I use a 10 ft but thinking a 12 footer will hold more gear and catch. 12 footer may not be as mobile anyone use 12 .

I used to fish out of a top of the line kayak in inshore tournaments and gave up. No room for gear and I lost a couple of really nice fishing rigs. So I can't even imagine trying to trap out of one. I spend a lot of time on the water and I use a 12ft pirogue. I have a flat bottom trapper model that is wide and very stable. I have put a deer and a hog in it with no problem. I have had it loaded with a couple of sacks of decoys, no problem. I have loaded it down with traps and animals, no problems. Its very light and I can carry it if necessary. I practically live in mine from November to March. If I stand and pole it I can get across mudflats and wet grass with zero draft. Trust me it will get into places my top of the line kayak would never touch, and carry a couple of hundred of pounds of gear doing it.

I had mine made in French Settlement, Louisiana by a boat maker that was a trapper. He made mine with floatation made into the two seats, thus you can't sink it. I also had two spud anchor holes put in the bow and aft, which I use all the time. I had the gunwales rolled so if loaded down the air would get under it, giving me more floatation and stability.

If you are looking for bigger I would seriously consider a pirogue as its a workhorse. I can't imagine trapping without my pirogue.

I trap beaver in my 12'8 sit ontop kayak Im 165# and with trolling motor and battery, 4 decent sized beaver is pretty much your full capacity. Gets pretty tipsy.

I wouldnt worry about mobility unless you're trapping in current. Stability and capacity are the biggest issues with boat trapping.

Thanks sniper the extra 2 feet wil let me carry about another 125 pounds .that should let me use trolling motor and battery what kind of kayak do you have. I have a hard time getting on this one when it's full.

Mine is an Ascend 128T. They don't make that model anymore as they've upgraded their entire lineup





It does take some practice getting in and out of a kayak. One reason why I wear chest waders in the yak when it's not warm. I prefer to crawl in when I can.

Got a video of running couple of my beaver trap lines in the past up.
First video here shows how I get in and out sometimes,
[video:youtube]https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxZL4YQReXHUX4QEMAAih9xAXazm_WAlWw[/video]
Crawl method:
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxIYWOUqsBJcExdDtyvj5GPJygxOdf0BJH
https://rumble.com/vy921p-yak-trapping-beaver-22.html

That looks good mine is a lifetime the 12 footer would be good

I used a 12 footer for a few years. It was a sit-inside, so I got wet a lot, but it worked, and the price was right. Now I've upgraded to a 14 foot canoe, and sometimes I miss my kayak. It was a lot lighter and easier to paddle around.

The Conoe don't work for me the sit on kayak is very stable the one I got pictured above I got on even with the gear it wasn't to bad but I wear chest waders to but need room for battery an motor.