Who wants to spend a ton on a fishing kayak? Maybe it won’t be used often, or perhaps you want to see if this is something you’d like, but you don’t want to invest too much right off the bat. An inexpensive fishing kayak is the right fit for these scenarios, and in fact you can really find a decent, if not perfect, kayak for less than $500. For 500 dollars you will need to choose what is most important to you as you won’t find these kayaks have all the bells and whistles of the premium kayaks, but to spend a few hours on the lake or stream, the options listed below won’t do you wrong. Read on to see our picks for the kayaks under 500 dollars.
The Sun Dolphin Journey Sit-On-Top fishing kayak is a highly rated feature rich fishing kayak that is great for lakes and rivers. The Sun Dolphin has two flush mount rod holders and one swivel rod holder, so plenty of spots to setup. While the seating area is large with an adjustable seat, many reviews mentioned adding on a padded seat really made things comfortable. It’s fairly easy to get in as the cockpit is open, and comes with shock cord rigging making it easy to attach and store your gear. Reviews mentioned that tracking was hit or miss depending on the person, this might be due to the height and weight of the person using the kayak. The max weight is 230-250, and larger, over 6′ tall people might want a longer kayak than this, which while stated is a 10 foot kayak, only measured 9′ 6″. So for those over 6′ we recommend a 12 kayak.