Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Fishing kayaks are affordable; makes lakes more accessible

Last Sunday's column in The Oakland Press talked about some of the advantages of a sit-on-top fishing kayak.
One of my big reasons is cost. Looking at a nice walleye or bass boat on top of a trailer in the garage would bother me.
Every time I walked by it I would be thinking I'm not getting my money out of it. Lets be honest. Many of us say if we had more time we would golf every day. In this case the comment is to fish every day.
No matter how much you like either sport, I think one would get sick of it in a hurry if you went every day. Besides there is the cost of gasoline in the tow vehicle, wear and tear in general and other hidden costs.
Looking at a big monthly payment on a trailer would bug me. On the other hand, a kayak hanging on the wall, probably paid for wouldn't cause much consternation other than wishing I was out using it but not overly concerned because I wasn't getting my money out of it.
Far be it from me to tell anybody how to spend their money. I've missed the boat and had some ill-thought purchases.
But owning a kayak hasn't been one of them. If I decide got use it tomorrow, hypothetically, it's a simple matter of sliding onto the roof of my pickup cap, cinching it down, tossing my tackle, rods and pfd in the back and I'm ready.
At the launch it's off the truck and to the water's edge where everything is loaded. Park the truck, put the pfd on and I'm off. Retrieval is just the exact opposite. In a few minutes I'm fishing.
And I don't feel guilty about not busting my hump to pay for the boat. If you are moving up from shore fishing, before taking a loan out the equivalent of the national debt think about purchasing a fishing kayak.

Grandson Josh Checkal admiring a bass caught out of a kayak. By Beukema

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