Back to my roots and building a kayak on a budget

Check out my video here
Moving into our new home has meant change. Mostly good with new remodeling challenges, more space and the joy of living with big trees. The new home also meant returning to a tighter budget.

My family spent 10 years getting our previous house fixed up allowing me more time and money to spend on fishing. Since I spent most of the money from the sale of my aluminum fishing sled, I have to returned to a limited budget until we get through the big house projects.

The challenge reminded me how I started out with my Old Town Otter and seeing how I could make it into a fishing kayak. Because I traded one of my kayaks for some work on the new house, I was in the need of a fourth kayak so we could take friends out on the water. I decided this was the perfect reason to create a video series on building a budget fly fishing kayak. The series would also be a nod to other kayak anglers, like Zoffinger, sharing their tips on fishing kayaks.

My goal was to spend as little as possible to build a quality boat. With three Hobies, including two Pro Anglers, I wanted fellow anglers to realize they don't need to spend a lot of money to get into the sport of kayak fly fishing.

I started by trolling Craigslist for used kayaks. I missed several good deals, got frustrated and decided to look for a deal at one of the sporting good stores. I found several good basic kayaks by Pelican, Old Town, Perception and Future Beach but I couldn't get one at the $200 mark. I finally landed a used one on Craigslist - an older Heritage sit-in with a paddle, seat and skirt for $175. A funny thing was that the person selling it had just purchased a Hobie Mirage Sport.

I now had the subject of the first video and got started with the project. I shot the first video in a couple takes and now have it posted on my YouTube channel, Kayakflyangler.

The next video will focus on modifying the boat by putting on a rod holder, anchor trolley and paddle keeper and whatever else I can get for the $75 I have left in my budget. The final video will be fishing in the kayak and me hopefully landing a fish.

I am looking forward to this adventure and hope my tips will help others expand their fishing horizons. Look for more soon.

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