>>1014879IMO the Duckett rods are better than any of the other ~$100 rods on the market. They have it all. Good blanks, stainless microguides, good reel seat, good grip, good proportions. The Skeets are tiered, some are not really any better than the comparably priced Shimanos and Abus, but the $80 combos are fucking awesome for the money.
Current Dick's employee and lifetime kayaker here. Unless it's strictly a pond/small lake kayak, avoid the fuck out of pontoon hulls (the inverse U shape), they're slow as balls and track poorly, and get BTFO by wind. Multi-chine (shaped like a W) unless you're going out in heavy current, it's a good blend of stability and speed/tracking. V-hull if you do a lot of fishing in current or it's always windy as shit, they're the fastest but least stable laterally.
Sit-on kayaks generally are wider and have a higher weight capacity for any given length, at the cost of being heavier and having weird or difficult grips in the middle. They're generally preferred for fishing as everything's a bit more reachable and they tend to be more stable due to being wider, and you're less likely to lose a ton of tackle into the corners of your hatches. However, they don't generally have the large storage bays if you also kayak camp.
Sit-in kayaks provide more protection from the elements (particularly sun, the only thing that sucks worse than sunburnt ankles is a sunburnt dick), and generally being narrower they will generally be faster at the cost of stability and weight capacity.
If you fish AT ALL out of a kayak, rig yourself an anchor trolley. It's like $5 in parts. Go buy a cheap 3lb grapple anchor and have at it. NEVER EVER tie your anchor off in the middle of the kayak, that's just asking for some asshole in a powerboat to capsize you with wake because you can't turn into it while anchored.
