| The Kayak Page |
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| Welcome to the Kayak Page. Here you will find my opinions and views about kayaks as well as a whole buncha links to manufacturers sites as well as others. One of the first things people ask when I mention kayak fishing is "Why a kayak?". My reply is "Why not?" after all, where and why do you think kayaks were originated? They are the ultimate fishing vessel. Eskimos would actually hunt for days in their kayaks, and I'm not talking Brook Trout here either. The kayak is sleek, compact, manueverable and very efficient in its design. There are also many styles of kayak availlable. Most people associate a kayak with the whitewater type, small and tippy, while there are many of these out there, there are a few other types rapidly gaining popularity. The original kayaks would be represented by the "Touring" style kayak. A touring kayak is usually over 14' in length and 2' wide, this design makes it perfect for what else, touring. They are able to carry a lot of gear and require little effort to keep up to speed. These kayaks are not suited for smaller waterways as they are not very manueverable. Recreational kayaks on the other hand are more manueverable, they are typically between 9' and 14' long with most of them being in the 12' range. Recreational kayaks also tend to be wider, this gives them more stability. These types of kayaks are less efficient than the touring style but are more suited to general purpose paddling and can be used for a variety of activities. You could do light touring and still manuever a small river for example. They are also the choice of sportsmen due to their cargo carrying capabilities and their spacious open cockpits on some models. This brings up another type of kayak, the "Sit-On-Top" or SOT type. These plastic kayaks have open decks and come in all styles from touring to surfing. These tend to be favored in warmer climates or when constant entry/exit is to occur. There are many differing opinions about SOTs compared to conventional kayaks. I choose not to comment as I have no experience with the SOTs. The other end of the spectrum are the Whitewater kayaks or WW. These kayaks have evolved into more of something you wear rather than something you climb into. The styles ar many but the main thing is that they are confining and for good reason. To manuever these small nimble kayaks you use your thighs and knees as well as your paddle. Bracing plays a large part in shooting the rapids. They are purpose built and there is not much room for cargo. Any availlable space is usually reserved for flotation bags. Once again I have no experience with these kayaks but I do have a great deal of respect for the people crazy enough to use them. There are quite a few manufacturers out there and most are top notch in what they do. Dagger for example are more focused on the WW segment but they do have nice touring and recreational yaks. Perception is another name that has been around for many years. Old Town Canoe has been around forever it seems, they started out making canoes but have expanded their line to include exceptional recreation and touring yaks as well. Wilderness Systems makes a variety of touring and recreational kayaks and have also gone the extra mile and outfitted at least 3 of their kayaks with "angler" packages that include anchor, rod holders, paddle clips and other nice ammenities for the fisherman. Hands down, the best resource for all things canoe or kayak is Paddling.net. They have a reviews section for all people to list their personal reviews of boats they have paddled. They also have message boards for getting the answers to any paddling related question you may have. There are also a few other websites devoted to kayak fishing that are well worth the time to check out. Coastal Kayak Fishing has some wild photos of some big fish taken by kayak fishermen. There are a few online retailers with decent prices on kayaks. Outdoorplay has free shipping and package deals, R.E.I. is another. Nestors is in Allentown and The Jersey Paddler isn't that far. Kelly's Canoe and Kayak has the best deals hands down and they are located just off Rte 100 in Gilbertsville, give them a call at 610-369-1778 or E-mail them at [email protected] I got my kayak there and saved quite a bit cash! They carry Old Town, Dagger, Heritage and Walden. If you do e-mail them, tell them I sent you! |
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