Having a tough time deciding on a new kayak.

[kayaking_kev]

First problem is pedal kayak or kayak with a trolling motor (Old Town Sportsman 106 MK).

 

Which will be easier to bass fish in from a kayak?

 

I feel like with a pedal kayak, you can easily make small adjustments while working a spot or drifting down a bank, but with a trolling motor, you're going to have to keep engaging the throttle and making more noise. The downside to pedal kayaks is that I would have to get a strap for the pedal to be able to operate functionally due to a handicap, and even then there is still a little uncertainty that worries me.

 

The advantage with the trolling motor is you can get farther faster. But, there is having to lug around a heavy battery for the motor. My biggest concern is when the waves or wind are pushing me closer and closer to the bank and I need to constantly adjust as I'm fishing. A kayak is lighter and will get pushed around more easily than even some of your lighter boats. I'm wondering if it would be too much of a hassle and if I should go with a pedal kayak instead.

 

As far as specific kayaks go I have it narrowed down to 3.

 

Native Slayer 10 Propel $2099

 

I love that it is super light.

I don't like that it doesn't have a hole for a transducer.

I don't like that the rudder is fixed on the bottom.

I don't like that it isn't as wide as the Old Towns.

 

Old Town Sportsman 106 PDL $1999

 

I like that is has a transducer hole.

I like the rudder can be flipped on top.

I like that it is 36" wide.

I don't like that is weighs almost 15 lbs more than the Slayer.

 

Old Town Sportsman 106 MK $2499

 

I like that is has a transducer hole.

I like the rudder can be flipper up.

I like that it is 36" wide.

I like there is a cover for when the trolling motor is removed to keep water out when paddling.

I like there is a tray to lay your measuring board on.

I don't like that it weighs almost 15 lbs more than the Slayer.

I don't like that I would have to carry around a heavy battery for the trolling motor.

 

 

[Bankc]

As for getting pushed around close to a bank, I just drop anchor or use a stakeout pole.  Trying the maintain a position like you would in a bass boat with a trolling motor is too much work.  A pedal kayak would be slightly better, but really, just anchoring yourself is probably the best method.  

 

My kayak has a transducer hole, but you can't use it for side imaging, if that's something you want.  It blocks the transducer's line of sight, and in my case (Lowrance Hook2 5), the transducer is too long to fit anyway.

 

As for trolling motor vs pedal, you really just have to try both to see which you prefer. Same with the kayak itself.  There's always a trade off with any features you choose, so you kind of have to figure out your own balance.  That's a large reason why people tend to buy one, and then upgrade a few years later.  It's not because there was something wrong with their old one, but because as they've gotten more experience using their kayak, they figure out what features they prioritize.  With stability, you gain weight and lose speed.  

 

[Jmilburn76]

I have the slayer 10 and love it, being able to make small adjustments to either correct position or backup in instant has been a game changer for me fishing. The only time I would like to have a trolling motor is simply running from spot to spot or over longer distances. I do leave the seat as well as the propel drive in place and it ends up being pretty heavy all in. I did pick up a c-tug cart for it and although it works well for moving it around its a pain to get it underneath and strapped into place.

 

I had my heart set on a Wilderness radar 115 to have the option of adding the pedal drive later on but ended up getting the slayer for a little over $1000 from Cabelas.   I think your best bet is to demo as many as possible from any/all dealers in your area. Its a large investment for a plastic boat and the worst thing is having buyers remorse after you have already bought it. This slayer is my third yak in three years.

[kayaking_kev]

4 hours ago, Jmilburn76 said:

I have the slayer 10 and love it, being able to make small adjustments to either correct position or backup in instant has been a game changer for me fishing. The only time I would like to have a trolling motor is simply running from spot to spot or over longer distances. I do leave the seat as well as the propel drive in place and it ends up being pretty heavy all in. I did pick up a c-tug cart for it and although it works well for moving it around its a pain to get it underneath and strapped into place.

 

I had my heart set on a Wilderness radar 115 to have the option of adding the pedal drive later on but ended up getting the slayer for a little over $1000 from Cabelas.   I think your best bet is to demo as many as possible from any/all dealers in your area. Its a large investment for a plastic boat and the worst thing is having buyers remorse after you have already bought it. This slayer is my third yak in three years.

Wow, a Slayer 10 Propel for just over $1000? Nice! What sale was it? 

 

That's what I'm figuring, a trolling motor would be better to move long distances, but a pedal would be better to hold position better. I rarely use an anchor because I'm always trying to cover water and only make a few cast in a certain area in the places that I fish.

[Jmilburn76]

8 minutes ago, kayaking_kev said:

Wow, a Slayer 10 Propel for just over $1000? Nice! What sale was it? 

 

That's what I'm figuring, a trolling motor would be better to move long distances, but a pedal would be better to hold position better. I rarely use an anchor because I'm always trying to cover water and only make a few cast in a certain area in the places that I fish.

They went on clearance in January 2 yrs ago, couldnt pass it up for that price, I sold both my Kaku Wahoos to cover the cost. I agree about the anchor, I have one but havent used it once and always leave it at home. 

[madbass20]

Have you looked at Hobie? 

 

They have a key insert and you can plug pedals or a motor, best of both worlds 

 

motor:

https://www.austinkayak.com/Hobie-EVOLVE-Torqeedo-Motor-Kit-iSeries-v2/ACK2517P.html

 

Also, in terms of battery weight look into the lithium ions

 

Might be higher than the prices above but you are getting both pedal and a motor 

 

a few youtube videos on making your own motor using the provided cassette as well if this is higher than you want to spend 

 

 

[kayaking_kev]

44 minutes ago, madbass20 said:

Have you looked at Hobie? 

 

They have a key insert and you can plug pedals or a motor, best of both worlds 

 

motor:

https://www.austinkayak.com/Hobie-EVOLVE-Torqeedo-Motor-Kit-iSeries-v2/ACK2517P.html

 

Also, in terms of battery weight look into the lithium ions

 

Might be higher than the prices above but you are getting both pedal and a motor 

 

a few youtube videos on making your own motor using the provided cassette as well if this is higher than you want to spend 

 

 

I would like a Hobie if they had one about 10' and it had a 180 drive and was under $2500.

 

Lithium batteries are too expensive for me.

[YoTone]

not sure if that old town sportsman is capable of having that spot lock feature but if it did or could I would be all over that kayak.

[kayaking_kev]

2 hours ago, YoTone said:

not sure if that old town sportsman is capable of having that spot lock feature but if it did or could I would be all over that kayak.

That particular one isn't, that's the Autopilot 120 and 136 only I believe and are a lot more expensive.

[YoTone]

5 hours ago, kayaking_kev said:

That particular one isn't, that's the Autopilot 120 and 136 only I believe and are a lot more expensive.

I would still pay for it if I had the funds. Thats such a great feature to have. Even with a anchor or a steak pole, positioning the kayak to me is crucial and very difficult in wind.

[flyfisher]

For me personally with the way motors have been changing for kayaks I have decided that when i go that route i am going with a motor.  I will also be using a motor on a kayak that i can still paddle well too.  That way i have two kayaks for the price of one basically.  I currently have an ATAK 140 and it paddles great but i am looking for a motor option here in the near future so I can do motor up and float back river trips and cover a long distance on a few lakes i frequent more easily.  It also will allow me to use it as a regular old paddle kayak on smaller lakes and creeks that I fish a lot as well.  

As far as anchoring in the wind goes, it is more challenging in a kayak but it isn't that bad once you get an anchor trolley installed.  I have toyed with the idea of a second anchor for relay locking me in to a spot but i haven't been in that many situations where that is needed.  

[Bankc]

1 hour ago, YoTone said:

I would still pay for it if I had the funds. Thats such a great feature to have. Even with a anchor or a steak pole, positioning the kayak to me is crucial and very difficult in wind.

I doubt you'll do much better with a drive system than with either an anchor or stakeout pole.  Make sure you're using the correct type of anchor for the ground that you're anchoring into, and if necessary, set up two.  Also, if you don't have an anchor trolley, they come in really handy for positioning your kayak so that it the waves and wind hold you in position against your anchor or pole.  And lastly, I prefer not to use much scope when anchoring my kayak.  I hear people talk of 7:1 scope ratios (seven times the depth of the water for how long your rode needs to be let out).  But to me, that's ridiculous for a kayak.  I can get away with scope as low as 1.5:1 in most cases without any issue.  And the shorter scope holds my kayak tighter.

[michaelb]

I don't have either, peddle or a trolling motor, so take this for what it is worth. But it seems like there are still lots of questions for you to answer for yourself before you get to picking out a specific boat. What kind of water are fishing (open vs protected); how far you planning to cover; do you want to fish and/or troll to get to your spots; do you want to stand and fish; are you going to use a trailer to haul it or a kayak cart to get to the water?

 

My kayak (a Kaku Wahoo) has inserts on the back to hold a mount for a stern mount trolling motor; since used trolling motors are so cheap and available all the time, I am tempted to get the mount just to fill those holes and try a motor out. But my primary use for the trolling motor would be to extend my range from the launch spot. I will paddle .5 - 1 mile to fish usually; I could paddle far than that if I needed to; but not sure I would want to regularly paddle 3+ miles to get to spot to a fish (that would be 1 hr of solid paddling in each direction). If a trolling motor cruised at 5 mph, that would extend that possible fishing range to 3-5 miles from the launching point, and also would be somewhat less at risk due to wind (the main reason I would not want to paddle 3 miles to fish is the risk that I would face strong headwinds and waves on the paddle back). While I think you could use the trolling motor to putter along and fish, or even use spot lock instead of an anchor, I still think the primary use for a trolling motor on the kayak is to get from point A to B more efficiently. As you noted, the motor adds a lot of weight and you need to haul that with you and set up on shore, etc.

 

Peddle kayaks seem particularly attractive for fishing while you are going. So not working that hard to peddle, and just cruising along casting or trolling. The peddle adds efficiency too and so makes crossing open water with wind hopefully less challenging (the rudder and steering system would also help there); so 3+ mile trips one way are possible and maybe even easy. I assume you can leave the peddle system installed when trailering and carting it, so makes getting to and in and out of the water easier.

 

But with all that said, while your boats all look nice, I would look at the kayaks that offer either or both options, so having an option for a motor to mount in the place of the peddle system. That way, you buy the boat (maybe with neither) and try it out, and then make a decision on which system makes more sense for you right now, with the option to switch or even have both in a few years. So something like the wilderness system radar. The motors that are mounted in a port on the boat may also be stable enough to trailer or haul with the motor attached (I don't know and haven't look into that as a possibility, and may depend how far you going); but not messing around with setting up a motor each time seems like a plus (since you are having to mess around with the batteries already).

[YoTone]

Yeah I have an achor and I know about a steak polls. But how good will  that pole do in 10 ft of water? My anchor works but and I'm sure it does for most but if you don't see how a spot lock would be better in all areas I would look closer. 

[flyfisher]

Spot lock is cool, i have used it on a regular boat before but it isn't like it is going to just sit there and hold you and make sure you are facing the right direction necessarily.  I know on my dad's boat with it, it was nice but it would kick on at times when you weren't thinking it was going to and on a boat, it isn't a big deal but if you happen to be standing in a kayak you could be taking a swim lol 

 

[Crankin4Bass]

I wonder how tedious the Autopilot 120 and 136 are to control since they have handheld remotes. Anyone have any experience with those models yet?

[kayaking_kev]

The spot lock feature isn't in my budget, but if it were I would be afraid the motor noise would scare away fish as I don't normally fish too deep.

 

Can't you also control the Auto pilots with the foot pedals also and not just the handheld device?

[madbass20]

21 hours ago, kayaking_kev said:

I would like a Hobie if they had one about 10' and it had a 180 drive and was under $2500.

 

Lithium batteries are too expensive for me.

https://www.hobie.com/kayaks/mirage-passport/#fishing

1399

+

 

https://www.austinkayak.com/Hobie-Mirage-Drive-180-Standard-Fins/ACK24415P.html

850

 

2249

 

Probably can sell the regular drive on ebay or something to gain some back 

 

or if you can live with a 12'

https://kayakcity.com/2020-hobie-mirage-compass-with-mirage-drive-180-kick-up-fins-camo/

 

 

[schplurg]

Put a trolling motor on your pedal kayak. Best of both worlds.

[kayaking_kev]

I'm also trying to figure out if I can put Boondox Landing Gear on the Native Slayer 10. I don't think it's going to be possible with the Sportsman 106 PDL, since there seems to be no hull access. The Native Slayer looks like it has a small hatch in the back where I might be able to use the wire trick to feed the bracket through the hull.

 

I'm having such a hard time, but I always do this when making a big purchase. Most of the kayaks I want are back ordered anyway, so it gives me a little time to decide, but I'm anxious to make a decision and place an order.

 

I wish there was a kayak with the lightness of the Native Slayer, the flip up Rudder of the Sportsman 106 PDL and hull access to make installing the Boondox Landing Gear easy.

[CountryboyinDC]

The Sportsman/Topwater PDL has hull access for installing Landing Gear or whatever.  They build it just like my Predator PDL with an access hatch for the rudder controls under the seat.  That should suffice - you're going to be using a 'rigging bullet' strategy anyway.  On my Predator PDL, I installed a 8" hatch aft in the tankwell too, for access.  I think the Topwater may have that a contour feature that would make that easy, too.  The question for the Topwater would be whether it has a suitable site for the landing gear.  Putting them on the Predator is a huge pain because of the deck/gunwale contours, and so folks end up putting them way back in the tankwell region (balance way toward the front handle).  Maybe someone like @Tizi can advise you on that.

[Tizi]

33 minutes ago, CountryboyinDC said:

The Sportsman/Topwater PDL has hull access for installing Landing Gear or whatever.  They build it just like my Predator PDL with an access hatch for the rudder controls under the seat.  That should suffice - you're going to be using a 'rigging bullet' strategy anyway.  On my Predator PDL, I installed a 8" hatch aft in the tankwell too, for access.  I think the Topwater may have that a contour feature that would make that easy, too.  The question for the Topwater would be whether it has a suitable site for the landing gear.  Putting them on the Predator is a huge pain because of the deck/gunwale contours, and so folks end up putting them way back in the tankwell region (balance way toward the front handle).  Maybe someone like @Tizi can advise you on that.

I am not sure about the sportsman, but the Topwater does.  I have the standard landing gear.  I have not installed it as of yet.  ACK recommended the Standard Boonedox Landing Gear.