I use a kayak all the time on the coast. Usually I would park it on the bank and walk down away from it and hunt, but when it's low tide the water is sometimes 100 yards from the shore so I had no choice but to hunt from the water. I think I camoed this bright orange kayak pretty good lol. I can fit 3 dozen decoys, shotgun, gear and dog all on it with me.



Like everyone said, have a light to flash off boats and wear your life jacket. And a GPS is nice to have because it's easy to get lost in a thick fog.

There are a few kayaks companies offering kayaks advertised as useful for hunting and several in drab or camo colors. Last I surfed around at the current offerings, most advertised for the purpose were in the 12 ft range. IMO, those companies are missing the mark by only changing the color of their 12ft fishing yaks. I personally prefer a minimum of 14ft. Add weight of hunter, dog, and gear, added weight of gear when wet, actual water taken on from waves or rain, and a high center of gravity from piling gear on it, you will want something with a high load rating that is stable for the type of load put on it.

John- wouldn't a sneak boat/pirouge be better than a kayak then?

I consider sneak boats more specialized for a particular type of hunting or water. And I do use a decked wooden pirouge as a layout/sneak boat. But for general all purpose paddle boat hunting I like kayak hybrids or a kayak-canoe hybrid.

My main general hunting kayak I use would be classified as a hybrid kayak. It has a large cockpit and wide flat bottom.



Hybrids can hold a lot of gear, but not quite a canoe and without such a high freeboard. Mine (Oldtown K140) is no longer made, but one that fits that description would be the Native Ultimate.
http://nativewatercraft.com/boat.cfm?id=46

Another that almost fits the bill that I was excited to see at first was the Jackson Orion. Lots of cargo space, room behind the seat for a dog, camo option, and you could fully layout in it. Then I saw the length at only 12 ft and only 375 lb weight capacity. A little too short and a little low on the weight capacity IMO. Too bad. Close, but no cigar.
http://jacksonkayak.com/jk-kayaks/kayak-fishing/orion/

Most sit on top kayaks IMO may have the weight capacity, but they do not have the space. If you stack gear on them it creates a high center of gravity. When that kind of kayak fails, it's catastrophic. Plus you can't easily lay in them as a layout. Oh, and they tend to be slow and need more work to paddle which matters when your out paddling a long ways in the dark in freezing weather.

One exception I noticed recently was the the Native Slayer. A deep sit in kayak with lots of cargo space. You can carry the gear, keep the center of gravity down, and can't take on water. I think this one has promise for a sit on hunting kayak. Not enough to make me think it is better than what I got, but if they ever redesign it for the propel system I will buy one.
http://nativewatercraft.com/boat_detail.cfm?id=49