The handles of my rods constantly interferes with my PFD!! Causes me to have to hold my arms out further away from me. I know it sounds ridiculous but it drives me nuts. Anyone else have this issue? Thinking about finding some rods with really short handles... Not sure they are out there though


Crocs suck for kayaking! I was slipping out of them as I was trying to drag a 70lbs yak up a grassy incline.

I agree on the crocs, I went to a sandal with straps (Teva brand is what I have), works well in the summer time. I have not noticed the handles on my rods hitting my PFD though. what type of PFD do you have?

CROCS suck really bad. I fell down 3 times in one trip. Got pretty tore up. I got a good pair of water shoes from Academy and fixed that problem. I can't stand to not be Kayak fishing!!! Best little boats EVER !!

Astral Buoyancy Nova PFD

looks slimmer than mine. I will have to pay attention to see if my rods are hitting my PVD now. Never used to bug me, probably will now LOL

I have an expensive PFD and I still cant wear it and be comfortable. maybe because m too big. It competes for room with my gut! I rarely wear my PFD but I keep it close.


as far as foot ware I wore the teva sandals for a while and still do occasionally. But when Im doing a river with small rocks like the brazos I normally wear my vibram KSO's. They keep the rocks out much better. I had a horrible experience with the tevas on the brazos once. Tiny rocks in your sandals for 3 days is torture.

I don't ever wear my pfd so I dot have this problem haha, I'm a very strong swimmer and i'm never very far from land or out in the open around boats....not saying it's good to not wear it or that I'm above drowning, but I just never wear it because its just a pain in the butt....I do keep one in the yak close to me though

I have the same problem with my pfd. Normally I wear it while paddling then remove it for fishing. In the winter I will keep it on though. Seems to keep me warmer, but it is much safer to wear full time in cold water.

In lakes I launch at the ramps so my crocs work fine. Agree that a sandal would probably be better. In the Brazos and Buffalo rivers I wear my Columbia water shoes with the drain holes at the bottom. However rocks seem to always find their way in!!

Crocks = falling down in water. I bought some Revaluation water shoes that have some support and they are awesome.

The automatic PFDs are really comfortable. My rods have extra long handles and I really don't have any issues at all.

You can get a really good deal on them if you look around.

The great thing about the automatic PDF, in my opinion, is that it is so comfortable I forget I am wearing it. I have absolutely no excuse to take it off, and that gives me (and my family) peace of mind.

And yes, the TEVA sandals are great.

I use the TEVA Monsones.

I also have a pair of Merrell shoes that are basically like a hiking shoe/aqua sock hybrid. My good buddy gave them to me (thanks Eric). Really great kayak shoes.

Crocs 4 me, but once my butt hits the seat in the hatch they go

I make sure all my rods have shorter handles than usual, but my primary setups are semi-custom rods so I made sure the butts were made shorter than standard.

You could switch to an inflatable lifevest. I bought one for tournament fishing since it was required to be worn. They're light and comfortable, a plus since you have to continually wear them when on the water.

Oh, I was never a Croc guy. I used to wear Teva sandals, then Keen and now I wear the Vibram Fivefingers.

Try the Magellan Neoprene Wading boots. I've had a pair for a few months. Used em on the coast, up in Colorado and aroud here and they have held up well.

At 20 bucks, (Academy), you cant find a better deal IMO. That's half the price of the comperable Caddis models.