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You will enjoy your kayak experience when you have the right kayak fishing accessories at your disposal. You may not need to buy every accessories associated with kayaking especially if you are on low budget.
You can make a selection from our list here and buy according to your preference or necessity. But if you have the budget for more items, then get as much as possible and if need be, you could get all especially for kayaking enthusiasts.
We have taken time from research to make a review of the best kayak fishing accessories that will make your experience always a memorable one.
13 Kayak Fishing Accessories
1. Inflatable Kayak
The first kayak fishing accessories is the inflatable kayak. There are different types of kayaks, but we choose the inflatable one because of its versatility. Inflatable kayaks are easy to use, maintain and transport.
You could carry it in a bag pack either hand held or in the boot of your car. Another reason is safety – they are good for beginners and won’t sink easily especially for those with multiple air chamber.
Depending on what you want, inflatable kayaks comes really affordable, they won’t take up space in your home for those with limited space. We have written a guide to help you choose the best kayak for your fishing activities, do create time to browse through it.
2. Spinning Reel
Spinning reels are a special type of fishing accessory attached to a fishing rod which are used by most anglers. It has a spool underneath the rod and a line with the aid of a lure or bait draws the line out.
A good spinning reel should have a smooth drag system which so that the line draws beck into the water smoothly if there is a drag by the fish without feeling impact.
There are different factors to consider when buying the best spinning reel, they include and not limited to
- gear ratio,
- drag system,
- the spool,
- the size of the reel and
- the material used as this differs from the type of water.
If you are looking out to buy one for your kayaking, then we recommend you read our review on the best spinning reel.
3. Kayak Fish Finder
If you don’t want to spend all day on the water spotting out the best area where you would get spool of fish to cast your bait, then you need to have in your collection of kayak fishing accessories a device that can help you find the best spot.
Kayak fish finder is a device that works with a transducer which sends and receive signals helping to spot the best area where you can get the best fish. Most fish finders comes with a digital coloured screen that shows a pictorial image of the fishes.
They are powered by batteries and some come very portable and will need you to synchronize with your android or iOS phone.
Before buying a fish finder, you will want to consider some factors which include: screen size, transducer, cone angle, power source, frequency etc. We talked extensively on these factors on our review of the best fish finders for 2020.
4. Life Jacket for Kayaking
No matter your passion for kayaking, you must consider safety first. Even if you are good in swimming, safety demands you always put on your life jacket before going on the water.
Some life jacket are a bit expensive, but nothing is worth the value of your life and we will continue to advice – “don’t ever get on the water without a life jacket on”. We have a recommendation and you can get it here: Stohlquist Men’s Trekker Life Jacket/Personal Flotation Device.
Feel free to also search for affordable and quality life jacket that will meet your budget. Considering your color preference, you can have a great range of color to make a choice.
5. Kayak carts
If perhaps you are not using an inflatable kayak which is of course easy to transport, then you will need a kayak cart. Why do you need a kayak cart? The major reason why you will need to have a cart among your kayak fishing accessories is for easy transport of your kayak to the water.
The cart can be attached to a car or bicycle as the case may be. You may not need one if you use an inflatable kayak. They are of three types and they include: plug-in kayak cart, strap kayak cart and folding cart.
They are also affordable, depending on the size you want, you can get a good kayak cart for under $100. And of course, you would want to consider one that is portable and will meet your need.
6. Fishing hat
A fishing hat is worth having in your collection of kayak fishing accessories. You will get them very affordable so it’s nothing worrying about.
Fishing hats protect your face and eyes from direct sunlight thus preventing sunburns on your neck. It also protects you from insects. They come in different shapes and size. Before you decide on which to buy, you will want to first measure your head so you can get your exact size especially if you are purchasing one online.
Also ensure you go for quality rather than the one that will fade after few usage under the sun. When it comes to fishing hats, it’s recommended to go for those with adjustable strap. This keeps the hat on your head even with the strongest wind.
7. Fishing Bag
Kayaking or fishing is an exciting experience, to some it’s recreational, while to others, it’s a business. Whichever place you fall in, it’s great to know that back packing in fishing is another awesome experience.
After making a list of the kayak fishing accessories you will need for your journey, the question comes; how do I pack them? You sure need a fishing bag. Apart from packing for activities, it also serves as a safe place where you can store all your fishing gears. Investing on the best fishing bag is a nice investment.
You will want to opt in for something that is portable and made from the best materials that are waterproof and water resistant.
8. Kayaking GPS
Kayaking can really be interesting and an adventure to some. You want to explore all spots on the water especially if the water is large.
Even if you are conscious of your navigations, sometimes you may get lost in the middle of the water. Also you may want to keep track of all your best fishing spot so you can always paddle your canoe to that area.
Unfortunately, there are really no landmark on the water. This is where a kayaking GPS comes in. most anglers really don’t have this in their kayak fishing accessories, but I tell you that it’s worth having one.
Your smart phones comes with GPS enabled, but they can never be compared to GPS. You don’t need data connectivity, and their batteries last longer which makes it a great kayaking gear to have.
9. Fishing Bait
Bait is a must have for any fisherman that practises bait fishing. Baits are artificial fish or other aquatic creatures made from materials like plastics.
They are designed to be attractive, comes with hooks and attached to the end of a fishing line. The idea is to attract other bigger predatory fish which sees it as a prey. However, there are also natural baits like croakers and shrimps.
The good news is that baits are very affordable – with just a few bucks, you can get a dozen of them, and so it’s going to be worth it. There are also fishing lures, while it may differ from baits, it almost does same job and so can be interchanged.
10. Fishing Knife
There is what is called hunting knife, they are a little different from fishing knife. Whether you are catching for fun, or you want to try out cooking them, you will need a fishing knife for the purpose of skinning them.
Their appearance and the way they are designed, you could easily tell that fishing knives raise up to a different type of task.
Fishing knives can be considered expensive, but you would get some good one for under $100. While shopping for one, you shouldn’t get confused with the names, sometimes fishing knives are called fillet knives.
11. Fishing Line
Of course this is not an option, but a must have for any angler that want to go kayaking. There are lots of fishing lines and brands. You really don’t need much trying to brainstorm on the best to buy.
There is really nothing like “the best fishing line”. It all depends on your need and the type of fishing. There are basically three types of fishing line you will see in any fishing gear shop.
These types are categorized based on the materials used. They include:
- Monofilament line (a single strand of nylon),
- Braided line often times called microfilament line (high ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene) and
- Fluorocarbon line (a single strand polyvinylidene fluoride)
12. Fishing Rod
Fishing rod is a must have for kayaking. It’s a flexible long rod used for fishing which may vary between 2 to 20 feet. A combination of a reel, a fishing line and bait makes a great fishing system.
In fact, this combination can be enough for fishing just at the bank of the river. Fishing rod are flexible, so they are made from materials like fibreglass, carbon fibre. Traditional rods were made from bamboo.
Fishing rods comes in sizes from small, medium to large and your choice should be dependent on the size of fish you are willing to catch and the type of water environment you will be mostly exploring. Typically, fishing rods are not as expensive as you may feel, luckily, it’s a must have and you can get some small and medium ones for under $100.
13. Fishing Scales
While fishing scales mustn’t be a “must have”, it may not even find its way among your top 10 kayak fishing accessories, but it’s going to be a great idea to keep record of your most amazing catch.
You will want to know how much your best fish ever weighs. Fishing scales comes in different capacity. Depending on the type of fish you always try to aim at, anything from 50 – 100 lbs weight capacity will be awesome. They’re really not expensive, so it will be worth it to buy one from your lunch savings.
Most of them are digital and displays reading on a screen with backlight. The advantage is that when you buy one, you can always use it for other weighing purposes other than fishing.
Do You Need All of The Listed Kayak Fishing Accessories in Your Collection?
All kayak fishing accessories listed above are recommended for the best kayaking experience, but you may really not need every one of them except you want to take your kayaking really serious.
But if you can afford the budget, you aren’t going to regret having them after all they aren’t so expensive. But if we may go by necessity, we may be forced to say that you will need a kayak, fishing rod, fishing line, bait and spinning reel.
If you have more budget, then you can go for a fish finder, fishing apparels, GPS and weighing scale the rest can come in as the need arises or when you have the budget. There is really no definite order for this, you may want to personally have a scale of preference that will suit you.
Final Thought
We have done our best to provide you the top 13 kayak fishing accessories. We believe you found what you needed. We recommend you first make your list according to preference using our list.
The list is actually endless, we could go on and on pointing out more kayaking gears, but we think the above are just okay for a start. As you go in your kayaking journey, your experience will determine what is needed.
Please feel free to leave a comment if you need anything to be spelt out clearly. If you find this piece of information a great one, feel free to hit the share button.
