Choosing a kayak

So you have decided to get into kayak fishing, welcome to the sport. Now you need to select a kayak to fish from. The choices seem endless and can be a bit overwhelming. The type of fishing you plan to do and any transportation limitations you may have will dictate what kayak you should buy.  

So we'll start with the first decision that must be made, sit-in or sit-on-top (SOT). Most kayak anglers choose the SOT. This type offers a better fishing platform than the sit-in. Not saying you can't fish from a sit-in kayak, but a SOT is better in my opinion.  

So lets assume that you decide on a SOT. The next important choice is length and width. These two are very important for function and performance. Generally the shorter and wider the kayak the slower, but more stable it will be. The longer and narrower the faster, but less stable it will be. My kayak is a Malibu Mini X. At 9'3" and 33" wide, it's a very stable kayak, but you wont win any races in it. I am able to use this kayak everywhere from lakes, rivers, bays, bayous and even the Gulf of Mexico. A very common size that works for most situations is 12', that will give you decent speed and agility and still be easily transported.  Most kayaks that are designed for standing will be at least 30" wide and some are 33". 

I fish in all sorts of water so I needed a very versatile boat, but I needed a kayak that could be easily transported on my Jeep Cherokee. The Malibu Mini X was great for that, at only 40lbs it was very easy to load and unload on my Jeep. Basically you just need to figure out what you plan to use it for and select the best option that works for you. I highly recommend testing several different kayaks out before you purchase. Most dealers have demo days for that reason. Any kayak can get you out on the water, and that's the important part.

D.S   
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