The Three Reasons I Hate Kayak Fishing (A Wife's Story)

By Kim Dye (Craig Dye’s wife – betcha didn’t know he had one of those)

When I married a man from south Louisiana, I knew that fishing was in his blood.  I figured it was a nice little hobby; one of those hobbies that gives me some time to catch up with my favorite Housewives or Kardashians on the weekends.  Never in a million years did I think that it would become so much more than that.  I think back to the day that Craig suggested we get a kayak.  It would be “something we can enjoy together.”  And it was (and still is when I’m off work and our 1 year old son Carson is at day care)…until he discovered that he could fish from his kayak.  It went from being something we sometimes did together to something much bigger than that. Here are the three reasons why he loves it, and I love to hate it.

#1 – There are so many different types of kayaks.  Just when I think the man has exactly what he wants, something different is presented to him.  He has a paddle kayak, but “look at what I can do in this pedal kayak.”  His Ride 115 gives him great stability to stand and fish, but look at how the Tarpon 160 just slices through the water with so little effort.  I’ve discovered that kayaks are just like rods and reels…you have to have one for each situation (the whole rod and reel thing is a whole article unto itself).

#2 – The unlimited ways he can rig one.  We can all relate to the phrase “there’s an app for that”…well, with kayaks, there’s a mount for that.  Just when I think he’s settled on a kayak and happy with it as it is, he discovers a new mount.  Sometimes, he discovers a mount and not only has to have that, but he also has to have the too-expensive-to-mention-in-this-article depth finder to go with it.  Do you need a place for your 25 rods, 3 Go-Pros, tackle, car keys, cell phone, and food & water your wife forces you to take with you so you don’t starve and die while you’re out on the water for 12 hours?  There are mounts for those!!  Really, the options are endless…great for him, horrible for me (and our bank account).

#3 – I have saved the worst reason (or the best reason if your glass is half full for kayak fishing) for last. These things are entirely too portable.  The portability of our kayaks turns every drivable trip into a fishing excursion for my husband.  If we’re taking a trip near any city that has a body of water bigger than his kayak, it’s coming with us…and I will inevitably be ditched for a full day, so that he can get some quality time with the 4th member of the Dye family.  They are so portable, you can tie a kayak to the top of just about any vehicle no matter how small; I’ve seen a kayak tied to the top of a Ford Focus before.  I have just had to come to terms with the fact that no matter where we go, if we’re driving, at least one kayak is coming with us.

At the end of the day, I have learned to love kayak fishing because my husband loves it.  It certainly does give me the time I want to catch up with the Housewives of every city, the Kardashians, Big Brother houseguests, and Survivors while dominating Candy Crush Saga on my iPad.  As I look to the future, I see kayak fishing and lots of it…I see Craig taking Carson out to catch his first kayak fish.  I see Craig buying Carson a kayak of his very own.  I see us out on the water as a whole family.  I see myself turning a love-hate relationship into a love-love relationship.  As it turns out, I may turn the three reasons I hate kayak fishing into the three reasons I love kayak fishing.