Choosing a Kayak for FishingKayaks come in all shapes and sizes but a few particular styles work well for kayak fishing. Kayaks were first developed in the northern regions around the Arctic Ocean, the Bearing Sea and the North Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Inuit people used them as transportation of people or materials, hunting and fishing and even racing. Several designs emerged with boats having two or three cockpits and ranging from 17' to 60' in length. Constructed from wood and animal skins there were typically multiple paddlers using single-blade paddles. The designs from major manufacturers today differ very little in many areas. In brief here are a few of the different styles of kayaks out on the market.
Here's the meat of it - the rotomolded sit-on-top kayak is the most common kayak fisherman's choice for many, many reasons. We will discuss the basics and try to explain the features most commonly looked for by fishermen making the move from a float tube, boat or shore into a kayak. A few basic generalities that impact the performance of the kayak.
Now that you understand the tradeoffs and benefits of kayak
designs the rest of the decisions you make are going to be
cosmetic and functionality based. Let's get to the good stuff... |
1. Sea Kayaks - typically long, narrow
and lightweight these kayaks are designed for one or two
paddlers. The length of these boats is geared towards long
paddles in open waters that don't require great maneuverability.
The longer water lines of these boats makes them better
at tracking a straight line and doing it quickly. Typically
made of fiberglass there are now models made from carbon
fiber or even kevlar. Not very well suited for fishing
as they are what are known as sit-inside kayaks where you
are litterally down inside the boat with little deck space
for storage of gear.
2. Surf Kayaks - These are similar to
a whitewater kayak with a few changes to their hull shape
to provide more control when on the face of a wave. Typically
on the shorter side (8'-13') they do exactly what the name
suggests - carve waves. Another relative of the surf kayak
is the surfski. The surfski is crazy long at 20+ feet and
usually around 18 inches narrow. Born out of Australia
as surf racing kayaks they're also popular now in the US
as flatwater racers. 
3. Whitewater Kayaks - These are the
kayaks you see most often on TV or in commercials. Some
lunatic wearing a helmet sits in a 9' coffin and bounces
off rocks and barrels over waterfalls. Usually made of
tough polyethylene plastic to withstand the beatings a
river can give they range in size from five and a half
feet to ten feet in length. These are also a sit-inside
style with the paddler wearing a spray skirt to keep water
out of the cockpit.
4. Inflatable Kayaks - If you need to
be able to put your kayak in a bag and carry it around
this is your choice. They're inflatable by any number of
methods but most come with a foot pump. They have multiple
chambers to inflate for safety reasons and use very little
air pressure, around 3 pounds per square inch (PSI). Some
new kayaks from companies like Seyvlor are now featuring
rigid frames for additional support. Design-wise they most
resemble sit-on-top kayaks. 
5. Sit-on-top Kayaks - Angler's first choice. The
rotomolded (rotational molding) version of the sit-on-top
(fiberglass and other materials can be used to create one
but roto is most common) are designed to be an unsinkable
bubble of plastic. Large, two-piece molds are bolted together
(top to bottom) with an appropirate amount of superlinear
polyethylene plastic inside. The plastic starts in an almost
powder form that is dyed to achieve kayaks in multiple
colors. The mold is placed inside a giant oven and fired
from the outside with propane or natural gas burners. As
the kayak mold heats up the plastic melts. The oven is
designed to rock back and forth as well as rotate thus
spreading the plastic around and creating the kayak hull.
When the kayak is removed from the mold it is injected
with air to help it keep shape while cooling. Interesting
note about the colors - different dyes will affect the
plastic differently. Red boats shrink more than yellow
by a few inches. Also, some colors require more plastic
and create denser boats.