Wes Littlefield 12.11.24
Kayaks have been used for leisure and transportation functions for hundreds of years, however few folks understand their crucial function in searching. If that’s you, don’t fear; you’ll quickly discover ways to deer hunt out of your kayak to deliver dwelling extra backstrap this season! I’ve been kayak deer attempting to find a number of years now and kicked myself for not starting sooner. Nonetheless, I didn’t begin earlier in life as a result of I didn’t have a kayak that met all my searching wants. So, let’s start by studying how to decide on the right yak.
Buying a Looking Kayak
Most individuals hate kayaks as a result of they select the most cost effective one they will discover. This can be a mistake, particularly for hunters. You don’t must go loopy, however a superb searching kayak will value you $800+ since you want a number of options that low-cost kayaks don’t have, resembling:
StabilityPortabilityOpen DesignCustomizability
Understanding the soundness of a kayak is barely doable when you check it on the water, so you are able to do a few various things to determine this out. The primary is to go to your native kayak store and ask in the event that they do demo days and try it out at that occasion. The opposite is to conduct thorough analysis to seek out out what others say in regards to the kayak’s stability during which you’re .
It doesn’t matter what kind of car you drive, portability is a matter. I desire to trailer my searching kayak as a result of it’s heavy and a bit lengthy for a truck mattress. However in the event you determine on a lighter, shorter yak, you’ll be able to automotive prime it in your SUV or toss it behind your truck.
A number of years in the past, most kayaks had been sit-inside kayaks, however at this time, the sit-on-top kayaks have taken over, and that’s the design you want for a couple of causes. Sit-on-top yaks are usually extra secure, which suggests they are typically safer and extra accessible to enter and exit, and hauling a deer throughout the lake is far less complicated with an open deck design.
Lastly, buying a really customizable kayak, like my Nucanoe Frontier 12, is nice as a result of you’ll be able to change it to suit your wants as a substitute of attempting to make issues work and ending up pissed off as a result of the kayak wasn’t designed with hunters in thoughts.
Kayak Deer Looking Rigged Proper
One technique to make your kayak deer searching extra pleasant is to rig your little plastic boat appropriately.
The wonderful thing about that is you determine what’s appropriate! Rigging your kayak is a private expertise, however listed here are a couple of suggestions I’ve picked up through the years.
Maintain It EasyMuch less Is ExtraAll the time Maintain Security In ThoughtsTake a look at It OutDon’t Be Afraid To Alter
My deer searching kayak setup is fairly easy. I’ve a few gun/bow mounts to safe my firearm or bow whereas touring throughout the water, a snug seat, paddle, PFD, and generally, I like to make use of a kayak trolling motor.
I’ve additionally rigged LED lights on my kayak to see the place I’m going at the hours of darkness and alert different boaters to my presence and course. My setup has modified through the years as I’ve found what I like and don’t like and adjusted it accordingly.
How To Deer Hunt from a Kayak
In contrast to duck searching from a kayak, there’s actually just one approach to make use of a kayak for deer searching: getting from level A to level B. I really like this as a result of it’s easy.
On my common kayak deer searching journey, I load my gear onto my Frontier 12, leaving loads of room for a deer to be positioned in entrance of me. Then, I paddle to the place I need to hunt. More often than not, I’m snug leaving my kayak on the shore, however in the event you’re not, be at liberty to pull it into the woods and canopy it with some brush earlier than strolling to your favourite spot. It’s actually that easy to deer hunt from a kayak, however why would you undergo this additional work?
Advantages of Utilizing a Kayak for Deer Looking
There are numerous advantages to kayak deer searching, and I’ve listed a couple of of them under:
Opens Up Extra ChoicesShortens Your StrollExtra CovertSimpler Transporting Your Harvested Deer
Whereas kayak deer searching, you’ll be able to entry extra distant spots that others can’t or are unwilling to achieve. This implies you hunt much less pressured deer and encounter fewer hunters. Kayaking additionally shortens your stroll. That is extraordinarily useful in the event you’re searching hilly terrain, as you’ll expend much less vitality to achieve your spot.
Kayaking can also be extra covert. You’re spreading much less of your scent via the woods. Paddling or utilizing a trolling motor is far quieter than crunching leaves whereas strolling or utilizing an outboard motor on a ship.
Lastly, it’s a lot simpler to haul your deer again to your car utilizing a kayak than dragging it again. I’ve drug my fair proportion of deer, and I’d a lot quite load a lifeless deer on my kayak and paddle it to my car than drag it again. Save your self a major backache and use a kayak when you’ll be able to.
Kayak Deer Looking Security Issues
For many of this text, I’ve made kayak deer searching sound prefer it’s all rainbows and unicorns as a result of it’s unbelievable, and a kayak is a helpful software for hunters. Nonetheless, kayaking throughout searching season includes some danger, and further precautions have to be taken to make sure you return dwelling to your loved ones and buddies.
ALWAYS Put on Your PFD Whereas KayakingDon’t Kayak When The Climate Is Harmful (Windy, Excessive Chilly, and many others.)Waterproof Gear Is Most well-liked
I can’t stress sufficient how necessary it’s to at all times put on your life jacket whereas kayaking. It’s such a easy factor to throw on and use, however many hunters fail to take action, and it prices them dearly. It doesn’t matter how good of a swimmer you’re; it’s exponentially harder in chilly water when your searching garments weigh you down.
If the climate isn’t cooperating, don’t danger it. Stroll to your spot as a substitute, or hunt at a special location. 15+ MPH winds are when issues get harmful for kayaks on giant reservoirs (you may get away with windy situations when paddling in small creeks or rivers) and excessive chilly (you’ll must determine what excessive chilly is for you).
Lastly, carrying waterproof gear is good. Getting moist within the chilly makes for a depressing and probably harmful hunt. I additionally desire to make use of a water-proof backpack to maintain most of my gear in, as all the pieces will get moist in a kayak as a result of they’re so near the water.
Parting Photographs
Regardless of the dangers concerned with kayak deer searching, it opens up many extra searching alternatives and benefits. I strongly advocate utilizing a kayak for searching on public or personal land that borders creeks, rivers, or lakes! Is kayak deer searching value it to you? Let me know within the feedback!
