Finally bought a kayak. Lightning Kayaks Strike. What are some essentials in how to set up/rig a kayak?

First thing I wanted to do was build a milk crate/cart that I have seen on youtube. Not sure what to do next....

Don’t do anything until you get some hours in the boat under your belt. The beauty of a kayak is its simplicity. My struggle is boat control while trying to fish deeper water structure like a brush pile. You probably fish in a different manner than I do so your needs will be different than mine. Figure out what you really need to do better and start from there.

^^THIS^^ Just learn the kayak itself. When it warms up, learn the limits of the yak, see how far you can lean before it tips. Learn re-entry after it tips. Wear a comfortable lifejacket all the time.

If fishing close to sunrise/sunset; you need a 360 light.

Agree with keeping things simple.

Never checked out Lightning Kayaks before. So many choices these days.

https://lightningkayaks.com/

Another vote to learning your kayak before you spend money on stuff you end up not needing or using. I bought/built a crate right after I got my first kayak and ended up never using a crate at all. My advice before you do anything in terms of additional gear is spend time fishing out of your kayak first. After a few trips you'll have a good idea of how you want to set it up and what you need.

You could start buying safety gear since that's a given. A waterproof bag in the front hatch with a spare shirt, small towel, headlight, small first aid kit, wire cutters, rope and waterproof matches in it could be handy. As mentioned a 360 light is good to have.

Mudshark nailed it. I fished out of a POS kayak for years and finally got comfortable enough to drop $$$ on a good one with the accessories I wanted and the big thing needed. So many gadgets and holders that seem good in your amazon cart but when you get them they get in the way.

First accessory you should buy and always use is a PFD. After that, all the advice above holds true.

Excellent suggestions above! Myself would stay away from Open Water, where are you might have to immediately deal with boat traffic /wakes, wind, intense sun, etc. until you learn the aspects of your kayak and self rescue well. Customize your seating position so that you can be comfortable for hours. Multiple fishing lay flat and trolling rod holders and tethers for equipment you don't want to lose. An instantly available retractible razor blade knife to cut yourself free from entanglement in tethers, and fishing fine, plus small bolt cutters to quickly cut yourself free from lure treble hooks which might stick into clothing or flesh.

I'm also looking for a waterproof, tiny flash and sound alarm, which would not depend on having enough breath and calmness/ consciousness to blow a whistle under instant emergency conditions. Rod floaters, at least until you have excellent skills with your boat.

Im glad to see that they finally got this off the ground. I remember when they did some crowdfunding and I was excited to see a new entry into the market... then they went quiet for a long time (I thought it went belly up).

The lightning seems to be a well-built kayak at a decent price (for a pedal kayak). I'll be interested to see how it performs for the OP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkjbK0iNq1g&t=8s