Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Took a Kayak Fishing Trip Today

So many pedal kayaks are barges weighing over 100 pounds. They can be pretty unwieldy getting in and out of the truck and the water. Mine is the lightest pedal kayak on the market. It's a Native Slayer Propel 10. The hull weighs under 70 pounds. It's wide and stable. The trade-off is that it doesn't track well. This picture gives you a feel for the dimensions.



I have two adjustable rocket launcher rod holders. One mounted in a track on each side of the cockpit. I stick the rods in them and angle them out over the side at about a 20 degree angle from the water and troll with them. It's a self-bailing kayak. I keep the plugs in unless it gets rough. I was taking a good bit of water over the bow on my last trip, so I removed 2 of them.
The water runs right out. Here's a shot of the cockpit.




I use a 12V deer feeder battery. It'll last all day. I have it in the hull. I cut a battery sized slot out of one of those foam garden/kneeling pads and wedge the battery in it. It stays put. I scuffed up the face of the transducer and the floor of the kayak and seated the 'ducer in a bed of mild marine sealant. It shoots through very well.

I'll have them Tuesday evening.

Speckled trout move into the interior marsh during the winter. It makes them pretty easy picking. Beginning in about March, they migrate out to the barrier islands where the salinity is much higher to spawn.

Bought a 12’ kayak one time, thinking I would use it to inshore fish with from time to time. Took it out the first time, 10-15 winds had me all twisted up. Spent more time fighting the winds than I did fishing. I realized I like fishing from my 22’ bay boat with 112lbs of trolling motor to push me around😂 Now one of the pedal kayaks would be so much easier I would think, but for the cost of those you can buy a nice little used jon boat

The boys down east have been catching some gator trout this winter, luckily the hard freeze we had didn’t seem to have a big die off. It’s been a few years since one of those and we are due.

Soak em in mustard and hot sauce?

Then flour and fry?

Few times I’ve had specs it was that way.

Yummy.

Pedal kayaks make a world of difference fishing in the wind and current. A decent fishing pedal yak starts at about 2 grand and goes up. As with all things, there are advantages and disadvantages to everything.

Some advantages of a pedal yak:

No gas to burn.
No small engine gas issues.
Minimal maintenance.
Fewer chances of mechanical breakdown.
Doesn't require a trailer.
Can be launched just about anywhere.
Self bailing hull design.
Can get into places that a jon boat can't.
Not required to be registered in most states.
Takes up little storage space.
Not as noisy.
Get a little exercise.

Just drag them through a milk, mustard and egg wash and toss them in Zatarain's seasoned fish fry, then fry. That's the way I normally do it. I am going to try these in a little brown butter and toasted almonds.

Don't forget easier to steal, I've had two stolen over the yrs.

They are at that. Getting a stolen power boat registered is nigh impossible. That's a worry that a kayak thief doesn't have.

I’ve owned a couple through time and really enjoyed fishing skinny backwater. Get onto crappie and bream and have a great outing. I’ve gotten skunked just as many times!!

I am very good at not doing very well. Through the years, I have generally done better in the yak than power boats. So much so that I sold my power boat.

What's fun is getting into a big school of jacks or kingfish fishing off of the beach, just look for the birds then drive down the beach and head them off hitting the surf and paddling like hell to meet them before they pass you by. Usually about a half mile or more off the beach.

I have never caught a big offshore fish. The biggest fish I have caught on a yak is a 42 inch long redfish.

A lot of fun in a yak, caught a 5ft blacktip once, took me for a ride. Use the kayak to tire the fish out.

They call that a Cajun sleigh ride around here.

Wow! That is a big redfish. Biggest I caught was 37” but off a boat. I have fished off kayaks a little, it is fun and a good workout.

Looks like a great time. I'm about 3 hours from the coast but an older retired Navy friend of mine has a 22' center console in Norfolk Va . We catch some eating size reds , trout and flounder and occasionally go farther out for cobia on calm days. I follow a few kayak anglers on YouTube and Facebook. They're catching nice reds and stripers off yaks around the CBBT area.

If it can't be Eskimo rolled, it's not a kayak. It's a human powered micro-boat.