Quote Originally Posted by Tadpole!! View Post
I was always thinking that I'd have to have training wheels on that thing. I've fished off nearly every conceivable kind of platform except a kayak. It just don't seem natural. Now a 12ft jon boat has been my sneak attack boat. I had a 3 hp rude and sculling paddle. You could throw it all in the back of my chevy truck and dump it almost anywhere. Wish I still had it.
It's really a different way to fish. For one thing, it's a great deal quieter. You're out on a lake or pond or creek or small river and the animals don't react like they do when you're in a power boat. I've watched does bring their fawns to water, been in close proximity to water birds for extended periods of time and have had osprey fly five feet above my head.

What most people worry about is stability. You have to be able to tip the kayak a little sideways in order to make any kind of tight maneuver and that makes kayaks feel tippy. That's called primary stabilty; the more primary stability a kayak has, the less maneuverable it is though length is a factor too. (That's why river kayaks are usually shorter; less than 12 ft.). Most modern kayaks are designed to have good to excellent secondary stability; that is they have a point at which they stop tipping. To get past that point, you have to make a major effort to tip the kayak. My main fishing kayak is a Pescador 120 SOT (Sit On Top). I'm 5'11" and 245# and often sit sidesaddle (both legs in the water on the same side of the kayak) in order to reach gear stored behind my seat. i move slowly into and out of that position but have absolute confidence that I can do so without tipping the kayak. Of course, I have tipped it over more than once while attempting to make a drastic change in direction on a fast moving river. I've never done it on a lake or pond. I've come close inshore on the Carolina Coast when the combination of wind and tide were piling up the waves but have always had sense enough to turn back and head for more sheltered waters.

I'm not a kayak purist, I have a canoe, a Vee Hull aluminum boat, an 18 ft fishing pontoon and a Pelican 10e (plastic pontoon) and each has its' place. But kayak fishing is fun.