Rythe posted:

I have been kayak fishing for some time now and have gotten very big into the sport, so I hope I can answer any question or concerns you have about the sport.

First off I would recommend staying away from the style kayak at all cost if you are looking to fish out of it. That style kayak is called a Sit-in-kayak (SINK), they have very limited weight capability, very little cargo room and are difficult to fish out of. The SINKs are more designed for a recreational paddler for day trips out on the lake, along rivers with white water rapids and environments along those lines. What you are looking for is a Sit-on-top kayak (SOT), they have a higher weight capability, more room for movement, more storage space, more places to install after market add-ons along with being able to stand in certain models to fish out of.

The first two things to considers IMO is what is your price point, since kayaks can range from $200-$2500 easily and second what environment are you going to be using it in the most, rivers, lakes, streams, ocean, etc? Once you can figure that out you want to look for a couple of basic things. Do you want a traditional paddle kayak or a newer pedal powered kayak to free your hands up for fishing more?

Than you want to look for things such as the length and width of the kayak for stability, look for the total weight capacity, storage room in the kayak and on top of it. Look for extra options like pole holders, built in tackle boxes, high back comfortable seats and the weight of the kayak if you are going to be loading it on your vehicle yourself.

I use a Hobie Outback which is a pedal powered kayak over the traditional paddle boats, it ran me about $1400 but I fell in love with it the first time I took it out. The boat is 12'1 long and 33 inch wides, it moves in the water easily, stable in rough weather and I can stand in it to fish if the water is calm enough. Other great brands of kayaks other than Hobie you can look into are Ocean, Wilderness, Native.

A really great resource you can use is here at http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/5913465/1/How_to_Choose_the_BEST_Fishing , this is the Texas Fishing Forums Kayak section thread that was written by all of us in the area about how to pick the best kayak for your needs. It was written by a bunch of kayak anglers with years of experience with lots of information to pass on and tons of first hand experience to share with new kayakers. It is a great read, well worth the time to get a bunch of first hand information and some info on kayak brands.