Lately I’ve been messing around with my new kayak and I can honestly say that I’m having a ball — and learning a lot, too.
I never stop fishing. I know some guys like to take time off, but that doesn’t work for me. Nevertheless, I still like to do something different sometimes so that, you know, you’re not just doing the same thing over and over. My kayak is perfect for that.
The thing I like the best about it is that it’ll put me in places I can’t get a full-size bass boat. That lets me target fish that haven’t been conditioned by 100 other anglers. When you’re just messing around, trying new things, that can be a real advantage.
The other thing I like the best is that it has plenty of room for tackle. When you first look at a kayak you think there’s no room in them. But when you learn more about them you realize that’s not true. The good ones are carefully engineered to maximize every inch of space.
Most of the time I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do before I launch so I need all the room I can get for different rods and reels, lures and all the other stuff I need for experiments. All the room comes in handy.
They handle pretty easy, too. They’re powered by peddles that are like a bicycle has so you can maneuver them real easy. You don’t have to wear yourself out if you decide to stay for the whole day although I usually just take mine out for a couple of hours so that’s no big deal. If peddling’s not your thing, you can always mount an electric trolling motor on them. They have the fittings and hardware for that.
I’m really up on this thing. It’s opened up a whole new side of bass fishing for me.
One thing I do hear sometimes is that guys don’t buy them because they don’t want to fight the weight and work that they think they require to use. That’s a myth. They handle easily and can be transported back and forth with very little work. I have a Yakima roof rack for mine. Both of ours — Kristen has one too — load pretty easy on it. And there’s always the option of getting one of their load assist systems to make loading even easier.
They have trailers designed for kayaks, too. I just got mine. It’s like a boat trailer. I haven’t had a chance to use it much yet so I can’t tell you anything about the details, but I can tell you it has a lot of features on it that excite me.
Despite all I’ve said, however, don’t think that a kayak will ever replace your full-size bass boat. The speed, stability, storage, sophisticated electronics with multiple transducers and livewells on a modern bass boat can’t be duplicated in something as small and lightweight as a kayak.
If you’re looking for a way to put something new into your bass fishing, I suggest you try a quality kayak. Mine’s a Native, and I love it.
Next time I’ll tell you why I never stop fishing.