hwright38 Posted March 10, 2019 Posted March 10, 2019 I'm looking to upgrade my kayak (currently a Lifetime Weber 132, also known as the Emotion Stealth 11 Angler), and want to hear some opinions on them. How stable is the Pescador Pilot? Can you stand up in it and still fish (I am especially curious if you can turn around and grab stuff from the back storage, or get to the storage in the nose)? I'm already pretty sold on the pedal drive, even with the issue of the pin lock popping out (I'm never fishing in water mucky enough for that to be a problem), but if anyone absolutely hates it please chime in. Any other recommendations for under $2,000 (I think I may have found a Pescador Pilot for under $1,300)? Stability while standing is most important, with a pedal drive/rudder being a close second. I'd really like to buy a 12ft aluminum boat and trick that out for about the same price as a $2k yak, but I don't have anything to pull it with. Quote
kenmitch Posted March 11, 2019 Posted March 11, 2019 Pescador pilot was on top of my hit list when I decided to go kayak instead of getting a boat. I went down to a Hobie dealer who also had the pilot in stock. After looking at all the Hobie pro anglers I went into the back room and looked at the Pescador. At that point I decided the Pescador wasn't for me.....Went home empty handed as I liked the Hobie hull style, but didn't like the price tag and the lack of instant reverse. There's videos on youtube for most likely every yak in which the goal is stability testing. Pick a yak and search youtube for it with stability in the search. Have you looked at the Old Town Topwater PDL yet? It looks like an interesting yak at it's price point. I wound up going with the Slayer 10 propel in the end. Looked to be the best option for me at the time. Good luck on your quest for the perfect yak for you! Quote
CenCal fisher Posted March 11, 2019 Posted March 11, 2019 I owned the pescador 12.0 pro for a year and a half. It’s a little narrower than the pilot. You could stand up and cast but you had to be mindful of where your weight was positioned and you had to keep your feet facing straight ahead. Also the seat height isn’t ideal for standing up out of. If the pilot is anything like the pro, I would not get it if stability while standing is what you are looking for. I upgraded to a radar 135 with a pedal drive. It has excellent stability while standing but weighs a lot, has a poor turning radius and is kind of slow (comfortable 3-3.5mph). With the radar you could buy the kayak, fish for a while and then upgrade to a pedal drive later when you have the money. Quote
jwwoodjr Posted March 11, 2019 Posted March 11, 2019 I bought a Perception Pescador Pilot 12 last year and like it. I looked at other manufactures and based on the price and features went with the Perception. I don't have a lot of experience with other kayaks so I can't compare it to others but it's served me well. I can stand in it and I'm not a little guy so that's saying something. Quote
hwright38 Posted March 11, 2019 Author Posted March 11, 2019 1 minute ago, jwwoodjr said: I can stand in it How stable is it when standing? Is it fishable? 15 minutes ago, CenCal fisher said: With the radar you could buy the kayak, fish for a while and then upgrade to a pedal drive later when you have the money If I don't go with a pedal kayak now, I'll just keep my Weber 132. It's as good as a transition kayak as there is. Maybe I'll make some outriggers so I can stand in it. May be more trouble than it's worth though. 4 hours ago, kenmitch said: Old Town Topwater PDL yet? Too expensive unfortunately. I can get a Perception Pilot for under $1,500 for sure. Same story with the Native. Cool looking yaks, but just a bit too much that I'm comfortable with spending for just a yak. I would love to go all out and get a Hobie or maybe the Predator with the MinnKota motor, but alas my budget is set tight at $2k for everything including a sonar unit. Such is life Quote
hwright38 Posted March 11, 2019 Author Posted March 11, 2019 I just found a video of a guy standing up and rocking back and forth on it, so I think that sold it for me. I'll see about checking back in a few months from now with a review Quote
kenmitch Posted March 11, 2019 Posted March 11, 2019 11 minutes ago, hwright38 said: I just found a video of a guy standing up and rocking back and forth on it, so I think that sold it for me. I'll see about checking back in a few months from now with a review Was that the silly guy in the swimming pool? If so I thought he was gonna flip and crack his head open on the edge of the pool. Quote
Frog Turds Posted March 11, 2019 Posted March 11, 2019 NuCanoe Frontier 12 = 41" wide...like walking on a floating dock... https://www.nucanoe.com/nucanoe-frontier/ Quote
hwright38 Posted March 12, 2019 Author Posted March 12, 2019 8 hours ago, kenmitch said: Was that the silly guy in the swimming pool? If so I thought he was gonna flip and crack his head open on the edge of the pool. I saw that one too, but the one I just watched was a yakdaddy video. That dude is in love with that yak. 8 hours ago, Frog Turds said: NuCanoe Frontier 12 = 41" wide...like walking on a floating dock... https://www.nucanoe.com/nucanoe-frontier/ $1,600 is quite a bit to still be paddling. That seat position tho... Dang it man, now I have more questions than what I started with! Quote
jwwoodjr Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 On 3/11/2019 at 2:35 PM, hwright38 said: How stable is it when standing? Is it fishable? I had not issues standing to fish. 1 Quote
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