As I pass over area bridges and waterways I see more and more people fishing from kayaks. If you think about it the low country offers the perfect opportunities to fish from a kayak. We have a great population of redfish that love to work the area banks and flooded marshes for dinner and the trout and flounder are also accessible from a kayak. If you have not taken the opportunity to try kayak fishing you truly do not know what you are missing. Being able to get eye to eye with a fish is one of the greatest experiences you can imagine. I’ve enjoyed watching the fish feed in the habitat as much as I’ve enjoyed trying to catch them. Seeing a big fish swim into water so shallow his eyes are out of the water as he chases finger mullet and shrimp is exciting. There is also something great about the peacefulness of no motors running and the stealth factor in moving into range without being detected.
Lately more fishermen have begun to use sit on top kayaks as the kayak of choice. There are several reasons for this. Many times the kayak is great for getting you where you need to go, but for better vision especially in an area with a firm bottom, getting out and standing up gives you much better height and visibility to be able to sight cast fish. A sit on top kayak is much easier to get off and on especially if you are fishing a low tide flat on the incoming tide and getting back on in deeper water. Another great thing about this style of kayak is that when that boat does come flying by and throws a wake the water does not end up inside of the kayak with you. As busy as our waterways have become this can be an issue.
We have several good stores locally that carry kayaks and many carry models good for fishing. For those that do not own a boat or have a boat that will not get them into the shallows this is a great way to reach the shallowest of waters without a huge investment in a high tech flats boat. There are also many more places you can slip a kayak into the water without having to use one of the m