I know this gets asked alot

Hello all,

I know this gets asked alot, and I am sure several people are getting tired of responding to these posts...I am looking to get into kayak fishing, I pondered several years ago and kind of let it go, and now its coming back to me. Most of my fishing will be out of Mukilteo and Edmonds, and really want to get the best advice for equitment. I have been looking online and there seems to be alot of options. What kind of Kayak do you suggest??? Is a rudder necesarry for the puget sound??? Im looking at about $1500 for a purchase of Kayak, what are the necessary items to have on the water with you...basically any helpful tips would be grateful...also if you wanted to go fishing with another person, would you think its best to have a 2 seater or another kayak....thanks for the info

Welcome.

What kind of Kayak do you suggest???

For purely fishing, sit on tops are hard to beat.

Is a rudder necesarry for the puget sound???

Rudders help with tracking, in the wind especially, but they are not essential.

Im looking at about $1500 for a purchase of Kayak, what are the necessary items to have on the water with you

for $1000 you can get a nice new Ocean Kayak, Wilderness systems, Malibu (among other brands) sit on top kayak.

Start with a PFD and immersion gear. There are tons of threads on this topic...

also if you wanted to go fishing with another person, would you think its best to have a 2 seater or another kayak

Depends on the person. Are you talking about an adult or a child?

Don't hesitate to use the search button. Some of your questions may have been asked before!

Considering you are new to kayaking I would suggest taking some sort of paddling instruction. While having the proper equipment is important and we all want to get out there and fish, there is still kayaking involved.

For $1500 you can get a used Hobie Outback or Revolution or a new one of any other kayak. There are lots of great ones, you need to demo them and buy from someone who will support you after the sale.

Before you go on the water you need the most comfortable PDF you can find, cause you need to wear it 100% of the time you're on the water. If you're going out in water below 55 you need immersion gear (dry suit, wetsuit, waders/dry top are your options). You also need a loud whistle, a compass and a rescue knife, all attached to your PDF.

You'll need roof racks to haul it, too.

Then you'll start spending money to fish and that never stops...rod holders, rods, reels, so much tackle your head will spin. Oh, and you'll want a waterproof camera to prove what an awesome time you're having.

Welcome to the addiction!

Yeah, so I am a newb... but I do have something useful to add.  $1500 is a lot of dough... but are those 15 C notes for all you need or just a yak?  Consider this... if you get a paddle yak, you are gonna need a paddle, a seat, PFD, immersion gear, a cart and a bunch of little - but important - things.  You could easily spend 600 to 1000 on just the things I mentioned.  The reality is that you HAVE to have some immersion gear if you are going where you are saying you will fish... you HAVE to have a good PFD, or you may end up - at best uncomfortable and at worst a statistic.  The search function works pretty good, but you gotta wade through a bunch of stuff you aren't interested in... but do it, you will learn more along the way. 

As far as a yak... if that money is all for a yak... I would go with one of those evil pedaling ones.  Just the few times I have been out I see the value in having your hands available for the fishing rod.

Also - save $40 dollars and join the AOTY contest... because it adds to the addiction.   

Good luck!

another noob response, not to mention i don't own a kayak yet.. but i want to put my pennies in as well..
as the two before i said, you're going to spend as much.. if not more on accessories than you are an actual boat. so recalculate your budget to accommodate.

I have been buying accessories for the past few weeks, outside of waaay too much tackle


and even after extensive review and searches for recommendationson this site, i realized, after i actually tried some stuff out... they don't account for much. sure stohlquist and nrs make AWESOME stuff, and a lot of the guys on here will swear on certain products.. but the truth is they might not be so great for you. so instead of wasting too much time on here doing research, go to REI and as many paddle shops you can and TRY ON PFD's, waders, suits and whatever you can to get a feel for what you're comfortable in. just like jeans, pfd's all fit differently even if they're all sized S,m,L and so on. so once you find a few you like, google it and read reviews.. but focus on the negatives so that you can look for common defects and downsides, then think if it would be something that will affect you.

although those kokatat dry suits were 20% off at rei last week... still paying 900$ is pretty pricey up front
and as for kayaks, demo whatever you can. in seattle area, there are plenty of rental places that have oddball SOT's like NWOC on lake union, they have two OK's, one prowler and i think it might be a scupper model.. so call around and check inventory.

hopefully this helps, and maybe someone more seasoned can validate/discredit my opinion

bottom line is; although reviews and recommendations are helpful..
don't rely solely on opinions for your choice.

hopefully this helps, and maybe someone more seasoned can validate/discredit my opinion

bottom line is; although reviews and recommendations are helpful..
don't rely solely on opinions for your choice.

You're spot on maverick. 

-Spot-

To give you an idea of what you can reasonably expect to spend, if you bargin hunt and troll Craigslist and the Classified part of the forum, here's what I've bought, and what I spent on it.  And, mind you, there's still a fair bit of kit I want to get - a fish finder/GPS combo and a new seat for the yak are the big ticket items, plus more rods, some additional reels, more gear to fly fish the salt with, and on and on and on. 

yak                         $400.00 (used OK Prowler 13 bought on here)
paddle                   $90.00  (used Werner Camano from Craigslist)
pfd                          $90.00  (Stohlquist Fishermans - Christmas gift)
drysuit + booties    $519.92  (Kokatat SuperNova Angler and NRS Cross 4's from Outdoorplay.com)
drysuit liner            $119.96  (Kokatat bunny suit from Outdoorplay.com)
vhf                          $170.00  (HX-851 used from a former member here)
SPOT plb                 $200.00  (Christmas gift)
extend-a-truck        $90.00   (Christmas gift)
safety flag               $30.00  (Yak Attack Visi-Carbon Pro, used from a former member here)
crate                        $20.00  (forget the brand but blaze orange, new they're $90, got it used from a former member here)
line                           $30.00  (50# Power Pro from Cabelas)
lures/jigs/hooks        $lots
net                            $20.00  (used from a former member here)
lip gripper                    $25.00  (new from Cabelas)
bonker                      $23.00  (myrtle wood, bought from coosbayyakker)
kill bag                      $40.00 (used from a member here and will pick it up at the ORC)
cart                           $70.00 (used from a former member here)

In case you didnt keep tally thats $1937.88

You can alleviate a bit of that by reusing some of what you have on hand for bank or power boat fishing, such as rods line and misc. tackle.

Do you need a myrtle wood bonker? Not right now probly. CBY makes em look really good but you can splurge later.

Same goes for the SPOT device. Hidden in there is the added cost of a user subscription. Do that later if you want.

Concentrate on the basic needs. Boat, immersion gear, other safety gear.

How are you transporting your craft? What type vehicle? You can uses foam blocks and ratchet straps over the roof for real basic load up. 

How old is the possible other paddler? If the idea is a father and younger kid and neither of you are overly large people something like the OK Malibu Two xl might be perfect. and you can get real basic models of those for under $900.

If you're talking wife or larger teen then maybe a pair of singles might be the ticket.

Always errr on the side of capacity when choosing, too. so many forget that there are weight limits to these things, and end up with something that might be too small for them to safely use. don't do that.

Bottom line; tailor your gear to the needs at hand. You may end up spending a bit more than what you wanted but you should have the basic needs covered. or you can be really good at it and actually stay within your intended budget.

Whatver you do, remember ; This is supposed to be FUN!

Yeah, I splurged on the bonker.  Wanted to get one, and figured it was good karma to buy one from CBY.

The SPOT is a multi purpose item.  Main purpose is so my wife feels better about me going outside of cell phone range on the yak.  It will also get used for hunting trips.

Hey $23!

Roy said it would cost me $40 and a bag of Big Hammers to make me a bonker. He must really like you, you got a deal.     

To give you an idea of what you can reasonably expect to spend, if you bargin hunt and troll Craigslist and the Classified part of the forum, here's what I've bought, and what I spent on it.  And, mind you, there's still a fair bit of kit I want to get - a fish finder/GPS combo and a new seat for the yak are the big ticket items, plus more rods, some additional reels, more gear to fly fish the salt with, and on and on and on. 

yak                         $400.00 (used OK Prowler 13 bought on here)
paddle                   $90.00  (used Werner Camano from Craigslist)
pfd                          $90.00  (Stohlquist Fishermans - Christmas gift)
drysuit + booties    $519.92  (Kokatat SuperNova Angler and NRS Cross 4's from Outdoorplay.com)
drysuit liner            $119.96  (Kokatat bunny suit from Outdoorplay.com)
vhf                          $170.00  (HX-851 used from a former member here)
SPOT plb                 $200.00  (Christmas gift)
extend-a-truck        $90.00   (Christmas gift)
safety flag               $30.00  (Yak Attack Visi-Carbon Pro, used from a former member here)
crate                        $20.00  (forget the brand but blaze orange, new they're $90, got it used from a former member here)
line                           $30.00  (50# Power Pro from Cabelas)
lures/jigs/hooks        $lots
net                            $20.00  (used from a former member here)
lip gripper                    $25.00  (new from Cabelas)
bonker                      $23.00  (myrtle wood, bought from coosbayyakker)
kill bag                      $40.00 (used from a member here and will pick it up at the ORC)
cart                           $70.00 (used from a former member here)

Cost of that bigazzcheeseeatin grin that you can't seem to get rid of after you boat your first ling                  $....well, just don't add up the bucks and enjoy the ride.

Cost of that bigazzcheeseeatin grin that you can't seem to get rid of after you boat your first ling                  $....well, just don't add up the bucks and enjoy the ride.

Still trying for that!  Almost got a greenling last Friday.  Need to take a refresher knot tying course though, apparently.

Yeah, I splurged on the bonker.  Wanted to get one, and figured it was good karma to buy one from CBY.

The SPOT is a multi purpose item.  Main purpose is so my wife feels better about me going outside of cell phone range on the yak.  It will also get used for hunting trips.

Not trying to take away from you purchases or your input Andrew. I have 2 of CBy's bonkers at my place and they are almost too good looking to actually use.

The SPOT?  got squidgirl one of them for her birthday 2 years ago. it's one of those gifts that keeps on taking. If you arent using it constantly, i think you are better off getting one of the ACR EPIRBs for $200 and be done with it. But IMHO you do not need it right away unless you are going into high risk fishing immediately. File a float plan pre trip. make the "I'm launching in 5 minutes, should be out for X amount of time, Will call you when i get in. Is there any last minute things we need to talk about?" phone call.

I'll dig my heels in here, respectfully, and stick with my premise; Basics first, to include boat(s) and safety gear. Then add the other things as you can afford them. With the budget he's stated in OP, it's very doable. A good used or retailer discounted yak, seat, paddle, and basic immersion protection can be had for that amount and even under that.  I know, I did it.

Add the fishfinder and the other frills afterwards unless you happen to buy a used yak that already has it. Then, you made a good bargain. I didnt put one on my T15 until 3 years after i got into this. A bathy Chart worked well in the sound. For lakes i went online and searched for maps or talked to the friends i'd made here and asked questions about areas i was interested in.

Someone whom i met at my first and only Drano event, [He's no longer a member] told me we carry too many electronic doo dads on our boats... after watching the gear race here, i think he may have been right. This is suposed to be fun, and cheap. With $1500 and no rush to glory, yes you can get in the game and you can have fun doing it.   

 

Knot tying? oh , hey we all need to keep up on that. I think it was Rawkfish who once said " all my knots are slip knots." 

Lost a nice fish on the Ashely this weekend because of knot failure. My Eye Crosser didnt give, the 8 wrap snell i'd done on the octopus hook let loose under all the pressure i could muster on a 12lb rod with a 20lb leader agianst a fish in current.