So you bought a kayak or paddleboard and now you want to rig it for fishing. Rod holders, electronics, mounts, lights, cameras and accessories are easy to add thanks to modern marvels. Nowadays, most fishing accessories are not limited to kayaks; they’re made to attach to boats, ATVs, motorcycles and coolers. If you play it smart, you can even attach multiple gadgets to your kayak with a single mount.
3 Ways to Rig Your Kayak with Go-Anywhere Gadgets
1 Interchangeable Pods
One of the most exciting innovations in kayak design is the invention of pods. These are removable storage units on the boat that can hold gear or electronics. If you have more than one boat by the same manufacturer, you can likely change out pods to save time and money. Or you can mount a fish finder on a removable battery box and a transducer arm to move it from one kayak to another. Leave the pod packed to make loading easier.
Not only does the pod store gear out of the way and in reach, but it places most of the weight low and in the center of the kayak, where it can improve stability and trim. The only downside: A pod can add weight and drag to the hull, sapping performance.
Some fishing kayaks that feature pod designs include:
- 3 Waters Kayaks: Big Fish 105
- Brooklyn Kayak Company: BKC FK285
- Bonafide Kayaks: RS117, SS107, SS127
- Feelfree Kayaks: Lure 11.5, Lure 13.5, Lure II Tandem
- NuCanoe: F10, Pursuit, Unlimited
- Ocean Kayak: Trident 11, Trident 13
- Old Town Canoes & Kayaks: Loon 120
- Pelican: Sentinel 100X Angler, Sentinel 100X EXO
- Viking Kayaks: Profish GT, Profish Reload
- Wilderness Systems: ATAK 120, Radar 115, Radar 135
2 Gear Tracks
Kayak anglers may need to install and remove accessories each trip. They also need to move stuff around through the day. That’s why a kayak angler invented the gear track. Gear tracks are narrow, metal slotted bars. Insert a T-bolt into the slot and secure almost any accessory to the kayak in seconds. Many kayaks come with pre-mounted tracks, and it is easy to add your own. Most accessories fit tracks by other manufacturers.
Tracks don’t give enough leverage to provide a solid base for heavy work like rod holders, so they’re best used for lighter duty accessories such as electronics or cameras. They come in metal or plastic with the latest models shaving material to stay low-profile.
3 Mounts, Bases and Adapters
The coolest thing about interchangeable accessories is that gear can be shared from one vehicle to another. Install a base in each vehicle and move your cellphone holder from car to kayak to ATV or RV. Leash plug adapters even make it possible to install almost any accessory on a standup paddleboard.
Super-strong adhesive base mounts allow you to carry your gear on an inflatable boat or board. Bar mounts work great on ATVs, motorcycles, bikes and snowmobiles. We love that nearly all of these bases work with mounts from other companies and mounts come with adapters to accept any base.
Rig your fishing kayak or standup paddleboard with gadgets that can go anywhere. | Feature photo: Courtesy of YakAttack
