Being able to focus on, organize, and distribute the stuff you’ll need for a day’s fishing, or even an entire fishing trip, is both a blessing and a curse for kayak anglers. Prepping for a tournament, a planned fishing trip, or even just a day on the water helps kayak anglers think about what species they’re after, what rods, gear, and tackle they’ll need, and calculate where it’s all going to go.
Lay it out
Boat Design: Kayaks are broken down into two major categories: sit-on-tops and cockpit style boats. The sit-on tops, and a few hybrids of the two, are much better suited for kayak fishing because of the availability of open decks and wells molded into the boat. A cockpit style boat, also known as a sit inside, was designed to keep water out of the cockpit. While cockpit style boats see some general usage in fishing, that’s not the original design for the boat.
The design and layout of the sit-on-top has a lot to do with how and where you can store tackle and mount gear on the boat. The design of some kayaks allow the angler to add pieces that will assist in the organization of the boat such as rod boxes, tackle bags, coolers, etc.
Rod Storage: Fishing rod storage begins at the origination point, before the rods are ever loaded into the transport vehicle or placed in the kayak. Rod sleeves, plastic mesh sheaths that fit over most or all of the entire length of the rod, then secures to the reel, have become a popular accessory for all anglers, not just kayak anglers. The sleeve protects the rod from getting nicks in the finish, which can later result in a broken rod when put under the stress of a good fish.
On the boat, rod storage varies from racks or cradles that hold the rod vertical, horizontal, or somewhere in between. The old milk crate with several lengths of PVC tubing bolted to the inside or outside of the crate still sees widespread usage. A tip to keep the reels pointed in separate directions when stored on the boat is to cut or grind a notch in the top of each tube that will accommodate the stem of a spinning or baitcasting reel.
Transportation: Going back to the transport vehicle, some kayak tournament anglers spend a lot of time and resources designing lockable storage in a truck bed, van, or SUV, both to transport gear and tackle as well as store additional/replacement parts and gear that might be needed when away from home.
If you are interested in such, aftermarket kits, based on the make and manufacturer of your vehicle, can be assembled and attached to the vehicle to make use of every available space.
Other kayak anglers prefer to design their own organizer systems to fit a vehicle or kayak trailer using cut-to-fit wood, plastic, and large diameter PVC piping.
Keep it handy
Tackle: The actual management of fishing tackle, lures, soft plastics, terminal tackle, and tools like pliers and snips varies greatly from angler to angler. One common thread is that fishing tackle is the most utilized items once you’re on the water. It’s advisable to have tackle close at hand and available. For instance, storing jigs and soft plastics in a hatch in the front of the boat when fishing around heavy structure is going to require the kayak angler to stop fishing, reach up to the front, or worse beach the craft, to get out to retrieve the needed item.
As mentioned, the layout of the boat is important to organization. Some manufacturers build tackle storage hatches and bins right in front of the seat. Others may design some under seat storage for tackle.
Another common thread concerns the actual tackle box. Rather than sorting through some type of container with recent purchases of products still in the package, take the time during trip planning to sort tackle into a plastic tackle box, the kind that’s usually clear and comes with a set of dividers to use to accommodate different size baits or other tackle. These boxes come in several standard sizes and fit readily into hatches designed to store them.
Most sit-on-top kayaks designed for fishing will have ridges molded into the deck that are used to store other items such as pliers, tackle boxes, and other small to medium sized gear. Since cell phones play such an important part in tournament kayak fishing (to photograph fish on a measuring board) make sure you allow a relatively dry but handy space to store your phone close at hand.
Speaking of measuring boards, all but the larger 40-inch models will fit comfortably stored behind the angler’s seat, between the seat and the rear tank well, although it’s wise to attach a leash or tether to the board as they can get slippery from fish slime during use.
Power Supply: A discussion of tackle and gear storage would not be complete without consideration given to where to store the power supply to run electronics, lights, and other accessories you’ll need for kayak fishing. With lighter weight, compact lithium and sealed lead acid batteries readily available, kayak anglers don’t need a full-sized, heavy, 12-volt battery, unless you are running a trolling motor.
Again, a well-designed boat may have a compartment with below-deck wiring connections available to power whatever electronics you’re running. For those boats without built-in compartments, a drill, some epoxy, electrical wiring and a battery storage box will allow you to make your own below-deck modifications.
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