Kayak Ballast Weight

[FishNinjaY]

Originally Posted by Cabbron

I have a hobie oasis and what I do is take an empty four gallon ice chest. If the wind and swell picks up I fill it with sea water and put it as far forward as I can. That really seems to help. I wouldn't want to use anything that's not easy to fill and empty quickly. I haven't tried it with my live well but I think I'll just set it to not fill as high as usual. Besides, it would only really be an issue on long moves when you pick up speed, not while fishing. I wouldn't really need it at all but I like to move fast through the white caps on the way back in, it's kinda fun.

Welcome to BWE Cabbron!

That's a great idea! And, the ice chest would also be handy if you catch a lot of fish for ballast. I've also heard some people keep a large dry bag, that they can fill with a few gals of sea water quickly for ballast. That might be easier to pack and deploy if needed, like in the wind/swell situation you described.