Wes Littlefield 12.11.24
Kayaks have been used for recreational and transportation purposes for thousands of years, but few people realize their critical role in hunting. If that’s you, don’t worry; you’ll soon learn how to deer hunt from your kayak to bring home more backstrap this season! I’ve been kayak deer hunting for several years now and kicked myself for not beginning sooner. However, I didn’t start earlier in life because I didn’t have a kayak that met all my hunting needs. So, let’s begin by learning how to choose the perfect yak.
Purchasing a Hunting Kayak
Most people hate kayaks because they choose the cheapest one they can find. This is a mistake, especially for hunters. You don’t have to go crazy, but a good hunting kayak will cost you $800+ because you need several features that cheap kayaks don’t have, such as:
- Stability
- Portability
- Open Design
- Customizability
Knowing the stability of a kayak is only possible once you test it on the water, so you can do a couple of different things to figure this out. The first is to go to your local kayak shop and ask if they do demo days and test it out at that event. The other is to conduct thorough research to find out what others say about the kayak’s stability in which you’re interested.
No matter what type of vehicle you drive, portability is an issue. I prefer to trailer my hunting kayak because it’s heavy and a bit long for a truck bed. But if you decide on a lighter, shorter yak, you can car top it on your SUV or toss it in the back of your truck.
Several years ago, most kayaks were sit-inside kayaks, but today, the sit-on-top kayaks have taken over, and that’s the design you need for a few reasons. Sit-on-top yaks are typically more stable, which means they tend to be safer and more accessible to enter and exit, and hauling a deer across the lake is much simpler with an open deck design.
Lastly, purchasing a very customizable kayak, like my Nucanoe Frontier 12, is great because you can change it to fit your needs instead of trying to make things work and ending up frustrated because the kayak wasn’t designed with hunters in mind.
Kayak Deer Hunting Rigged Right
One way to make your kayak deer hunting more enjoyable is to rig your little plastic boat correctly.
The great thing about this is you decide what is correct! Rigging your kayak is a personal experience, but here are a few tips I’ve picked up over the years.
- Keep It Simple
- Less Is More
- Always Keep Safety In Mind
- Test It Out
- Don’t Be Afraid To Adjust
My deer hunting kayak setup is pretty simple. I have a couple of gun/bow mounts to secure my firearm or bow while traveling across the water, a comfortable seat, paddle, PFD, and sometimes, I like to use a kayak trolling motor.
I have also rigged LED lights on my kayak to see where I’m going in the dark and alert other boaters to my presence and direction. My setup has changed over the years as I have discovered what I like and don’t like and adjusted it accordingly.
How To Deer Hunt from a Kayak
Unlike duck hunting from a kayak, there’s really only one way to use a kayak for deer hunting: getting from point A to point B. I love this because it’s simple.
On my average kayak deer hunting trip, I load my gear onto my Frontier 12, leaving plenty of room for a deer to be placed in front of me. Then, I paddle to where I want to hunt. Most of the time, I’m comfortable leaving my kayak on the shore, but if you’re not, feel free to drag it into the woods and cover it with some brush before walking to your favorite spot. It’s really that simple to deer hunt from a kayak, but why would you go through this extra work?
Benefits of Using a Kayak for Deer Hunting
There are many benefits to kayak deer hunting, and I’ve listed a few of them below:
- Opens Up More Options
- Shortens Your Walk
- More Covert
- Easier Transporting Your Harvested Deer
While kayak deer hunting, you can access more remote spots that others can’t or are unwilling to reach. This means you hunt less pressured deer and encounter fewer hunters. Kayaking also shortens your walk. This is extremely helpful if you’re hunting hilly terrain, as you’ll expend less energy to reach your spot.
Kayaking is also more covert. You’re spreading less of your scent through the woods. Paddling or using a trolling motor is much quieter than crunching leaves while walking or using an outboard motor on a boat.
Lastly, it’s so much easier to haul your deer back to your vehicle using a kayak than dragging it back. I’ve drug my fair share of deer, and I would much rather load a dead deer on my kayak and paddle it to my vehicle than drag it back. Save yourself a significant backache and use a kayak when you can.
Kayak Deer Hunting Safety Considerations
For most of this article, I’ve made kayak deer hunting sound like it’s all rainbows and unicorns because it’s incredible, and a kayak is a handy tool for hunters. However, kayaking during hunting season involves some risk, and extra precautions must be taken to ensure you return home to your family and friends.
- ALWAYS Wear Your PFD While Kayaking
- Don’t Kayak When The Weather Is Dangerous (Windy, Extreme Cold, etc.)
- Waterproof Gear Is Preferred
I can’t stress enough how important it is to always wear your life jacket while kayaking. It’s such a simple thing to throw on and use, but many hunters fail to do so, and it costs them dearly. It doesn’t matter how good of a swimmer you are; it’s exponentially more difficult in cold water when your hunting clothes weigh you down.
If the weather isn’t cooperating, don’t risk it. Walk to your spot instead, or hunt at a different location. 15+ MPH winds are when things get dangerous for kayaks on large reservoirs (you can get away with windy conditions when paddling in small creeks or rivers) and extreme cold (you’ll have to decide what extreme cold is for you).
Lastly, wearing waterproof gear is ideal. Getting wet in the cold makes for a miserable and possibly dangerous hunt. I also prefer to use a waterproof backpack to keep most of my gear in, as everything will get wet in a kayak because they’re so close to the water.
Parting Shots
Despite the risks involved with kayak deer hunting, it opens up many more hunting opportunities and advantages. I strongly recommend using a kayak for hunting on public or private land that borders creeks, rivers, or lakes! Is kayak deer hunting worth it to you? Let me know in the comments!
