Yakers what kayak do you run?

[boostr]

Lure 11.5

[DogBone_384]

I have two Lure 11.5s, a ‘14 and a ‘18 w/Overdrive.  

 

Pros:

• ALL DAY comfortable seat.
• Overall fit and finish is excellent.
• Stable as rock.
• Wheel in the keel, makes it easy to transport short distances.  I still use a scupper cart when transporting longer distances.
• FeelFree’s customer service is top notch.
• Good storage, though I’ve never stored rods in it.
• Overdrive is well engineered, including optional electric motor.
• Take the seat and accessories off and it’s light enough to lift on a pickup truck ladder rack.

Cons: 

• Rudder is almost mandatory.  Try paddling/pedaling a bath tub.
• Wheel in the keel: axle wears out after a couple of years, especially if you trek across beach sand.  I’ve replaced my ‘14’s twice.
• When Overdrive is installed you can’t open the front hatch with the Overdrive unit in the down position.  A minor gripe, only a problem loading stuff when kayak is in truck bed.

[Janderson45]

I fish out of a wilderness systems ride 115x.  I believe my model has been discontinued or replaced, but not positive.  The removable console was nice at first, having everything centrally located in front of you is nice, and the console works perfect with smaller lowrance fish finders and an HDSI skimmer transducer.  I upgraded my sonar to a Humminbird helix 7 SI, which is a nice upgrade over the lowrance, but requires a whole lot of modification to the removable console. Luckily it's a $30 plastic piece, so I didn't feel too bad about drilling, cutting, and generally destroying a couple of them until I found a workable solution.  

 

Nothing much bad to say about it really, it's pretty heavy and fairly slow, but that's par for the course with these stable fishing kayaks.  Standing and fishing is not a problem at all, I actually refuse to fish sitting down in my kayak which is why I never went with a hobie or similar mirage drive type boat.  I use it like a paddle board all of the time when fishing and scouting new water, only fell in once and that was my own fault, not the kayak.  You'll fall off of it before the kayak will ever capsize in my experience.  

 

An anchor trolley, and quality stake out stick are essential to me.  I use my kayak in a lot of very shallow water, the stake out stick works perfect to lock me down on a spot assuming it's not too deep (over 6') or really hard bottomed.  The trolley allows your to position the bow of the boat in any position that you want.  For spots that the stake out stick won't work I have a kayak anchor wizard mounted on my slide tracks up front that is also effective...  if I didn't decide to buy a full sized bass rig and was planning to fish out of my kayak for the foreseeable future I would have put a mini powerpole on it.

[Crankinstein]

I have a Nucanoe Flint I just got for this year and it's a really nice yak. If anyone wants more info check out my youtube channel by my name "Kevin Weber" and you can see several videos on it.

 

Pros:

-Under 1k in price

-Great features: paddle holder built into handle, 4 flush rod holders, square stern for transom mounted trolling motors or power pole micro, good scuppers, stern hatch, gear straps, Plenty of rails, open layout

-Tracks well

-Light 70 lbs

-Great size 11.3ft is a great intermediate length for a kayak in my opinion

-very stable

 

Cons:

-Range not as far as a peddle yak

-Average speed

[PECo]

I’ve owned eight or nine kayaks, all of which have been used for fishing. My favorite is a Hurricane Santee 116 Sport, which isn’t a “fishing kayak”, per se, but is the easiest and most fun to use:

 

 

[thinkingredneck]

I have a Field and Stream SOT 12 ft that I modified. 

PROS

moderate to low price

fairly maneuverable.  Easy enough to paddle

Self bailing

fairly stable

good rod holders by seat

 

CONS

had to replace seat, it sucked

foot pegs broke, had to rivet them

front storage compartment is useless

not quite stable enough to stand in

rocket rod holder is not great-- replaced it

side handles tore apart after 3 years

a regular milk crate won't fit in back compartment

[kayl.]

Native Ultimate FX 15 Tandem

Pros:

Flexibility- easy to change between tandem and solo set up depending on if I'm taking a kid along or not.

Stability- easy to stand and fish

Capacity- I've fit me, my wife, and our 3 kids (2,5,8 @ the time) without issue.

Built in gear tracks

Comfortable seats (adjustible high/low)

Built in anchor tracks on both sides

 

Cons:

No scuppers 

No built-in rod holders or real storage

Wind will really blow you around

My setup time once I've unloaded is about 15 minutes

At full msrp ($2000), you're not far away from a peddle kayak

 

I'd love to buy a peddle kayak too, but I want to be able to take my kids at times, so it'll be an additional kayak, not an upgrade. Also, I don't know which peddle yak I want.  Looking at the Old Town Predator PDL, Jackson Coosa FD, and Native Slayer Propel models.

[Fishingmickey]

4 hours ago, kayl. said:

 

At full msrp ($2000), you're not far away from a peddle kayak 

 

I'd love to buy a peddle kayak too, but I want to be able to take my kids at times, so it'll be an additional kayak, not an upgrade. Also, I don't know which peddle yak I want.  Looking at the Old Town Predator PDL, Jackson Coosa FD, and Native Slayer Propel models.

Hobie Compass is at $1950. 

[kayl.]

50 minutes ago, Fishingmickey said:

Hobie Compass is at $1950. 

Blasphemy, but I don't want a Hobie and it isn't a tandem 

[moguy1973]

I have an older Ocean Kayak Trident 11T that I got back in 2011ish.  It's a great all around kayak.  Not super wide so I can't stand up in it, but it has a ton of internal storage that is easily accessed by the Rod Pod and front hatch.  I've had sleeping bags, tents, rods, camping gear all stored neatly inside where they all stay dry during my overnighters.  That's the best part of my kayak I think.  The thing it could use is an elevated comfort seat.  I'm usually sitting in a wet seat which isn't the most enjoyable thing.  Other than that it does everything I need it to do and I've caught many fish out of it.

 

[PECo]

5 hours ago, kayl. said:

I'd love to buy a peddle kayak too, but I want to be able to take my kids at times, so it'll be an additional kayak, not an upgrade.

I owned a Hobie Pro Angler many years ago. It really is more of a boat than a kayak. I used to put a passenger on the back in a lawn chair. I even took my elderly mother for a spin around a small, calm lake on it, once. You have options other than a tandem for the occasional outing with the kids.

[Tripp86]

I run a feel free moken 12   Stable enough to stand and fish agile enough for smaller rivers

[Tizi]

Getting ready to pull the trigger on a Bonafide SS107.  Anything I should be concerned about on this unit?

[J Francho]

On 6/8/2018 at 5:31 PM, Tizi said:

Getting ready to pull the trigger on a Bonafide SS107.  Anything I should be concerned about on this unit?

No matter the model, get some seat time before buying.

[Hook2Jaw]

Hobie PA14

 

Pros:

 

Fast, stable, incredibly low draft.  I can face sideways, backwards, you name it.  I can take my dogs out on it, I can take your sister out on it.  The seat is incredible, the storage in awesome and excessive.  I could carry most every rod and reel in my arsenal.  I have pull-out plastic storage drawer under the seat for all my soft plastics and terminal tackle, and 6 3700 boxes in the crate behind the seat.

 

Cons:

Expensive and heavy.

Your sister always wants to go out on it.

 

Fellow PA guys, straighten your rudder for cutting tight turns and give your fins enough kick to move you good and forward and then cut the rudder right or left.  Congrats on your newfound agility.

[Tizi]

An OfferUp deal came up I could not resist.  Got the Cabela's Advanced Angler 120 for $500.  1 year old, only needed to be cleaned up.  Super happy, saved about $1,000 over buying a new Bonafide.

 

[kenmitch]

10 minutes ago, Tizi said:

An OfferUp deal came up I could not resist.  Got the Cabela's Advanced Angler 120 for $500.  1 year old, only needed to be cleaned up.  Super happy, saved about $1,000 over buying a new Bonafide.

 

Nice! Those savings can be put to good use for accessorizing it. Dang stuff adds up very quickly.

[Tizi]

Good point!  I ordered a good carbon paddle, anchor kit, crate, landing net, pole holder, scupper plugs, and have a 5 inch Humminbird to install.  Can't wait to use it this weekend on the lake.

 

Going to build a scupper cart to move it.  It is heavier than I expected.

[J Francho]

Hopefully soon, my Hobie Compass will get here!

[Brad in Texas]

I live on the water, have kids/grandkids, so we need a few vessels. Lake Athens is chock full of vegetation making my Propel 10 tough to use. So, I also have a paddle only Big Rig. 

 

And, my first love, a Meyers Sportspal S-15 which stays down at the water where I fish it back in my cove area.

 

But, when the Bluesky 360 catamaran-styled kayaks, if we can even still call it that, came out, they had this pre-order deal where one could be purchased in advance for about 2/3s of MSRP. I knew that I would never "later" pay retail price if I could have had one for the lower price, so I bought one.  It should be here in a few weeks.

 

Pros:

 

1. It has built it cart wheels to move it;

2. The pontoons snap off as do other parts for storage or transport;

3. It has an actual bass seat up on a pedestal;

4. It has a really large rudder with controls operable from either side of the seat;

5. Built in horizontal rod/paddle staging on its exterior and rod storage inside the pontoons;

6. Seat swivels a full 360 degrees;

7. Comes with vertical rod holders;

8. Bags for Plano boxes off the side of the seat, another "dry bag" on the back of the seat;

9. A platform in front and in the rear to stand, I think 36 square feet in total;

10. Jackson's Pedal Drive, 12 to 1 gearing and it is the one that "kicks up" if you run into a log or something;

11. Electric motor ready, multiple mounting options for a standard TM, fish finders, etc.

 

I'm likely missing as much as I have listed.

 

Cons:

 

1. Might not be allowed in "kayak" competitive fishing contests;

2. High seat and rider will catch a lot of wind;

3. 48" wide meaning it won't be easy to paddle.

 

I'll write a separate report once I get it and test it on the water.

 

Brad