if you're a bit overwhelmed with all the options out there when it comes to fishing kayaks You are
not alone I mean these things are crazy they can range anywhere from four hundred dollars
to six thousand dollars so I'm gonna give you six tips or questions you should ask yourself when it
comes to buying a fishing kayak all right let's go tip number one is identify the place where you
are going to fish the most this is what I mean if you like fishing lakes and ponds like I do
you're not gonna need a super long kayak maybe a 10 foot fishing kayak if you have a lake that you
primary fish that's huge might want to think about getting a pedal power kayak or some type of motor
especially if that thing is a thousand acres or more if you like doing open water fishing
now you're probably going to want something a little bit longer and therefore it's going to
be a little bit wider it's going to offer you a little bit more stability it's going to help
you do things like cut through the waves without being slowed down and likely you'll be covering
a lot of water so you might want to think about investing in a pedal drive or a motor drive for
your kayak yeah they make those things now if you're going to be fishing rivers or streams
you're likely not going don't want a pedal drive because the drive sticks out of the bottom and
most rivers and streams you're going to be getting into tight spaces you're going to be
in shallow water and that's going to be dragging potentially even breaking your propeller so for
rivers and streams a shorter kayak and paddle powered might be perfect for you tip number two
asking yourself do you want a sit in kayak sit on kayak or inflatable kayak let me run you through
some pros and cons of each so first let's talk about the sit on kayak that's what I'm on right
now and this thing is super comfortable and there's a lot of pros of this one of the pros
it's going to be super stable this has a pontoon style haul I can stand up and fish in this thing
it's easy to get in and out of because it is so stable you know another nice thing about the set
on kayaks is they're designed to be self-abailing and what I mean by that is that they have stepper
holes which means if I if I'm fishing during the rain which I actually do a lot and I've had this
water up almost to my ankles before all I gotta do is pull a Scupper plug and the water drains
out while I'm fishing another huge point of the sit on kayak is my ability to sight fish and I'm
not just talking about you know citing bass out on their beds I'm talking about the ability to see
rip rap underwater the Rocks the stumps the weed lines especially in Clear Water and that's not an
advantage you're going to have and it sit in kayak because you're almost out and actually you're
sitting below the water level I have a sit on and a sit in and to be honest with you I don't like
fishing in my sit in it's more of a recreational kayak so if you're really into fishing I would
highly recommend a sit on kayak to be able to give you those sight lines it's going to give you the
advantage in Catching more fish and there are some cons I mean being up off the water you are
fully exposed to all the weather including the wind if it's cold outside you're going to feel
the full brunt force of that another con unless you just love spending money these things are a
lot more expensive than your sit in kayaks and so and once again if it's a hobby and something that
you love might be something you want to invest in hey Anaconda one of these things that it's since
it isn't bigger and heavier it's going to move a bit slower than you sit in kayak all let's talk
about our sit-in kayak I was talking about a pro um being that you're down in a hall it's going to
keep you warmer and it's going to keep you more out of the weather now the elements that helps
out a little bit all right another con is you're not able to really sight fish I was recently in my
Sun Dolphin Aruba 10 which is a sit-in kayak and I was just guessing when I was casting trying to
find holes and it was really I just couldn't wait to get back on my sit on kayak and so
something to consider if you're considering the two yes they are cheaper but it's going to be a
detriment to your fishing and your ability to be able to sight out and read the landscape oh the
produce sit in kayak is going to be faster you're going to be able to accelerate faster because they
are lighter the con though on a sit-in kayak is they're not going to be as stable I mean
most of those sit in kayaks are designed with displacement Halls which means they're designed
for Speed and so you're not going to be able to stand up and fish another con is that it's not
self-bailing I mean in fact it's kind of a problem because if you accidentally flip one of those over
they start filling up with water really fast and another con they're very difficult to get in and
out out of they take a little practice and trust me I've seen a lot of guys and girls flip their
kayaks trying to get in a sit-in kayak all right let's talk about inflatable kayaks and if you're
limited on storage this may be perfect for you I recently saw someone asked them how they liked it
and they're like hey it's the only thing that fits in my apartment so if you have a limited places
to store things because these things take up a lot of space that might be perfect for you a con
is they're going to be less stable because they don't have a pontoon style Hall con they're not
self-bailing pro they're going to be cheaper than your sit on and sit-in kayak well here's a pro
some of them actually fold up like a backpack so you feel like fishing those hard to reach places
where there's no boat ramps an inflatable kayak that kind of acts like a belly boat so if that's
your Jam inflatable kayak might be perfect for you another con is the wind you're going to be blowing
all over the place there's just any amount of wind on the water that day and another con of course it
is inflatable and when you're working with treble hooks and some of your alert has double hooks all
it takes is that fish with that treble hook to give a jump it's going to hop into the bottom of
your boat and start thrashing around and before you know it you got slow leak in your inflatable
kayak all right tip number three do you want a paddle powered pedal powered or motorized kayak
I mean your pro to the paddle is that you're going to be able to sneak up on fish and be
super quiet versus the motorized and the pedal but some of the cons to the paddle power kayak is that
you're going to be slower you have limited range likely going to be always sitting going to be hard
to troll and let's be honest if you're paddling for hours on end you're gonna have some fatigue
and if you like fishing you're always going to have to be adjusting yourself with your paddle
and if you're doing that means just more time not fishing let's talk about the pedal power
kayak this is the one I have and absolutely love here's some of the pros to it it's great for the
power fisherman I am always on the move trying out new places but a con is these things are expensive
I believe new this thing's going to cost you two thousand dollars Pro if you like covering a lot of
water this is going to be your jam con this thing is heavy and I know I fish in Southeast Ohio and
I'm constantly putting this thing in and out of my trailer as I go Pond hopping so something to
consider I think this thing bear is 65 pounds Pro though this thing is going to keep my hands free
to be non-stop fishing all I have to do is flick the rudder control every once in a while to get
my positioning correct uh the con these motors are not cheap they're only eight nine thousand
dollars and the replacement parts are also costly so something to consideration another
con is maintenance you have to keep these things greased and oiled and I just hear a lot of guys on
the forums having issues with their pedal drives and really having a hard time getting anybody to
help them another Pro for the pedal powered kayak is that you're using the strongest muscle in your
body to power your yak and if you're out for hours on end you're going to get tired also
with your Pedal Power kayak and let's talk about the motorized of course you're going to be able
to cover a lot of distance and get to your places and your hunting holes quicker another Pro is that
you're going to build a fish places that a lot of other kayakers can't even get to because they
don't have time if you fish a big lake with only one or two boat ramps most kayakers won't have
time to get to the other side of the lake and fish some of those honey holes that are under
pressure so having a motorized kayak is going to give you that Advantage Pro the only fatigue
you're going to have is flicking that switch on and off come on is though you're gonna have to
do battery charging and these things are expensive last time I looked at a motor for my fishing kayak
it was around twelve hundred dollars Pro as it gets that honey hole before anybody else does
in the morning another Pro is less fatigue and of course if you like to do trolling you can do
that on a pedal power kayak but you can also do it effortlessly especially as you're going to
and from your honey holes by adjusting the speed on your motorized kayak all right guys if you're
getting some value please hit the like button let's move on to tip number four I was talking
about stability of course the wider your kayak the more stable it is going to be because there's more
surface area so advantages to a wide stable kayak you're gonna be able to stand when you're fishing
con is at the waves and the wake is going to slow you down Pro is it's going to be more comfortable
for you con is you're going to get more fatigued over time because it's more weight to move a pro
is that you have more space to carry more Gear with you more lures more tackle more pulls more
just about anything but a con is going to be a little bit slower to get going so acceleration
is important to you that's going to be a con to a wider bigger kayak there's also advantages to
narrower kayaks that have displacement holes pros of these you're going to get faster you're gonna
have faster acceleration it's going to be easier to paddle long distances and it's going to cut
through waves and wake like a boss all right let's talk about tip number five weight and portability
now a good question to be asking yourself before you purchase your fishing kayak is how you plan
on using it are you an adventurer and you have to pull this thing on and off your roof rack or in
and out or trailer 10 times a day or do you live in a lake it's got to be parked do you like to
get on a lake and stay there all day long do you like the pond hop all day or do you like to reach
those ponds and lakes that have no boat ramps and they're going to be under fished these are
all great questions to ask because the weight of these things vary a lot I know this one it's one
of the lightest fishing kayaks on the market and it's 65 pounds there but I know that can
get up to 130 pounds there when you put all your tackle and gear on there these things are gonna
be weighing around 200 pounds and I hate for you to end up with a fishing kayak that's too heavy to
fish it like you want to fish it and it gets those honey holes that you love to fish and number six
think about storage this is what I mean so when I purchased this fishing kayak you know storage
is kind of an afterthought I was so excited about fishing my kayak I was like oh let's find a space
but the reality is I didn't have a lot of space in my home I mean these things can be anywhere
from 8 to 15 feet long so what I had to do was actually go up so I purchased a hoi system and
attached that to the roof of my garage and so in the off season I just pulled this thing up
and it's nicely stored so I have a video on that I'll throw it in the description below