Fishing Kayak

[The Masked Shadow]

Hello everyone, I'm wondering about fishing kayaks for saltwater.

I want a pedal kayak with 3+ rod holders and a bit of storage space for fish caught, and tackle. I also want some kind of fish/depth finder. Fishing is a passion of mine and my dads, and if I could buy everything used, but still in moderate condition, that would be great. I'm wondering if anyone who owns or has owned one in the past has any advice for me. I am absolutely not buying the kayak new, and it must be a pedal kayak. How much should I expect to spend?

Thanks!

 

[The Masked Shadow]

B

 

[Matth05]

I’ve had my fishing kayak (Feelfree Lure 10) for about a year now. I’m still learning a lot myself. Your definitely right for wanting pedal drive. The biggest thing I regret when getting my kayak is not getting a pedal drive. Other then that the Feelfree lure is great if you can find one used. They come in 11 and 12 foot models that have pedal drive systems. I can stand on it and even jump on it and that thing just won’t flip. Old Town and Bonafide make great kayaks as well. They really all have decent storage and are extremely customizable. It really depends on the kind of fishing you want to do as well. For me I was looking for a good bass fishing kayak that was stable enough to stand on to make accurate casts into cover easier. If your mainly going to be open water fishing then a stand on kayak isn’t really that important. For me it cost a lot to get into. I originally bought my kayak new for around $1400. That included a rudder as well. I think used is going to be a lot better but still pretty expensive unfortunately. I thought I was going to be able to lift the kayak onto my roof rack as well. I was wrong?. Ended up buying a used jet ski trailer that my father and I modified into a kayak trailer. So that was another few hundred dollars. Hopefully this was somewhat helpful lol. I’m not too familiar with saltwater fishing but bass fishing is a huge passion of mine. What style of fishing do you plan on doing?

 

[The Masked Shadow]

I’ve had my fishing kayak (Feelfree Lure 10) for about a year now. I’m still learning a lot myself. Your definitely right for wanting pedal drive. The biggest thing I regret when getting my kayak is not getting a pedal drive. Other then that the Feelfree lure is great if you can find one used. They come in 11 and 12 foot models that have pedal drive systems. I can stand on it and even jump on it and that thing just won’t flip. Old Town and Bonafide make great kayaks as well. They really all have decent storage and are extremely customizable. It really depends on the kind of fishing you want to do as well. For me I was looking for a good bass fishing kayak that was stable enough to stand on to make accurate casts into cover easier. If your mainly going to be open water fishing then a stand on kayak isn’t really that important. For me it cost a lot to get into. I originally bought my kayak new for around $1400. That included a rudder as well. I think used is going to be a lot better but still pretty expensive unfortunately. I thought I was going to be able to lift the kayak onto my roof rack as well. I was wrong?. Ended up buying a used jet ski trailer that my father and I modified into a kayak trailer. So that was another few hundred dollars. Hopefully this was somewhat helpful lol. I’m not too familiar with saltwater fishing but bass fishing is a huge passion of mine. What style of fishing do you plan on doing?

Thanks. Immensely helpful. I plan on doing saltwater fishing between 20 and 250 feet. As for transportation, I have 4 people in my family and a massive car. So that should be good. Standing up is not at all a priority. Mainly fishing for species of Sebastes, and kelp bed fishing (ie calico bass, sand bass, kelp greenling, sheepshead). Definetly needs to be sturdy for swell of 6’, and choppy water. It needs to go fast as we, so that’s why I said a long kayak. So In conclusion, I need a kayak that is sturdy, wind resistant, swell resistant, long, and fast.

 

[Matth05]

Thanks. Immensely helpful. I plan on doing saltwater fishing between 20 and 250 feet. As for transportation, I have 4 people in my family and a massive car. So that should be good. Standing up is not at all a priority. Mainly fishing for species of Sebastes, and kelp bed fishing (ie calico bass, sand bass, kelp greenling, sheepshead). Definetly needs to be sturdy for swell of 6’, and choppy water. It needs to go fast as we, so that’s why I said a long kayak. So In conclusion, I need a kayak that is sturdy, wind resistant, swell resistant, long, and fast.

Maybe take a look at the Feelfree Moken or Old Town Sportsman models. They’re more streamlined and suited for open water fishing. Old town kayaks are usually pretty widely available used. I’ve seen a few vids of people fishing for Calicos in those massive kelp forests. Spotted Bay Bass as well. Never been though, definitely a bucket list fishing trip for me.

 

[The Masked Shadow]

Thank you. Do you know anything about side view depth finders and sonar?

 

[Matth05]

Thank you. Do you know anything about side view depth finders and sonar?

I’m not sure what other brands do for sonar and fish finders. Most fishing kayaks have tracks where you can put on accessories like fish finders or even extra rod holders. This is the track on my Feelfree.
Here’s actually one rigged on an Oldtown Sportsman. Found this pic on Google.

Feelfree has a really cool thing they call a sonar pod. I’ll attach some pics.


The box goes right down to the bottom of the boat. The transducer is protected by the sidewalls of the hull. I actually really like this because you don’t have to worry about drilling holes into the kayak to mount the transducer it just mounts right onto the box. The box itself is big enough to place a small battery too. There’s holes to feed the wires in as well so that they’re not all over the place. I just have a small Garmin on mine because I’m mostly fishing in pretty shallow lakes and ponds. But you can definitely rig it with a higher end fish finder that has side imaging, livescope, all that fun stuff.

 

[The Masked Shadow]

I think I’ll need to get a tandem because all the accessories and kayak added up make it half the price of 2 singles.

 

[Lepisosteus]

I have two hobie tandem outfitter kayaks. I don’t think there is an easier kayak to fish off of personally. I modified one of the hobie cassette plugs to accept trolling motors and I currently have a minn Kota fitted with my setup. She produces some hefty fish and is extremely stable on the water. The trolling motor is nice as it allows you to slow down drift speeds significantly to stay in the hot waters. A lot of the lakes in my area don’t allow gas powered motors so dropping this thing in let’s me fish a lot of untouched grounds. So many addons are available for these kayaks.

personally I’d buy a kayak trailer. I used to be so stressed with roof racks that I’m happy I grabbed a trailer.

 

[Matth05]

I have two hobie tandem outfitter kayaks. I don’t think there is an easier kayak to fish off of personally. I modified one of the hobie cassette plugs to accept trolling motors and I currently have a minn Kota fitted with my setup. She produces some hefty fish and is extremely stable on the water. The trolling motor is nice as it allows you to slow down drift speeds significantly to stay in the hot waters. A lot of the lakes in my area don’t allow gas powered motors so dropping this thing in let’s me fish a lot of untouched grounds. So many addons are available for these kayaks.

personally I’d buy a kayak trailer. I used to be so stressed with roof racks that I’m happy I grabbed a trailer.

Sounds like an awesome rig. What kinda fish do you mainly target?