Bass Boat --> Kayak

[dickenscpa]

This may be long, but bear with me:

I have a 16-17' glass bass boat. In perfect condition, been garage kept its whole life and just upgraded electronics bow and console. I love my boat but not necessarily in love with it I guess, it's just a tool. 99% fish by myself. Wife and two kids don't care to fish.

 

Wife wanted to go kayaking, bad. Me and our two kids were iffy. Son is 17 and daughter is 9. We get two tandems and my wife and daughter LOVED it. Our daughter is still talking about it. Our son was meh. Me I think I would've enjoyed it much more in a single. I think my son was a bit sketchy because it was Labor Day Weekend and pleasure boaters were buzzing around EVERYWHERE. That actually gave me more confidence in the stability that we survived that with ease.

 

Anyway I want to buy my wife a tandem to paddle our daughter around in, but she says she doesn't feel good about going out without me. She wants me to get a fishing rig so I'll be out there if she needs me but also doing what I love.

 

Being realistic I own a CPA firm with 3 office locations, I don't even have the time to fish and bowhunt like I want now. No way I could or would justify a bass boat and a kayak with my time. I could have my bass boat sold this afternoon if I wanted but has anyone sold their boat for a kayak and just really had seller's remorse?

[Rip_lipz]

I have never made the switch from bass boat to kayak, thought about it. But, in my opinion I don't think I could go without my boat. I have a kayak and my ranger. The wife likes to go out on the kayaks every once and a while. I enjoy having the two. If you have the garage space I would keep the boat.

[HookInMouth]

I didn't sell my boat (24' pontoon rigged up for fishing) to get a kayak but when i got back into fishing I decided to go kayak and having done that I have no regrets and really have no plans to add a full size boat any time in the near future. But I expect that has a lot to do with the waters I like to fish now too (shallow rivers and creeks). Also my personality. I like the simplicity of the kayak. A lot.  

[dickenscpa]

My biggest fear is the way I see other boaters treat kayakers in my area. I fish the Cumberland River and there's also a lot of barge traffic. I dealt with a lot of traffic Saturday but it was on the lake and no barges. I don't like the wake a barge throws in my bass boat.

 

Kayak fishing has gotten really big here in TN and there are a lot of good waters to kayak fish, but I'm afraid with my time schedule I won't drive to them to kayak fish for the same reason I don't pull the boat to other waters now.

 

Thanks for the feedback, sometimes I have to type something out to get thru to myself. LOL! What I'll probably do is just get myself a fast/sleek pleasure kayak to enjoy time with my wife and daughter. Probably buy my son one and make him go. LOL!

[VolFan]

I have a Nucanoe Frontier 12 and a Pursuit. I take my wife or kid tandem in the Frontier and go solo in the Pursuit if i go solo. The Frontier is actually fine solo as well and if i were to do it again, I would just get two Frontiers.

[Choporoz]

Mid to better 'fishy' kayaks seem to hold their resale value extremely well first couple years in most areas.  I don't think it would be a huge risk to get a decent yak and keep both it and the boat for a year to see if you really feel the need to choose.

 

Oh...and please try to make more time to fish....and hunt

[dickenscpa]

7 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

Mid to better 'fishy' kayaks seem to hold their resale value extremely well first couple years in most areas.  I don't think it would be a huge risk to get a decent yak and keep both it and the boat for a year to see if you really feel the need to choose.

 

Oh...and please try to make more time to fish....and hunt

I have to keep working, I can't hardly keep the 17 yr old fed!

 

 

[Choporoz]

I've never met an old fisherman who said "I wish I'd worked more when I was younger"

[Harold Scoggins]

Sold my bass boat 3 years after starting kayak fishing...I'll never go back.

[Krux5506]

I would justify having both. Sometimes fishing smaller water out of a kayak is just way more fun than dealing with a boat on bigger water. Sometimes the fishing is also way better on smaller waters via kayak or so I have found this year during the dog days of summer when my home port bass fishing becomes practically dead. At this point, I am really glad to have both. 

[Terrance Waters]

On some larger lakes I need my bass boat to get me to good spots quicker.  On smaller bodies of water or those limited by motor size I use one of my kayaks.  Sometimes I use the kayak to just slow down and enjoy the fishing at a more leisurely pace.  I love both.  The more ways to get on the water is a good thing. The more tools in the tool box the better.

[Bass Whoopin']

I love my Jackson Cuda HD. I got it because it's much cheaper than a bass boat. I'd like to get a Nitro someday but the Kayak is a hell of an experience for the price. I mounted a lowrance Hook2 5 HDI on it and it's a sweet little rig for some bass fishing. Gonna try some musky fishing out of it next year. Never been in a tandem kayak though. I like being in control of my own rig. 

[gnappi]

I've thought about trying out a yak and replacing my all electric bass boat.

 

I like having stuff with me, there isn't a yak big enough to hold it all. Add to that I don't have space for another toy and it's not going to happen.

 

 

[dickenscpa]

14 hours ago, gnappi said:

I've thought about trying out a yak and replacing my all electric bass boat.

 

I like having stuff with me, there isn't a yak big enough to hold it all. Add to that I don't have space for another toy and it's not going to happen.

 

 

I do want to carry my cooler with me. I don't get to go multiple days during the week but when I do i make it an ALL day affair. So I have drinks, lunch, a snack and dinner with me in a Yeti 20 qt.

 

Here's my deal in a long drawn out nutshell - I have a 5 car basement level garage. My wife's side is a 2 car and my side is a 3 car. She needs EVERY inch of hers not to hit the walls. LOL! On my side I have my reloading bench setup, my "bow shop" with draw board, bow press, targets etc. A touring model Harley, ATV, boat and zero turn mower plus other yard equipment.

 

The boat takes up the most space and every time I want to fish I have to move Congress to get it out and when I get back resituate to get it back in. I could've went fishing yesterday evening but I didn't feel like it. I could've went for a bit this morning but same deal.

 

I've felt this way about it for 4-5 years now. I LOVE to fish but find myself not going because I hate rearranging the garage coming and going each time, I'm tired of launching the boat in a crowd by myself each time and tired of fishing the same old dead water EVERY trip because I don't want to pull the boat any distance.

 

I could put a kayak in my garage and actually move around in there. Throw it in the truck and go. There are a multitude of ramps within 20 miles of me I'd like to fish but don't because I don't want to pull the boat that far and they don't have a courtesy dock.

 

So I just need a yak wide enough to hold my cooler, a small Plano tackle box and I wind up using the same four rods over and over anyway.

[VolFan]

Get a Frontier and use the cooler as a seat.

[Bird]

I've had both for many years and this is my unbiased opinion. 

Kayaks have come a LONG way to accommodate the fisherman and are very convenient......just throw it on the truck and hit the river or lake.

The wife and I are very much into RVing and spend every weekend on a lake somewhere but I can't pull a bass boat and trailer so a fishing kayak it is, with trolling motor of course. 

 

But I can never compare a kayak to a bass boat. My Skeeter was more comfortable, MUCH MUCH easier to cast more accurately standing on solid platform and sight fishing during the spawn is no comparison.....give me the bass boat.

 

If I lived closer to the bigger lakes I'd definitely have a bass boat again but for now, convenience wins.

[Yakalong]

I have both and wouldn't sell either. Both have their place, the wife likes to kayak so I go out with her and I fish as we go along. I like both, if you have the space get both.

[LadiMopar]

On 9/3/2019 at 1:54 PM, dickenscpa said:

I could have my bass boat sold this afternoon if I wanted but has anyone sold their boat for a kayak and just really had seller's remorse?

I don't know about seller's remorse, but I can tell you that I've had several serious offers from guys who wanted to trade a bass boat for my kayak. They all seemed to be interested in getting out from under the expense of a big rig.  

 

[Krux5506]

On 9/4/2019 at 11:38 AM, dickenscpa said:

I've felt this way about it for 4-5 years now. I LOVE to fish but find myself not going because I hate rearranging the garage coming and going each time, I'm tired of launching the boat in a crowd by myself each time and tired of fishing the same old dead water EVERY trip because I don't want to pull the boat any distance.

Sounds like you're just burned out on the boat. I get the same feeling sometimes except I just keep mine on a hoist all season at my family's cottage. If I'm burned out, I simply just don't go out or go down there. If I didn't have that convenience/luxury I'd probably be in the same position as you. 

 

If you can sell the boat without having any remorse, go for it. 

[jaimeastin]

I was a kayak fisherman before the boat, and I love the kayak more.  Boaters are scumbags at times, which is why I am always aware of other yakers when I am in my boat.  There is just nothing like fishing out of a yak if you are able to.  I love the secondary benefits like exercise, closeness to water, consentrating on on apts longer, quieter, less desturbing to to fish and other people, etc.

 

Boating is always a ticking show.  Who had the best and such.  They almost as bad as pleasure boaters.  

 

I say get both.  There are places I will not kayak, period!  There are places I would prefer my kayak to boat.  I hooked my boat up yesterday, drove a few miles down the road, came back and threw my kayak in the truck and left the boat.

 

Both are great.  I also float tube... I just wish we could all respect one another on the water.  You don't have to go 1MPH by, but for sale, don't deliberately speed and make a wake.  That stuff is not funny!  That's is how people get hurt or hurt others in retaliation.  

 

Be safe people

[dickenscpa]

Unfortunately keeping both isn’t really an option. My wife told me to get the kayak but boat gone by Christmas. LOL!

 

Theres a local shop here that has been very helpful AND patient. I’ve narrowed it down to a Jackson Bite, Malibu Stealth 12 and a Pelican Catch 120. 

 

I LOVE the Jackson Bite! I could do cartwheels on the deck but it’s slow. The Malibu is great but doesn’t feel super stable. Standing up was problematic.  The Pelican kinda felt best of both worlds but it concerns me that it is also sold at Academy. I would hope the quality is there. 

One note to add - the Pelican wasn’t as fast and nimble as the Malibu but felt more stable. It also wasn’t as stable as the Bite but more flickable. 

[Choporoz]

I'm not familiar with any of those three.  Hopefully, they have pedals or a pedal (or TM) upgrade option. 

I've fished from kayaks for a number of years now.  Switching to pedals this year has made so much more improvement than I ever considered before I had them. 

Additionally, I underestimated the value of the seat for a long time.  The better the seat is FOR YOU.....the better the overall kayak fishing experience will be...by some multiple

[jaimeastin]

I'm so traditional with paddles.  I don't have one I can standup in either and I have 5 kayaks right now.  I like speed and maneuverability over standup and stable.  With that said, I tried a $4k Hobie and it was nice.  You can pedal, stand, laydown, dance, invite some people on there and party... Okay, not all of that, but it was killer.

 

My wife doesn't complain about my kayaks because I keep 3 on the perimeter of my house in the landscaping. And the other two are in another state.  Mind you my largest is a 12-foot and the others are 10 ft. I have them all rigged up, but I haven't had the money right now to pay more than $600 for a kayak. I get all the bells and whistles, but by time I rig up my kayaks and catching fish it hasn't bothered me one single bit.  My pescador 120 which is the same as a tarpon 120 is my absolute favorite. Believe me I am taken a lot of gear out there with me 6 fishing poles, crate, fish finder, all other types of gear. I got started on the project to put a trolling motor on my kayak, but I just decided I didn't want to do that. I like being able to throw my kayaks in the back of the truck gets Hill lake throw whatever gear I have on it and leave. No need for kayak wheels, no need for a kayak trailer.  

[S Hovanec]

I could never sell my boat for a yak.  I fish too far off shore on Erie for that.

[Bird]

Here's another one to consider, a great fishing platform with several options. 

Jonny boats Bass 100.

Won't allow me to post any pics for ya' ?