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BEST FOOT PEDAL KAYAK: INTRO
Foot pedal kayaks are perfect for kayak fishing. If you are looking for an all encompassing guide on what the a foot pedal kayak could bring to your kayak fishing skill set, take a look at our Pedal Kayak Ultimate Guide. But which foot pedal kayak is the right one for your? KFC has thoroughly researched the product offerings on the market and the choice for the best foot pedal kayak is clear. Ready to get started?
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Best Foot Pedal Kayak: Overview
This KFC article contains everything that you need to know about the best foot pedal kayak on the market today. We’ve organized this post into a number of separate categories. We begin with some of the basics before moving into a short instructional checklist on how to use the best pedal kayak properly. After that, we’ve added a short summary highlighting our top 3 favorite features of this model before adding a link to a product page which you can visit to learn even more about this product’s specifications. Finally, we’ve included a short story that documents our own experiences with this particular kayak and talk briefly about how it has impacted our kayak fishing trips!
The Basics
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Shortcut to the Best Foot Pedal Kayak
A foot pedal kayak is just like a standard fishing kayak, but with one key difference – the presence of the foot pedal drive system! There are a number of different ways by which fishing kayaks can be powered. Many fisherman opt for the “old fashioned” way of paddling with kayak paddles, but this can be tiring. Others prefer the more technologically advanced kayak trolling motor, but these can be somewhat expensive and do run the risk of scaring away the fish due to sound frequency and vibration.
The foot pedal kayak is the middle ground between using kayak paddles and a kayak trolling motor. The foot pedal drive features the benefit of being “quiet” just like the kayak paddles, but also allows you to keep at least one hand free to tend to your rod and reel, just like the kayak trolling motor. We think that the pedal kayak is a perfect middle ground for kayak fishing and we’re quick to recommend this type of kayak to kayak fisherman of any level of experience, beginners and experts alike!
How to Use Properly
Like anything else, even the best foot pedal kayak isn’t going to do you much good if you don’t know how to properly use it. KFC wants to ensure that its readers walk away from reading this article with a well founded understanding of how to use this product and we’ve compiled a short check list of “Dos and Don’ts” to help serve as your guide:
- DO make sure that you’ve placed the pedal drive system into the proper slot and have tightened to ensure a flush connection.
- DO adjust the distance of your seat from the pedals to make sure that your legs are far enough away from the pedals to create the right amount of power, but are near enough that you don’t have to strain too far to make a good rotation of the pedals.
- DO make sure that you’ve strapped your gear down into the front and rear storage bays located on this foot pedal kayak – we like to keep our tackle box in the front and any extra gear (like our camping gear) in the back.
- DON’T wear improper shoes while using the pedals. Make sure you wear shoes with soft soles, reasonable ankle support, and a nice tacky bottom. This will help keep your feet where they belong, on the pedals!
- DON’T venture out onto the water until you’ve confirmed that you have an understanding of how to pedal forward and backward and have mastered doing so while steering the pedal kayak with the rear mounted rudder.
- DON’T forget that this particular model comes with a gear mounted track that allows for you to attach after market products (like deck mounted rod holders) without having to drill holes into the kayak’s hull!
Side Note: Pedaling a kayak with your feet can get tiring after awhile! You should look into whether a Kayak with an Electric Motor might be a less tiring option for you! Don’t worry, you can usually find Trolling Motors with GPS capabilities!
Best Foot Pedal Kayak: Important Features
This particular model of foot pedal kayak has tons and tons of great features. The inclusion of all of these features is what makes this model so great for kayak fishing. Remember, there are other good pedal kayaks on the market, but many aren’t designed for kayak fishing and because of this you are required to buy a bunch of after market gear to get your kayak ready to fish. Take a look at the features below and you’ll see why its wiser to just move forward with a pedal kayak where all of the kayak fishing outfitting has already been done for you!
- Pedal Drive. The pedal drive system is the key feature of any pedal driven kayak. The pedal drive system must be made of high quality components so that it can stand up to the riggers of kayak fishing, but it is important that is also be removable and whisper quiet.
The pedal drive on this kayak is built of metal and includes an axle that turns within a high quality housing. The different parts of the pedal drive can be removed which allows the fishermen to have more room to stand in the middle of the kayak. We like to stand while casting and the removability of the pedal drive components allows for this. Lastly, this pedal kayak’s drive system allows forward and rear motion. It can be pedaled forward and backward and doesn’t create a lot of “extra” noise. This is very important in terms of not disturbing the fish lurking just below your feet! You may not need it, but if you are a fast peddler, you might look into attaching an inflatable kayak stabilizer to provide extra balance!
- Comfort. What about other areas of comfort are provided that make this kayak great for kayak fishing? Well, its one of the more obvious parts of a kayak that actually is frequently overlooked – the seat! The seat on this pedal kayak features supportive, yet stretchy, material that has been wrapped around a lightweight and rigid aluminum frame. This seat has been designed for longevity and is great for hot and cold weather alike. You can pull the straps on each side of the seat to adjust the angle to fit your desired posture.
Look closely at the lower front portion of the seat (pictured above). Do you see the critical feature? This seat is set upon a track with adjustment knobs that control its location. This designs ensures that the seat can be moved forward or backward depending on the height of the kayak fisherman or, more accurately, the length of his or her legs! Many pedal kayaks don’t feature this type of adjustability component. Without adjustability, a kayak manufacturer is only creating uncomfortable positions that force the fisherman to adjust to the kayak, and not the other way around! Don’t let this happen to you!
- Storage. Every kayak fisherman that I know has a ton of kayak fishing accessories and gear – tackle boxes, extra rods and reels, paddles, life jackets, and so on and so on. You need a pedal kayak that has an ample amount of storage. Otherwise, you might be required to leave one of your favorite pieces of kayak fishing gear at home! Don’t let that happen to you! It is important that your pedal kayak have tons of smartly located storage space! The best pedal kayak has an abundance of such space. Below is a photo of the rear located storage bin.
There is an additional storage bay in the front (we’ve included a photo of this location below). We like these locations because they have been designed deep enough to hold a number of pieces of kayak fishing gear. Also included are elastic and interlocking bands to keep your gear from bouncing out and into the water!
We could list feature after feature, but you get the point! This is the best foot pedal kayak on the market if you are looking for something to suit each of your kayak fishing needs. Don’t spend the extra money on the after market products required to replicate everything that this kayak has “out of the box”. Let someone else do all that work for you, that way you can focus on what really matters, catching the fish!
Buy the Best Foot Pedal Kayak
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Great Option for Kayak Fishermen!
KFC’s designation as the Best Foot Pedal Kayak became very, very easy as we got further along in our research of other offerings on the market. Each time we thought that we’d discovered a worthy competitor, it would turn out to lack cargo holds or some other critical feature. Still other times, when we finally came across another pedal kayak that seemed to include some good kayak fishing features, we learned that the pedal drive system wasn’t top notch quality (its axle reportedly had longevity and durability problems)!
The above pedal kayak has been designed and built specially for kayak fishing. We love the included track bar because it makes the installation of any after market products that you do decide to buy (and remember, you may very well not need any at all) a breeze! The hull already includes flush mounted rod holders. The kayak also has a one handed rear mounted rudder control. The rudder allows for 360 degree maneuverability. This is an important kayak fishing feature because it allows the ability to turn this pedal kayak with one hand while pedaling along with his or her feet, all while allowing you to keep your other hand on the reel! This multi tasking ability is the perfect ingredient for ensuring a great day on the water!
Best Foot Pedal Kayak: My Experience
Had I known how perfect this type of kayak was for fishing, I would have made the switch long ago. Using a pedal kayak is a great way to expand the area of the water in which you will kayak fish. Let’s face it, using kayak paddles can be tiring and it requires you to take your hands off of your your rod and reel. A kayak trolling motor can be great for expanding distances, but they can be expensive and are sometimes more technologically advanced than a standard kayak fisherman will want to deal with.
Everyone is familiar with how to use pedals from their time riding a bicycle as a young child. The pedal drive system on the Best Foot Pedal kayak is just like that on your childhood bike! Place your feet directly on the rubberized pedals when you want to move forward, lightly pedal, and let the efficiently geared mechanism do the rest of the work for you. We were surprised by the minimal amount of effort needed to propel the kayak forward. Even better was that the pedaling and resulting turning of the propeller were very quiet and didn’t disturb the fish or the beautiful surroundings!
BEST FOOT PEDAL KAYAK: CONCLUSION
I hope that this post about the Best Foot Pedal Kayak has served as a helpful guide on everything from how to best use it to some of the features that make it so great for kayak fishing purposes. Remember, if you have any questions about whether a pedal kayak is the right choice for you and your kayak fishing style, be sure to write to us and let us know.
There is a comment box at the end of the page where we routinely monitor and respond to our readers’ questions. As you can see above, if you are truly looking for a kayak that is ready, willing and able to handle your kayak fishing needs, this is the model for you. Better to let this manufacturer design the perfect kayak for fishing instead of spending a bunch of money buying after market products! One final thought. After you’ve mastered pedal kayaking, you should try out tandem kayak fishing. We’ve written about the Best Tandem Fishing Kayak on the KFC blog. Learn about other fun ways to get some exercise!
See if entering into a kayak fishing tournament could be the right “next step” for your in your angling career!
Best Foot Pedal Kayak: Comments
Do you own or have you ever used foot pedal kayak? Did you have a good experience? How did it perform on the water? Did you take it onto the ocean? What features did you find to be important? What overall score would you give it? Do you agree with our opinion on the Best Foot Pedal Kayak? Please share your knowledge with the KFC Community by posting a comment below. I read and reply to all comments, and I love communicating with our readers!