Comforts in the Kayak

Comforts in the Kayak – submitted by John Ziecker 

It’s easy to enjoy fishing if your catching, and even easier to enjoy kayaking with the scenery. Now if your competitive that means you probably partake in both of the above in tournaments. Now when you add all that together the only thing left to make sure you enjoy is the time spent in the kayak while doing all of the above in comfort.

Competing in local and national trails means tons of time spent prefishing and even more hours on tournament day on my kayak, sometimes well over 8+ hours at a time. So how do I enjoy putting myself into a competition or sitting for hours and hours while fishing.

First is the piece of equipment that holds the best of what on that kayak and that’s you. Your seat. Whatever you do make sure your kayak offers lots of options in adjusting, changing your seat. When I chose my Bluesky 360 it was because I had a regular captains chair. With height and angle adjustability it took my back problems and pretty much made them non existent while on the water. When I was in my Liska I had the perfect chair as it had Hi-Lo option as well as moving the main seat back and forward to match what felt best for me. Made spending 8 hours in a seated position easy without impacting my fatigue during the tournament and never changing my mindset making sure I didn’t start having any pain or discomfort so I could stay focused on fishing. Make sure you have the right kayak and seat that allows the best for your body whether it be your knees or back your body will thank you for the most customizable seats.

What makes you go? No, seriously what is your method to move your kayak. After owning a paddle only kayak, pedal kayak and now one meant for a motor. All have benefits but I’m talking about tournament angling. Most allow motors but some larger ones don’t. So the ability to be multiple methods for me was a must. The comfort of sitting on my captains chair on my 360 angler that I swapped the front deck for the 360 pro porch to allow my motor got me to the spots I found prefishing really helped when I needed to cover more water or wanted less fatigue from pedaling or paddling. It’s hard to beat the comfort of a motor doing all the work for ya but sometimes it’s about the effort and work. Can’t explain but there’s times I feel best when pedaling when I want to be on the go without having to mess around with the remote and motor. Pedaling makes it easier to have rod and reel in hand and make adjustments while hands free completely. Now people call my crazy but keeping a kayak that is paddle only holds its place in my heart. But we’re talking comfort and not nostalgia. Motors and peddles are useless in weeds and extremely shallow water which often time bass tournaments take me to those exact locations. The ability to have full control of my boat and turns and speed with just the movement of my arms. Not having the hassle or worry of all the electronics of a motor makes focusing on the fishing and basics easier.

So whatever option you chose it’s easy to focus on everything but put thought in what’s gonna keep you enjoying your time on the water longer. From the Bluesky 360 with captains chair and option to customize for motor ready to the new Knarr which has the Hi-Lo seat system and is motor mount ready with the new Mark IV FD system making pedaling even easier and faster and more comfortable to keep you on the water and focused on fishing and not body aches and pains and having to take rest breaks or deal with fatigue after a long day. Just make sure whatever you chose keeps you conquering the water.