sit inside vs sit on top kayak

[Jonas Staggs]

looking to grab my first kayak, would like to eventually put a trolling motor on it one day as well. Not sure whats best for fishing though, a sit inside or sit on top? Also, might sound crazy but I have been looking at the intex inflatable kayak as well, have searched around and seen quite a few videos of people fishing from them. Anyone on here have any experience with them? thanks!

[Bluebasser86]

I've fished from sit inside and SOT kayaks. The SOT is head and shoulders above the sit inside style for fishing IMO. They should be though since they're generally more designed for fishing than the sit inside models are. I'd really like to try one of they hybrids, like a NuCanoe and see how I like those.

[Smalls]

Storage, comfort, fishability, stability, and ease of modifications/add ons are all pros of the SOT’s.

 

 General speed is the only pro I can think of sit inside’s. 

 

You’ll have a way more difficult time adding a TM to a sit inside. Pretty easy and straight forward process on a SOT. 

[CountryboyinDC]

Sit inside kayaks (SINKs) will have generally better performance overall, all other things being equal.  They'll be more efficient, more responsive, more stable, lighter, and drier.  There are three main drawbacks to them as a fishing platform.  They are almost impossible to self-recover if flipped in water too deep to stand.  With a sit on top (SOT), as long as water doesn't get between the hull and deck layers, it's pretty a straightforward process.  With the SINK, about the only self rescue is the paddle float, and that's not super easy, or you need another paddler to get you going again (still not easy).  SINKs are more confined than SOTs, so getting to all your stuff is harder when fishing.  And last, SINKs are generally not as comfortable, due to the restrictive cockpit and seats they have.  Hybrid canoe/kayaks a la the Wilderness Commander or Native Ultimate have the same self-recovery issue as a SINK, but otherwise can be generally as satisfactory as SOTs while being lighter than either, particularly considering the carrying capacity.  There are SINKs that mitigate the uncomfortableness and confined cockpits somewhat - 2 I'm aware of are the Bonafide SINK and the Jackson Kilroy.  As for trolling motor, I've seen transom mount trolling motors mounted to practically every thing that floats, including a float tube.  It may not be as straightforward as mounting to a square sterned canoe or a SOT with a flat tankwell with a flat transom, but it can be done (wouldn't be straightforward with my Predator PDL, either).  As for an inflatable, I think back to nights of paddling a Zodiac.  I would think to myself 'if this many guys were paddling a canoe this hard, we'd be done with the raid already, back in the patrol base ready to rack out.'  I'm sure that the inflatable kayaks are a lot better, but there's got to be some of that "Zodiac effect".  There are guys I fish with using catarafts, and even though those have oars with locks, when there's flat water they have to use the electric motor to keep up with the kayaks.

[Harold Scoggins]

7 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

they're generally more designed for fishing than the sit inside models are.

 

6 hours ago, Smalls said:

Storage, comfort, fishability, stability, and ease of modifications/add ons are all pros of the SOT’s.

Yes!

[Dens228]

For me.......

SOT, stability, customization, storage and access to storage, higher vantage point for both casting, presentation, bringing the fish in.

 

Sit in...........great for a pleasure paddle around the lake or down the river.  

[Bird]

Had a WS pungo sit in accessorized for fishing, fast well built but sit to low compared to my Feelfree sot......SOT hands down for fishing. 

Huge market for sot fishing yaks for good reason. 

 

Also had the intex inflatable for camping. It was actually durable but no comparison to a plastic boat and took quite a while to inflate. 

 

My current is a Jonny boats bass 100 with motor pod....a fisherman's dream.

 

Good luck. 

[Dens228]

44 minutes ago, Bird said:

Had a WS pungo sit in accessorized for fishing, fast well built but sit to low compared to my Feelfree sot......SOT hands down for fishing. 

Huge market for sot fishing yaks for good reason. 

 

Also had the intex inflatable for camping. It was actually durable but no comparison to a plastic boat and took quite a while to inflate. 

 

My current is a Jonny boats bass 100 with motor pod....a fisherman's dream.

 

Good luck. 

A buddy of mine is getting the Jonny Boat..........he's upgrading from a tiny little 10 foot sit in kayak.

 

[Jonas Staggs]

1 hour ago, Bird said:

Had a WS pungo sit in accessorized for fishing, fast well built but sit to low compared to my Feelfree sot......SOT hands down for fishing. 

Huge market for sot fishing yaks for good reason. 

 

Also had the intex inflatable for camping. It was actually durable but no comparison to a plastic boat and took quite a while to inflate. 

 

My current is a Jonny boats bass 100 with motor pod....a fisherman's dream.

 

Good luck. 

Im not going to be going out on any giant crazy lake, and if i do go to a larger lake, i plan to stick closer to shore. Do you think I will be ok with the intex, at least just for starters? That was my thought process, it would be a cheap easy way to get into it. I have never had a kayak or fished from one before but im sick of being stuck on shore. I do figure I would eventually like to put a trolling motor on my kayak eventually as well. but the intex is so cheap, i figure I can always upgrade later.

[Choporoz]

I recommend you follow one of two or three paths -- do at least one before buying the Intex

 

A.  Go to a local park/lake that rents kayaks.  And rent a kayak.  If they have SOT, rent one of them; take a rod and paddle and fish for an hour or two.  You will learn quite a bit.

 

B.  Find every kayak dealer within a couple hours.  Call them and find out if they have demo days.  This is your best starting place and you will learn so much so fast.  Even if they don't have a demo day coming up, go into a shop and sit in a couple there in the shop.

 

C.  Get onto Facebook and find the local kayak fishing club.  They may well be tournament-oriented, but they will almost certainly also be friendly and helpful.  One or more may offer you a test drive of their yak.  One or more will have used kayaks for sale this time of year; and a number of them will know of others outside the club that are selling kayaks. 

 

Lastly, search for threads on here with 'kayak' in the title.  There has been a LOT of great info written here on BR about kayak fishing and outfitting in recent years.  Good luck.

[YoTone]

the only reason to get an inflatable is if you have zero space to store a regular kayak. even if i didnt have any space to store a kayak i would just have it  on my car year round.   I had one and any wind will be trouble sometimes serious trouble. 

[Jonas Staggs]

5 hours ago, Choporoz said:

I recommend you follow one of two or three paths -- do at least one before buying the Intex

 

A.  Go to a local park/lake that rents kayaks.  And rent a kayak.  If they have SOT, rent one of them; take a rod and paddle and fish for an hour or two.  You will learn quite a bit.

 

B.  Find every kayak dealer within a couple hours.  Call them and find out if they have demo days.  This is your best starting place and you will learn so much so fast.  Even if they don't have a demo day coming up, go into a shop and sit in a couple there in the shop.

 

C.  Get onto Facebook and find the local kayak fishing club.  They may well be tournament-oriented, but they will almost certainly also be friendly and helpful.  One or more may offer you a test drive of their yak.  One or more will have used kayaks for sale this time of year; and a number of them will know of others outside the club that are selling kayaks. 

 

Lastly, search for threads on here with 'kayak' in the title.  There has been a LOT of great info written here on BR about kayak fishing and outfitting in recent years.  Good luck.

thanks for your input, great advice I never thought of, one of the local lakes does rent out kayaks i should try that for sure. 

4 hours ago, YoTone said:

the only reason to get an inflatable is if you have zero space to store a regular kayak. even if i didnt have any space to store a kayak i would just have it  on my car year round.   I had one and any wind will be trouble sometimes serious trouble. 

 

when you say you had one you mean the inflatable right? can you elaborate on your troubles with the wind? I dont want to get swept away! I got plenty of space to store the kayak, the inflatable appeals to me because of how easy it can be transported and how light it is. I could hike into somewhere with it in its storage case, open it up, pump it up with a battery operated pump, and go. One of the places I am looking to use the kayak will be a hike in, but outside of that, I would prefer to have a real deal kayak with a trolling motor to hit big lakes. 

[Smalls]

3 hours ago, Jonas Staggs said:

can you elaborate on your troubles with the wind? I dont want to get swept away!

Even the slightest wind is going to push you around like it wants yer lunch money. There’s not enough mass to them to keep you planted. And because they’re harder to add accessories to, anchoring is difficult. 

 

I know Sea Eagle and Hobie both make good inflatables, that I’ve seen people really like. But they’re also a lot more expensive than the Intex

[YoTone]

4 hours ago, Jonas Staggs said:

thanks for your input, great advice I never thought of, one of the local lakes does rent out kayaks i should try that for sure. 

 

when you say you had one you mean the inflatable right? can you elaborate on your troubles with the wind? I dont want to get swept away! I got plenty of space to store the kayak, the inflatable appeals to me because of how easy it can be transported and how light it is. I could hike into somewhere with it in its storage case, open it up, pump it up with a battery operated pump, and go. One of the places I am looking to use the kayak will be a hike in, but outside of that, I would prefer to have a real deal kayak with a trolling motor to hit big lakes. 

trust the people here and forget the inflatable.

 

i know hiking to some remote spot to kayak to fish where no one else has sounds  very appealing but realistically its going to be such a headache and  time consuming youre going to end up not using it much. 

 

if youre concerned about weight there are lots sit on top kayaks that are less than 100 lbs that can easily be tossed on the top of your car with a simple car rack. transporting it once you get it off is simple with a kayak dolly. there are plenty of smart options out there.

 

again, listen to the people here and go for a sit on top kayak and move on from there. sit on top kayaks offers so much more than sit in kayaks that i would forget about that option as well.

[Jonas Staggs]

2 hours ago, YoTone said:

trust the people here and forget the inflatable.

 

i know hiking to some remote spot to kayak to fish where no one else has sounds  very appealing but realistically its going to be such a headache and  time consuming youre going to end up not using it much. 

 

if youre concerned about weight there are lots sit on top kayaks that are less than 100 lbs that can easily be tossed on the top of your car with a simple car rack. transporting it once you get it off is simple with a kayak dolly. there are plenty of smart options out there.

 

again, listen to the people here and go for a sit on top kayak and move on from there. sit on top kayaks offers so much more than sit in kayaks that i would forget about that option as well.

 

yeah after reading most the comments on here the SOT seems like the way to go. 

 

 

[JLBBass]

SOT without a doubt!

[fishwizzard]

As for a hike-in yak, I have seen guys on the Potomac with little whitewater yaks fitted with straps to let you carry them like a back pack.  I keep dreaming about getting something like that and using it to fish otherwise un-boatable waters, but I think I am realistically never going to do it.  I still think it's an awesome idea.  

[J Francho]

There are hybrids.  I have a Wilderness systems Commander 140 that was fast, easy to fish out of, super stable to stand and fish, and could haul a ton of gear if necessary.  These days, I'm primarily fishing out of a Hobie Compass, which is a simple, well designed, pedal drive kayak.