little that there are not even small ripples to scare fish away. You can even add to your stealth by adhering stealth rubber to every spot on your boat that you lay paddles, tackle boxes and rods.
It’s easier to cast from a kayak.
When you cast from a motor boat, it is mostly perpendicular to the bank and your lure swims from shallow water to deep. When you’re in a kayak, you have a major advantage by placing your kayak right on the marsh grass. Then you can cast up the grass line and retrieve along the grass. This is typically where a lot of fish are. When you cast into open water from the shoreline, the lure swims the natural path of a bait fish—from deep to shallow water.
Kayaks can get anywhere.
Speaking of placing your kayak on the marsh grass—with a boat, you can’t do this. Kayaks can fit into almost anywhere. In Louisiana marshes, there are so many small inlets and pockets that boats can’t fit, but you’ll find that your kayak can! They may not work out for deep sea fishing for Mahi Mahi – but you get the point.
Kayaks are more fun even when you aren’t catching fish.
Unfortunately, there is always that one day where not a single fish will bite. Because a kayak is so stealthy, you’re likely to see tons of other wildlife around that you wouldn’t see in a boat. Also, you can take your kayak out for the day just for sightseeing or exercise, and you won’t be wasting tons of money on gas. Even if you’ve bought a fishing kayak, you can load that thing down for a scenic day trip for just as much fun!
