What’s a fishing kayak—and do you really need one?

Almost every angler has been there: stuck on shore, desperately chucking your gear out as far as you can while you watch a kayaker cruise by reeling fish in one after the other just a leeeetle further than you can cast. It’s truly an exercise in patience. 

The good news is that kayak fishing is becoming more accessible every day, even if you thought you’d never be able to join the lucky ranks of kayak anglers. There are options for everyone, including apartment dwellers, people with limited mobility, and anglers targeting different species in just about any and all environments. 

There are so many to choose from that it’s hard to know where to get started, so we’ll help point you in the right direction. 

What is a fishing kayak?

You can certainly go fishing from any kayak, but modern fishing kayaks are more tailored to aiding your angling experience than touring sea kayaks or whitewater kayaks, for example. Fishing kayaks tend to be of the sit-on-top sort, all the better for giving you lots of room to manipulate items (hopefully fish) in your lap area. They also lift you high above the water line, allowing you to see better while adding additional width for more stability (you can actually stand up with ease in many fishing kayaks). 

Fishing kayaks also offer more options for movement, which can expand new fishery options for you. More traditional styles are powered with familiar kayaking paddles, but pedal-driven kayaks have recently exploded onto the market too. These offer zippy, hands-free movement, better for trolling and for limited-mobility folks. Even more recently, some manufacturers are designing kayaks around small trolling motors, blurring the line between kayaks and their larger motorized watercraft cousins. 

That said, there are a lot of reasons why you’d want to stick with a fishing kayak instead of upgrading to a larger motorized boat. They’re cheaper, requiring less upkeep and paperwork. They’re quieter and can go in shallow water, unlocking access to new areas and fish that haven’t been spooked by sound. They’re more portable, they take up less space, and that all translates into a better fishing experience for you. 

Best fishing kayaks

Many fishing kayaks are relatively versatile, transitioning from shallow freshwater lakes to nearshore saltwater with minimal difficulty. The way you go fishing, the species you target, the type of water you’ll be going through, and your storage options back home all play a role in what type of fishing kayak would be best for you. 

1. Best pedal-driven: Hobie Mirage Pro Angler 12

Hobie was the first brand to revolutionize pedal fishing kayaks, and it’s still the best today. Hobie offers many pedal-drive fishing kayaks, but the Pro Angler 12 in its Mirage line offers the best maneuverability of any kayak. It can do a complete 360-degree rotation in place, allowing for precise movement.

2. Best budget pedal-driven: Pelican The Catch 110 HyDryve II

Pedal fishing kayaks are notoriously expensive, and rightly so. If you’re a newbie, however, that doesn’t leave a lot of cash left over for the number of kayak accessories available, not to mention your other fishing gear. The Pelican The Catch 110 HyDryve II is a good compromise, allowing you to gain familiarity with how pedal drives work at half the cost of other “starter” pedal fishing kayak models. 

3. Best motorized: Old Town Sportsman Autopilot 120

If you want a fishing kayak so futuristic that you can control it like a remote-controlled toy boat, your dreams may yet come true. This kayak with a built-in automated trolling motor even allows you to nail yourself down to a single fishing spot without deploying the anchor, adjusting motor speed and direction on the fly to cope with wind and currents. Be aware, however, that you’ll generally need to register it as a motorized watercraft in your state. 

4. Best budget: Pelican The Catch 100

If you’re new to kayak fishing and you don’t have any specific fisheries in mind you’re targeting, the Pelican The Catch 100 offers a good compromise. It’s a fishing kayak through and through, but it’s a fraction of the price of the higher-end models. This kayak is best for inland lakes and gentle waters, allowing you to test the waters (pun intended) before you invest a lot of money in a new hobby.

5. Best tandem: Jackson Kayak TakeTwo

Tandem kayaks often sound better on paper than they do in practice. (How often do you absolutely need space for exactly one other person, after all?) The TakeTwo offers you the option to use it with two people, or you can still easily paddle it solo and have extra storage space or room to bring your dog — your call. 

6. Best inflatable: Sea Eagle 385fta FastTrack Angler Series

Hooks and inflatable boats don’t seem like they would mix well together, but you don’t need to worry about that too much with the Sea Eagle 385fta. Even if you do somehow pop it, its four-chambered design still allows you to make it back to shore safely, where you can easily repair it. It’s even more portable than regular fishing kayaks, weighing in at just 45 pounds and packing up into a neat 36” x 15” x 20” package that can fit in the backseat of anyone’s car. 

7. Best folding: Oru Inlet

First launched as a Kickstarter campaign, this company offers surprisingly strong and beautiful folding kayaks aimed at the general paddler with limited storage or transport options. There are several models to choose from, but the Inlet offers the most open cockpit akin to a modern fishing kayak as long as you’re willing to sacrifice a bit on stability and maneuverability. 

8. Best saltwater: Old Town Salty PDL 120

Most types of fishing kayaks will handle the salt just fine too, depending on what you’re targeting. But once you’re out there, it’s tempting to go further—and the Old Town Salty PDL lets you do that. It has the stability to get you out past reef breakers if you’re so adventurous, and its pedal drive offers the speed to travel long distances safely, like out to offshore areas. 

9. Best multi-purpose: Hobie Mirage Outback

Not sure what you want in a kayak? The Hobie Mirage Outback is a good jack-of-all-trades, with a good balance of maneuverability and durability. Its pedal-drive system allows you to troll and cover lots of ground more easily, and its wide support base offers a stable platform to stand up while fishing. This boat didn’t get to be one of Hobie’s best-selling fishing kayaks without good reason, after all. 

10. Best sit-inside: Perception Sound 9.5

If you’re not yet ready for the full sit-on-top experience or you just prefer a more recreational-style kayak, the Perception Sound is an excellent and budget-friendly choice. It offers plenty of space mounting points to customize your accessories for a basic fishing setup. The cockpit is more open than a touring sea kayak per se, but then again, that gives you even more room to store fish.