Do you Stand in your Kayak while fishing ?

[krash]

Simple question,, do you stand in the kayak while fishing ?

I know this will lead to many opinions and loose answers not relevant to the question.

So Do you stand --- Yes or No ?

Would you like to? Yes or No ?

So now if you do, please elaborate a bit, what Brand/Model kayak do you have ?
Have you attempted standing in other brand/models ?
DO you use, or have you added standing aids to do so, pontoons, Grab/Pull rope, stand and fish apparatus ???


Personally I would love the ability to stand in my kayak for sight fishing the flats, or just for that additional sight distance advantage when scouring the area for activity, without the need to add pontoons or other extra's.
Currently have an old school OK ScupperPro and it does not have flat floor so standing is a challenge at best but possible if you have good balance.
I would like a kayak that I could stand and return to a seated or perhaps knelling position at will.
I do have the balance part down, but my old bones and joints do not make the motion of getting from the seated position, arse lower or equal to the knees and feet, to the standing and/or kneeling position.

Sure I know a canoe is the best option, had them want to stay with kayak. Treid Freedon hawk and yes they are very simple to stand in, as well as get up and down with the pontoons deployed and the use of the grab bars.

[Todd]

Yes I do stand, all the time in my Commander 14' and 12'. I use a 8' Wang Anchor as a push pole. I stand and push pole more than I paddle sometimes. The Commander set up makes standing and sitting down very easy.

I also stand in my Tarpon 160 when the conditions are right.

I have stood in every kayak I have owned, some are easier than others. I also have very good balance which helps tremendously. Many times it is not the kayak as some find it hard to simply stand on solid ground.

[Mark R]

If I stand......I swim.

[DoubleM]

I stand and fish as much as possible in my ultimate 14.5 which is great while fly fishing. I've been standing so much my feet were getting sore

[Rik]

Yes, I do stand in my Native Ultimate 14. I have the seat raised about 5 or so inches which makes the getting up and down much easier. If you can stand up from a lawn chair, you can stand up from a raised Native seat.

I do find it difficult to pole. Since you are about midway in the boat, poling tends to spin the boat. I stand and paddle. I extended a canoe paddle to about 7' and it works nicely. The only problem is storing it when not using it. Wish they made a stand up paddleboard paddle that broke down into 2 pieces and didn't cost an arm and a leg.

I don't find myself fishing from the standing position very much. As long as I have to bend down to put the paddle down and grab the fishing rod its just easier to sit back down and do it.

I've had other SOT kayaks and have stood in all of them. Problem was that the only thing I could do once I got to the standing position was sit back down. And, you're right, it is difficult for old bones to get up and down from a typical SOT kayak.

[dunfly]

Can't do it. Since a bout of Gillian Barre about 3 years ago, my balance is shot.

[TerryW]

I can stand in my Hobie Adventure & I'm forcing myself to do it more & more often.

I have the Hobie inflatable pontoons & never use them. Should I start fly fishing in my kayak more than I currently do, I may use the inflatable pontoons again. I take enough crap out on the water as is & don't want one more stinking apparatus, even if it were for free.

[Manning]

I have a Native Ultimate 14.5 and one of the main reasons that I got it is to be able to stand confidently. My stand vs. sit ration is probably 50/50. I have a riser that elevates the seat 6 inches. The riser makes sitting and standing transition much easier. I paddle while standing with ease. In the interest of full disclosure I did fall out of the kayak one time in the year that I have had it. I tried to reach back to retrieve a rod from the rear holder while standing and was swimming a short time later.

[jbdba01]

More feedback here.

I stand in my canoe or my Commander. Also have a SOT and quickly realized I needed a standup - pretty much the same reason you see towers on power boats. You can see a bunch more.

Boat is solid - hard to flip, but I'm sure if you tried hard enough you could.

Tested out several boats prior to purchase - courtesy of Todd, Norm, Heywood and a couple other folks. Forget what it's called - PF.com Spring Kayak Regatta??

Ended up with the one I felt most comfortable in. Haven't regretted it. Came with a trolling motor that I took off. Maybe in poon season it'll go back on.

Captain's seat/perch is a nice to have. Most of the time when I paddle I sit in the seat not the perch.

I fish while standing up, and unless it's big, I'll fight while standing too. Most of the time I sit to throw anchor - not so much finish the fight.

One of the nice-ities of the Commander is that the gunnels are partially padded - so I feel comfortable locking my legs out; makes you feel like you're part of the kayak when you stand.

I think the weight limit is 450 or something insane.

Occasionally I paddle while standing too. No pole to pole with (yet). Dunno if I'll do that - I tend to paddle into the winds and let the wind pull me over the water.

[paddlefish]

I have a commander 140, and stand most of the time. I leave the seat folded and tucked under the captains perch. I sit on that while paddling.

[John]

If you're not standing, you're missing out on fish, simple as that.

The more I stand, the more fish I see and the more fish I catch. I can stand in kayak but not steady, so I went back to the canoe, I have a two piece Pushpole, so UBS stores out of the way when not in use. Since I added the motor though, the Pushpole only gets used when i'm in real skinny water.

[Heywood]

Yes, all the time. Been doing it for years. Malibu Stealth 14. Very stable. Ask anyone who has fished with me.

Now, here is my take on standing. The fish can see you standing well before you see them. Countless times I have seen fish scoot away well before I see them. Mullet especially. They have tremendous eyesight. When you spook them, you spook everything else. But on the other hand, I've caught fish that I would have never seen sitting down. So there is a little bit of a trade off.

[22acrowd]

I can stand, but I don't. I stand on the bottom, not on my kayak. Not much need in my opinion. Generally, when you see a fish standing in a kayak, they have already seen you. When I had a Redfish, I would stand to take a leak. With the Hobie, I just scoot forward a take advantage of the hole for the peddle drive.

[Tide1on]

I spend alot of time standing. The Redfish14 has a nice flat cockpit and it's 31" wide which makes it easy for standing without the need for pontoons.
But like mentioned above, not everyone has the same balance.

[bassboy]

Yes i myself stand in my Ocean Kayak Prowler or the Wilderness Ride 13.5 since im young and still have good balance standing in the yaks is isnt an issue at. I do agree with Heywoods statement about the fish seeing it can be challenging at times but being short it is also easy for me to squat as well and pole around. I think standing in the kayak is a good way to relieve the pressure from your butt from sitting so long.

[krash]

Yes, all the time. Been doing it for years. Malibu Stealth 14. Very stable. Ask anyone who has fished with me.

Now, here is my take on standing. The fish can see you standing well before you see them. Countless times I have seen fish scoot away well before I see them. Mullet especially. They have tremendous eyesight. When you spook them, you spook everything else. But on the other hand, I've caught fish that I would have never seen sitting down. So there is a little bit of a trade off.

Heywood, you ever try the M-Stealth 12 ?

Hows it compare to the 14 ?

Malibu Stealth must be good you seldom see a used one for sale...