I'm getting the itch again to try kayak fishing. Wanted to try it for a while and never pulled the trigger. Hoping to find a decent rig in the $400-500 range. I know the last time I looked (a year or 2 ago), you could find some decent ones in that price range on FB Marketplace. So....for those of you that do it and enjoy it...what tips/tricks/recommendations/pointers can you offer?

Toto-molded, nicer seat/ chair, sit on top.

*Roto

MY TIP - don't! get a small jon boat instead ... i tried it & fkn hated it - it's a DAMN CRAMPED fishing experience for a fella with as much meat on the bone as you
IJS ... hardest i ever worked for a fish in my LIFE was on a fkn yak

I'll take you up on your advice..................if you want to make a sizeable donation to the "Gomer needs a boat" fund. Otherwise, I'll make the best with what I've got.

Nice seat is critical. Sit on top, get a long paddle for a sit on top. If you’re fishing mostly creeks and small rivers think lighter to get to the water, less V in the hull makes it more maneuverable once it gets there. My budget advice would be sacrifice newness for quality manufacturing, meaning I’d take an older wilderness, old town or Jackson over a newer less reputable boat.

A lot of stuff you’ll learn as you go, but one other gear tip is be careful about rod placement on those small rivers. Upright and overhanging limbs become a problem, along the deck and you can lose rod tips on the rocks. Up until you get your sea legs don’t bring much, certainly nothing you aren’t willing to get wet and strap it down really well if you care if you lose it.

Have fun, it can be challenging but it’s so fun.

It is definitely more challenging on a yak. I couldn’t imagine being one of y’all big fellers sitting in one of those tubs.

I picked one up yesterday, as soon as I figure out what not to do in it I'll let you know

I have had a canoe for 16 years It is 14’6” and 42” wide, it is great for not only fishing but loading up the family and floating the creeks and rivers. Put some seat backs on and get a kayak paddle, PFD and an anchor. I’d think this setup would be ideal for what you are looking for. We float a 2 man blow up boat for the kids if we have more than one going with us.

excellent👍👍👍

my donation is to your family bro! dont do this to your wife & kids — you know you’re gonna fall out of a yak, bump your head, knock yourself unconscious, sink to the bottom, and leave your poor wife to take care of your 2 young kids & raise em fatherless 😩

when a vessel is skinnier than you are, it’s time to pluck the wild hair & throw it in a garbage can 🤷🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

I’ve kayaked before. And some of these sit-on kayaks are damn near wide and stable enough to stand on. I’m not worried about it.

My advice: get a sit on top with a decent seat, either padded or chair style, and go have a ton of fun. Me and my 14 year old fish creeks, rivers, bays, and the Gulf in yaks, and have a blast.

The wave forecast is looking good later this week. We may head down to fort morgan or gulf shores to get after some spanish and kings.

White tip, Black tip, spinner, Sand, Nurse, Hammerhead, Mako, Tiger, Bull, White....

Never worried about sharks in the gulf until I was about to gaff a king or red and what might be poking up at that wounded fish as I was looking over and down at the fish

I’m 6’1” 245 lbs. and I fish out of a Jackson Mayfly. It is designed for fly fishing but I really don’t like standing up in it. It is cramped and you have to be very careful with placement of your spare rod(s), net, fishing gear, etc. There’s a learning curve. It’s also WORK. It’s heavy, you have to load and unload EVERYTHING EVERY TIME. Maybe I’m just lazy BUT I CAN drive through a mud hole.

i bumped into a kayak guy a couple weeks ago ... a very fit, athletic dude, prob around your height, and the first thing i noticed about his setup is, he'd mounted permanent wheels on the back of his kayak, and the back bed of his truck was setup nice to load/unload easily ... his was the pedal kind, and he had it rigged up with electronics, etc. ... i chatted with him a while, and he works for McAbee Construction ... his legs looked like he was a soccer player, and he was lean & mean ... very nice fella, he said he was actually going to get another kayak setup in the next few weeks, but this dude was a) clearly fit for the challenge, and b) had worked out all the kinks ... he also was a pretty good fisherman -- had a stringer slap full of bass, and asked me if i wanted to take 'em home LOL

bottom line, do what makes you happy -- important thing is getting outdoors & enjoying it ... for small bodies of waters, i can clearly see the benefit of kayak fishing -- those bodies i don't fish as much as i do the larger lakes, with quite a bit of boat traffic (IOW waves) ... if i ever got into kayak'ing, i'd prob go this direction:

A good used Kayak is running around $700 on FB, on the low end. If you don't get in a good yak, Jackson, Wilderness, Bonafide, Old Town...etc... I just feel you will eventually get disgusted with it.

Bass Boat - $70k
Side-By-Side - $15K
New Kayak - $1700

It's one of the cheapest outdoor activities... get you a good kayak and it will make all the difference.

I've seen 10-12' Ascends on FB pretty regularly for $500ish...I feel like that'd be a decent starter for small ponds/creeks/etc. Just gonna keep looking until a decent deal pops up.