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Since kayak fishing is at it's core a personal sport involving personal watercraft, choosing the right 'yak' begins with you.
Personal
Your weight, height and physical condition will have a big impact on picking the right boat and are the first things to consider. The following example uses fairly conservative estimates for coastal fishing.
Example:
It isn't hard to see where this is headed. You plus the stuff you take with you adds up quickly. As you get closer to maximum load capacity, the kayak will become increasingly unstable and difficult to handle depending on your overall physical shape.
Changing wind and water conditions will add to this equation and could lead to a dangerous situation. On the other hand, if you are 165 pounds and are paddling a large, heavy kayak, you will probably not feel like venturing too far from your launch area. Choosing a kayak that's a good 'fit' for you, your gear and where you want to use it is VERY important.
Due to the those pesky laws of physics, kayaks and all things traveling on or moving through water are necessarily a compromise in design. There are trade-offs required between speed, stability and maneuverability to ensure optimum desired performance; in short, choosing the "perfect" fishing yak depends on what you want to do with it. Manufacturers are designing newer 'fishing' models to improve on the balance between speed vs. stability.
Speed
How fast a kayak is (i.e; how hard you have to paddle to maintain a given speed) will depend on many factors like hull shape, draft, resistance (drag), weight, width, length, etc.. To simplify things here, we'll condense it down to length vs. width. Basically, a long, narrow kayak will be faster than a wider, shorter one.
If you plan to regularly paddle long distances and/or spend a lot of time trolling, you will probably be happier with a faster kayak. If not, sacrificing some speed can offer advantages in other areas. Understanding the relationship between speed and stability is important in finding the right boat for you.
Stability
Since fishing from a kayak is a much more complicated task than just paddling one, a big consideration will be stability. In very general terms, wider kayaks will tend to be more stable but slower than narrower kayaks. In terms of kayak stability, there are two types; initial and secondary.
Initial stability (or instability) is best described as that "tippy" feeling that beginners experience when they first sit in a kayak. Initial stability becomes less important as you gain experience and learn a sense of balance in your yak.
Secondary stability is the range of stability a kayak offers before you reach the capsize or 'flip' point. This is the type of stability that will be most important as you become accustomed to your boat. When you exceed a kayak's secondary stability limit, you are in the water!
Another factor affecting stability is your center of gravity. The lower you sit in the boat, the more stable you will feel. Touring models tend to have lower seating that improves stability, but because SOT's are self bailing, you may be sitting in some water. Using a seat pad can often make a 'wet ride' seem less of an issue. Other models that offer higher, drier rides, compensate by increasing the beam width and designing flatter hulls to improve stability. Higher kayaks are also drier in chop and around wakes but their high gunnels create more resistance when paddling into the wind. This may not be any big deal if you only paddle short distances, but if you travel several miles and are suddenly on the down side of an increasing wind, you will definitely care about wind resistance.
Maneuverability
If you tend to fish small lakes with lots of coves or along docks in bays and harbors, you may find that having a very long, fast boat is not everything. The ability to turn quickly in close quarters will also be important to you.
Kayaks over 14 feet long that don't have a rudder installed will generally require a fairly long, wide turning radius. Rudders are a big help, but keep in mind that rudders need forward or backward momentum in order to be effective. This becomes far less critical as you venture onto larger, more open bodies of water.
Now that you have given some thought to the fundamentals, you hopefully have a clearer picture of what you might expect from a kayak and which type may better fit your personal needs. The next step is to narrow the search even more by taking a closer look at some finer points that make a kayak more "fishable".
Deck layout
How the deck is designed and your style of fishing will have a lot to do with how "fishable" a given model will be for you. Unless you plan to just jump in with a rod and palm sized tackle box and take off, you will need to think about what accessories you may eventually want to mount on the deck and in the cockpit. Depending on you're intended targets and how you prefer to fish, there are lots of options you can add to make your trips more comfortable and productive.
Paddle Clips Extra Eyelets Compass Rod Holders Electronics (Fish Finders, GPS, etc.) Bait Tank or Live Well Drift Chute or Anchor rigging
Consider what kind of gear you may want to mount on the kayak, both now and in the foreseeable future. Is there enough flat, open deck space to fit what you'll need without getting in the way when fishing or paddling. When you go for a test paddle*, sit in the cockpit and get a feel for where the things you want to mount will best fit. If possible, try to bring along a rod and try fishing or at least go through the motions to see how the deck layout would lend itself to your style of fishing.
Storage
How much dry storage capacity a kayak has, including the size, location and the type of hatches used to access it are going to become more important to you after you've had your yak for a while. As you carry more stuff, you'll need somewhere to stow it.
This is an area that is often only given a cursory inspection and only later it becomes painfully obvious that the access is too far away, the hatches aren't big enough to fit your rods & reels, the storage area you thought was so huge is actually partially blocked by the scupper holes, etc., etc..
As we explored in the Personal section of Step 1, the amount of usable storage capacity is keyed to the maximum load capacity of the kayak itself; do the math!
Make sure you can successfully access, open and close all the hatches while out on the water. They won't be of much help if you can only get to them while on the shore.
If you plan to launch through the surf, being able to 'dry' store your rods and reels (ready to fish) below deck is a big convenience, not to mention the money you'll save on lost tackle and saltwater submersion damage.
If there are hatches installed when you go for a test paddle*, check to make sure they won't leak excessively when sealed or when accessed.
As a good rule-of-thumb, anything that isn't leashed to the yak, you should be capable of storing below deck.
Paying some attention to deck layout and storage can help make the difference between being happy with your fishing kayak and needing to find an "upgrade" right away. You can refer to the rigging articles in the Kayak Fishing section for more detailed information on what, where and how to mount things
Finding the right kayak to fish from can be a challenging process even if it isn't your first. Like buying a car, there are lots of makes, models and styles to choose from. And just like buying a car, it's a lot easier to shop if you know what you're looking for before you go to the "lot".
In this section, you can find images, specs and information links for some of the kayaks most commonly used for fishing. Only sit-on-top kayaks are shown here since they are by far the most dominant type of fishing kayak. New models and manufacturers will be added as they become available.
If you aren't sure what type of kayak you are interested in, try the manufactures in the Link page first to help narrow your search and then come back. Once you have a 'short list' of possible choices, visit your local paddle shop and test paddle as many models as possible. Many shops will rent you a 'yak' for the day so you can try fishing from it and will apply the rental to the purchase price if you decide to buy.
Ultimately, choosing the right fishing kayak for you is a very subjective decision; what's perfect for someone else may not necessarily work well for you. Take the time to look around and definitely try before you buy!
Article from: www.fishingkayaks.net
Intramedia Associates
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