Thread: Tips For 1st Time Kayak Fishing Trip

As of tomorrow evening I should have my first kayak, an Old Town Vapor 10 Angler. I hope to take it out on Sunday afternoon as the weather looks nice.

I plan to take a couple of rods and fishing gear, but the main idea in my mind at least is to focus on getting familiar with the kayak, paddling, etc.

What are some tips, tricks, etc that you experienced Kayak guys can share? Ya know, other than don’t flip it and always wear a life preserver lol.

I would especially appreciate any tips for places that would be easy to access, low traffic, and calm water for the first outing. I’m in Hartselle, as a reference point.


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Not far from you is Flint Creek boat launch off of 31, across from Big A's. Not deep, pretty calm, haven't seen any gators yet but gets a bit snakey as the weather warms. If you're ever in Huntsville, Ditto Landing on South Parkway at the Tennessee river is a great place to cut your teeth. Stay in the marina and not on the river. Easy launching there, super calm water and mostly shallow (less than 10 feet).

I would recommend not to take any fishing gear for the first couple of outings and get a feel for your yak. If you have to fish, just bring one pole to start with and minimal tackle AND tether everything and have a dry bag for your phone, keys, wallet etc.

I have an Old Town Predator and a 10' Old Town Vapor Angler as well. I usually use the Vapor on moving water and the Predator on big still water. I find that my Vapor can be a bit unstable at times so be weary of that (the hull is a little rounded). It’s rated at 325lbs so that's pretty decent. I'm not as fond of fishing out of sit in kayaks as I am of sit on kayaks. Sit ons tend to be a tad more stable (depending on hull design) and if you flip them, they float like a cork as opposed to sinking or filling with water. Getting in and out of a sit in can be tricky sometimes. If your legs are long enough (in warmer water) you can straddle above the cockpit and just sit straight down while in a few inches of water. From a dock, tie a rope from the cleat behind your seat (I believe yours is on the right hand side of your kayak so have the right side closest to the dock) to a cleat on the dock. Tie the rope off to the deck cleat taunt enough that it’ll hold your boat level when you put your weight in it and then be sure to keep your weight to the side closest to dock while holding on to the dock. Then undo the rope from the dock cleat. To begin with though, to keep it easy, if you are going with someone else, just put three quarters of your boat in the water, climb in and have your friend give you a shove off.

When the water warms, take it out to shallow calm water and purposely flip it. While sitting in it, lean it to the left slowly (while keeping yourself somewhat vertical) until just before the point of no return. Get a feel for that and then go past that point. Do the same on the other side too. It'll serve you well to know these points on your kayak. Do it several times. You don't want the first time that you flip it to be by accident. Be prepared and know what to expect.


Happy yakking & fishing!

PS Get an extra pad for you butt if you plan on spending much time on the water.