How the deck is designed and your style of fishing will have a lot to do with how "fishable" a given model will be for you. Unless you plan to just jump in with a rod and palm sized tackle box and take off, you will need to think about what accessories you may eventually want to mount on the deck and in the cockpit. Depending on you're intended targets and how you prefer to fish, there are lots of options you can add to make your trips more comfortable and productive.

• Paddle Clips
• Extra Eyelets
• Compass
• Rod Holders
• Electronics (Fish Finders, GPS, etc.)
• Bait Tank or Live Well
• Drift Chute or Anchor rigging

Consider what kind of gear you may want to mount on the kayak, both now and in the foreseeable future. Is there enough flat, open deck space to fit what you'll need without getting in the way when fishing or paddling. When you go for a test paddle*, sit in the cockpit and get a feel for where the things you want to mount will best fit. If possible, try to bring along a rod and try fishing or at least go through the motions to see how the deck layout would lend itself to your style of fishing.

How much dry storage capacity a kayak has, including the size, location and the type of hatches used to access it are going to become more important to you after you've had your yak for a while. As you carry more stuff, you'll need somewhere to stow it.

This is an area that is often only given a cursory inspection and only later it becomes painfully obvious that the access is too far away, the hatches aren't big enough to fit your rods & reels, the storage area you thought was so huge is actually partially blocked by the scupper holes, etc., etc..

• As we explored in the Personal section of Step 1, the amount of usable storage capacity is keyed to the maximum load capacity of the kayak itself; do the math!
• Make sure you can successfully access, open and close all the hatches while out on the water. They won't be of much help if you can only get to them while on the shore.
• If you plan to launch through the surf, being able to 'dry' store your rods and reels (ready to fish) below deck is a big convenience, not to mention the money you'll save on lost tackle and saltwater submersion damage.
• If there are hatches installed when you go for a test paddle*, check to make sure they won't leak excessively when sealed or when accessed.
• As a good rule-of-thumb, anything that isn't leashed to the yak, you should be capable of storing below deck.

Paying some attention to deck layout and storage can help make the difference between being happy with your fishing kayak and needing to find an "upgrade" right away.

Clicking NEXT will take you to the Fishing Kayaks section, where you can browse and compare specs for some of the most common kayaks used for fishing and build a list of possible candidates for test paddling*. Feel free to contact us if you have questions or a suggestion about things not covered in this selection guide.

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