Stand up kayak options

[the reel ess]

9 hours ago, flyfisher said:

It is totally a preference thing but I will say some techniques are much easier to do while standing.  For me I am standing anytime I am throwing a frog or pitching/flipping a jig and 99% of the time when I am fly fishing.  Helps to create a little better leverage on a hookset I have found and makes it easier to get fish out of heavy cover.  If I am fishing moving baits or flies, sitting works and also prevents you from being blown around as easily

I'm curious what your kayak weighs. OP is talking about car topping.

[casts_by_fly]

19 hours ago, GTN-NY said:

Nope can’t do that. I pee sitting down in the kayak lol

 

My autopilot is stable enough that I just put a foot on the top gunwale and lean into it.  The boat tips about 15-20 degrees and stops.  No issues unless it is windy/wavy.  Gotta remember to move the coffee cup to the other side of the boat though...

 

18 hours ago, the reel ess said:

I'd question if you need to stand in a kayak. I had one that was supposedly stable enough to stand in. I still didn't feel comfy doing so. It weighed nearly 90lbs. I sold it and bought one that was easier to load and unload and weighed about 35 lbs. less. No regret.

 

I rarely sit except to tie on a lure or take a break and enjoy the sunshine (i.e. the fish haven't bit for a couple hours and I'm getting tired of it).  I guess I treat my kayak the way I would a boat and not a kayak, but that's just how I fish.

[Bankc]

31 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

I rarely sit except to tie on a lure or take a break and enjoy the sunshine (i.e. the fish haven't bit for a couple hours and I'm getting tired of it).  I guess I treat my kayak the way I would a boat and not a kayak, but that's just how I fish.

I rarely stand on my kayak, though I don't have a problem doing so.  I like to fish on the move, and it's easier to control the kayak while sitting.  And there are a lot of new techniques that open up to you when sitting so close to the water.  Like I can "pitch" while sitting with a side-arm cast, just keeping my bait a few inches above the water throughout the cast and get the soft landing I get from a normal pitch.  Plus, it's easier to skip and "pitch" under low hanging obstructions from a seated position (for me anyway).  I also find landing the fish easier if I'm already down there.  Though, sometimes, you get a better angle or view if you stand.  And it sure is nice to be able to stand from time to time to stretch out your legs and back.  Or, as often in my case, retrieve a lure from an overhanging tree branch.

 

So I view being able to stand in a fishing kayak as a necessity.  Though I it's not what I primarily do.  

[the reel ess]

4 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

I rarely sit except to tie on a lure or take a break and enjoy the sunshine (i.e. the fish haven't bit for a couple hours and I'm getting tired of it).  I guess I treat my kayak the way I would a boat and not a kayak, but that's just how I fish.

Could you car top yours without major effort?

3 hours ago, Bankc said:

I rarely stand on my kayak, though I don't have a problem doing so. 

I have enough trouble standing and walking on solid ground.

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, the reel ess said:

Could you car top yours without major effort?

I have enough trouble standing and walking on solid ground.

Doubtful. I have a truck and put it in the bed. I also leave 35 lb of battery, and another 5lb of packed items in the boat. It makes for a hefty lift into the bed so cartopping would require changes and a good lift (and ideally a lower car, not an SUV). 

[HookInMouth]

If you're looking for stable it's hard to beat an SS127 or Big Rig but A LOT of kayaks are stable enough to stand in. I never do though. I'll stand up and stretch and whatnot but I fish sitting down. Nothing I can't do sitting that I can do standing. 

 

The only other kayak I would consider over the SS127 is the Old Town Sportsman. And that's just a value thing. I like the price point better. Really don't like the seat tho compared to the SS127. 

[Bankc]

20 hours ago, the reel ess said:

Could you car top yours without major effort?

I have enough trouble standing and walking on solid ground.

I car top mine, and it weighs 85lbs, and I have a slipped disc in my back that never healed.  Hence my need to be able to stand from time to time.  Six hours straight of sitting in one position will put me down for a week or more.  

 

The thing about car topping a kayak is if you can get it up on a pivot, it's not that difficult to lift a heavy kayak, since you're never lifting even half the weight, and that weight is supported against the pivot.  I use that truck bed extender now as a pivot, but in the past I've used my kayak cart, flipped upside down and strapped to my trunk...

Kind of like this guy:

https://youtu.be/s7gQKKBV648

 

But yeah, if you have stability issues normally, then trying to stand in a kayak is dangerous.  There's no point in dealing with the hassle of all of that excess weight if you can't stand up in one.  

 

 

[flyfisher]

On 3/30/2022 at 7:39 AM, the reel ess said:

I'm curious what your kayak weighs. OP is talking about car topping.

My kayak weighs around 90lbs and I used to cartop it on a Jeep Wrangler with 35" tires.  Lifting a boat is as much about technique as it is strength.  You have to find the true middle balance point and use that to your advantage.  I would tilt my kayak on its side crouch down and basically with straight arms pivot the kayak up over my head and stand up and put in on the rack. 

I have since gotten a trailer but that is more becasue I use a motor now for river trips and I don't want to have to take everythign off and then put it back on at the launch.