A safety guide for winter kayaking, because there really isn’t an offseason.
What drives a person to kayak fish through the winter? Is it the lights out fishing? Or the quality of the fish biting? Well, probably not. Although quality and quantity can be found, it probably has more to do with the love of the process.
As the seasons change, much of fishing stays the same: scouting charts, prepping gear, keeping detailed logs. The joy that each of those steps brings me is well worth the physical challenge of kayaking in cold water. As a bonus, the efforts made during the offseason translate into fishing success during the warmer months. Give it a shot. You don’t need to jump right into winter kayak fishing, but try starting your spring season early.
There are lots of advantages: you’ll have access to tog structures that haven’t seen pressure in months, targeting holdover stripers keeps your technique sharp, and for those north of Cape Cod, there’s even a two-week cod season. Most importantly, you’ll be honing your ability to locate and catch fish while the biomass is low and lethargic, a valuable skill any time of the year.
Before you get started, you need to get prepared. Cold water kayaking poses some risks and extra precautions need to be taken in water temperatures below 60 degrees.
Gear Essentials
There are three pieces of equipment that I consider to be necessary for cold-water kayak fishing: a VHF marine radio, a personal flotation device (PFD), and immersion gear. The first two should be a given year round, but they become especially important as the water temps fall. Immersion gear, either a wetsuit or a drysuit, becomes relevant when the water temperatures fall. I’m putting this section first because equipping yourself properly can save your life. Data from UMN’s Sea Grant shows that at a water temperature of 50 degrees, a typical person will become exhausted or unconscious in about one hour without a PFD or immersion gear. With flotation, you push your survival time to three hours. Adding appropriate immersion gear extends your survival time up to 12 hours in the water.
Drysuit vs. Wetsuit
Kayakers looking to acquire immersion gear are faced with a hard decision: drysuit or wetsuit? It’s a hotly debated topic, but ultimately there is no right answer. Each offers its own distinctive pros and cons and depending on the type of fishing you do, one might suit your needs better than the other. A wetsuit is a great option for someone looking to extend their kayak season by about a month into the late fall and early spring. For this purpose, a 5/3 or a 4/3 wetsuit fits the bill.
What makes the wetsuit such a great option is the accessibility. For many kayak fishermen who also fish the surf, a wetsuit might be standard gear. For the rest, a wetsuit can be bought for around $200. In situations like re-entry or swimming to shore in an emergency situation, the next-to-skin wetsuit creates a lot less drag than a baggy drysuit in the water. However, when you’re happily sitting on top of your kayak instead of scrambling to get back in, wetsuits are not very breathable and can feel restrictive.
Drysuits are comfortable because they are, in essence, a watertight shell around your normal clothes. You get to move freely while staying completely dry. If your access points require you to get in the water to launch your kayak, this is a huge advantage. Especially for those launching through the surf, not having to fish in a soaking wetsuit is a huge perk. Another factor contributing to the comfort of a drysuit is its adaptability; you can dial in your insulation underneath and be comfortable in a wide range of temperatures. When the air is warm, but the water is cold, I pair a breathable fleece jacket under my drysuit and don’t have issues with overheating or moisture buildup in temperatures up to 70 degrees.
As the temperatures drop, layers can be added without sacrificing comfort. Because of this, one drysuit can fill the temperature ranges of two or even three wetsuits. I bring that up because I’m about to mention the biggest con: the price. While some drysuits can be found for as “low” as $400, most will run you between $600 and $1,000. The higher priced ones offer improvements in durability and breathability and tend to have better repair service. Although they are expensive, there are anglers that find a lot of value in a piece of equipment that allows them to kayak fish for an extra six months of the year (about November to May in New England).
To summarize, wetsuits are a great option if you’re an angler looking to extend their kayak fishing season by a month in the spring and fall. They’re also a lot more affordable. The biggest trade-off is heat management and comfort. Consider a drysuit if you want to be able to own one piece of immersion gear and fish year-round or launch in areas where you will get wet. Just know, you’re going to pay for that luxury.
PFD’s By The Numbers
For kayak fishing, a Type III PFD is a good balance between safety and functionality. They don’t interfere when working your rod close to your body and allow you to lay your back on your seat properly. I also carry my radio and a knife in my PFD. Those are two things you’ll want with you if your kayak rolls. Make sure your knife is sharp and able to cut any gear leash that could tangle you. Attach a strobe light if you plan on fishing in the dark. There are also two other main types of PFDs if you’re willing to sacrifice some comfort for more safety. Type I PFDs are designed to keep your mouth above rough water, even if you are unconscious. Type IIs do the same but in calmer water. While you can’t rely on a Type III PFD to flip you while unconscious, they offer the same amount of flotation as a Type II. For most inshore anglers, this feature isn’t necessary.
Comfort Items
Your core might be well-insulated under your immersion gear, but cold air takes a toll on your hands and face. I keep my hands insulated with a pair of 3mm neoprene gloves. They still get cold but I stick with 3 mm because it maintains a good balance between warmth and dexterity. I’ll also always keep a few handwarmers in a drybag if I need a burst of warmth. For my face, a thin breathable covering like a Buff is enough to keep me warm in most cases.
For those in drysuits, don’t neglect your leg insulation. If I pay attention to why I feel cold on a fishing trip, it’s usually my legs. Your core gets fleece and down jackets. Legs usually don’t get the same treatment. My fix was to put on as many pants as I could find. I’ve worn up to 4-5 pairs of sweats, pants, and base layers at once just to stay warm. After a recent ski trip to Vermont, I became inspired to wear insulated ski pants under my drysuit instead. Give it a shot when the air temperatures are around 40, you’ll notice a big difference in reduced bulk and overall warmth.
Safety Checklist
Equipment is just one part of staying safe on the water. Here are a few important things that you should do before your first cold-water trip. Practice self-rescues on your kayak even if you’ve done them before. Self-rescue is more difficult with immersion gear creating drag and cold water fatiguing your muscles. Become comfortable with the movements because it’s extremely important to be able to get back in your kayak in the cold. Secondly, make sure your VHF Radio is working. I recommend doing a DSC test call to the USCG group identity “003669999”. If the test call receives an acknowledgement from the station, you’ll know that your radio is able to send out a DSC distress call. Lastly, before every trip, tell someone where you will be fishing and when you expect to be back.
The Right Conditions
When the water is cold, I’m much less willing to go out in rough conditions. There’s no magic number for the maximum safe wind speed, but subtracting five knots from the winds you feel comfortable fishing in during the warmer months is a good place to start. For example, if your upper limit of comfort is 15-knot sustained winds in the summer, find windows where the average is below 10. For gusts, I prefer when they are no more than 5 knots higher than the sustained wind speed.
Other factors like swells, wind direction and current are also important. Again, understand what you are comfortable with normally and play it slightly safer. If there is going to be some wind, check its direction to predict if there will be chop caused by wind-over-tide conditions. Following seas and offshore wind can also make kayaking more difficult. When it comes to water temperature, I try to stay above 38 degrees. Any lower and I’m concerned that I could get hypothermia relatively quickly even in my drysuit and layered insulation. Once you’ve identified a day where you’re comfortable with the conditions, check that date on multiple different forecasts. I use the apps Clime-NOAA Weather Radar, Windy.app, and Windfinder on my phone and iPad. If the forecasts match, all that’s left is waiting and hoping they don’t change by the time you’re on the water.
A Good Day On The Water
So you’ve got your gear essentials, prepared all your safety precautions, and even have a weather window. Now it’s time to have a good day on the water. For me, it doesn’t take much to consider a trip successful this time of year. Because of the low biomass, any trip where I learn something valuable for the season ahead is a successful one. The primary focus of my kayak fishing between the months of December and April is to learn about my local waters rather than to catch the most fish. It’s a great time to go into your charts, find some interesting features, and scout the area in person. Just on my last trip, I found an area that I can’t wait to try for winter flounder when the spring comes. On my next trip, I’m hoping to scout a potential white perch honey hole. Having moved to Massachusetts recently, this process has been a great way to build my repertoire of GPS waypoints in my home waters. I’m hoping you’ve been convinced to give cold-water kayak fishing a try. If you are, now is a great time to get prepared for it. Stay safe and I hope to see you on the water!
