That was a long time ago and I have to believe the concept of "grab rod, grab 'yak and go" was around long before my formative years. So it's a curious thing to me that "kayak fishing" as a dual-sport collective is taking off.
I pin this blossoming growth on two concurrent evolutions. The first is the natural human tendency to pursue bigger, faster, greater by ever more dubious, dangerous and quirky approaches. At some point some crazy fella was no longer satisfied with bass in the local river, at which point he made the leap to the salt in pursuit of a species as imposing as bluefin tuna.
If you don't believe the above is real, head on over to YouTube for some tuna, wahoo or grouper shenanigans.
What aided the growth of small boat, big catch fishing is the second evolution: purpose built fishing kayaks. At first someone added a rod holder or two to the cockpit gunnels. A bit later, cushioned, posture supporting seats took the place of those old chunks of plastic. Then a built in livewell, or maybe some space for a cooler. Dropdown pedal-powered propellers followed. Then electronics. Yes, electronics, as in fish-finder.
Until one morning one of these kayak fishing anglers woke up and asked, "is this even a kayak anymore?"
Maybe not, but it was kayak fishing! And lickety-split, all the canoe and kayak manufacturers were head over heels to get in on the hottest new trend....
Not to be outdone, we here at StoreYourBoard have been watching this progression with interest. After all, these boats are beasts, and someone's going to need to provide a solution on how to store them, where to store them, and how to transport these fishing kayaks.
Without delving too deeply, I'll point you in the direction of 1) a kayak storage rack for use at home that performs wonderfully with heavy boats and 2) an overbuilt kayak dolly that will get you over rocks, roots and sand.
The first is our Stainless Steel Sup and Kayak Rack that supports a whopping 100 lbs. per set of arms. For heavy kayaks or SUPs I prefer it over other racks because it's stainless and practically capable of supporting an armada. It's fully configurable for the boats you own, meaning no wasted space.
From the pictures customers have provided (above image), it looks great on a dock or deck.
Then we have one of our favorite kayak dollies. Sure a bunch of the others we sell do their job, do it well in fact, and are more affordable. But this is the one I'd recommend for that heavy fish slayer with all its accoutrements.
Why the Heavy-Duty Kayak Cart, say you? If the name doesn't say it all, I will. This thing is made to tow the most burdensome of kayaks. Kayak, full cooler, 4 rods, 27" fish finder, extra paddles, bait. Yup, it'll handle everything (to 250 lbs.). Even better, it's designed to work with ultra-wide sand wheels or a set of sturdy all-around tires.
All the more reason to get in on the craze.
