Best kayak for hunting?

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MrFreeze

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Hello fellow THR members...I hope your Thanksgiving holidays were enjoyable! Now on to the regularly scheduled programming...

I'm looking for a kayak to do some duck hunting this year. Generally I'll be in rivers, swamps, lakes, marshes, and other small-water areas here in Florida. I might make the occasional venture to do a little wade-fishing or the like, but mainly this will be for duck hunting.

My main concerns are space and weight. I'll need room for the shotgun, ammo box, decoys, etc, so space will be tight. Also, I'll be loading/unloading the kayak alone, so preferably a lightweight model that I could tie down on my car's roof would work best.

This is going to be my b-day present, and I'm probably headed to Bass Pro in Orlando this weekend to attempt a purchase. Any suggestion on composition (plastic vs. fiberglass), size, set-up (sit inside vs. sit on top), brand names, etc. would be greatly appreciated!

Travis
 
I hunt and fish off my kayak, and concider it to be just about the perfect tool to get in to many areas. I would recomend a sit-on-top style made of roto-molded polyethelene. The brand "Ocean Kayak" has two models that intended for hunting and fishing, the "Drifter" @ ~60lbs for one person, and the "Ambush" @ ~100lbs and holds 2 people. When useing these boats I always wear a wetsuit and PFD, and I am prepaired to swim at any time. I try to tye all my gear on with lanyards, and have lost gear that was not tyed on, both by dropping, and dumping. You will probley need racks for your car also. If you are really going to paddle any distance buy the best paddle you can afford ($90-$200?), one that suits your boat and paddeling style. Learn to use a "feathered paddle" (blades are not in the same plane, much better for paddling aganst the wind).
 
Would you give any consideration to a canoe?

I went through this process a couple months ago, and decided on a canoe. The main reason was the additional capacity. I ended up with a Cranberry Creek Marshlander. It has room for me, all my gear (gun, BIG decoy bag, 5-gallon bucket) and the dog and/or one more person. If it's just me and my gear, I can operate it in just a few inches of water.

The cool thing about the Marshlander is that it's got a square back, so you can put up to a 4 hp motor on it. I've not done that, but may next year. I transport it on the roof of a tall SUV, and even though I'm kinda short, it's easy to manage. I've found the Marshlander to be very stable, and I really don't have anything negative to say about it.
 
I'm on the Delaware river and have used touring kayaks [flat bottom 36" wide] which are very stable, that's important . However I haven't used these for hunting .For more room I would also suggest a canoe .I've hunted geese from a 17' sandwich construction plastic canoe. This works well with two people who can deal with currents ,rocks etc .I've done it alone but that's complicated - a lot for one person to do. I've never flipped it and in september early season it wouldn't be a disaster. I did make floats for use when we had later november seasons , you'd never flip it with those floats which were made of 4" pvc pipe about 28" long mounted on 6' cross pieces . There are smaller canoes ,like a 12' one that is wide and stable but I've never used one.Think stability [wide], I did meet a deer hunter who [don't know his skill level] shot at a deer off the side of the canoe with a 7mm mag - over he went !!!
 
I've meddled around a lot with canoes, mostly running the Rio Grande in the canyons of west Texas. I've been along with kayakers, and have "worn" one a time or two.

All in all, I'd recommend a 16' memory-plastic canoe (mine is around 80 pounds). If I were going to hunt from one, I'd set up some outriggers; maybe two or three feet out, each side; held to the thwarts with hose clamps.

I've given a bit of thought to a square-tailed canoe, but have thought of using a trolling motor for its silence. Of course, a trolling motor would clamp onto the side of the canoe, balanced by the battery...

An alternative would be one of these small jon-boats. They're not too expensive, and they're darned sure less tippy than a canoe or kayak...

:), Art
 
Just a couple more things about the Marshlander. For a square-back canoe, the square part rides pretty high out of the water. This is nice, since it doesn't affect the manueverability when you don't have a motor on it. The other thing is that it is very stable. If you think of a triangle cross-section, with the top portion lopped off, that's what it would look like. In other words, the bottom of the canoe is significantly wider than the opening at the top. It also has a metal-reinforced keel, which helps it track and protects the bottom from some impacts.

I haven't shot from mine yet. Mostly what I've done is load all the gear in and then paddle to areas either inaccessible by foot, or too far of a hike (with all the stuff). It sure is nice to be able to put out and pick up your decoy spread and not get wet.

I agree with Art. If I end up putting a motor on it, it will likely be a small trolling motor.
 
My brother and dad have done lots of hunting from canoe and kayak on the Delaware river. The kayaks we have are pretty good sized, and very stable, my brother has shot from them and not fallen in. They are Old Town kayaks, the Loon model or something like that. From experience, they aren't very good in whitewater above class II though they can handle a bit of class III, but not a lot. Just something I learned from experience :D

I went hunting geese with my brother in the canoe. Shot from the canoe too, didn't have much of a problem. Got my goose, though I'm not sure how long our canoe is, and it is pretty hefty and would be more difficult to manage than the kayak for one person.
 
Thanks for all the replies so far everyone! There have been some good suggestions...

I probably should have clarified that I mainly plan to use the kayak to travel to a location and then disembark to hunt. Many of the areas around here are fairly shallow, especially at the shore (we're talking inches), so I won't normally be required to stay in the kayak. This brings up another point...that many powered boats may have difficulty in such shallow water. I know that a gheenoe or a trolling powered canoe would probably function admirably in shallow areas, but there is often so much sea-weed-type material in the water that it would almost surely cause me to fight with prop entanglements.

Another reason I've been leaning toward the kayak is that I think it will supplement my next water-borne purchase. What I hope to do over the next few months is to acquire a 16' jon-boat with a ~40 horse motor. I'm going to throw the kayak in the boat (yes, it's a fairly tight squeeze...but I've done this with my FIL, his lab, and a 16' boat loaded with decoys, guns, and supplies) ...this will allow me to get to more remote areas where I can then just throw out the kayak and paddle to my final spot. This might even keep me from having to do some of the pullovers, which can be a real pain.

Thanks all, and keep it comin'! The next duck phase starts in 10 days!! :D

Travis
 
You may want to look into a good ole pirogue. They've worked in Louisiana for a couple of centuries.
I've useda Poke Boat for both fishing and piddling around quiet waters. it was a neat little boay ,light as a feather and stable to boot. It sprouted wings one day and has never returned home. :mad:
 
You are in the perfect location to buy a Mohawk canoe. I have the 14 ft Solo model that weighs 34 lbs. Plenty of room for gear, shallow draft, and easy to load and unload by yourself. I own kayaks also and a canoe will always be easier to get into and out of with waders etc.
 
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