I’ve been in the kayak fishing world both as an entrepreneur and as a tournament competitor for the last 3 years. That’s not very long. But it doesn’t take much time to realize that the fishing experience of a kayak is really not good. Kayaks were designed to be a sit-down paddling experience. But what do most kayak tournament anglers want to do? They want to stand to fish and use electric motors to get around! Kayak manufacturers are building bigger, heavier, and wider kayaks to compensate. Bass Raft takes a different approach.

Bass Raft not only flips the script to put the fishing experience first, but it also does the things that make kayak fishing so good. So before we talk about the failings of kayak fishing, let’s first talk about what is good about kayak fishing (and Bass Raft too).

• Cost
  • Kayaks have a total cost of ownership far lower than a traditional bass boat, from cost of the vessel to all the money spent on fuel.
• Storage
  • Put the kayak in the rafters for the winter – ‘nuff said. Boats need storage space.
• Portability
  • Light (Well… not so true for the high-end fishing kayaks anymore. XTR, I’m looking at you.)
  • Go into rivers or lakes with no boat access and hard-to-reach shallow waters.
  • Car top it, put it in the back of the truck. And go.
• Stealth
  • Kayaks can get to spots quietly and with less of a footprint for fish to see.
• Community
  • The kayak fishing community is great! People love to connect with other kayak anglers.
  • The kayak tournament scene is pretty great too.

Where kayak fishing falls over… literally

The kayak fishing experience is a case of Stockholm syndrome (hostages that develop a psychological bond with their captors). Anglers are fanatical about kayak fishing and their kayaks… but why? Maybe it is all the time, energy and money they put into the kayak trying to compensate for the poor fishing experience? Maybe it is the camaraderie of the community that will sympathize and laugh with/at you when you fall in or flip and lose your gear. But nobody asks why we keep fishing in a vessel type never intended for serious fishing.

The short list of kayak fishing fails:

• Falling out
  • No matter how big and stable the kayak, you will still find videos of people either falling in while standing (XTR, looking at you again), or tipping a kayak over and losing a ton of stuff. Yikes, that’s a lot of money.
• Wimpy hooksets
  • I call it “the scooch”, where you have to move your center of gravity on the seat to get that extra leverage for a big frog bite. It’s the awkward kayak version of the bass boat step back hookset.
• Bad Visibility
  • If you don’t stand up, you can’t see enough. If you do stand up, you fall in.
• Wear your bathing suit
  • You will get wet in a kayak, even if you don’t fall in. On windy days get ready for spray. When that big pontoon rolls by and sends 2 foot breakers your way, you’ll get some splash in the face. Fact.
• Kayaks are getting too big and heavy
  • Most high-end kayaks are over 100 lbs and getting bigger.
  • Trailers can be nice, but they shouldn’t be required.

Bass Raft to the rescue… I see you floating there.

Bass Raft was designed to be a stand up fishing experience on a stable, secure platform. You stand above the water line at boat height, staying dry while you use the foot pedal trolling motor to cruise around hands-free. You can see cover and fish awesome up on the deck. Leave the scooch hookset behind :) and fully step back on that frog bite.

You won’t fall out and you won’t lose your gear overboard. On top of all that, you can collapse and carry your Bass Raft with one arm, throw it on top of your small car, or use it for a table in your apartment!

Bass Raft has all the goodness that made kayak fishing so popular and also the fishing experience you would expect from a bass boat. Leave the kayak hostage situation behind and join the Bass Raft revolution!

Shop Now at bassraft.com

«  July 02, 2025 by Joey