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Kayaks excel at stalking redfish in skinny water, but only if you know how to fish from one. Climbing any learning curve offers ample opportunity for frustration and the thrill of success. In my business guiding fly fishers from kayaks, I see both almost every day.

Types of Kayaks

Kayaks come in two different styles, the sit-insides and the sit-on-tops. While hull type is largely a personal choice, I much prefer sit-on-tops for stalking reds and other southern salt water species. Getting on and off of a sit on top is much easier and quieter than clambering out of and into the cockpit of a sit-inside. The trade off is cold-weather comfort. Sit-on-tops offer a

Must- Have Accessories

Often you’ll need to tether your boat in one place, whether you’re fishing from it or have gotten out to wade. A five pound, foldable anchor comes in handy, as does a short stake-out pole (I use a graphite golf club shaft).

You'll need 10 or 12 feet of 1/4- or 3/8-inch nylon line to leash you boat to yourself while wading. This prevents you from having to backtrack to recover your boat.

For fly fishers, line management is a primary concern, and the more gadgets you have sticking off of your boat the more hang-ups there are for your line. Fly fishers will be much happier if they keep their hull clear of clutter.

Kayak fishing is of necessity an exercise in minimalism, and I try to take as little as possible. With leader material, a box of flies, some food and water, a first aid kit and a rain jacket, I'm ready for almost anything.

Using Your Kayak

Most kayak anglers make a fundamental mistake: they use their boats in the same places motor boaters do. You need to go where skiffs can't. It's that simple. Do this and the chances of finding happy, hungry, stupid redfish increase dramatically. No-motor zones are obvious kayak hunting grounds, and large areas of very shallow water offer excellent—and often overlooked—kayak fishing opportunities, especially if there are plenty of nearby islands to break the wind. A kayak allows you to fish where the pressure is light. Sweat equity and a willingness to explore could be a kayak fisherman's biggest advantages.

How close can you get to shallow water fish while in a kayak? Assuming you're being quiet (meaning absolutely silent) your average cast will be something in the order of 20 to 30 feet. It's not unusual for me to flop a fly at redfish with only four or five feet of fly line out of

The most important consideration when fishing this way is to be absolutely silent as you move into casting position. Frequently it's better to use the stakeout pole to do this instead of the paddle. With the pole you can move silently, then use the pole to maintain your position.

You typically won’t hook giant redfish from a kayak—you’re often fishing in less than six inches of water. Frequently the fish's back is out of the water, and oftentimes you are so close to them you can see every scale. The intimacy of the stalk is absolutely thrilling, and the main reason this type of fishing is so appealing.                     

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