kayak duck hunting?

[talldude33]

I've been looking into trading my canoe for a fishing yak, I was just wondering if any of you guys duck hunt out of your yaks as well and if so what your boat looks like. One of my main reasons for buying a kayak is go be able to ocean fish out of it as well, but it seems like most duck boats arnt self bailing. Is there a boat that can fit all of my needs or should I just by a dedicated duck boat ? Any advice and or pictures of yalls setups would be helpful.

[Percidae_Papermouth]

Keep the canoe, buy a kayak... Just my opinion.

[alexava]

i looked for a yak for months before i found one that fit my price range and my color requirement for duck hunting. i was a very avid duck hunter but have not done much at all in the past few years and didnt try in the yak yet either but i will. i made my custom (and very cheap) rod holders that i will adapt to a gun rack.

[filletfetish]

I use an Old Town Dirigo 10'6". I hunt a few small rivers and use it to retrieve birds (no dog). Taking float trips is as enjoyable as anything, to me. Although both of my yaks are sit ins, I wish I would've gotten a 12' sit on top.

By no means is mine anything fancy.

[alexava]

yes you could put a decoy bag in a sit on top. i would have to tie it on my sit in. i dont think i could shoot to the right more than about one o'clock but i will try it out next year.

[Predator130]

I hunted out of mine last year and it worked pretty well, I mostly used it for getting to out of the way spots that only mud motors could get to but I did do some stalking and shot out of it every angle possible. Mine is the Field and Stream 12ft SOT kayak. You can store a dozen decoys in the hull and I always tied the shotgun off and laid it in front of me. It worked pretty good as a layout blind on the bank.

[BobberStopper]

Check out the Nucanoe Frontier...go to the Nucanoe site and look at the duck hunting rigging...

here is short video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck9cN...layer_embedded

Here is a pic of mine rigged for fishing...

[alexava]

how's it going predator?

[bfish]

My brother uses his Jackson Cuda to jump ducks on the rivers. He took it last week to the Gulf and got into some redfish and flounder. The elevated seat helps having more range of motion swing the gun around. I believe you can add a swivel seat to the NuCanoe mentioned above, for even more range of motion. I am not sure how it handles the ocean though.

[Predator130]

how's it going predator?

Good how are you? Tore some stripe up Saturday in the flint. They are running!

On the Nucanoe, It's a neat boat but two things to consider, it's heavy! and it's not the fastest boat out there. Both of these might not be a concern depending on how you use it and what it loses in those areas it makes up for with storage and stability. Even in duck hunting you have to decide how you really want to use the boat. Is it going to be a lightweight scouting rig that you drag up on the bank and hide to hunt out of ? Or is it a stable platform for you and your dog to hunt a beaver pond out of? After this past season I now want two different kinds of boats to suit where I am going. I want a quick sit inside to cover alot of water, like if I'm scouting or wanting to be really mobile, but I wouldn't want to shoot out of such a boat, at least not sideways. But I will still keep my sit on top for when I know where I'm going, aka no scouting, and maybe want to use the boat itself as my platform to shoot from. I have even hauled my dog in the SOT kayak, make sure you practice this in warm water first. Each has it's purpose and in my opinion and you have to tailor each boat to your style, or accommodate your style to the boat you pick. Good luck with it either way.