Kayak Fishing Accessories for Under $30
8 Kayak Fishing Accessories for Under $30 Each
Got a New Toy: Eight Kayak Fishing Accessories for Under $30 Each
By Jeff Little, Wilderness Kayak Fishing Team Member
Within a few days of purchasing a new kayak, I make a trip to Home Depot, Walmart and a tackle shop. The items I pick up there cost very little, but prove to be invaluable once installed on my new kayak. These simple add-ons improve your stealth, how organized you are, and how much effort you expend getting to the water.
The first item most inexperienced kayak anglers want to put on is an anchor. I’ve explored different anchoring set ups, from a self retracting anchor spool to an anchor trolley line that allows you to anchor off of your bow or stern. My recommendation is to fight the instinct and forgo the anchor completely. The short answer to why I recommend not putting an anchor on a kayak is that anchors are dangerous on a relatively small boat. I’ve been tethered to the bottom of the Potomac River downstream of the Chain Bridge, whipping back and forth, screaming out in fear for my life, asking my friend Kurt to cut my anchor line and save my life.
I’ve had to do
the same for a friend. I’ve heard countless stories of similar experiences, one of which I included in a chapter titled “Maintaining Boat Position” in my book In Pursuit of Trophy Smallmouth Bass: My Life in a Kayak. I’ll spare you and further harrowing details and provide an alternative.
Sand Spike
Materials: Replacement rake handle, rope
Tools: Knife, drill
Cost: Less than $10
This simple tool is my sit on top kayak parking brake. When I hop out to wade, I pull this stake out from the paddle holder, slide it down through one of the scupper holes, and jam it down into the mud, sand, or gravel. Wind won’t blow my kayak away now. I’ll also use it when I’m in the kayak to “anchor” in shallow water.
The spike is simply a $7 replacement rake handle cut to an appropriate length and whittled sharp on the business end. A rope handle finishes it off nicely at minimal extra cost. Drill two holes through the other end, run a knotted rope through one hole, wrap it tightly around, run through the second hole, and tie another knot.
Drag Rope
Materials: Wooden closet dowel, rope, duct tape, carabineer.
Tools: Drill, saw.
Cost: About $20 (makes several)
I grew up a long bicycle ride away from the Potomac River and the C & O Canal that borders it on the Maryland side for 184 miles. The Canal towpath served as a perfect trail to self shuttle with the aide of a kayak cart. I would float downstream, pull the kayak up the bank, center the kayak on the cart, and walk my way back to my truck, wheeling the kayak behind me.
The less expensive alternative came to me as a result of using paths that were not as wheel friendly as the C & O Canal. Specifically, when bushwhacking to water I wanted to fish, the cart would slide off the kayak when it hit large roots or deep mud puddles.
This usually caused me to give up on the cart. I would firmly hold the front grab loop, leaving me dragging the kayak on its keel. Doing so can really wear through the hull in a hurry.
Besides wearing out your boat, this can also wear out the same shoulder you will need later to set the hook. The tow strap evolved from these bushwhacking experiences, and proved to be much less wear on both my kayak and my shoulder.
Dragging a kayak along its entire length may seem like it would shred the kayak like a block of cheddar. The real wear and tear comes from that riffle that you ran aground on and started throwing your torso’s weight fore and aft to mash through what you should just get out for. Dragging a kayak without the weight of an occupant wears the kayak some, but for the simplicity and ease of access, the practice is completely worth it.
My tow strap consists of a wooden closet bar dowel, a small carabineer, some duct tape, and some rope. Cut the large dowel to about 18 inches, sand the splinters off of the ends, and drill a hole through the center. Cut an 8 foot section of rope. Longer tow ropes put less strain on the person towing. Run the rope through the hole, tie a large enough knot to prevent the rope from pulling through. Use the duct tape to wrap up/clean up the end of the rope. Tie a few overhand knots in the middle of the rope. These will be useful grips when you have to pull the kayak up over a steep clay bank. Tie the carabineer to the tag end, and clean up the knot from fraying with some duct tape.
Pool Noodle
Materials: Pool noodle
Tools: Serrated knife
Cost $5
Chad Hoover, author of Kayak Fishing for Bass provided this one to me. He placed a
section of a pool noodle on the stem of one of his rod holders as a place to stick lures and
hooks for quick access. I liked the idea, and placed one under the bungee that holds a
water bottle in place on my Tarpon 160.
When I fish out of my Ride 135, I don’t use a front rod holder. I just let the rods lay in
the groove at the end of the foot wells. This left me placing the reel at the back of the
foot well in front of the seat, which was problematic for two reasons. Every time I put
my reel down there, a fish audible thud would spook the pool I was in. The other issue
was that if I had any water in the foot well, the reel would be soaked, and might bind a
little. By cutting a section of pool noodle lengthwise, and tucking it under the bungee
cord, I made myself more stealthy, more organized and less frustrated by binding reels.
Adhesive Ruler
Materials: Adhesive Ruler, duct tape, 150 grit sand paper, acetone.
Tools: Scissors, razor blade, clean rag, an ice scraper or other flat hard hand tool.
Cost: $7
This has been part of my setting up a new kayak for as long as I can remember. It can be
a problem getting some adhesive rulers to stick on kayak plastic, as they ooze their own
oils that prevent a good bond. I’ve installed them, stuck them on the car top, and by the
time I got to where I was going to use it for the first time, the ruler had peeled off in the wind created by driving.
Here’s how I make sure it sticks. Clean the surface with the acetone and rag. I like my
rulers narrow, and most of them are a few inches wide, most of which is filled with product marketing stuff you may not want on your kayak. I trim off everything except
the ruler numbers.
Without removing the adhesive backing, place the ruler where you think you want it. Do
this from a seated position in the kayak, imagining placing a slimy and twisting fish
trying to escape your grip. Lightly sand the surface where you will apply the decal. Use
your rag and acetone to remove the dust, and let it completely dry.
Peeling back one corner, firmly press the decal onto the kayak with the far end of it
where it will be applied. Peel back the rest of it slowly, smoothing it down as you go.
After it’s on, use an ice scraper, cd case, or other flat hard plastic surface to press out any
bubbles that may be under the decal. On either end of the ruler, cover the end with a small strip of duct tape. These are usually the spots that get dinged by a rock and start the
peeling off. The duct tape may need to be replaced from time to time, and may detract
from a clean looking boat, but it works well to keep the decal from peeling off.
Rod Props
Materials: Berkley wall mount rod holder (includes screws), duct tape
Tools: Dremel tool, drill, screwdriver
Cost: $13
My buddy Tom Ehrhard came up with this modification. When I saw what he mounted
at the end of his Tarpon 120, I recognized it as being the same thing I installed on the
inside of my pickup truck’s cap to store rods when in transit. This black plastic and gray
foam piece is designed to store rods on a wall much like a pool stick holder. Tom
paddles some significant whitewater on the Rappahannock River, so I knew that this
modification gripped rods well enough for that application.
I installed one on the end of one of my Tarpon 120s that I use for classes. I find that it
keeps my students rods from tangling up in each other when they have two or more
laying down in front of them. I also installed one across the top of the depth finder
monitor of a Tarpon 140 that I use for reservoir fishing. Having more than one rod in
front of you allows you to make second and third casts to the same spot, bringing you to
an active pattern sooner.
For the installation on the Tarpon 120, I drilled pilot holes, and used the hardware that
came with the rod rack. The installation onto the depth finder monitor required a little
more ingenuity. I wasn’t about to blindly start drilling into the top of a green board
choked box of electronics. I used a Dremel tool to shave off some of the gray foam since
I really only lay the rods in the slot, as opposed to pushing them snugly down in there
with the Tarpon 120 which sees whitewater action. I also cut off the corners of the rack
with a Dremel cutter wheel so my legs wouldn’t catch on it when getting in or out. The
rest of the install was a matter of getting creative with some duct tape.
Tank Crate with PVC Rod Holders
Materials: ¾ inch PVC tubing, plastic crate, zip ties, duct tape
Tools: Coping saw, razor blade, drill, scissors
Cost: depends were you get the crate: $5 - $16
Probably the most common home made kayak fishing accessory, there are no shortages
of methods to produce something that serves as storage for your gear and rods. I’ve
made them with PVC that pivots forward for easy rod access, with cut outs to fit specific
tackle boxes, and with nylon covers, should the kayak flip over. Having made probably
two dozen of them, I have a simple formula that works best for both student kayaks as
well as the one I’m in.
Obtain a “milk crate”. I’ll just leave it at that. If you would like to obtain one legally,
look for an equivalent style plastic crate in an office supply store (Staples or Office
Depot). The size PVC pipe you use depends on the diameter of your rod’s butt. I’ve
been subjected to some funny looks carrying a fishing rod into the plumbing section of
Lowe’s.
With a coping saw, cut the PVC to a length that allows you to turn around and pull a rod
out of it. You should test this by sitting in your kayak and trying it before you proceed
with the rest of the installation. On some crates, I line them up along the back of the
crate, leaving more room inside for gear. Lining them up along the front can result in
your whacking them on the backswing of a strong hook set, and causing fracture lines in
your graphite blank. If your rear well is wide enough, consider installing them along the
side of the crate. Angle them backwards if you tend to fish where overhanging branches
are prevalent.
After cutting the PVC and determining the right lengths, angles and positions of each rod
holder, smooth out the edges where your coping saw cut through the pipe. This can be
done with a Dremel tool, file, round file, or razor blade and sand paper. I’ve shaped
contours to match the stem of spinning rods so that they settle with the guides in the
down position where overhanging branches can’t damage them or use them to lift the rod
out.
Line up your first pipe section, drill two holes through both pipe and crate large enough
for the plastic zip ties to pass through. Loop the zip ties through and use them to pull the
pipe snug with the crate. Cut off the tag end of the zip tie with scissors or a razor blade,
sand any jagged edges off, and cover with some duct tape to prevent having something
inside the crate that catches on your gear. Continue with the remaining pipe sections, and
stick it under your rear well bungees.
Some sit on top kayaks do not have rear wells that are level surfaces. I’ve seen
modifications that wedge up the rear of the crate, making the crate level even though the
rear well is not. One method uses blocks of wood to prop up the back. Another method
is to cut a wedge off of the top of the milk crate and zip tie it to the bottom, and then duct
taping a new wooden rail along the angled top of the milk crate.
Retractable Plug Knocker
Materials: Plug Knocker, Nylon rope, Duct tape, 40 foot retractable clothes line spool
Tools: Drill, Scissors, Screwdriver
Cost: $27
The “retractable” part of this idea was not an original thought. Randy Fugate, and avid
river musky kayak angler used this approach for a retractable anchor system. He built
one for me using a retractable dog leash a few years before I swore off of anchors for
river use. It prevented a tangled heap of anchor rope from cluttering up my lap.
In case “plug knocker” is not already part of your fishing equipment vocabulary, I’ll
explain what is in the photo below. The thing that looks like a rainbow colored fish is a
chunk of lead that weighs around 6 ounces. It slides down the line to a crank bait that has
become snagged, slamming into it, and knocking it loose. It pays for itself within a use
or two.
I wasn’t a crank bait aficionado until I spend a great deal of time on the reservoir. The
Norman DD22 crank bait that helped me become confident in deep cranking often got
stuck way beyond the reach of my St. Croix 7’10” Magnum Cranker Baitcasting Rod.
An electric boat angler pointed me in the direction of this money saving tool.
After my first successful crank bait retrieval, I looked down at the heap of plug knocker
line in my lap and was brought back to days when Randy and I used anchors while
fishing the mainstem Shenandoah River. Add a crank bait’s big treble hooks to that heap
of line, and you’re out of commission for at least 10 minutes sifting through the mess.
So I went to the discount pet store, and found that the longest retracting dog leash was 25
feet. That might be long enough I thought, but wondered if I could find something long
enough to bring back snagged blade baits from much deeper waters. I found a clothes
line spool that gave me 40 feet at Home Depot, but found that the rubberized line did not
come back up easily when wet.
I stripped off all of the rubberized line, cut it off, holding onto the last bit of it tightly, and
tied a regular nylon line to it. The spool gobbled this more pliable line up quickly. I
attached the plug knocker to the end, secured the spool in the rear well of my Tarpon 140,
and was in business. When you install it, be sure that you pay attention to which side of
the kayak you feel most comfortable using the plug knocker. You will want the spool
facing that direction.
Wherever possible in this article, I’ve credited the person whose ideas I took or modified.
The reason I did so was to illuminate what you can learn from others. At events like the
many annual riversmallies.com rodeos, the Blue Mountain Outfitters kayak fishing clinic,
or the Appomattox River Company Demo Day, you can sponge ideas off of others who
have thought up, installed, modified, and used a variety of kayak fishing accessories or
modifications. This article should give you a good start.
Jeff Little, author of In Pursuit of Trophy Smallmouth Bass: My Life in a Kayak provides
kayak fishing instruction on rivers and reservoirs in the Mid Atlantic region. More of his
articles can be found at www.blueridgekayakfishing.com.