Kayak Deer Hunting Made Easy! Tips & Tricks to Increase your Success

Kayaks have been used for leisure and transportation functions for hundreds of years, however few individuals understand their important position in looking. If that’s you, don’t fear; you’ll quickly learn to deer hunt out of your kayak to deliver residence extra backstrap this season! I’ve been kayak deer trying to find a number of years now and kicked myself for not starting sooner. Nonetheless, I didn’t begin earlier in life as a result of I didn’t have a kayak that met all my looking wants. So, let’s start by studying how to decide on the right yak.

Buying a Searching Kayak

Most individuals hate kayaks as a result of they select the most affordable one they will discover. It is a mistake, particularly for hunters. You don’t need to go loopy, however looking kayak will price you $800+ since you want a number of options that low cost kayaks don’t have, equivalent to: 

• Stability
• Portability
• Open Design
• Customizability

Realizing the soundness of a kayak is simply potential when you check it on the water, so you are able to do a few various things to determine this out. The primary is to go to your native kayak store and ask in the event that they do demo days and check it out at that occasion. The opposite is to conduct thorough analysis to seek out out what others say concerning the kayak’s stability through which you’re .

It doesn’t matter what sort of auto you drive, portability is a matter. I favor to trailer my looking kayak as a result of it’s heavy and a bit lengthy for a truck mattress. However for those who resolve on a lighter, shorter yak, you’ll be able to automotive high it in your SUV or toss it at the back of your truck.

A number of years in the past, most kayaks have been sit-inside kayaks, however at this time, the sit-on-top kayaks have taken over, and that’s the design you want for just a few causes. Sit-on-top yaks are usually extra secure, which suggests they are typically safer and extra accessible to enter and exit, and hauling a deer throughout the lake is far easier with an open deck design.

Lastly, buying a really customizable kayak, like my Nucanoe Frontier 12, is nice as a result of you’ll be able to change it to suit your wants as a substitute of making an attempt to make issues work and ending up pissed off as a result of the kayak wasn’t designed with hunters in thoughts. 

Kayak Deer Searching Rigged Proper

One method to make your kayak deer looking extra fulfilling is to rig your little plastic boat appropriately. 

The beauty of that is you resolve what’s appropriate! Rigging your kayak is a private expertise, however listed here are just a few suggestions I’ve picked up over time.

• Maintain It Easy
• Much less Is Extra
• At all times Maintain Security In Thoughts
• Check It Out
• Don’t Be Afraid To Regulate

My deer looking kayak setup is fairly easy. I’ve a few gun/bow mounts to safe my firearm or bow whereas touring throughout the water, a snug seat, paddle, PFD, and generally, I like to make use of a kayak trolling motor.

I’ve additionally rigged LED lights on my kayak to see the place I’m going at the hours of darkness and alert different boaters to my presence and route. My setup has modified over time as I’ve found what I like and don’t like and adjusted it accordingly. 

How To Deer Hunt from a Kayak

In contrast to duck looking from a kayak, there’s actually just one approach to make use of a kayak for deer looking: getting from level A to level B. I really like this as a result of it’s easy. 

On my common kayak deer looking journey, I load my gear onto my Frontier 12, leaving loads of room for a deer to be positioned in entrance of me. Then, I paddle to the place I need to hunt. More often than not, I’m comfy leaving my kayak on the shore, however for those who’re not, be happy to pull it into the woods and canopy it with some brush earlier than strolling to your favourite spot. It’s actually that easy to deer hunt from a kayak, however why would you undergo this further work?

Advantages of Utilizing a Kayak for Deer Searching

There are numerous advantages to kayak deer looking, and I’ve listed just a few of them beneath: 

• Opens Up Extra Choices
• Shortens Your Stroll
• Extra Covert
• Simpler Transporting Your Harvested Deer

Whereas kayak deer looking, you’ll be able to entry extra distant spots that others can’t or are unwilling to succeed in. This implies you hunt much less pressured deer and encounter fewer hunters. Kayaking additionally shortens your stroll. That is extraordinarily useful for those who’re looking hilly terrain, as you’ll expend much less power to succeed in your spot. 

Kayaking can also be extra covert. You’re spreading much less of your scent by means of the woods. Paddling or utilizing a trolling motor is far quieter than crunching leaves whereas strolling or utilizing an outboard motor on a ship.

Lastly, it’s a lot simpler to haul your deer again to your car utilizing a kayak than dragging it again. I’ve drug my justifiable share of deer, and I’d a lot slightly load a lifeless deer on my kayak and paddle it to my car than drag it again. Save your self a major backache and use a kayak when you’ll be able to.

Kayak Deer Searching Security Issues

For many of this text, I’ve made kayak deer looking sound prefer it’s all rainbows and unicorns as a result of it’s unbelievable, and a kayak is a helpful device for hunters. Nonetheless, kayaking throughout looking season includes some threat, and further precautions should be taken to make sure you return residence to your loved ones and mates. 

• ALWAYS Put on Your PFD Whereas Kayaking
• Don’t Kayak When The Climate Is Harmful (Windy, Excessive Chilly, and many others.)
• Waterproof Gear Is Most popular

I can’t stress sufficient how vital it’s to at all times put on your life jacket whereas kayaking. It’s such a easy factor to throw on and use, however many hunters fail to take action, and it prices them dearly. It doesn’t matter how good of a swimmer you’re; it’s exponentially harder in chilly water when your looking garments weigh you down.

If the climate isn’t cooperating, don’t threat it. Stroll to your spot as a substitute, or hunt at a distinct location. 15+ MPH winds are when issues get harmful for kayaks on giant reservoirs (you may get away with windy circumstances when paddling in small creeks or rivers) and excessive chilly (you’ll need to resolve what excessive chilly is for you).

Lastly, carrying waterproof gear is right. Getting moist within the chilly makes for a depressing and probably harmful hunt. I additionally favor to make use of a water-resistant backpack to maintain most of my gear in, as every part will get moist in a kayak as a result of they’re so near the water.

Parting Photographs

Regardless of the dangers concerned with kayak deer looking, it opens up many extra looking alternatives and benefits. I strongly suggest utilizing a kayak for looking on public or non-public land that borders creeks, rivers, or lakes! Is kayak deer looking value it to you? Let me know within the feedback!

Wes Littlefield

Wes is an avid outdoorsman from Oklahoma at all times on the hunt for the subsequent journey. When he isn’t writing, he is in all probability in his kayak reeling in a fish or making an attempt to trick waterfowl into testing his unfold.