Color important for safety?

Hi all - looking for my first kayak, and my head is swimming with the choices (in a good way). I like how the camo themes look, but I'm concerned with getting lost in the backround since I'll most often be fishing on the Sound. Does anyone else worry about this, or am I just OCD? Yellow is fine, but it also seems like there are a ton out there.

Welcome aboard. It is definitely not OCD to be concerned about visibility in areas with boat traffic, like many parts of the Sound. Many folks fly safety flags, check out this thread:

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=10546.0

Yeah I prefer bold bright colors.

Bright colors are definitely more visible! Bright paddles too! You'd be surprised how visible orange blades are from a distance. Aside from my yellow revo I went with all natural colors and a bright drysuit and paddle. That was mostly due to the fact I like to duck hunt. Otherwise all my boats would be a more vibrant color.

I think bright colors on your kayak, your life vest, your clothing, and your paddle all add to your safety.  I think yellow kayaks are particularly visible, and both of my fishing kayaks are yellow. I have a friend who has an olive colored Outback.  He disappears when he's any distance away, but brightly colored kayaks are immediately visible at much greater distances.   

Bright colors definitely.  Whom would you be hiding from with camo on the water, ducks?  Ha!  Think a duck can't tell a kayak from a log?  Be seen for safety and ease of location from the air.   

80% of the kayaks I've owned have been yellow ... for a reason.  Two others were orange.  The other 2 are urban camo, and I wish they were yellow.

-Allen

Both mine are bright yellow. So is my drysuit. So is my PFD. 

Bright colors AND an NWKA safety flag. While 95% of all boaters are good, polite, conscientious folks, all it takes is one drunk a-hole bouncing on a plane trying to get to the fish to not see you or to expect you to be able to get out of the way. 

Out in the sound in a trolling line I've had many folks give me a thumbs up, even had one say, "Dude, you're my hero." But, I've also had folks flip me off.

Think a duck can't tell a kayak from a log?

Yup. Birds can see in color and in far more detail than humans. Early season and yearling birds may be ignorant or just plain dumb, but color and camo play a huge roll in waterfowling. Strategic camo netting and use of native vegetation go a long way though.

Colors and flags don't work at all if the PBer isn't paying attention, just ask our friend Jammer.

Just think of hunter orange.you can see a vest on a hunter miles away with your naked eye.my kayak is flame orange.on the ranch here I can see it on my personal pickup while feeding cows miles away.the fish don't seem to care.I also agree with Justin.we just have to do our part to be seen.using a camo yak with a flag and bright suit to get where your going then switch to camo.or get 2 kayaks

I go for as many bright and clashing colors as possible, and have put SOLAS tape on my paddles before. Used to have an obnoxiously bright hat I always paddled in that got donated to Poseidon at PC last year. I miss that hat...

80% of the kayaks I've owned have been yellow ... for a reason.  Two others were orange.  The other 2 are urban camo, and I wish they were yellow.

-Allen

I fish a lot of high traffic areas and do everything I can to be seen.

Safety Flag
Bright Color kayak
Bright Color drysuit
Bright Color PFD
Reflective Tape
Bright Paddle Blades

and still I've had PB'ers not see me...

-Spot-

Here's another perspective to consider...the aerial perspective...with some unsolicited tangents thrown in for thought:

From the altitude, water surfaces always appear dark, in all light and weather conditions, and a yellow or bright orange boat will improve your chances of being visually acquired by search and rescue.  A kayak is a very small object from the air, but bright color will help.  Red is less visible because it's darker.  White is not bad on calm days, but it can blend in with whitecaps.  In addition to boat color, I'd encourage you to consider getting a signal mirror and good whistle and learn how to use them.  The mirror is the single most effective way of getting the eyes of airborne or surface rescuers onto your boat on sunny days and is still helpful if there's only a glimmer of sun peaking through the clouds.  A lot more could be said on rescue preparation and you'll want to add to your capabilities as you venture beyond your limits of being able to assuredly self-rescue.  But, boat color is something that gets set in stone when you buy, so you’re right to think about it now.

And back to the surface perspective...

From a power boater’s perspective, the side profile of a low-sitting kayak is very easy to miss.  If you add in rolling seas or river bends with short sightlines, the power boaters now have an object that's hard to see with only a short time to see it.  (Yes, they should only go as fast as safety allows, but there's plenty of driftwood denting up the hulls of PBs on a daily basis that should have been seen too.  Also, most of us are probably guilty of not being vigilant.  We let our guards down by not searching around us for approaching boats while we're fishing.  USCG requires us to carry an alert whistle at minimum, but it’s no good if we aren't thinking about it, searching for boats, using the whistle, and waving our arms before a collision.)  To improve our chances of them seeing us, we need to increase our VERTICAL profile.  I think boat color is less important from the surface perspective.  Often, it's our silhouette that stands out first, not the color, especially if the observer is looking into the sun toward us.  When I search for a fellow kayaker, it’s usually the blip on the horizon that I see first, not the color of their boat.  I'm still looking for a good solution to make myself more visible vertically.  I think the Visipole is only good for its built in light; the pole is too short for me and the flag too small (but that's replaceable).  A tall whip flag, the kind used on ATVs on the dunes is better for its height and motion.  But, I've had a hard time getting one to stay attached to my boat - I've now given Neptune two of mine because the poles cracked and broke loose after a few months of rocking in the waves.

Sorry so long.  Good luck on your new boat.  After some initial thoughts on safety, this sport is nothing but a blast.

80% of the kayaks I've owned have been yellow ... for a reason.  Two others were orange.  The other 2 are urban camo, and I wish they were yellow.

-Allen

I fish a lot of high traffic areas and do everything I can to be seen.

Safety Flag
Bright Color kayak
Bright Color drysuit
Bright Color PFD
Reflective Tape
Bright Paddle Blades

and still I've had PB'ers not see me...

-Spot-

Yeah, all that too!

-Allen