Newbie Question

[jcoop_00]

This is my first post and I am really getting interested in yak fishing. I live along the Texas coast. (Matagorda, POC, and SLP) I go fishing a couple of times a month in the surf but really enjoy the wadding trips. My favorite thing to do is stalk redfish. Nothing is better than the first top water blow up of the morning. I need some help on where to get started with finding the right yak for me.

I have all of the rods, reels and equipment but I have no idea what my first step would be. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Incredible]

A fishing kayak is a matter of personal choice. There are a lot of good kayak brands and models out there. Start by thinking about what kind of fishing you will do and what kind of features are available. Check out reviews on different kayaks and look up manufacturers sites and get specs on the different types of kayaks. Then once you have an idea of what you are looking for rent different kayaks to see if they will fit your needs. Some dealers will offer demo days on occasion. This is a good chance to try out different models. When I was first getting started I found this site and got a lot of valuable info from the rigging section and the photo galleries for ideas on what other guys were doing with the yaks they were paddling. The biggest thing is, make sure you test out several kayaks before you put your money down. You will find that a good kayak can open up a lot of possibilities on the water. Good luck and have fun.

[Tarpon guy]

Incredible said it all. The only thing I might add is that if you know a place where guys are kayak fishing, go check out their boats and rigging.

Best of luck

[PerryC]

Welcome to the forums. Like Incredible said, kayaks are a personal choice. If at all possible, you should try as many makes and models as you can to see which style of kayak feels comfortable to you. By style I mean that some anglers like the longer and narrower kayak like a touring kayak or Wilderness Systems Tarpon, while others like one shorter and wider like a Cobra Fish-N-Dive or Ocean Kayak Big Game. Some are in the middle sorta speak like the Cobra Marauder I paddle.

For fishing, I would recommend you think about getting a kayak with a good sized bow hatch, plus maybe a hatch directly in front of the paddlers seat bucket, and my favorite a large tankwell in back you can put a full size milk crate in. If you use a milk crate for carrying your extra rods and whatnot, you can keep alot of items above deck and behind you. If you're going to be using a stake pole and wade for redfish, you'll need to factor that in also. For redfish, you may want to kayak with a nice hull that doesn't have alot of hull slap when you paddle it. Or if you're going to use a kayak as a mothership and wade, it may not matter as much.

For the weight of the kayak, don't worry about a few pounds. Most of the advertised weights are an approximation anyways, and some manufacturers weight them with no hatches installed in them to shave some weight off the specifications. For weight capacity, thats a hard call. Some manufacturers say their kayak will carry 400lbs and it would carry alot more than that, others say it will carry 400lbs and it would probably be taking on water over the side at that weight. If it were me and my total loaded weight would be about 300 lbs, I would look at something advertised to carry a good 400lbs or a bit more to be on the safe side.

Lastly, coming from manufacturing I would find a few models I really liked, then call the factory and ask a few questions about them, or speak to their customer service. If you get a live person on the other end of the phone who can answer any questions, cool. If you can't manage to get a simple question answered, then you may run into the same thing if you have a problem with their kayak. It may be something to consider before a purchase. TC&TL,
Perry

[mg2969]

A great website for kayaking in general is paddling.net

Heres the link for their buyers guide
Kayak Buyers' Guide - Paddling.net

They don't list all the kayaks made (like they omit Ocean Kayak) but a great place to start.

[PerryC]

MG2969,
Hmmm, you're right about them not listing Ocean Kayak.

Perry

[jcoop_00]

Thank yall very much for the info. I will look into them. I really appreciate it.