Pros and Cons of Kayak Fishing

The cons:

• Back aches
• Hard to sight fish sitting down
• Getting wet

The first con of kayak fishing is the inevitable back aches that come from sitting for hours on end. This is not to say that the seats in kayaks are uncomfortable because they are usually very comfortable. The backaches come for sitting too long. Sitting at a desk all day has the same effect. Standing up every now and again or getting out of the kayak to stretch can alleviate this con.

The low elevation of the yak fisherman is another con when trying to sight fish. The higher the elevation of the fisherman the more he will be able to see. The close to the water stance of a yak hinders the ability to see fish. Many of the new sit on top style yaks are stable enough to allow for standing which fixes the elevation issue.

Yak fishermen can expect to get wet. Kayak fishing is a wet style of fishing. The fish will be splashing and the scupper holes allow water to flow into and out of the kayak. That is just the way it is.

Now let's look at the pros of yak fishing.

The pros:

• Low cost barrier to entry
• Stealthy
• Launch/fish anywhere
• Anyone can do it
• Low maintenance

Kayaks are relatively cheap compared to other fishing vessels. A decent not too fancy kayak set up for fishing will usually run less than one thousand dollars. There are kayaks with pedal drive and all of the bells and whistles that may cost close to three thousand dollars but a basic fishing kayak should cost less than one thousand dollars.

The ability to be stealthy is a definite pro for this style of fishing. A trolling motor is not as quite as everyone thinks. Fish can hear very well and often are spooked by the hum of a trolling motor. Kayaks don't have that problem and can easily sneak up on fish.

The ability to launch and fish from anywhere is a major advantage. This fisherman likes to find areas that are not pressured by other fishermen. The key is to fish where the fish are and the fishermen aren't. Fishing kayaks are perfect for this.

Anyone without physical handicaps can fish from a kayak. The physical requirements are the ability to sit and paddle at the same time. This ranks on a difficulty scale with walking while chewing gum. Very little athletic ability is necessary for kayak fishing.

Kayaks are very low maintenance. Once a fisherman gets their kayak set up the way they like it most of the work is done. There is very little that can go wrong with a sturdily built fishing kayak.

In conclusion, kayak fishing is an inexpensive, fun and easy to get outside and catch a ton of fish. So get out there and do it.

The author of this article is a native Floridian who has been inshore fishing South Florida for more than 40 years. He is also the owner of FYAO Saltwater Media Group, Inc. and the creator of the http://www.fishyourassoff.com website and the fishyourassoff.com YouTube channel. Check out our how to fishing website!