Yakers what kayak do you run?

[InFishingWeTrust]

What kayak do you run? What's the pros and cons of it? I have realized theres no such thing as the perfect kayak.  Theres always pros and cons for every yak . what unique rigging methods do you use? I currently run a nucanoe pursuit. Got it over the winter so far been a good vessel. Water has been to cold to test its limits though. Had a freedom hawk 14 and loved it. Liked it so much I consider getting another just to have it. 

[Dtrombly]

Following... I'm new to this and looking at the Feel Free Lure 10 at the moment. 

[Choporoz]

2014 Wilderness Tarpon 100 (10' SOT) - since Jan 2015.  Use it average of twice a week from Easter through Thanksgiving.  Came with 4 tracks installed.  Self installed sonar transducer is through-hull.  Anchor trolley installed on port side.

 

Pros:

Weight/Car-topability. I have a cart, but rarely need it.

 

Cost (<$500 new with paddle, light/flag, rod holder)

 

Durability - I do not baby it...at all...and it is in great shape

 

Tracks well

 

Storage layout:  Crate area behind seat is perfectly sized and located; two hatch accesses are where I want them (one up front where I put FF battery, and one between my legs)

 

Accessibility - I can put it in nearly any water; NOT having pedals, fins, prop, transducer arm can be a bonus in shallow rocky rivers, pad fields and extremely heavily weeded water

 

Cons:

No propulsion other than paddle (this will be the sole reason for getting a second kayak this year)

Cannot stand in it

Not nearly as fast as longer yaks

Seat blows (I use a boat cushion and it helps immensely)

Could use a little more 'accessible' storage - I like the layout of what I have, but could always use a bit more

 

[InFishingWeTrust]

19 minutes ago, Dtrombly said:

Following... I'm new to this and looking at the Feel Free Lure 10 at the moment. 

My buddy has one and loves it. I would check for some used ones to. Can find nice set ups for a good price. Especially if you fish smaller rivers. I fish the Shenandoah mostly and can get a good amount of wear on it in a season. 

[boostr]

FeelFree Lure 11.5.

Pros: Comfy height adjustable seat, The most stable platform for standing and sight fishing, tracks ok for what it is, wheel in the keel, It can carry a large load.

 

Cons: It's a barge to paddle into the wind unless you get the peddle drive, not to large SUV roof topper friendly due to weight, but fine for smaller suvs and cars and pick up trucks

[J Francho]

Commander 140

 

Pros:

Can Stand

65 lbs.

can take a little kid or dog easily

gear track the full length of the boat

two seating positions

I actually usually leave the seat at home, and use the perch

very fast hull

dry ride for a kayak

preset up for trolling motor conversion or rudder

 

Cons

it's 14' long, so it can be tough in tight spaces

not a true sit on top, so not self bailing

No "hatch" or dry storage

hull is wide, so you'll need at least a 130cm paddle

I use a 140cm

Other than that, the typical cons that come with any fishing kayak

 

 

 

[Darren.]

Native Ultimate 12 (2008 model)

Pic below of older motorized setup. Better setup now,

but don't have current pic.

 

Pros:

• Massively customizable
• Stability, esp. secondary stability
• Ability to stand and fish
• Bare boat only 55-57#, easy to load
• Hybrid between kayak/canoe
• Easy to paddle
• Easy to outfit with trolling motor setup

Cons:

• No scupper holes (minor issue to me)
• Umm, can't think of much else

[TimberTodd]

2017 12' Nucanoe Frontier

Pro

Very stable and comfortable

Can stand

Lots of room

several seat height options

Cons

By no means a speed demon.

At almost 80 pounds it is car toppable but a workout.

 

 

[KayakFish107]

I used to have a sun dolphin excursion 10ss. While it was a cheap kayak, it was great to get started with. However, I quickly learned that I’d want to try a sit on top. A friend of mine gave me an offer on it that I couldn’t refuse, so I sold it and then got a great deal on a Ascend 10T for the same price I sold my sun dolphin for. Was able to upgrade for nothing! Anyway, I haven’t got it on the water yet, but I can already tell some pros and cons.

 

pros:

-tons of space

-seat seems to be a huge upgrade

-gear tracks

-nice handles on the sides and bow and stern

 

cons:

-20lbs heavier than my previous one

-more difficult to car top

-seems like it’ll be slower but I wouldn’t know for sure!

 

Thought I should add: I’m 5’10” and 145, so pretty light!

[Hawkeye21]

Pelican Catch 120 bought 2016.

 

Pros:

Light weight at 69 lbs.

Easy to customize.

Comfortable seat.

Easy to stand in.

Stable.

Affordable. Bought mine new for $599.

 

Cons:

Doesn't have gear tracks but the new models do.  I added my own.

I don't think it's as fast as other models.

I don't think it tracks as well as other models.

Doesn't have the ability to pedal.

[MinnowzNuttin]

Im paddling a Wilderness Systems ATAK 140 that I purchased in Jan, 16.

 

Pros:

Extremely stable, I'm 5'11" 300lbs and can stand and fish easily.

 

Fast, the atak 140 is one of the fastest stable big kayaks I've paddled. On flat water I cruise at 3.5mph without paddling hard and with a little more effort can cruise at over 4mph.

 

Wind, it sits low in the water and has a very low profile hull that cuts through the wind and waves with ease. Most of the other big kayaks catch wind like crazy and are turds to paddle in the wind.

 

Seat, the hi/low adjustable seat is extremely comfortable. I've been in it from sunrise to sunset many times without it getting uncomfortable at all.

 

Capacity, with a 550lb capacity I can easily fit my big butt and all my gear in it without fear of overloading.

 

Shallow draft. This kayak sits high in the water. I can go so many places those peddlers cant go. If I have a few inchs of water over an log or shallow spot I can typically make it over it without problems.

 

Cons:

Weight, It weights 95lbs empty and mine is well over 100lbs rigged so its sometimes a pain in the back moving it around.

 

At 14' long its a bear in skinny water and tight areas but doable.

 

 

[Bluebasser86]

I have an Ocean Kayak Big Game Prowler II. I don't a lot of experience with other kayaks, so I'm going off solely what I've experienced with it. 

 

Pros

Not overly heavy, I car top it without too much struggle and have carried it for pretty good distances on my shoulders where dragging wasn't an option.

Paddles and tracks fairly well. I'm sure my technique and form aren't the best and not sure if I have the best paddle for me because the guy I bought it from was much smaller than me and it seems a bit short. 

Front storage is nice for keeping rain gear and food/drinks in.

Seat has several adjustable settings and is pretty comfortable.

 

Cons

I hate the rod pod in the center. It's worthless for most bass fishing rods and I'm not flexible enough to grab anything I put in there from the seat. It just eats up a ton of space that I can't use for much other than a drink and plier holder.

I can't stand in it and stability does not seem good for a big kayak. Honestly just a touch above a canoe in the stability department. I've flipped it once and it really did not take much to do it. 

No rod holders built into the hull, although the newer models do have them.

 

 

Overall, it's been good for what I paid for it, but I wouldn't even consider it for half of what retail is. 

[Ersteman]

I have a $200 (sale price) Future Beach Voyager Angler Sit in  9.4 Kayak that I bought from Dunham's like 3 years ago. Still going strong. Got the paddle on sale at Dick's for like $50 and the life jacket from craigslist. Bought the car top carrier from amazon. Put an extra towel in the middle so it doesn't scrape the roof of the car and I tote it with a 4 door sedan. No trailer; minimal fuss. Kayak is 42 pounds so I can carry it myself and not have to worry about it being on top of my car.  Yes, it's light and gets blown by the wind, but I don't fish in the wind or if it is windy, I hit the protected banks. Plenty of space for me at 6'2" 240, and room behind me for my backpack that I wear while fishing and room for a small fishing bag in front of me.  2 rod holders and a drink holder as well. One of the best purchases I've ever made.

[Dens228]

I have a Wilderness Radar 115 with a Lowrance Hook7 and Boonedox Landing Gear

 

Pros:

Electronics setup

Stablility

Tracks well

 

Cons:

Front hatch is useless

Center hatch is useless unless you DIY a container in there

No back hatch

 

I give the kayak a 9.5 out of 10 though......the hatch issues aren't that big of a deal

[Shane Y]

I have a vibe sea ghost 130. I am 6'1 and 205 and I can stand and cast in it. It's not rock solid though and will turn over, but with that said I was standing in it the second day I had it. I have fished out of a jackson cuda hd and my vibe feels just as stable. The place I got mine from also carried feel free yaks. The owner said the feel free lure would be more stable than my sea ghost but at the same time a lot slower. I fish lakes a lot and I think the only kayak I would go to ( if I could afford it) from this vibe is a hobie pro angler.  I'm not to experienced in a lot of other brands and I do home repair work so obviously I'm on a budget, so as far as bang for the buck I'm extremely happy with this kayak. I fish some rough waters in it and I feel good everytime out. I have also heard really good things about the bonafide ss 127 kayaks. For a pontoon type hull they are supposed to be really fast and very stable. The guy that had them said they are just as fast as my vibe if not faster. But again the price reflects everything.  For me the vibe coming with everything I need to hit the water and fish at a decent price was the winner for me.. 

[Tracker22]

JK big rig, motorized. Need I say more...

[TimberTodd]

10 hours ago, Shane Y said:

 I have also heard really good things about the bonafide ss 127 kayaks. For a pontoon type hull they are supposed to be really fast and very stable. The guy that had them said they are just as fast as my vibe if not faster.

I like the looks of the Bonafide and would look into them if I was adding another vessel to the armada.

[sdsc357]

Emotion Renegade XT

 

Pros:

Cheap

Light

You can stand and fish

Wide body, stable

 

Cons:

Does not track well

Waddles

Too many curved surface, hard to add anything

A joke of a seat

 

Perception Pescador 10

 

Pro:

Cheap

Tracks well

Light

Pretty comfortable seat

 

Cons:

No stand up fishing

Not much, I would have kept this if I didn't get the Pro version

 

Perception Pescador Pro 10

 

Pro:

Stand up fishing

Stable

Tracks well

Built-in rails

Nice seat

 

Cons:

Kinda heavy

Poor rod holder design (I cut it out and added my own)

 

 

 

 

[clayton86]

ATAK 140

 

pros

insanely stable

 

high weight capacity 

 

fast for as big as it is 3.5-4mph with out even trying I’ve hit 5.5mph on a sprint several times and it wasn’t hard I’m just fat and out of shape to keep it going for much more than 30 seconds lol. 

 

Built like a tank I’ve had mine for 3 season now used it for everything from shallow skinny rivers, big lakes, diver duck hunting on Lake Ontario in January “dodging” ice bergs

 

though it is said to be a flat water boat it handles the nasty stuff with ease. Twice I’ve been duck hunting and been caught in 5+ foot waves the last time this season it was 5+ with occasional 10 according to the weather bouys page and mixed duration. Little scary but the ATAK held up and got me back safe guys on the pier videos said that it was a major selling point to them wanting a kayak that it didn’t flip during my trek back to safety. Though I wouldn’t recommend doing that in any kayak but the wind and shifted and it got bad fast. 

 

Seat is extremly comfortable I did a tournament last year that was 5pm Friday-10am Sunday all night and day I only left the kayak to go number 2 and pound some hamburgers Saturday night. 

 

Sheds wind extremly well. Watch guysbin ataks when it’s windy they “stay put” so to speak I heard it just a day ago fishing with a buddy in the wind he was jealous I was “staying put” as he got blown all over in his pursuit. 

 

It has a removeable skid plate

 

the flex pod is nice and conveinent for your electronics just two latches and you can take it with you or swap between other wildy boats woth the flex pid 

 

I think it’s sexy looking 

 

cons

its  built like a tank it’s heavy

 

the Metal carry handles can get hot in the sun

 

the cup holder area on the 140 doesn’t have a drain and can fill up with water at times. Not cool when you put your phone in there occasionally. 

 

Its fast so you leave your friends or gf behind when on paddle trips (could go in the pros section also) 

 

 

 

[WildmanWilson]

2018 OldTown Predator PDL. 

 

This is my first kayak so I’m not much good at the pros and cons. I wanted a peddle kayak to stay on structure and didn’t have to fight with while fishing. I fish medium to large lakes and wind is always a concern and I’ve done well so far. 

 

So...

 

Pro. Fast and stable. Can fish hands free and the instant reverse is a huge plus. 

 

Con. Price. It runs around 2700. Pretty heavy at around 117 pounds. 

[Graham]

I just picked up a Pelican Catch 100. It’s a 10 foot sit on top fishing kayak. Really like the 10 foot size as I can easily handle it by myself. I believe it weighs about 60lbs. Since it is a bit shorter it does not track as well as some yaks I’ve used. It’s pretty perfect for the applications that I use it for though (primarily smaller lakes, ponds, and flats). It’s designed really well and is a little more squared off, giving it a bit more stability. Standing in it is definitely doable in still water but with any chop things get sketchy (and I have a good sense of balance). Overall a very nice kayak in the 600$ range, comes with rod slots and a decent amount of space for tackle...etc. the dry storage in the front of the boat is the main thing I don’t like about it. If you put smaller objects in it they will slide all the way back in the kayak as there is no piece that separates the storage from he rest of the hollow body. This can easily be fixed, but just something to note. Anyways, awesome kayak for the applications I described.

[CenCal fisher]

I have been fishing out of a pescador 12.0 pro for a little over a year.

 

Pros:

Light 65 lbs

You can stand if the water is calm

lowrance ready

It's easy to maintain a steady 3mph on long journeys 

great seat

 

Cons:

The molded rod holders are useless

The rear hatch is close to useless

If you use the tackle storage under the seat you need to plug the scupper holes otherwise your tackle box will be under water

I like humminbird

I don't feel it is currently the most competitive kayak in its price range

 

[JustJames]

Just like everyone who own pescador pro.

i got pescador pro 100.

PRO:

cheap

very light weight

easy to maneuver

pretty comfort seat

The storage is good for short trip not a whole nine yard.

Con

not very stable for standing, even at highest seat I can flip this kayak with ease.

The two rod holder is a joke and useless without some modification.

[the reel ess]

Pescador Original (Not Pro). The old Wilderness Tarpon Mold, so it's a bit behind the times in technological advancements.

 

Pros:

• Good entry level price. Gets you just about anywhere you want to go for about $500.
• Good Rod Holders
• Decent seat back support
• Tracks well

Cons:

• Not stable enough for standing. I tried a stadium seat in it for comfort and it was way too tippy and moved me too far forward. I use a stadium cushion now.
• Seat is low in the boat. If I wasn't using the cushion, my butt would be wet most of the time (no cold weather use without a cushion)
• Lower seat is just a pad on the kayak form so the old behind is numb after a couple hours. Sometimes I get out and stretch my legs for a few minutes and resume fishing.

I'm just about in the market for a new one. I might keep this one for fishing buddies and sell my daughter's. A stadium seat is a must. I'm considering if I want a pedal kayak. Some of the places I fish are mostly too shallow for the prop or fins. I know you can take it out, but that's a lot of money for something you can't use a lot.

 

[YoTone]

Slayer propel 10.

 

 

Pros:

Propel drive. ease of pedaling vs paddling is  very nice especially in windy conditions or in current.  in shallow waters i can just pull up the propel drive and paddle.

 

Wide  enough to be a very stable platform to stand on. 

 

Tracks to mount extra stuff like paddle holder and extra rod holders, ect.

 

Light enough to car mount with ease. this was one of the main selling points.  I can strap it on and be ready to go in 5 minutes.

 

Cons

 

Expensive. I kind of dont like telling people what i paid for it when they ask.

 

Can be tricky to steer and fish at the same time. it can get tricky to use a right hand retrieve while steering with my left. its doable but can be annoying. i wish i could mount the steering on the right  so i can hold the rod with my left and steer. thinking of actually buying a left hand retrieve baitcaster to see if i could adjust to it.