Any advice for a newb with a kayak?

[mondofish]

After renting kayaks the last few weeks and doing some research, I purchased a kayak over the weekend. Its being shipped and should be here the 1st week of September. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Its the Perception Striker 11.5.

[ChaosStarter]

Don't under estimate even the slightest amount of wind.

[Jhunter1]

A lot of guys put in the delaware and paddle upstream a ways and fish back to the ramp. Soft plastics and helgrimmites should get you plenty of smallies. That's about the only place I fish. Others should be able to help with lakes and ponds.

[15FOOTER]

Dont kayak posted ponds in Buzzbaiters radius.

[Eskimo]

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If you're paddling down the Delaware River and you see a bunch of guys catfishing and drinking whiskey on the bank named Andre, Eddie, Alex and Pablo - paddle as fast as you can in the opposite direction!


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[UglyStick]

Originally Posted by 15footer

dont kayak posted ponds in buzzbaiters radius.

ha!

[Ken Lyons]

I would stay away from rivers with current like the Delaware until you don't need the advice. Even the P can leave you in a difficult position and don't go alone if you can avoid it. Wear your PFD. With experience you can fish Raritan Bay and even the ocean. By then you will learn about the wind. Stick with smaller lakes and ponds at first.
Good luck. Most of the kayak guys I know used to own boats but wouldn't go back.

[gwl2oneida]

Just stalk skunkcity, Rob spends more time in a kayak than some guys spend commuting in their cars.

[XXlyakattacker]

You have the main ingredient to kayak fishing and that's a SOT kayak. You won't look like a dog with worms trying to clean it's ass when launching or become the next kayak death story because you bought a cheap toy (sit inside) and tried to make a redneck bass boat out of it. Good research.The Delaware is where you go when you know what your doing, not learning. Unless you have access to a large slow moving section. I would definitly get some sort of electronics. Will be selling my lowrance lms 522c unit to upgrade after the sesson. I will add more before 9-1.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Not into Kayaking but let me give you some advise from a boaters perspective.

If you plan to fish it in the salt water I would suggest you have a flag kit installed so when you dip down between waves boaters can still see you.

For this same reason I would avoid areas where there is a lot of boat traffic like channels and thoroughfares to marinas. If you do decide to venture into these areas expect to get waked. You need to expect that boats in these areas will be running at speed and will not slow down to avoid waking you even if they see you.

I would not venture out on the salt alone. Things can change in a hurry with wind and tide shifts and it's much easier for boaters to see multiple Kayaks then it is one. If you do decide to venture out alone, make sure someone on land knows what your intentions are and what time to expect you back.

I'd also suggest you have a waterproof handheld VHF radio in case you need to radio for help.