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Fishing Kayaks How to Choose a Kayak for Fly Fishing |
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| Kayaks
and Fly Fishing, some might say that's like mixing oil and water. I
say not so, not in the least. I have been fly fishing in saltwater
since the early 70's. I have owned dozens of boats in my lifetime;
everything from skinny water flats skiffs, to diesel powered monsters
capable of fishing many miles beyond the horizon. I can tell you
unequivocally, that in the most verity of inshore fishing situations, and
if fly fishing by myself, I can consistency catch more fish fly fishing from
my kayaks than from any other boats I have ever owned. Note that I
said when fly fishing by myself; there is no way to compare fly fishing
from a kayak to two skilled partners working the flats in a skiff, one on
the poling platform and the other with the fly rod at the ready. Assuming you're ready to take the plunge and plunk down some of those hard earned dollars on a kayak for fly fishing, now what to do? The very first thing you should accept is that every choice will represent some form of compromise. There is no such thing as the perfect kayak, the kayak perfect for every conceivable fishing conditions. That aside, you still must choose what's best for you, and the type(s) of fly fishing you intend to do from your new kayak. |
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There are two basic types of kayaks that are suitable to fish out of on a regular basis. Sit-on-Top kayaks, and Sit-Inside kayaks; both have distinct positive and negative attributes for the fly fisherman to consider. Sit-Inside kayaks as a general rule are not well suited to open water navigation; if you intend to kayak fish in the ocean, or any other exposed areas where wave action can develop, I would not recommend a sit-inside kayak. If you only see sheltered waters, or very shallow flats with no exposure to wave action in your future, then you may wish to consider the sit-inside kayak. Sit-inside kayaks are generally a "dry-seat" boat. This can be a distinct advantage in cool weather, weather that is not cool enough to wear a wetsuit, but still too cool to have a wet buttocks all day.
A sit-inside
kayak with a small cockpit or, with a cockpit that if full of "snags" may
not be a real fly fishing friendly craft. If considering a closed cockpit
sit-inside kayak you should think about how and where you'll store
your fishing gear; the "gear crate" so many sit-on-top kayakers use to
store almost everything, will not easily work with a closed cockpit kayak. |
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Sit-on-Top kayaks, for my money, offer the fly
fisherman much more versatility than a sit-inside kayak, especially if the
sit-inside kayak has a small closed cockpit. Many sit-on-top kayaks
are extremely seaworthy, capable of enduring conditions well beyond the
realm of any practical fishing conditions. The down side to a
sit-on-top kayak is that many of them are designed with the seat area so
low to the water-line, that with a little gear on board along with any
slight wave action, and the paddler ends up with a wet butt. In warm
weather a wet bottom is not bad for an hour or so, but no matter how mild
the weather, after five or six hours a wet buttocks is going to get
uncomfortable. If the kayak salesman suggest that you might wish to
purchase some scupper plugs, then you can bet that that boat has a
tendency to have a wet seat.
Size is another factor to carefully consider. Length and beam are both important. It is a basic principal of marine dynamic that longer the water-line of a vessel, the faster the hull will be. You have never seen a short, fat rowing shell in a race. A 16' long kayak that is 34" wide, will definitely be faster than a 12' long kayak that is 34" wide. Stability is also a major consideration for a kayak angler, it goes without saying that wider boats are more stable than skinny ones, but length too is important to stability. My kayaks are Cobra Fish-n-Dive; they are 12'-6" long and 36" wide. Not the fastest boats around, or the easiest to paddle; but they are one of the easiest boats to stand up and fly cast from. My very best recommendation to anyone considering the purchase of a kayak for fly fishing is to 'try before you buy.' Try as many different models as you can before making a purchase. Go fishing with a guide, go to kayak dealers who have 'paddle demos,' or rent a kayak for a day. Many kayak dealers who also rent boats, will rent you a boat for a day, and then if you decide to purchase a boat they will deduct the rental price from the purchase of a new boat. No boat is perfect, they all have good and bad performance qualities. My Cobra Fish-n-Dive kayaks are definitely a compromise. They are relatively slow, they are constructed from plastic that is a little 'softer' than many premium boats, the hatches leak, and they are some of the poorest performing boats when trying to 'surf' back to the beach; and yet, given all these short comings, I have yet to try another boat that I would trade for my boats to use day-in-and-day-out for the types of fishing that I like to do. Fly Fishing Techniques for Kayakers >>> Harry Hall
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