SUP or Kayak for Fly fishing?

Ok, I do mostly warm water fly fishing for bass on medium size lakes and I'm trying to decide between purchasing a Bote Paddleboard (Bug Slinger) or a Jackson Kayak (Mayfly). I figure 99% of my fishing will be standing up so I figure an SUP might be better for fly fishing than a kayak, plus I can always place a Yeti cooler on the SUP and use that to sit on.

Anybody else here using either of these to fly fish from? Pros and cons of each?

 

I mostly fish saltwater, but have owned kayaks, SUP's, canoes, and boats. As far as kayak vs SUP I would take the SUP all day especially for fly. SUP's are a little odd to paddle if you have to paddle long distances, or at least I thought so. If I had to go back to kayak/sup I would always go SUP. Some kayaks advertise the ability to stand and fish, but are normally very uncomfortable standing and confine you to a small area.

Not sure where you are located, but I might suggest a Nucanoe, solo skiff, or Gheenoe if you haven't looked into them yet. I'm slightly biased towards Gheenoes as I've had a few... If you have any questions I'd be glad to offer up what advice I have or answer any questions.

 

Hard to beat the Ayer tomcat for rivers and lakes.... can’t fish from it on a river but their very durable and I found mine on Craigslist for 350 bucks. Have used it for camping and I beat the hell out of it and it still does the job. As far as standing up, I normally fish from my knees on here if I’m on a good drift or on the lake, but if ur not planning on going on rivers with big rapids I would think a sup would work just fine.

 

Interesting question.

 

I'm leaning towards a SUP for that very reason, stability when standing. I sea kayaked for a couple of years and can't see casting with a fly rod while seated so close to the water. Also, I think it would be easier to stalk fish on an SUP as opposed to a kayak.

 

I've looked at some inflatable type boats but I really want something I can stand up in. My casting isn't the best in the world standing let alone seated.

 

Yup I do mainly sight fishing inshore and when I had a kayak I hated it because yeah I could sorta stand up when I got where I wanted to fish, but was very difficult to chase a fish or hit a bank of mangroves while standing up. SUP just gives you a lot more freedom, I just like things with a motor I'm too lazy for paddling

One of my buddies fly fishes for tarpon off of a bote board so I can attest to their stability and seaworthiness. Other SUP I'd look at is the Kaku Kahuna.

 

Good information David. Thx

 

Just want to throw this out there. Have you heard of solo skiff? you can take it anywhere, fish how you want to fish, has no limits. I had one and it was a blast when I used it. sold it because I never got to use it as much I planned to.

 

Yessir! If you ever find yourself in South FL let me know and I'll gladly hook you up on some snook/reds/tarpon on fly!

 

Looks interesting.

 

Would love to chase some reds with a fly rod someday.

 

I've never fished from an SUP, but do use my SUP fairly often. I've found that any sort of chop or waves make for slow progress across a lake on one. Paddling a tandem kayak solo was faster.

 

I can see where that would be an issue. The thing that keeps pushing me towards an SUP is stability when standing up, casting a fly while seated is just not for me.

 

Not the Mayfly (Jackson Cuda 12), but very stable to stand and fish off of.

 

Option C

Nice wide canoe to standup in.

 

I haven't been freshwater fishing since I was a kid so my first thought was that you were thinking about saltwater fly fishing on a SUP. That would be an extreme sport!