Planning to buy a new kayak come spring.

[YaknBassn]

Any suggestions?  I do 99% of my fishing on lakes and large sloughs.  I do occasionally do a river trip, but not often enough to base a decision off of.  

 

I really leaning towards a Jackson Cuda HD.  While primarily being geared towards inshore waters, I think it would suit well in lakes.  Any of you guys have one?  Or have paddled one?  I haven't had the chance to demo yet.

 

I think standability is taking a back seat to speed and tracking this go around.  

[Tracker22]

You will be happy with a Cuda. I personally went with a Big Rig just for the added stability (I’m old and losing balance). But my trade off was speed. ( so I put a motor on it).

[flyfisher]

Cuda is a nice boat but also take a look at the ATAK.  I have the 140 and can easily paddle 3.5-4MPH.  It is super stable and has a ton of rigging space.  

If you have a place that can demo, go do it.  You could potentially save yourself some pain in the wallet.

[YoTone]

think about looking at pedal kayaks. Im not a rich guy by any means but I will never own a kayak with out one. makes covering water, especially in wind a piece of cake. If you add in current with the wind it can be down right a pain and even dangerous at times to move around .  wouldnt you want your strongest muscles in your body to help you power your kayak? In shallow or very weedy situations you can just flip up the pedal unit and you have a regular kayak. 

 

That Cuda is pretty expensive and near the range of a few  pedal kayaks.  you can even find used ones cheaper than that jackson. 

 

Good luck on your choice either way bro.

[Hawkeye21]

I started with a Pelican Catch 120 and fished with it for two summers.  This year I upgraded to a NuCanoe Frontier 12.  The reason I went with the F12 was because it's so stable and open to modifications.  It's so easy to add a pedal drive to or a motor to the back or even the bow.  It has endless options for adding accessories and seating.  I feel it's the most stable and versatile kayak on the market.  I also like their customer support.

[kjfishman]

If your priority is tracking and speed in a sit in kayak. You can't beat an Old Town Loon 126. The 126 is stable but I would not stand in it. Weight is 56 lbs so not too bad to man handle by yourself. The seat is very comfortable.

[IgotWood]

On 11/7/2018 at 2:33 PM, Hawkeye21 said:

I started with a Pelican Catch 120 and fished with it for two summers.  This year I upgraded to a NuCanoe Frontier 12.  The reason I went with the F12 was because it's so stable and open to modifications.  It's so easy to add a pedal drive to or a motor to the back or even the bow.  It has endless options for adding accessories and seating.  I feel it's the most stable and versatile kayak on the market.  I also like their customer support.

If not a pedal kayak, definitely take a look at NuCanoe. I have a Flint. It too is very stable. The deck is flat and wide open. Gear tracks come standard on them so you shouldn’t have to drill any holes. They paddle just as fast, and track just as straight as all the others. Very under rated brand in my opinion. It handles great in some chop, and it’s a fantastic boat for rivers too.