Blog Article · Instructional Article · Kayak Fishing ·Feb 11, 2025

Top 10 Kayak Fishing Safety Tips

8-minute read

Kayak fishing is an amazing lifetime sport accessible to people of all ages and abilities. While it’s generally a very safe activity, here are a few things to keep in mind to be sure all your kayaking angling ventures end well.

kayak angler paddles his kayak through thick water vegetation

We can’t guarantee you’ll catch fish! But we know you’ll be safer by learning and following these basic tips:

1. Wear a Properly-Fitting PFD (Life Jacket)

A simple way to prioritize safety when you kayak fish is to go above and beyond your state’s PFD (Personal Flotation Device) laws. Here in the US, every state regulates life jacket use on the water. Most require a PFD for every person on any size boat—but wearing that PFD is usually not specified.

We encourage all kayak anglers to wear your PFD while you fish. They’re for emergencies, and you can’t predict those.

We love to share this video with our readers that demonstrates this, from one of our Pro Staff team members. Drew was fishing a small body of water one day near some seemingly unconcerned geese. What happened next took him completely by surprise! Because he was wearing his PFD, staying afloat was one less thing he had to think about.

You just never know. Whether it’s geese, a tricky current, a misstep, or even an unobservant boat driver on a bigger boat—there’s a reason these are called life jackets. It just might save yours one day.

Look for one that fits you snugly but comfortably, has ample shoulder room, and has pockets or D-rings to stow small items for easy accessibility. Wear it whenever you’re on the water, and it’ll become a habit.

2. Know How to Self-Rescue

Learning to self-rescue is especially important if you fish alone. Most kayakers prefer fishing from a sit-on kayak over a sit-in model, which makes self-rescue easier.

If you capsize and your kayak flips, whatever hasn’t been strapped down will be in the water, including you. You have a couple of options depending on where you are. If you’re close to shore, it may be easiest to grab your kayak and bring it with you to shore or to where it’s shallow enough to stand.

If you capsize in deep water, another of our Pro Team, Chris, demonstrates how to re-enter a sit-on kayak from the water:

Practice self-rescue skills in the kayak you’ll use to fish. Take it out on a nice, calm and get used to flipping it upright and climbing back on.

[NOTE: It’s a great idea to keep your paddle tied or strapped to your kayak while you fish so you don’t lose it for any reason, including an unexpected capsize.]

3. Be Visible to Other Boaters

If you fish high-traffic waters popular with motorboaters, you need to be highly visible to them. They’re bigger and faster than you, and are not looking for paddlers.

A great way to be visible is to have a brightly-colored kayak, paddle and/or PFD. Another option—or maybe in addition—is to have a high-viz flag and/or light on your kayak like YakAttack’s VISICarbon models.

You want to stand out from the water, vegetation and shoreline so when boaters zoom across the water to get to the launch or another fishing spot, they can spot you easily and avoid you.

Before you fish bodies of water large enough for big boats, be sure you’re up on the marine rules for right-of-way.

4. Bring a Well-Stocked First Aid Kit and Other Safety Gear

With hooks, clippers, grips and fish teeth and fins, there’s plenty of opportunity for mishaps while you kayak fish. It’s important to buy or put together a First Aid kit stocked with anything you might need for a day on the water.

This can include bandages and ointments, a wire cutter, over-the-counter meds, an EpiPen if needed, and a whistle or other signal device. An emergency blanket and fire starter kit are good additions if you’ll fish in remote areas with any chance of getting stranded. Also include sunscreen and lip balm.

If your fishing kayak is an inflatable model, you’ll want to keep your patch kit with you at all times. It’s a good idea to keep a small knife attached to your PFD in case you need to cut a line quickly.

If you fish with others, consider bringing a tow line in case a buddy isn’t able to paddle back for any reason.

kayak angler stands and fishes from his kayak

5. Dress for Immersion

To dress for immersion means you’re prepared in case you capsize in very cold water. Even if you wear your PFD properly, very cold water is dangerous because of the risk of hypothermia. In the right temperatures, hypothermia can kick in within a few minutes.

Very cold water certainly includes winter fishing for those who live far enough south that your waterways don’t freeze. It also includes spring and fall in northern climates. It even includes extra cold water on hot summer days.

You dress for immersion for the same reason you wear a PFD—just in case. This could mean wearing a wetsuit under your outer clothes or investing in a drysuit if you fish often in cold weather or on cold water.

6. Know Your Limitations

Part of being a safe kayak angler is being a safe kayaker. Learn basic paddle strokes and become proficient at them. If you want to fish rivers, learn how to kayak on current safely. Learn about river hazards, eddy lines and how to safely navigate rapids.

If your kayaking skills aren’t up to handling big water, don’t fish the Great Lakes or the ocean until they are.

If you know you’ll want the option to stand on your kayak while you fish, practice standing on unstable surfaces. You can do this on the water without your fishing gear, or you can get something like an Indo Board to practice at home. Watch this short video from our friends at YakAngler about standing and fishing.

Understand proper anchoring so you don’t get yourself into trouble in deep water or strong current.

7. Check the Weather Forecast and Water Conditions Before You Launch

For flatwater fishing, you want to be aware of incoming storms, lightning or high winds. You don’t want to be surprised by a downpour or thunderstorm, especially if you’re miles from your launch or out on big water.

Kayak fishing safely on the ocean requires a look at the tide schedule, wind and swell conditions. If you enjoy going out on rivers, you’ll want to look at water levels and flow speed, recent rains and possible hazards in the water since the last storm.

There are many apps you can download that provide accurate forecasts.

8. Have a Plan to Communicate

It’s a good idea to leave your float plan with someone on shore every time you fish. This should include where you’ll launch and park, which body of water you’ll be on, when you’ll launch and when you plan to be back.

You should consider this imperative when fishing alone, but it’s even a good idea when you’re out with friends or a spouse. If emergency teams would need to be contacted, it would give them a head start in knowing where to look for you.

Carry your phone in a waterproof case. There are several models of phone cases that are transparent and come with a lanyard. You can wear it around your neck so it’s always handy—and will stick with you in case you swim.

Ocean anglers should carry a marine VHF radio. You can even consider a satellite phone if you love to kayak fish in remote areas outside of cell range.

9. Be Aware of Wildlife

Do you want to fish in waters that are habitat for alligators or crocodiles, poisonous snakes, sharks or other potentially dangerous wildlife? Learn how to identify and avoid them (Plan A) or how to handle them if you encounter one (Plan B).

Also, be aware of land animals that could pose a threat, like moose and bears. If you see wildlife along the shore or in the water where you fish, don’t approach. Do your best to remain nonthreatening and leave them alone (after you take photos from a safe distance!).

10. Secure Your Gear

If you haven’t already thought of this with our talk of capsizing above, make a note of this one: Secure your gear to your kayak as much as possible. In the remote case you would flip, you’re much more likely to retain your valuable items when they’re attached.

There are plenty of waterproof cases and dry bags available to stow small items. You can either store them in larger cases secured to your boat or lock them in a bow hatch.

Don’t assume you’ll never capsize.