Check out your options for paddlecraft tricked out for angling.
By Dan Armitage
There was a time when canoers and kayakers had to “MacGyver,” or jury rig, their own accessories to adapt their favorite paddlecraft for fishing – using things like PVC pipe for rod holders, milk crates for storage and dumbbells for anchors. These days, the popularity of the sport offers anglers all manner of gear designed specifically for fishing from paddle-powered boats. There are canoes, kayaks and even stand-up paddleboards (SUPs) designed from the water up for hooking up. If you are seeking to outfit a kayak, canoe or SUP that you already own to make it fishing friendly, two items are essential: a rod holder and an anchor. Versions of both are available specifically for use aboard paddlecraft with portable or permanent applications depending on how hooked you are on the angling option. Beyond those two essentials, there is an incredible array of angling accessories offered to paddlers for fishing for everything from high mountain trout to bluewater billfish. In fact, there is more gear targeted to freshwater fishing alone now than there was available across the entire paddlesports industry a decade ago. Here are some of the new and noteworthy accessories that will make freshwater fishing more fun and fruitful when wetting a line off your favorite kayak, canoe or SUP.
Power options
Paddles aren’t the only propulsion popular with kayaks and SUPs these days, and anglers especially appreciate the options that allow them to keep their hands free for fishing while underway. Hobie – which kicked off the pedal-power movement with its revolutionary Mirage Drive system for their kayaks a decade ago – is offering a new-for-2017 Hobie MirageDrive 180 system (
hobiecat.com) that offers forward and reverse as well as other notable drive features of interest to anglers. Other kayak manufacturers also offer non-traditional, pedal-power options, such as Native’s Native Propel (
nativewatercraft.com) and Old Town’s new Predator PDL (
oldtowncanoe.com/kayaks/fishing), which are popular with kayak anglers. Hobie’s new Eclipse SUP even comes in a fishing package featuring an H-Crate accessory to add four fishing rod holders plus tackle management options.
For fully powered kayak propulsion, the Old Town Predator MK features a custom 45-pound thrust Minn Kota electric motor console, and Wilderness System’s Tarpon X130 model is designed to accept Torqeedo’s Helix MD Motor Drive lithium battery-powered electric motor (
torqeedo.com). Several kayak manufacturers offer fishing models built to accept after-market electric power options, including Hobie’s Pro Angler 17T model, designed to house a large 12V trolling motor battery. It comes with the hardware to mount a standard foot-controlled trolling motor to the bow. Torqeedo offers an electric motor option that fits most kayaks with Model 403 that has been popular among touring kayakers and has earned a following among anglers.
Fishing electronics
Most major fish-finder manufacturers now offer portable sonar units for use aboard canoes and kayaks, and several fishing model kayaks are designed specifically to accept various sonar packages. Visit the website of your kayak’s manufacturer to learn of compatible systems or the site of the angling electronics you may already own to see the latest options offered to adapt fish-finder units to your particular craft. One of the more notable options is Lowrance Electronics Kayak Scupper Transducer Mount for sit-on-top fishing kayaks that have scupper holes. It’s compatible with all Lowrance HDS Elite Mark and X-Series Lowrance Skimmer transducers as well as earlier 1-inch, 200 kHz transducers (
lowrance.com/en-US/). A generic after-market option is the YakAttack CellBlok, a track-mounted battery box with a top surface that serves as a mounting platform for a fish-finder display and transducer deployment arm (
yakattack.us).
Rod holders
Most portable rod holders – flush mount, surface mount and clamp on – made for traditional boats can be adapted for use aboard canoes and kayaks. However, holders have been designed recently that are specifically for paddle craft. Scotty has provided one of the most popular lines of rod holders and other angling accessories for kayak anglers since the early ‘50s, and it remains a leading source for such equipment. In their line of new products, Scotty offers gear-head portable and permanent mounts for rod holders or accessories that allow you to quickly change rod holder positions (
scottypaddlesports.com/kayak-fishing-equipment-accessories). Any of the common flush-mounted rod holders, angled or vertical, designed for installing in the decks of traditional boats can easily be fitted into the deck of a kayak or SUP or into the seat of a canoe with a hole saw, marine-grade silicone glue and mounting screws. In the case of an SUP, just make sure the below-deck portion of the holder isn’t longer than the board is thick at the mounting point.
Fishing stabilizers
Most major kayak fishing brands offer models that carry a wider beam to allow you to stand up and maintain your balance while fishing. Additionally, several SUP models offer portable stabilizer bars. Popular SUP supplier Bote makes a Tackle Rac bar for its premium fishing SUPs (
boteboard.com) that combines a stability bar and tackle/rod storage system. Portable sponsons are another option for stabilizing canoes and kayaks for fishing and other activities. Scotty offers the No. 302 Stabilizer system with inflatable bladders that is adaptable to a number of paddle craft, and Hobie offers sponsons, or outriggers, as an option to stabilize their kayak models.
Fishing PFDs
A personal floatation device (PFD) is required attire while fishing from any paddle craft. Lifejackets designed to be worn while sitting and paddling have been around awhile and provide a significant comfort improvement over traditional PFDs. PFDs for paddling have become available with fishing features. Extrasport’s Eon Angler combines flotation with options typically found on fishing vests (
extrasport.com).
Paddlesports anchors
While there’s something to be said for logging chain, yoga dumbbells, window sash weights and cement-filled soup cans serving as inexpensive DIY anchors, smaller-sized versions of traditional anchors do exist. Common choices include mushroom anchors and folding anchors that weigh from one to about 8 pounds. The anchor weight needed depends on the size of the kayak and the water current you may face while fishing. The Squid Anchor for paddlers is notable in that it allows you to vary its weight with the amount of rocks or gravel you place inside its webbing (
thesquidanchor.com). It can be folded when not in use.
Kayak fishing aficionados use anchors controlled by trolley systems to position themselves at the proper angle and distance from the fish they seek. Most kayak manufacturers offer such options for their craft, and after-market systems are available from several sources. One is from Sea-Lect Designs (
sealectdesigns.com), which also offers anchors, rod holders and other accessories for kayaks.
Lastly, the kayak Anchor Wizard is an example of a deployment and retrieval system designed for paddle craft (
anchorwizard.com/kayaks) that may appear to be overkill – until you weigh anchor a few dozen times a day. At that point, as with all this gear, you’ll appreciate what it brings to the deck of your kayak, canoe or SUP!
Dan Armitage is a licensed U.S. Coast Guard Captain and a popular speaker at boat and sport shows on boating and fishing subjects. He hosts a syndicated outdoor radio show (buckeyesportsman.com) and relaxes in his Amish-built cabin on Ohio’s Kokosing River.
None
None
None
None
