Many kayak fishermen, myself included, carry a two-way radio in order to be able to communicate with their parties while fishing. Most use the common FRS radios. However, contrary to their claims of 10, 15, 20 and even 30 mile transmission distances (that's airplane to airplane at high altitude, which they don't tell you) no FRS radio can do more than about a mile or so under real world ideal conditions. (.8 mile per watt, under absolute ideal conditions is the industry realization.)

Some years back we turned to Marine VHF radios. Although they also possess a short wavelength and are best used in a line-of-sight scenario, most offer 5 watts of power and can therefore easily get you 3 or 4 miles under most common kayak fishing situations. The downside was the cost. The IComm radios we bought will do 7 miles in most situations, but cost nearly $200.

A few weeks back we took a chance on a couple of Cobra Marine VHF radios that Bass Pro sells for just $49.95. They've turned out to be pretty darn good units and a far sight better than any FRS unit. They're quite small - nearly as small as most FRS radios so they carry easily. They're also waterproof - I tested mine several times last week. Completely submerged several times and it's still working like new.

If you want to be able to contact your buddies in almost any reasonable kayak fishing scenario, this is a great buy.

_________________
Tom Kirkman
......................


You never hurt the resource when you return a fish to the water.

The fish you remove from the water today is one you can't catch again tomorrow.

Carry a camera - a photo of a fish lasts a lot longer than a fish does.

Thanks for the review Tom. Will have to check those out if I ever need some extra radios - I myself have an icom. Now we just need an official NCKFA channel

Thanks for the heads up, Tom. I have been wanting to buy a radio for the kayak but have been put off by the high cost. I'll check those units out.

_________________
2012 Hobie Pro Angler 14
Pungo 120