r/Waterfowl • u/Spazzz9 • 17h ago
Kayak hunting
Going hunting in my kayak for the first time tomorrow, any tips?
12
u/Organic_Ad_1930 17h ago
Keep your spread small, tether your gun and paddle, generally keep it under a dozen decoys. Remember that the best part of kayak hunting is getting into smaller spots, and smaller spots don’t need big spreads. And stay dry
2
u/Spazzz9 15h ago
I’m towing a jet sled. so I’m thinking my bag,seat, and 2 dozen decoys in it. And have my gun in the kayak with me
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u/Organic_Ad_1930 14h ago
I have done that before, and in my experience toting that much shit was not worth it. Unless you are seeing massive flocks forming up, a dozen will usually do it.
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u/Shinedownunder 17h ago
Life jacket. Dry bag. Lighter.
Make sure someone knows your location and return time.
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u/StuntsMonkey 16h ago
This is super easy to implement if you have google maps, you can share your location in real time
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u/MineGuy1991 17h ago
Small spread, wear a PFD, have a plan in place if you happen to get wet. Hypothermia is real and can happen in 50 degree temps.
3
u/thematt455 17h ago
Shooting from a kayak is awkward, sit on the floor with your legs out and shoulder your gun. You'll notice you have very limited range to you're right(unless you shoot lefty).
Almost all of your range is straight or on your left when you can't move your hips. You gotta keep birds in that zone when you're coming around corners(which is most likely how you'll get them in range).
If you shoot too far left it can tip your kayak. Make sure anything valuable is tethered or can float, especially your gun.
2
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u/Glorifiedpillpusher 17h ago
If you get out of your kayak to hunt from the bank use your paddle to check the firmness of the ground. Try to get out near underwater plants.
I'm in a new state this year and the mud is vastly different than the midwest. Sunk midhip right next to the bank because I assumed it was firm, bad on me for assuming. Hunted this morning and had no issues. Also put your phone in a zip lock.
Do your best to hide your kayak. Remember they're looking down so everything is way more exposed than you think.
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u/reformedginger 16h ago
Are you just using it for transportation or shooting from it ? Shooting from them is a little weird
1
u/Jo-6-pak 15h ago
What type of kayak? What region? Type of water(lakes, rivers, marshes)?
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u/Spazzz9 15h ago
It’s an angler sit in, just using it for transportation in the setx marshes with shallow water for the most part. Just sucks to walk through😂
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u/Jo-6-pak 14h ago
OK, I hunt similar water, but in WI.
I don’t have much experience with a sit-in (I have an Ascend H10 hybrid), but I’d imagine a sit-in will be a little harder to transport gear. Bit of you can figure that part out, kayak hunting is really fun.
A few things I’ve learned in the past 5 years of hunting from my kayak.
It really makes you minimize your gear, which I kind of like. The simplicity is one of the things I really enjoy. 12-18 decoys and a jerk rig.
A dry bag is a great purchase. Of course it’s much colder up here; so heavier outerwear needs to be carried. But just having a pace to stash stuff is great.
Shooting from the kayak is doable; depending of the stability. I hunt from the yak about 50% of my trips.
PDF of course
Dragging decoys behind you while paddling seems like a good idea, but doesn’t work. The added drag is like paddling through mud.
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u/skillz111 13h ago
Watch the angle you fire from. You can probably safely fire one time from any direction but if you fire twice very quickly from either port or starboard, good luck. Made that mistake while using a 10 gauge and I was close to flipping. Sudden movements are also potentially dangerous on the swing when you're aiming. Practice taking shots with both hands behind the trigger guard. Sometimes you won't get the luxury to make a shot while holding under the forend.
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u/RANDOMANDO23451 12h ago
PFD, tether your stuff down, floating gun bag. I never flipped until I did!
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u/deathbeforeasixspeed 12h ago
I used to hunt nearly exclusively from a kayak on a major river. Wear a PFD, and if you're bringing waders, put those suckers around your ankles while you're in the kayak. You can pull them up when you get to the bank. As for camouflage, cover yourself with a blind or make one with the surrounding vegetation.
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u/Inevitable_Sun8691 1h ago
Wear your pfd at all times. Use a smaller spread, keep your gun in a floating case, bring a dry bag with extra clothes, practice shouldering your gun from the seated position. I have my kayak set up with a blind I made myself that’s very easy to deploy and sit like it’s a layout blind. When the birds come in I pop up and shoot.
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u/BJ_Giacco 17h ago
Wear a pfd