Kayak Fishing Tips for Beginners (The Complete Guide)
The best way to get good at kayak fishing in saltwater is to master the 3 and 5 inch paddle tail lures with a 1/8 or 1/4 ounce jig head or rigged weed less. This is the best inshore saltwater lure for finding fish and catching redfish, tarpon, speckled trout, snook, black drum, snapper.......
Kayak fishing is a really fun sport that combines a little bit of athleticism and a lot of fishing your ass off. My favorite part is the closeness to the fish. It is a much more intimate way of fishing versus from a motor boat.
You are right down on their level which makes it much more exciting. Sometimes I will be tarpon fishing and the tarpon will jump right over the bow of the kayak. That is exciting.
The key to kayak fishing is finding the right kayak for you. Are you tall, short, heavy, light? Are you fishing offshore or inshore? Are you fishing fresh water or saltwater? All of these questions are important.
I am a kayak fishing guide on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the grass flats and oyster bars of South and Central Florida for over 40 years.
I will give you my advice on choosing the right kayak and give you a review about one of mine in the video below. I will also cover some simple tips and techniques to help you catch more fish. Let's get started.
Watch the video below and catch more snook next time you go kayak fishing.
The best way to get good at kayak fishing in saltwater is to master the 3 and 5 inch paddle tail lures with a 1/8 or 1/4 ounce jig head or rigged weed less. This is the best inshore saltwater lure for finding fish and catching redfish, tarpon, speckled trout, snook, black drum, snapper.......
Kayak fishing is a really fun sport that combines a little bit of athleticism and a lot of fishing your ass off. My favorite part is the closeness to the fish. It is a much more intimate way of fishing versus from a motor boat.
You are right down on their level which makes it much more exciting. Sometimes I will be tarpon fishing and the tarpon will jump right over the bow of the kayak. That is exciting.
The key to kayak fishing is finding the right kayak for you. Are you tall, short, heavy, light? Are you fishing offshore or inshore? Are you fishing fresh water or saltwater? All of these questions are important.
I am a kayak fishing guide on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the grass flats and oyster bars of South and Central Florida for over 40 years.
I will give you my advice on choosing the right kayak and give you a review about one of mine in the video below. I will also cover some simple tips and techniques to help you catch more fish. Let's get started.
Watch the video below and catch more snook next time you go kayak fishing.
Kayak Fishing Tips for Beginners-- Do you really like kayak fishing enough to commit the time, storage space and money that are necessary?
This is a question that many beginners forget to ask themselves before jumping into the buying process. Beginners will watch every youtube video and read every kayak and kayak accessory review and go out and spend a whole bunch of money before asking themselves if kayak fishing is really for them or not.
Do you have the time to fish?
For example, I am a kayak fishing guide and it takes me about 30 minutes to get loaded up for a charter. It takes me another 35 minutes to get to my launch site and 20 minutes to get everything ready for my clients. That's my time requirements but yours will be similar.
Now you have to go and get on some fish for a few hours. So each trip will require around 5 or 6 hours of your day at a minimum. Now you have to figure out how many days a year you will fish and so on.... Are you willing to commit a hundred hours or more each year to kayak fishing?
Do you have the storage space to keep your kayak and your gear?
Kayaks aren't small. If you are of smaller build, then you can probably get away with a 10 foot kayak. The kayaks that I have for myself and my clients are 12 to 13 feet long. Where are you going to put them?
Then you have to consider where your paddle, rods and reels, tackle box..... will be stored.
Do you have the money to spend on everything?
Kayaks can cost $3,000+ for a brand name with all of the bells and whistles. How much do you want to invest?
I am not trying to dissuade anyone from kayak fishing because it is very fun and can lead to amazing encounters with nature. My goal is to help you make a thoughtful decision before you spend a lot of money.
Kayak Fishing Tips for Beginners--You need the right gear.
If you are going to be a kayak fisherman you will need to protect yourself from the sun. A good pair of polarized glasses are a must. A best of breed pair of sunglasses will cost you $250. A lower quality pair of polarized sun glasses will cost $25 or less.
It all depends upon how much polarization is in the lenses. Are the lenses glass or plastic? Are they scratch resistant?
I have a pair of the $250 sunglasses. They were a birthday gift and they definitely perform better than the cheaper ones that I have. They are also made better. The structural integrity of the frames is a lot better than the cheaper knock offs.
The bottom line is that you definitely need polarized glasses to protect your eyes from the sun's harmful rays and to help you sight fish from your kayak.
If you have never owned a pair of polarized glasses they allow you to see into the water instead of just seeing the glare on the surface of it.
The best colors of the lenses for inshore fishing are amber, rose and copper. The best colors for offshore fishing are blue and gray.
You will also want to stock up on UV performance fishing shirts. These shirts have built in UV protection technology and are moisture wicking. Moisture wicking means that the shirt will make your sweat evaporate more quickly which cools your body more effectively.
Watch the video below and catch more redfish when you go kayak fishing.
WANT TO CATCH A TROPHY REDFISH, SNOOK OR TARPON? Give us a call and BOOK YOUR KAYAK FISHING CHARTER TODAY!
Kayak Fishing Tips for Beginners--You need to find the right kayak.
Kayak fishermen argue with me and everyone else all of the time about what kayak is the best. The fact of the matter is that some kayaks have a lot more bells and whistles than others. It just depends on what you want for your kayak fishing adventures. It also depends on how much you are willing to pay for all of those bells and whistles. I am relatively speaking pretty frugal when it comes to buying my kayaks.
I would recommend not buying the cheapest kayak that you can find and certainly not buying an expensive fishing kayak just in case you don't enjoy it as much as you thought you would.
I look for 3 basic characteristics from my fishing kayaks. You might ask these same questions about your preferred kayak.
Firstly, does it float me well? There is no sense buying a kayak that you will fall out of if you get an nice fish on or need to turn and grab a beer from the cooler behind your seat. A steady and stable kayak is a must for inshore kayak fishing.
This means that you are looking for a wider flat bottomed kayak. Depending upon how tall you are and how much you weigh affects the stability as well. If you are tall and heavy you should plan on getting a kayak 12 feet plus in length. If you are smaller, you can get away with less kayak. If you are 5' 9" and weigh 150 pounds you would do just fine in a kayak that is around 10 feet long.
You will give up speed for stability but fishing a spot slowly and methodically is better anyways for inshore fishing. The steady kayaks are not so slow that you can't get to where you want to. It just takes a few minutes longer.
If you are planning on taking your kayak offshore you will want a better combination of speed and stability. You need to cover a lot more water when fishing offshore so the more hydrodynamic the better. You might even want to get a pedal powered kayak for offshore fishing. Pedal power adds about $1,000 to your cost. You will probably need a fish finder for offshore fishing. This means that you will need to have a battery somewhere under your deck in dry storage.
Secondly, does it have enough storage for my gear? You have to have space for your tackle box, rods and reels, something cold to drink, a dry box for your electronics..... There is not a lot of available deck space on a kayak. You will definitely have to maximize the space on the deck and storage space under the deck. This is especially true if you like to bring a lot of tackle when you go fishing.
Thirdly, is this kayak a good platform in case I want to customize it to my tastes? What I am talking about here is have you picked a kayak that you can easily add lights, fish finders, live bait wells, additional rod holders.... The custom features for fishing kayaks are practically endless. You have to put some thought into your purchase because the kayak that you like might be expensive before you customize it.
Watch the video below to learn more about one of my inshore fishing kayaks.
Kayak Fishing Tips for Beginners--How much do fishing kayaks cost?
There are lots of different kayak companies vying for your attention by telling you that their kayaks are the best. Kayaks on the upper end can cost around $3,000 plus. The ones that I use for my fishing charters are both under $850 (paddle not included). Only you know what bells and whistles that you will want to have. To me less is more because I don't want my kayaks any more cluttered that they already are because of the lack of deck space.
In my opinion, you shouldn't spend too much on your first fishing kayak unless you have fished a few different kinds first. Borrow or rent a fishing kayak on multiple occasions before spending your hard earned money on one.
You might want go out with a kayak fishing guide to see if you like their fishing kayaks and to see if you like kayak fishing. This will enable you to see how it performs when you are fighting a fish, anchoring, travelling from one spot to the next...…
My point is: Don't spend your hard earned money until you know exactly what you want.
Kayak Fishing Tips for Beginners--You need to get the right tackle.
You will have to decide what kind of fishing your want to do to make sure your tackle is right. I mostly fish the inshore grass flats, docks and mangroves. When I am fishing for fun out on the flats I will bring a 2500 series reel with 8 pound mono filament line and a medium action 7 ft. rod for catching spotted sea trout, redfish, jack crevalle, snook…..
When you are out kayak fishing on the grass flats there are no structures for the fish to cut you off on usually. This means that you can get away with using lighter tackle.
If I am fishing for snook and redfish around docks I bring a 4000 series reel loaded with 20 pound braided line and a medium heavy rod. My point is that you have to change your tackle based on the environment and the size of the fish that you are targeting.
You will never get a big snook or redfish out of the dock pilings without a heavier line, rod and reel. It is too easy for them to cut you off or tangle you on the dock. The Pro Tips and Techniques page will teach your more about getting the right tackle for the specific fish that you want to catch.
If you plan on fishing offshore you will need heavier tackle and more of it. If you are 3 miles offshore and one of your reels fails you will want to have a couple of back ups for sure. Many offshore kayak fishermen like to troll two lines. They will have one near the surface and another one down deep. They will also and have another set up just for back up.
Offshore kayak fishermen will often have a rod with 50 lb. braided line to handle big sailfish, wahoos, dolphins and tuna. They also have 6500 series reels and stout medium/heavy rods to get those bigger fish to the kayak.
If you are going to focus your kayak fishing on freshwater bass, then you will need different tackle. The right tackle is very subjective to the target species of fish and the underwater environment you are fishing.
BONUS VIDEO--Kayak fishing for spotted sea trout
Conclusion:
Kayak fishing is not for everyone so make sure to try it out a few times before committing a bunch of money to it. It is a blast but it can be an expensive hobby. Believe me.
If you are ever down in the Treasure Coast of Florida book a kayak fishing charter with me. I will show you how to target snook, spotted sea trout, redfish and tarpon to name a few.
You need to get yourself the right tackle and the right lures and baits. You need to get yourself the right fishing gear and accessories for your kayak. Lastly, you have to figure out just what kind of kayak is best for your specific kayak fishing needs. It is different for everyone so take your time to figure out what is the best fit for your needs in your enviroment.
I hope that this article helps you become a better kayak fisherman. Let's get some lines wet Florida.
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