Kayak Fishing: How To Choose The Right Paddle For YOU

[@Saltstrong]

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[@SDFishGuessWhoMeAgain]

It's called "exercise"!! I kayak fish at least 4 times per month off la Jolla san Diego for the "exercise"!! My paddle makes very little difference. I bought an older very used "ocean kayak" and it came with a good strong paddle. Works very well these past 3 years now.

[@kenwebster5053]

The more area a paddle has, the more load it places on the paddler & if the paddler can supply that load, that translates to speed. However, a fishing kayak is short & fat, and since the hull speed is a function of length and hull fineness, fishing kayaks are not going anywhere fast. So you do not need high power to propel a fishing kayak, you will just wear yourself out trying to make it go faster than is possible for such a short displacement hull. You may as well just go for a smaller blade that will not overload your muscles, especially as you are likely not a trained paddling athlete. Most touring kayak paddles are about 50cm (20 in) long and only 15cm (6 in) wide. Touring is a heavily loaded kayak for overnight camping. These paddles are like paddling in a low gear, low load. My white water kayak paddles are 50cm (20 in) long & 22 cm (9 in) wide to catch a lot of aerated water to provide propulsion for white water slalom competition. This is pretty much the upper limit of kayak paddle area, even for sea kayak paddling. They really grip the water & are not displaced rearwards when paddling forwards. That is, they do not slip, but it is like paddling in high gear and demands high loads on the body for long periods of time. Now a single sea kayak is typically about 17 feet or so long & can tour all day at 5-6 mph. Most fishing kayaks are around 10 feet long & considerably wider with a lot of wetted surface drag & slower, so I don't see any point in overloading your body with a large blade area. Your not likely a trained kayak athlete, so what is sense in injuring you muscles & joints by but putting these high loads on your body. Just go for the smaller narrower blade that is easier to use anyway, just like using lower gearing at lower speeds or hill climbing when driving. An exception might be a specialist sea fishing kayak which is considerably longer & narrower. These boats are rather more specialised, sleeker & faster requiring much more paddler skill & experience. By all means go with a larger blade area if this is you. Another consideration is boat weight. Most rotomolded plastic kayaks are extremely heavy, at least twice the weight of a fibreglass kayak of the same size which is also about twice the weight of a Kevlar/carbon kayak. Now the more total load you have with your boat, gear & yourself, the more water the hull will displace and have to move out of the way to move through the water. Do you need a high gear or a low gear to push that load with the same engine? You are that engine.....

[@Saltstrong]

Thank you for the awesome comment!

[@DMetal13]

Just picked up my first kayak yesterday and got this similar paddle. The Cannon FX slider. Was $130 so hopefully I like it. Same blade style as the one you show.

[@timgreer7440]

I love my Backwater Assassin Paddle. I've used it for a couple of years now from inshore marsh to mountain lakes and rivers and it has held up very well.

[@herosyndrome68]

Best kayak paddle informational video I've seen. Great job!

[@loren7936]

Good stuff, but the pronunciation of Carlisle is “kahr-lahyl” (the “s” is silent).

[@Daledavispratt]

Thank you. You said it for me :-)

[@jgonell]

This was helpful, I did go with a pelican angler, to me it's a little long, but I got a pedal kayak, so mostly used to push off and get to where I can use my pedals. But when not using my pedals, it grabs really well and not too taxing on the arms..

[@benedicthenriksson8160]

Nice!

[@andrewknowlton96]

Good shiet

[@KayakKingdom]

which pedal kayak did you go with?