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BEST PEDAL KAYAK: INTRO
Kayak fishing is booming in popularity! One of the newest areas of growth is in a type of kayak fishing which uses a kayak that is powered with foot pedals. Never heard of a pedal kayak? Check out KFC’s Pedal Kayak Ultimate Guide to discover a great overview of everything you need to know about using a pedal kayak for kayak fishing.
After you’ve decided that this type of kayak fishing looks like an interesting challenge, you’ll want guidance on the best pedal kayak on the market. KFC has written this article to provide our thoroughly researched recommendation!
Unbiased Review
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Best Pedal Kayak: Overview
This article contains everything you need to know about the best pedal kayak on the market today. To make sure we cover everything, we’ve decided to organize this article into a number of separate categories. We start off touching briefly upon the basics of this pedal kayak, giving you a high level understanding of this particular kayak. Next, we have added a checklist of some tips and tricks aimed at ensuring you come away with an understanding of how to properly use this kayak while kayak fishing.
After that, we’ve included a list of several of the important features of this particular pedal kayak that separate it from the rest of the pack and makes it worthy of its designation as the best of the best. Then we’ve included a link to this particular kayak’s product page where you can visit to learn more about it and see a couple of the different styles it comes in (blue, green, black, camo and more). Finally, we’ve added a short section detailing our own experience with this particular pedal kayak and have made a recommendation as to whether we think this is a good kayak for kayak fishing!
Best Pedal Kayak: The Basics
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Shortcut to the Best Pedal Kayak Review
Using a pedal kayak while kayak fishing is a great way to combine one of our favorite hobbies – kayak fishing, with one of our least favorite – exercising! But don’t let the fact that this kayak comes with pedals deter you. The pedal drive is designed to provide a great deal of forward motion per propeller turn, ensuring that you don’t have to work too hard! Plus, you can always use your kayak paddles or even kayak trolling motor if you get tired!
This pedal kayak features everything you’d want to find in a high quality kayak with one added bonus – it is pre-rigged for kayak fishing! Yes, it comes with gear tracks to add after market products (like deck mounted rod holders), four flush mount rod holders, front and rear storage for items like a tackle box or a a fishing cleaning station. Lastly, the rear mounted rudder control is perfect for controlling the direction of your kayak with one hand, while casting out to the perfect fishing hole
How to Use Properly
- Begin by lowering the pedal drive system into the designated location in the middle of the kayak.
- The pedal drive is built to fit tightly into this space and will create a water tight seal when properly installed.
- Insert the pedal kayak’s seat into the molded carveout located in the sides of the hull of the kayak.
- Secure the seat to the bottom of the hull with the included safety strapping. This will keep the seat from sliding around in choppy water!
- Make sure that the seat is located the proper distance from where your feet will make contact with the pedals.
- We like to locate the seats close enough to the pedal drive system to keep us from having to stretch too far, but distant enough to allow us to create the right amount of power when pedaling.
- Now is the time to lower the pedal kayak down into the water.
- Practice using the foot pedals. Make sure that you are able to create enough power and that you have a good idea on maneuvering the kayak via forward and backward motion.
- Remember, you can direct this pedal kayak from its rear seat. This is done with the included hand operated, rudder controlled steering device.
- That’s it! Use your feet to pedal your kayak to the best spot on the water!
Side Note: Kayaking with foot power can be tiring! See if a Kayak with an Electric Motor might be an “easier” way to get out on the water! You can usually find a GPS Trolling Motor if you are directionally challenged!
Important Features
This pedal kayak wouldn’t be named the Best Pedal Kayak if it didn’t have a ton of great features. While we could go on and on about the numerous features which make this pedal kayak a great kayak for kayak fishing purposes, we’d rather focus on a Top 3 – Pedal Drive, Comfort and Storage.
- Pedal Drive. The pedal drive system is the backbone of any pedal powered kayak. It is important that your pedal drive system be made of high quality components, be removable, and be whisper quiet. Take a look at the close up image of the pedal drive system below:
The pedal drive is built of metal, and uses an axle that turns within a high quality housing. This is important, as this unit will be subjected to a tremendous amount of pressure when the kayak fisherman is actively pedaling. Components of the pedal drive can be removed to give the fishermen more room to stand in the middle of the kayak and cast from the standing position. Finally, the unit is well put together, allowing for it to be pedaled and generate forward motion without creating a lot of “extra” noise. This is very important in terms of not disturbing the fish lurking just below your feet! Oh, by the way, if you are a very fast peddler, you should look into buying an inflatable kayak outrigger to help make sure you don’t accidentally overturn while moving at high speed!
- Comfort. We mentioned the removable component aspect of the pedal drive system, but what other areas of comfort are provided that make this kayak worthy of its best of the best designation? Let’s take a look at one of the more obvious parts – the seat! The seat is built with supportive, yet stretchy, fabric wrapped around a lightweight and rigid aluminum frame. You can use the straps on the side to adjust the angle of the seat to fit your desired posture.
If you look at the lower front portion of the seat, you can see a critical feature – the track upon which the seat is mounted and the adjustment knobs that control its location. This allows for the kayak seat to be moved forward or backward depending on the height of the kayak fisherman in the hull at the particular time. Believe it or not, many pedal kayaks do not allow for this type of adjustability, creating uncomfortable positions that require the fisherman to adjust to the kayak, and not the other way around!
- Storage. Kayak fishing involves a ton of gear. Whether its tackle boxes, extra rods and reels, paddles, life jackets, the list truly goes on and on. Without an ample amount of storage, you could be forced to leave one piece of gear at home, or choose a particular kayak fishing accessory over another. It is important that your pedal kayak have an abundance of space, and that is exactly what this kayak offers to you! There is one storage bay at the rear:
And a second storage bay in the front (shown below). Each is deep enough to allow for the secure storage of any number of pieces of kayak fishing gear. In addition, the bays or “cargo holds” (as they are sometimes referred) include an elastic and interlocking roping system to make sure your gear doesn’t bounce out if you hit a choppy stretch on the water!
Again, the list of awesome features associated with this kayak goes on and on, but the ones highlighted above make this model a particularly good model if you are looking for a kayak that is specifically well built for kayak fishing purposes.
Buy the Best Pedal Kayak
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Great Choice for Kayak Fishing!
This pedal kayak became an easier and easier choice as KFC’s designation as Best Pedal Kayak as we furthered our research of other offerings on the market. Just as we thought we found a worthy competitor, it would turn out to lack cargo holds. Or, in other cases, when we finally came across another pedal kayak that looked intriguing, we discovered that the pedal drive system wasn’t top notch quality and that it developed a “rattle” when used for continued periods of time (this would scare away the fish)!
This pedal kayak was truly built for kayak fishing. The included track bar makes the installation of deck mounted rod holders a snap (literally). The hull is pre-made with flush mounted rod holders. The one handed rudder control, which allows for 360 degree maneuverability, allows a kayak fisherman to navigate this kayak with one hand, while pedaling it forward with his or her feet, all while keeping the other hand on the reel and ready to hook a big catch. This is truly the perfect pedal kayak for the serious kayak fisherman!
My Experience
I had kayak fished in several different types of kayaks. I had propelled myself with kayak paddles, kayak trolling motors (learn how to use a kayak trolling motor) and had even been required to swim my kayak into shore by hand when an oar broke in half unexpectedly! I can truthfully say that one of the best forms of kayak fishing is by the use of this kind of kayak. Why?
Kayak fishing with this kind of kayak combines two totally different activities. The first, of course, is kayak fishing. The second is exercise! But don’t worry, propelling a kayak with a high quality pedal drive system, like the one found on this pedal kayak, is actually fairly easy. In fact, I felt more engaged and connected in the kayak fishing moment and, while I did burn some calories, I was able to pedal along the water for hours without fatiguing. If you’re concerned that you might pedal too fast and fall overboard, you’d be well suited to consider a kayak life jacket. We’ve written about the best fishing kayak life jacket on the market on the KFC Blog!
BEST PEDAL KAYAK: CONCLUSION
I hope this post has helped you learn more about why we are certain that this is the best pedal kayak available on the market. If you have any questions about why we ranked this as the best pedal kayak or if there are any particular features that you’d like more information on, be sure to comment toward the bottom of this page! We would love to be part of your decision making process relative to your evaluating of whether pedal kayak fishing is right for you!
Kayak fishing in this manner is easy and its fun! It also allows you to traverse from location to location using only the power generated by your legs, keeping your hands free to tend to more important things, like casting to the ideal location, or navigating to the ideal spot on the water before your competitors do! Pedal kayak fishing is great for beginners and experts alike. Make sure to write in to KFC so we can share your story with this kayak fishing community! While you’re here, discover some more fun ways to get some exercise in!
Put your skills to the test in a kayak fishing tournament!
Comments
Do you own or have you ever used a pedal kayak? How was your experience? How did it perform for you on the water? Any other features you find to be important? Do you agree with our opinion on the Best Pedal Kayak? Remember, if you have any questions, we’d love to discuss them with you! Please share your knowledge with the KFC Community by posting a comment below. I read and reply to all comments, and I love interacting with our readers!