You can investigate fishing kayaks for sale. Or you can buy a canoe. Or a SUP. Or a jon boat with an outboard. Honestly, you could buy a “real” boat with a fiberglass full and a center console, or something even more serious like a cabin cruiser.
But the truth is that in many ways, fishing kayaks for sale take the advantage over all of these other alternatives – with the sole exception of running offshore for multiple day trips. For that you’ll want a larger boat with a cabin and some creature comforts.
Either way, here are 8 reasons that fishing kayaks for sale take the edge over pretty much everything else (within reason).
Shallow Water Potential
First things first, if you’re getting a boat for fishing, you need to get one that can get you to where the fish are.
And the truth is, whether in freshwater or in salt, the vast majority of fish are in the shallows and near structure – with very little divergence from that maxim.
Which means that, unless you’re targeting lake trout or sturgeon in deep water, or going after pelagic species in the ocean, the shallow craft wins – and that’s a kayak.
Portability
Fishing kayaks for sale have the market cornered, hands down, on portability. They are lighter and easier to trailer (generally) than canoes, and most can even be launched from a cartop.
Forget about trailering larger aluminum and fiberglass boats. That is harder, more expensive, more time consuming, and far riskier.
Ease of Handling
Kayaks are lighter and more maneuverable than all other boats (including other small craft, like canoes) and on top of that, far more forgiving.
For instance, if you bang into a piling with your fishing kayak, that’s not even something to write home about. Don’t try that with your center console, though.
Richness of Features
You might think that fishing kayaks for sale would be bare bones because of their small stature, but you’d be wrong.
In some ways, fishing kayaks have many more features – including shallow water pole anchor mounts, multiple dry wells, adjustable seating, multiple tackle storage depots, rod storage, transducer mounts, and advanced pedal drive systems – than their larger, more expensive counterparts.
Stability and Seaworthiness
Most people’s popular image of a kayak (for fishing or otherwise) is of a frisky, roll-happy vessel with basically no primary stability.
But modern fishing kayaks for sale have elevated stability and seaworthiness to an art form. Most of these things are so stable you can stand and fish from them.
And as for seaworthiness, it is effectively impossible to sink some of these. Sure, you can swamp them, but many are made with lighter-than-water polymers that remain buoyant even when awash – improving operator safety.
Storage and Organization
The thing about canoes and aluminum fishing vessels is that, while they often have plenty of storage space, they’re not that well laid out. Many fishing kayaks for sale are made with numerous compartments (and dry storage) that make it a snap to keep all your gear very well organized.
Price
Granted, some fishing kayaks for sale from preeminent manufacturers are very expensive – several thousand dollars in some instances – but this is still more affordable than the majority of other boats, and it isn’t even close.
Maintenance
Taking care of a fiberglass boat with an outboard is like taking care of a car – but more intensive and more expensive. Most fishing kayaks for sale are basically maintenance free. Just rinse them off and store them somewhere dry and out of the sun when they’re dry-docked. It couldn’t be easier or more cost-effective, as vessels go.
Where to Shop Fishing Kayaks for Sale
Interested in learning more about what types of fishing kayaks for sale are out there? Take a look at what’s in store over at No Bad Days Kayak and find your next vessel, or contact them for personalized recommendations based on what you’re fishing for and where.
