texasfishingforum.com logo
Main Menu
Advertisement
Affiliates
Advertisement
Newest Members
TraeMartin, Power-Pole CS, T-Rigger, JoeGoes, EcKo
119150 Registered Users
Top Posters(All Time)
hopalong 120,571
TexDawg 119,516
Bigbob_FTW 94,879
John175☮ 85,892
Pilothawk 83,260
Bob Davis 81,480
Mark Perry 72,282
Derek 🐝 68,311
JDavis7873 67,416
Forum Statistics
Forums59
Topics1,037,823
Posts13,935,144
Members144,150
Most Online39,925
Dec 30th, 2023
Print Thread
Gear Ideas #13967074 04/20/21 04:51 PM
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,423
R
RJF1423 Offline OP
TFF Team Angler
OP Offline
TFF Team Angler
R
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,423
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....

Re: Gear Ideas [Re: RJF1423] #13969235 04/22/21 01:19 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 45,453
Mudshark Offline
TFF Guru
Offline
TFF Guru
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 45,453
Originally Posted by RJF1423
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.


[Linked Image]


Re: Gear Ideas [Re: Mudshark] #13969460 04/22/21 03:32 AM
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,625
JJ4MEL Online Content
TFF Team Angler
Online Content
TFF Team Angler
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,625
Originally Posted by Mudshark
Originally Posted by RJF1423
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.

Re: Gear Ideas [Re: RJF1423] #13969754 04/22/21 01:29 PM
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 40,432
C
CCTX Online Content
mapquest
Online Content
mapquest
C
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 40,432
If fishing close to sunrise/sunset; you need a 360 light.

Agree with keeping things simple.


[Linked Image]
Re: Gear Ideas [Re: RJF1423] #13969887 04/22/21 02:50 PM
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 22,424
L
lconn4 Online Content
TFF Guru
Online Content
TFF Guru
L
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 22,424
Never checked out Lightning Kayaks before. So many choices these days. cheers

https://lightningkayaks.com/


A good rule of angling philosophy is not to interfere with another fisherman's ways of being happy, unless you want to be hated.
Zane Grey, Tales of Fishes, 1919

https://vimeo.com/73372194
https://vimeo.com/72859045

Re: Gear Ideas [Re: RJF1423] #13970190 04/22/21 06:31 PM
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 1,234
J
Jerry713 Offline
Extreme Angler
Offline
Extreme Angler
J
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 1,234
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.


You get out of it what you put into it!
Re: Gear Ideas [Re: RJF1423] #13970538 04/23/21 01:27 AM
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,837
J
jippedgenes Offline
Extreme Angler
Offline
Extreme Angler
J
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,837
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.

Re: Gear Ideas [Re: RJF1423] #13971095 04/23/21 03:09 PM
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 325
C
Captain Yakker Offline
Angler
Offline
Angler
C
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 325
First accessory you should buy and always use is a PFD. After that, all the advice above holds true.


Fishin' to stock Lake Crisco.
Re: Gear Ideas [Re: RJF1423] #13971812 04/24/21 01:40 AM
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 548
P
porta Online Content
Pro Angler
Online Content
Pro Angler
P
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 548
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.

Last edited by porta; 04/24/21 02:17 AM.
Re: Gear Ideas [Re: lconn4] #13974664 04/26/21 08:40 PM
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 2,144
M
Mike@972 Online Content
Extreme Angler
Online Content
Extreme Angler
M
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 2,144
Originally Posted by lconn4
Never checked out Lightning Kayaks before. So many choices these days. cheers

https://lightningkayaks.com/


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

Last edited by Mike@972; 04/26/21 08:41 PM.
Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread

© 1998-2022 OUTDOOR SITES NETWORK all rights reserved USA and Worldwide
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.3