Solo waterfowl hunting in a kayak or canoe?

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

I hunt out of a Sea Eagle inflatable kayak. Extremely stable and an 855 lb capacity. Folds up small enough to travel as checked baggage.

Man you are much braver than I! I would be so afraid of floating away in the wind in that kayak down there!

Also, chase and buo while you were there?

 

[TheBenHoyle]

Kayak Hunting Build

https://imgur.com/a/XoiXi

Did this a few years ago. Killed quite a few birds from it in the years since.

I will take a close look at your build. I'm thinking I'll do something similar.

 

[glass eye]

Also, chase and buo while you were there?

You lost me. Do you mean " chase any bou " ?

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

You lost me. Do you mean " chase any bou " ?
View attachment 125587

Fat fingers got the best of me! Yes that's what I was getting at....

 

[R.K.]

I will take a close look at your build. I'm thinking I'll do something similar.

Would suggest not shooting from the Trophy 126, as it wants to tip if you aren't shooting forward. Works when chasing cripples, but hunting from it is an issue.

Get a different kayak if you want to hunt from it, or possibly a layout boat. I mostly paddled into areas with it, and towed a jet sled full of gear a lot of days. Make sure you can comfortably fit in the thing, including the cased gun between your legs.

 

[glass eye]

Fat fingers got the best of me! Yes that's what I was getting at....

Went for caribou in September a few years ago but the flight was cancelled twice, first because a volcano erupted and then because of fog. By the time we got there we had 1 day to get a bou. Could have shot one first thing in the morning not far from my tent but I passed on them and went home with tag soup.

 

[Bluffgruff]

Camo is a liability when you have any other recreational traffic. Paddle right up with a bright yellow rec kayak, wearing a neon green underarmour shirt, and a brightly colored Patagonia hat.

 

[LuketheDog]

I had a NuCanoe for a while and shot ducks out of that quite a bit. It was extremely stable and I could stand up to shoot, which was way better for me than trying to swing while sitting. I bought a long SUP paddle so I could stand up to paddle as well, it was great for jump shooting the marshy area at the lake inlet.

 

[Slam]

I have hunted out of a Sportspal canoe for years. The unit I have is 14' with a wide beam, foam floor with foam sponsons on the sides, very stable. Full length keel for straight tracking and a motor mount. I run an electric motor for those long dark travels, marine battery in front (the added weight makes a big difference when the wind comes up). I fill it with decoys, a chair, blind material and put the dog between my legs. Very comfortable and stable (if you've flipped before...in waders...when its well below freezing and your an hour upstream paddle from the truck...you appreciate stability over a little more taxing paddling for the wide beam). If hunting potholes surrounded by high grass and cattails I push in backwards into to the reeds, pull some netting and cattails over and lay in with just my shoulders and head above the net, dog sits in the front. Works well. Canoe weighs ~50 lbs. I painted all the ribs on mine.

 

[Aherrod]

My kayak is a Wilderness Systems Ride 115X. It's the angler edition so it has a spot to mount a fishfinder. I mainly bought it to fish out of but I also use it to hunt waterfowl. I would be exaggerating if I called it a game changer but it has definitely allowed me to set up closer to the "X" when duck hunting. Last year I hunted an area of a marsh that did not have any cattails so I pulled up next to a muskrat hut and pulled some smartweed over the kayak and was able to take three gadwall. Bass Pro makes a blind for their Ascend kayaks, it fits two or three models, built like a layout blind, that I bought. The kayaks that it is made for are 12' models so I thought I would give it a shot and was able to adjust it to fit my kayak. The public marshes around here are all random draw and solo hunters draw last so most of the premium spots are taken and it helps me have success in units that other guys won't go. It also allows me to set up on the outer edge of cover so when the birds want to land in open water. I don't have a pic of it in use but the pic below was right before season this year with a base layer of cattails.
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I’m thinking of buying this kayak and the northern flight layout blind. I think it’s the same one you have and I’m just wanting to make sure it will fit before I spend the money on it. Do you have any pictures of how you made it fit? And is the kayak comfortable enough to stay in for hours at a time? Not much content out there on the wilderness systems and duck hunting.

 

[Mallardsx2]

12’ sportspal

 

[JDH]

I’m thinking of buying this kayak and the northern flight layout blind. I think it’s the same one you have and I’m just wanting to make sure it will fit before I spend the money on it. Do you have any pictures of how you made it fit? And is the kayak comfortable enough to stay in for hours at a time? Not much content out there on the wilderness systems and duck hunting.

I've laid in it for hours with no issues. It is still set up for fishing right now so I don't think I have any pictures of it. I removed the seat, center console, and pedals. Then tied the strap in the front to the handle and the 2 rear straps are tied onto eye loops on the accessory rails along the rear cargo area. It fits on there really nice. For me the only weird thing that I don't like (but can probably be fixed if I wanted to drill the kayak) is that the frame of the blind is not solidly attached to the kayak. There's 2 plates that accept screws that would tie into existing holes on the Ascend kayaks that obviously the Ride doesn't have. See below pic. I may end up adding some kind of anchor to the sides of the kayak to help fix the issue.

 

[Aherrod]

I've laid in it for hours with no issues. It is still set up for fishing right now so I don't think I have any pictures of it. I removed the seat, center console, and pedals. Then tied the strap in the front to the handle and the 2 rear straps are tied onto eye loops on the accessory rails along the rear cargo area. It fits on there really nice. For me the only weird thing that I don't like (but can probably be fixed if I wanted to drill the kayak) is that the frame of the blind is not solidly attached to the kayak. There's 2 plates that accept screws that would tie into existing holes on the Ascend kayaks that obviously the Ride doesn't have. See below pic. I may end up adding some kind of anchor to the sides of the kayak to help fix the issue.
View attachment 298442

Thank you this is a big help I’m still trying to decide if I want to buy a used ride 115x or spend the extra couple hundred and get the h12 or t12.