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The Souped Up Kayak June 17, 2020

Here at Fay’s Boat Yard, we sell a lot of kayaks. If you haven’t looked at kayaks lately … well, these aren’t your grandpa’s kayaks anymore!

We carry the Hobie line, and we’ve got kayaks you can stand up in, use with a sail, take out fishing and more. Most of the line features Hobie’s MirageDrive technology, so you don’t even have to paddle anymore! The easy action foot pedals will scoot your kayak along the water with ease and little effort.

We’ve found many of our customers love to take their Hobie kayaks out fishing. With the ease of maneuverability and speed, anglers can get in close to rock formations and back eddys to find the big ones. And today’s kayaks can be loaded with accessories that make a day’s fishing trip comfortable and efficient. 

Experienced anglers also love fishing from kayaks. So we’ve found some extra gear that can help make a trip comfortable and relaxing. 

Stake-Out poles.  Sometimes when you’re in moving water, you want to stop for a bit and make some casts into a promising location. One way to hold position is to use a kayak anchor–toss out the hook, play out the line and tie her fast. But many anglers find this system bulky and hard to manage, and complain that the anchor line gets in the way of the fishing line.  A good alternative is the stake-out pole: a sturdy fiberglass pole that jams into the bottom and holds the kayak fast. 

These poles are light and snap into holders along the gunwales when not in use. Yak Gear makes a light (22 oz) six-foot pole that telescopes out to 75 inches and has an oversized foam grip for comfort. It’s about $50 on Amazon.

Fishing Life Jacket. You need to have a good PFD when out kayaking, and if you plan to do some fishing, there’s not much better than the Onyx Kayak Fishing Life Jacket, about $80 at Amazon.

This fully adjustable jacket has a breathable mesh lower back, comfortable neoprene shoulder pads, six adjustment straps and a high foam back to accommodate high-backed kayak seats. For anglers, this jacket is loaded with pockets of various shapes and sizes to hold all your gear. 

Sports Kayak Cooler.  You’ll need a good cooler to carry drinks, and maybe to safely hold your day’s catch on the journey home. The Seattle Sports Kayak Cooler is a great choice.  

Designed for the kayak’s deck top, this soft-side cooler has a heat-reflective body and closed-cell foam insulation to keep drinks, food, fish or bait cool for several hours. It’s got criss-cross bungee straps for securing to the kayak and the inner lining is removable for washing. It’s priced at $76 on Amazon.

Floating Livewell.  Those big fishing boats that go speeding past your kayak causing wake problems all have livewells and fish boxes on board to stow either bait or the day’s catch. What’s a poor kayaker to do?
Try the Livewell Buddy Fishing Livewell, a mesh bag that floats alongside your kayak and conveniently stores your catch or your bait in the water. The mesh bag topped with a floating donut will keep your catch alive until you get back to the dock. Priced at $40 each, or set of two for $70, at Amazon.

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