Best Fishing Kayaks In 2020

Before you jump on board thinking that an inflatable fishing kayak is a good deal…

..stop for a second and think about what all you’re going to have onboard.

Knives, hooks, pliers, and other tools floating around, waiting to leave you stranded in your life vest hoping and praying another boat will come by or you’re close enough to shore.

In our experience, it’s nearly impossible to avoid puncturing them and there’s a weird set of physics that happens with an inflatable.

As the water temperature lowers the air temperature inside of the kayak, the kayak begins to deflate. That means you’re going to be spending more time trying to keep it buoyant.

On top of that, as soon as it starts deflating, you are spending more time trying to get comfortable and paddling the brick through the water than you are actually fishing.

Inflatable kayaks move slow, they require a ton of maintenance, and all it takes is one hook in the wrong place to make your day worse than you can imagine.

Do us a favor, stay safe, and avoid fishing from an inflatable. If you really must use one, get a smaller model you can put into a pond or creek and stay close to shore. Float tubes for fly fishing are a better bet, in most cases.

 

What About Tandem Fishing Kayaks?

While not nearly as bad as fishing from an inflatable, fishing from a tandem kayak is a recipe for disaster waiting to unfold.

Stop, again, and think about what’s going on in a fishing kayak when you’re on the water.

You’re constantly moving around from side to side, trying to reach gear, casting sharp hooks overhead and sidearm, and working to keep the boat positioned exactly where you want it.

Unless you intend to have one person fishing and the other person paddling, fishing on a tandem kayak is more frustration than it is worth.

We know it seems like a great idea but you don’t realize how rough it can be until you’ve plunked down hard-earned money on a tandem kayak and tried fishing from it the first time.

Tandem kayaks are called “divorce boats” for a reason — and that’s without including fishing gear. If you want to have a good trip, go in a solo kayak and buy two. Tandem kayaking is designed for leisure and camping, not fishing.

So What’s The Best Fishing Kayak In 2019?

After sifting through a few dozen kayaks, most being designed specifically for anglers with a few able to be adapted to fishing, we have found there are a couple clear winners.

If you have the money in your budget, the Hobie Mirage Pro Angler 12 won’t let you down.

If your budget is a bit tighter but you still want amazingly quality for the price you’re paying, the Native Watercraft Slayer Propel 10 will be in your stable for years to come.

For more budget-minded anglers, the Pelican Catch 120 is a great way to get on the water and avoid spending too much money until you figure out whether or not kayak fishing is your flavor.

How To Choose The Best Fishing Kayak For You

There’s a few factors that affect every fishing kayak. It’s why there are so many different kayaks to choose from. Each one is usually designed for a specific purpose.

To figure out what you need, go through each of the factors below. This will help guarantee you’re enjoying your time on the water instead of wishing you had bought a different boat.

Stability

Stability is priority number 1.

The last thing you want to do is end up tipping over in the water, losing all of your gear, and leaving you trying to figure out how to get back on the kayak.

If you ever see yourself wanting to stand up in the kayak (trust me when I say you will want to stand up), stability becomes that much more important.

There are a few models of kayaks that are designed specifically to give you the ability to stand up inside of them and remain standing for hours at a time.

This is a gamechanger compared to the kayaks of old — those skinny boats that were ready to tip as soon as you started paddling.

Storage Space

The difference between a fishing kayak and a paddling kayak is how you store your gear.

Fishing kayaks are designed to keep your gear where you can reach it. Since you’re fishing, you are going to be storing a lot more gear than you would if you’re just paddling for the day.

Everything from your tackle boxes, rods and reels, lunch box, water bottles, even your fish finder and trolling motor (on some models) has a spot.

The kayaks we’ve featured all come with at least a single rod holder, which is a requirement on a fishing kayak. As you go up in price the number of rod holders goes up, too.

Some of those rod holders are RAM style and adjustable while others are mounted into the boat. Figuring out what you need really comes down to personal preference and what you see yourself carrying onto the water.

Essential Gear

This is around the time kayaks start shifting gears and getting more specialized.

Some fishing kayaks will include rail systems you can use to adjust where your gear is being stored. If you need to move the gear so it’s within reach, the rail system lets you quickly choose exactly where you want it.

You can mount your fish finder, extra rod holders, your GPS system, or anything else that you need to keep attached to the boat but still within arm’s reach.

Say you want to film your time on the water, a good rail system will let you mount your GoPro camera so you can turn it on and off when you’re ready to start filming.

Other boats make paddling easier. Let’s assume you hit a honey hole and want to stay put. A good anchor trolley will let you tie down in place and straps will help you keep your paddle attached to the boat so you can spend time fishing.

Some boats will have a built-in transom where you can mount a trolling motor so you can keep your paddle stored and save energy between point A and B.

One of the biggest perks of fishing kayaks is that the rigging is completely up to you.

If you want a bimini to block the sun, you can mount it. Want to use a sail and harness the power of the wind? You can mount it, too

Planning on fishing at night? You can mount LED lights to the boat so you can stay visible and still see where you’re going. Some lights are designed to keep the bugs off you so you aren’t constantly dealing with them when you’re trying to catch lunkers in the dead of night.

If you’re worried about your kayak being stable, you can add outriggers to the side of the boat to help increase the stability and never have to worry about getting into rougher waters.

The sky truly is the limit but before you buy a boat you’ll want to think about how you’re planning on rigging it.

Weight

Weight is one of the most important factors you need to consider.

Some boats are rated for carrying a ton of gear but you’re going to need to account for your own body weight in that equation. You’ll also need to think about the weight of your gear.

Food, clothes, water, you name it — it all needs to be accounted for.

Weighing down your boat just because you can is usually a bad idea. If you do intend to carry large amounts of gear, you’ll want to get a boat that is rated for at least 100 pounds more than what you intend to load on it.

Loading the boat down with too much weight makes it harder to paddle and can even decrease your stability, so make sure whatever you’re getting can handle what you’re throwing at it.

Speed

There’s a bit of a caveat when it comes to a kayak’s speed.

Faster kayaks are usually harder to turn. A “fast” kayak is going to be longer and skinnier than a kayak that is easier to turn.

There’s a balance in the 10ft to 12ft range where you can still get enough speed to keep a steady pace through the water but still be able to quickly turn and reposition the boat.

The keel, or hull design, plays a major role in the speed you can maintain, too. This can be an entirely different topic all on its own so we’re not going to dive too deep on it here, but a fishing kayak’s keel is going to balance stability with speed.

Different Types Of Fishing Kayaks

On top of all that, there are also two different designs of fishing kayaks.

One is a sit-on-top, where you’re sitting above the water. These work great in warmer climates.

The other is a sit-inside, where you’re, literally, sitting inside of the kayak. For colder water and weather, a sit-inside can keep you warm and comfortable.

Sit On Top (SOT) vs Sit Inside (SIK)

Choosing between a sit-on-top and a sit-inside comes down to your personal fishing style, where you’re going to be fishing, and what all you need from the kayak.

Sit-on-top kayaks give you the freedom of being on top of the boat, making entry and exit significantly easier. SOT kayaks are also more stable than most SIK boats. Sit-on-top kayaks also make it easier to access your gear while you’re on the water.

However, with those perks comes a few downfalls. Sit-on-top kayaks are generally slower than a sit-inside. They also tend to get you wet while you’re paddling, because of their design. You don’t get soaked, but it’s something to think about.

Sit-on-top kayaks are wider than most sit-inside boats.  That’s great for stability and storage, especially when you want to stand up while you’re fishing.

For fishing purposes, you’re always going to have a better time on a sit-on-top than you will in a sit-inside boat. There may be some exceptions to the rule, but the best fishing kayaks available today are 99% sit-on-top boats.

Introducing Pedal Kayaks

Around 10 years ago, a company broke the mold and made getting around on your kayak significantly easier

While most guys were trying to figure out how to fit a trolling motor onto their boat, Hobie decided pedal power was better and built the first pedal-powered fishing kayaks.

Just like your bike, you can use your feet to steer and keep you moving while your hands are busy catching fish.