Are You a “High-Visibility” Kayak Angler?
6-minute read
Are you high-viz? If you’re not easy to see on the water when you’re kayak fishing, you’re compromising your safety.
This high-visibility combo of a red kayak and orange flag increase safety on the water (photo courtesy of Adam Bridle)
If you only fish on small, non-motorized lakes or slow-moving rivers, being highly visible isn’t as big a deal. But if your favorite fishing spots are larger bodies of water also frequented by motorboats, high-viz becomes a safety necessity.
Let’s explore why…
Why Is It Important to be Highly Visible When Kayak Fishing?
There are three reasons why kayak anglers should think about how visible they are on the water:
1. You’re lower on the water than everyone else.
One of the advantages of fishing from a kayak is that you’re so low on the water. Kayaking—especially with a paddle—makes you feel almost like you’re part of the water. You’re right at the surface for casting, reeling and netting the fish. There’s nothing else like it when it comes to fishing.
But being that low on the water also gives you a huge disadvantage: You’re very hard to see. Especially when your kayak, paddle and apparel blend in with the water and shoreline. Kayak fishing is not the time to blend in, especially when you’re on water that’s popular with bigger boats.
Kayaks sit very low on the water, so bright colors help other boaters see you easily (photo courtesy of Chris Funk)
2. Most other boats are bigger and faster than you.
When you’re on a fishing kayak, you’re one of the smallest boats on the water. While most motorboats used for fishing are fairly maneuverable, none can turn on a dime if the driver doesn’t see you until the last minute.
You’re also slower than any motorized boat—even if you have an electric motor. Top speeds in a motorized fishing kayak might reach 10 mph while even a small motorized boat can travel at 15 mph and up.
Chances are that the drivers of these bigger, faster boats aren’t thinking about kayak anglers who may share the waters with them. So when they’re cruising toward their favorite spot or back to the launch, you want them to be able to spot you easily and avoid you, even when they’re not looking for you.
If you’re camouflaged, they may not see you until it’s too late to avoid a collision—or a big wake wave at the very least.
3. You want to be easy to spot if you ever need to be rescued.
Hopefully, you’ll never need this third tip. But if you should be in some kind of emergency on the water (especially in big water like the ocean) and a rescue team gets called in, you want them to be able to spot you from a distance.
The sooner they spot you, the sooner you can be rescued and brought to safety.
In all these situations, what makes you easy to spot? Being highly visible. That seems like a no-brainer, but so many kayak anglers don’t think about it.
4. You can keep track of your buddies when you’re all high-viz.
We’ll add a #4 here too. When you’re out fishing with some friends, your spouse or your kids, high-viz gear helps you keep track of each other. So it can also add a convenience factor.
High-Visibility Kayak Fishing Gear
You’re going to buy kayak fishing gear one way or another. When you do, think “high-viz” with at least some of the major items you purchase. If you’re used to wearing dark colors, neutral colors or camo, this will take a shift in your thinking. But remember, it’s for your safety.
It’s easy to see the difference a brightly-colored kayak makes for visibility (photo courtesy of Mat Willder)
Kayak and Paddle
Your kayak is by far the largest item with you when you fish. So if you want to go all out and buy an orange, red or yellow kayak, you’ll definitely be highly visible. If your kayak is bright all the way around then it’s easy to spot even when flipped over, in the unlikely event you would need to be rescued.
Have you already invested in a neutral-colored kayak that you really like? You don’t have to trade it in for a different one. Other gear can be high-viz instead and accomplish the same purpose. Your paddle, for one.
Kayak paddle blades that are brightly colored provide great visibility across the water, especially when you’re paddling and the blades are moving.
Several of our kayak fishing paddles have high-visibility blades:
- Our Angler Pro Fiberglass paddle in Copperhead and Glowtek—These are our top-of-the-line kayak fishing paddles with their compression-molded fiberglass blades and 100% carbon shafts.
- Our Angler Classic paddle is the best-selling kayak fishing paddle on the market. It features a fiberglass shaft with fiberglass-reinforced nylon blades. Choose Electric Green for your high-viz color.
- Angler Drift is our most budget-friendly kayak fishing paddle, yet it’s super durable and performs very well. The Drift is also available in high-viz Electric Green.
The bright red Copperhead blade stands out in a sea of neutrals (photo courtesy of Open Road Visuals)
PFD and Apparel
Another great way to get that high visibility on the water is with your PFD. Look for a traditional foam-filled PFD (Personal Flotation Device) that’s designed for paddling and/or fishing in a highly visible color. This could be any color that stands out brightly from the water and shoreline (think all weather and season scenarios).
Besides your PFD, pick up a couple of brightly-colored shirts, jackets or hats and you’ll be good to go.
Lights and/or a Lighted Flag
If you’re going to fish at dawn, dusk or after dark, almost all regions require you to mount and use lights at the stern of your kayak (and sometimes the bow). In fact, all the boats on the water will be required to have these so everyone can see everyone else.
Consider investing in a lighted flag like YakAttack’s VISICarbon Pro model. This provides you with a bright orange flag that sits above your head for daytime use (which helps solve the too-low-on-the-water problem) and an LED light at the top for low-light situations.
It’s not hard to be high-viz—it just takes intention (photo courtesy of Reggie Chapa)
We hope this has convinced you to invest in your kayak fishing safety by investing in some high-visibility gear. Happy fishing!
Our friendly Customer Service team is here to help you pick out a high-viz kayak fishing paddle. Contact us at 715-755-3405 or [email protected]
More for you...
