I've been tearing up and down the river this year in my jon boat and seeing more kayaks than ever before. Man those things look fun. I've stopped and talked with several of them and everyone tells me how great they are to fish from. Here in Va. where I live, we have lots of small rivers and streams where wading is the only way to get at those fish. Even with my jon boat and jet drive I couldn't run these shallow waters...until now. I'm thinking that in a kayak, armed with a couple of spinning rods I could really open up my fishing opportunities.

Could any of you folks who are "in the know" about these vessels please provide me with some info about brands, style, size and comfort level of kayaks. I grew up fishing "small waters" and I'd like to get back to my roots. Thanks

They are as much fun as you have heard about Craw. It's always a good idea to sample before you buy. With that being said, I would consider getting one of each of the SINK(sit-inside) and SOT(sit-on-top). If you have decent balance and dexterity, you will rarely if ever tip either one of these over. The reason for buying 2 is that  being in Va., you will need the SINK to fish with from Nov. thru March, if not longer. The reason IMO for the SOT is that it is a better and easier platform to fish from. The type of water that you fish will dictate the length of the yak. Basically, the larger the water, the bigger the yak needed. I spend most of my time on ponds and rivers, so a 10'er is plenty big and I'm 6'3"195# and pushing 50yrs. You will want a couple accessories right away such as an anchor system and rod holder(maybe more). As for brands, I have 2 Wilderness Systems yak that are my best buds, but I have heard many good things about brands such as Ocean,Malibu, Hobie, Perception, and Cobra to name a few. A good kayak will start out around $500 and with the paddle(good one) and other goodies could run close to a grand, depending if you purchase something longer. I would first consider buying fron an independent dealer, but a few chains like REI, Academy, Cabelas, and Granger Mountain have decent kayaks. Good luck

We are in a similar situation here in the Ozarks, lots of smallmouth streams. Some guys are going w/kayaks, some like me have gone with solo canoes. It depends on whether you can sit with your legs out all the time(Kayak) or need to carry more gear where it is easily accessible (Canoe.)Like so many things, it's a personal preference thing.

I think you need to look around at some float trip outfitters in your area and rent as many different models as you can.

Small stream fishing for smallmouths is about as fun as it gets.

I'm a Liquid Logic Kayaks team paddler.  They are in North Carolina, so there is almost certainly a Liquid Logic dealer near you.  Go to www.liquidlogickayaks.com and check out their entry into the fishing market, the Manta Ray.  When this model was in prototype stage, My brother and I contacted them about our interest because it looked like the perfect fishing kayak (we ended up getting a sponsorship).  I've not ever paddled a more well-suited kayak for fishing, and I've paddled a lot of them.

I just picked up a 14' Old Town fishing canoe....complete with oar locks for rowing.  I am leary about our gator infested waters.  Any thoughts on gators , kayaks and canoes??

I thought of getting a Kayak but when I tried them my back stiffened up right away so I got a canoe (old towne osprey 14' w/oar locks)  which brings me to the next point.  I fish in a 125 acre lake that has a couple gators.  Nothing too huge and every so often the Home Owners Association will pay to have them removed, so it's mot really a concern for me.  

But that being said.  Four people were killed by gators in Florida this past year.  Weird when you consider that it's been 10 years since the last gator fatal attack, but there are places (like stickmarsh) where they grow numerous and BIG.  No way would I drop a canoe or Kayak in water like that.

Craw, if you also wade you will want to look at the sit-on-top. Sot will allow you to move quickly between holes and easily get off and on while in waders. The waders are also a plus in cold water with a SOT.

Another option you might want to look at are pontoon type kickboats, you can carry a ton of gear and can easily be mounted with a trolling motor.

I was told that Okeeheelee Park in Palm Beach County is a good place to fish from a canoe.  I just picked up my Old Town Osprey for $50.00.  I had to re-cane the seats.

I fish pretty much exclusively from an Old Town Loon 111, mostly on ponds and lakes and for a little bit of river fishing. I adore it. It's the perfect size for me (age 54) to cartop solo, and I spend a lot of time poring over maps looking for ponds and small lakes that have no easy access, or cartop only. I have rigged it with a rod holder and an Eagle FishEasy 245DS fishfinder and opt for a drift sock rather than an anchor. You also need something to hold your paddle while you fish, and the Loon comes with a bungee cord on the side of the cockpit that allows you to store your paddle under it. I find it's plenty roomy and the seat is padded and very comfortable. I've been in it for several hours at a stretch without getting out. (I think the hardest part about kayaks is getting in and out of them without getting wet.)

The advantages of a kayak over a canoe, in my experience:

1. As others have said, you can go anywhere. If you like lakes and ponds that receive relatively little fishing pressure and are off the beaten path, they are ideal. They are quiet and peaceful, use no gas or electricity.

2. You can't beat them for solo fishing. I have two 16 foot canoes that I use primarily for canoe camping, and they are more difficult for me to cartop and portage by myself. (This might be less of a problem with a smaller canoe.)

3. You're as close to the water as you can get, which makes landing fish easier.

4. You get from point A to point B more quickly and easily. A canoe is more unwieldy to paddle and tends to get blown around more in the wind.

The advantage of a canoe over a kayak, in my experience:

1. There's room for two or three people, if you don't fish alone much.

2. More room for gear and storing multiple rods.

3. Easier to pitch and flip from.

Selecting a kayak depends entirely on the water you'll be fishing. In general, if you get a SINK, or sit-inside kayak, you want a big open cockpit, so you can get to your gear easily and wrestle those hawgs once you've landed them. I have zero experience with SOT, or sit-on-top kayaks, so can't advise you there.

I've paddled a canoe a fair amount in the Everglades and once in the Okefenokee and never felt threatened by gators. Granted this is usually in the winter when they are less aggressive, but they seem to to drift away as the canoe approaches. Capsizing is another issue, of course, but it's never happened to me.

For all the info you'd ever want on fishing from a kayak, check out www.kayakfishingstuff.com.

Comparing a solo kayak to a tandem canoe is a mistake most fisherman make. Apple to oranges for sure. A solo canoe is harder to find used to try out, but a lot more versital. I haven't seen a kayak that will hold 4 rigged 7' rods w/ tackle out of the way but easy to access, in a 12' long, 33 lb. package like the Old Town Pack pictured here (with "custom" ;D half faded duck huntin' camo):

Note that there are 4 rods, a cooler and tackle bag right where you can get them.(I removed the sit-backer for a better photo from the rear).

I know you can lash down rods on both types of kayaks, and I have done that on kayaks I have owned, but I like this set-up better. Protects the part most likely to get broke----the tips.

Oh, yeah, my avatar photo, and my recent posts in "My fishing trip" all are fish caught in the past week from this canoe on my local river.

RSBreth,

How stable is your canoe and how does it handle larger people.  I was looking at that canoe, but it looks kind of narrow.

You can get specs for that canoe here:

http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/canoes/huntingFishing/pack.html

I have a two man Ocean Kayak that I bought to transport decoys and hunting gear with my son. It worked great for that purpose. Now that he is away at college, I put it down at the Secret Pond for fishing. I have been fishing in this boat occasionally for two years and here is what I can tell you:

It SUCKS!

You cannot move in a Kayak, so every now and then I just beach it and get out for awhile, but that's not easy either. You have to fish "forward" all of the time. The slightest wind moves you out of position. And, if you happen to chatch a really big bass, it is almost impossible to actually get her into the boat.

I HIGHLY discourage anyone from buying a traditional kyak for fishing.

Finally, RW is wrong about something!  

I agree that any bass fisherman accustomed to fishing from a traditional bass boat would find a kayak confining and frustrating. Mine has a pretty open cockpit, so I can move around pretty well in it, but I can't stand in it and having to fish from a sitting position can be a major drawback, especially with pitching & flipping. And a kayak is NOT a big-water craft. I've gotten wet more than once fishing from my kayak in water with sizeable waves. Also the bigger you are, the more awkward it is to get in and out of one. For big guys looking for non-motorized fishing, I'd recommend a canoe over a kayak. As for hauling in hawgs, my PB is 6lb, 7oz (granted, that's pretty modest for many parts of the country), and it was a blast to land her. You do get towed some, but that's part of the fun, and I had no trouble getting her in the cockpit, weighing, photographing, and releasing her.

And I certainly wouldn't recommend a two-man, or tandem, kayak for fishing. Kayak fishing is closer to float-tube fishing than it is to motorized fishing. A small kayakI wouldn't recommend anything longer than 12 feet for most freshwater applicationsis really an extension of your body. Although RW is correct that you can't cast behind you (does anybody really do this?), it's pretty easy to cast forward and to either side. In a small kayak, maneuverability comes from sticking your free hand in the water and sculling or correcting your position as you would while treading water. With a little practice you can pretty effortlessly make the yak point in whatever direction you want to cast, and in a light wind you can stay oriented the way you want. In a heavier wind, I have a drift sock hooked with a carabiner to the yak that works pretty well, considering you don't have the wind-resistant mass of a bass boat. Is this as easy as maneuvering with a trolling motor? Probably not. Do you have the limitations of a battery charge? Definitely not.

Another advantage to a yak is terrestrial mobility. With the days getting shorter, for example, I can get home from work, throw the yak on the car and be fishing a local pond in a matter of minutes. The same goes for pond-hopping.

Like so much about fishing, a yak is terrific for certain applications and it sucks for others. It's all a matter of budget, preference, and personal style. It's probably best as a low-cost compromise for someone who wants to move from bank fishing to fishing from a boat but who isn't ready to buy a motorized boat, or who likes to fish where motorized boats either aren't allowed or can't physically get access.

Hmm...

It seems we agree all all major points, but what's really WRONG here is that I probably have the WRONG kayak.

I'll modify my statement: MY kayak sucks or My kayak sucks for me.

(I was going to post a pic from their website, but apparantly Ocean Kayak does not make the model I have anymore.)

RW, your Ocean Kayak tandem is the wrong kayak for what you're doing.  I know, I have one.  It was my first kayak for my son and I  and has now become a way for my wife and daughter to paddle around with my son and I while we fish.  Some of the newer, state-of-the-art fishing kayaks would probably change your mind about how much fun it is to fish out of these things.  I use a 1.5 lb anchor to hold position in the wind, I haven't gotten into using drift socks, but I can certainly see the benefits of one.  My Manta Rays (both 12 and 14 foot models) can carry a 48 qt ice chest in the tankwell for all-day trips.  One concession is the amount of tackle that you can have readily available.  I know that I have a 'kitchen sink' mentality when bass fishing, but I keep my go-to stuff in a single Plano box up front with me and may larger box in the tankwell with the ice chest.  Kayak fishing is exploding here in Texas, so much so that I'm afraid the state government will soon realize what a large potential tax they're missing out on and start making us register them.

Great feedback guys! I've been checking on this thread everyday since starting it and doing research on my own based on the suggestions I've received here. I've been weighing the pros and cons and the best advantage I believe for me will be just getting to certain stretches of river that have before been inaccessible. My "float boat" is a 13' Leisure Craft(somewhat like a Coleman "Crawdad"). This is the rig I use to float these small streams here in Va. It weighs 110lbs. empty and I use a 12 volt batt. to power a 36lb. trolling motor. That being said, you can imagine the effort that goes into hauling that beast around. It does the job though. My interest in the Kayak continues to peak and even though I do agree that it will certainly be an adjustment to fish from I see limitless opportunities. Thanks to everyone for all the great input!

I am lucky in the fact that when I fish out of a Kayak it has been provided by a freind of mine that has already tried many types of kayaks out. His have the anchor reels in the front and back and the whole nine yards, so for me it has always been a great experience. He and I went after some stripes and hybrids in the Alabama river about a month ago and since then I can think of no more fun way to catch a big fish in open water. When we fished in a small river I hooked a good size spot, say four pounds and it pulled me in the brush pile with him! Once you get used to working the boat while you fight the fish it is fun. MY only thing is that I like to stand when I fish.

Hey Replica, if you look at my recent posts in "my fishing trip" you can see I'm not too tiny, about 6' -230 lbs.

I was layed up w/a torn achilles tendon for most of the summer, put on about 20 pounds. But anyway, the Old Town Pack is only about 32-34" wide, I don't recommend it for a new paddler. But if you have canoed some, it just rocks. I can't be happier with it. And I can carry my 110 pound chocolate lab in the front and 2 dozen decoys in the back duck hunting, I couldn't even fit the decoys in my Swifty(kayak).

Whatever you decide get stabilizers.  I can't emphasize enough how these change a tippy kayak or canoe into a stable fishing platform that allows you stand and fish with no fear of tipping http://www.canoegear.com/catalog/product.php?productid=544&cat=0&page=1

Don't leave home without em.

Avid, those look pretty cool, especially for a canoe. And they remind me, even though I've never flipped my kayak (yet), anyone who fishes a lot from a kayak is well advised to have some fun and practice "wet entries" on a hot day.

http://www.kayaklakemead.com/wet-entry.html

I have a Wave Walker yak/pontoon cross and love it.

But I use outriggers to stabalize it better. I can use it without them,

but if I'm fishing they are always on.

I can carry tons of gear, stand, sit, add an anarondak chair, and soon

it will have a trolling motor hooked up to it.

Here's a picture of it.

All the bungges you see are gone now. I attached everything with

u-bolts and just slide my outriggers on.

It wieghs 51 lbs, and I use a modified canoe cart if I gotta walk a from my car to a out of the way spot.

And I can store more gear inside the pontoons.

I've taken it on the CT River with all my gear + a 50 quart cooler for

an over night cat fish tourney with no problem.

Here's another view.