Is the misery of kayak fishing worth it?

[Bankbeater]

I've got bouts with vertigo, and some arthritis in my back.  I don't think I'll be in a kayak anytime soon.

[Bluebasser86]

On 6/3/2021 at 12:20 AM, David 7 said:

; if there is going to be more than 5mph wind or so, I wouldn't take one out. 

Man I'd never get to use mine if I followed that rule ?.  A lot of it depends on the kayak I imagine though. I've had mine in 20mph plenty of times and never felt like it was too much. You certainly should watch the weather more and check it ahead of time because mistakes are greatly magnified in a kayak.

[David 7]

5 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Man I'd never get to use mine if I followed that rule ?.  A lot of it depends on the kayak I imagine though. I've had mine in 20mph plenty of times and never felt like it was too much. You certainly should watch the weather more and check it ahead of time because mistakes are greatly magnified in a kayak.

I meant to type 10 mph, kind of embarrassed now ha ?.

[kjfishman]

What misery? My Old Town Loon 126 is very comfortable. I can take it places you can't go in a bass boat. I have both a bass boat and a kayak if I had to choose just one I would keep the kayak.

[Bluebasser86]

13 minutes ago, kjfishman said:

What misery? My Old Town Loon 126 is very comfortable. I can take it places you can't go in a bass boat. I have both a bass boat and a kayak if I had to choose just one I would keep the kayak.

I can kind of understand it, because I had a kayak that I didn't like before the one I had now. It was a hassle to use and even if conditions were perfect, it still wasn't that much fun to fish out of because I never felt real stable in it and it blew in the wind like a leaf. The seat wasn't very comfortable to me either, so after a couple hours I'd need to get out and walk around. 

 

Now with a nice, stable kayak with a good seat, I can fish all day, stand and fish, and never feel like I'm one little wobble away from getting wet. Being a pedal yak, control is so much better too. 

[bulldog1935]

On 6/8/2021 at 6:38 AM, David 7 said:

I meant to type 10 mph, kind of embarrassed now ha ?.

 

We leap at the chance to drift-fish our salt kayaks in 12-18 kt wind.  

Without the wind, we lose both stealth advantage and the ability to move quickly onto fish.  

 

[CountryboyinDC]

On 5/28/2021 at 12:35 PM, bulldog1935 said:

Can also add that in 28-kt gusts with waves (not predicted by NWS), can aim my T160 where I want and it's still stable.  In the same condition, the Revo won't steer or head up, windcocks and flips.  

That is pretty hard wind to buck a 16' Revo.  You probably have the wind-slickest fishing kayak ever made.  Just glad I wasn't out there with my Coosa, no telling where I'd end up.

[GTN-NY]

39 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I can kind of understand it, because I had a kayak that I didn't like before the one I had now. It was a hassle to use and even if conditions were perfect, it still wasn't that much fun to fish out of because I never felt real stable in it and it blew in the wind like a leaf. The seat wasn't very comfortable to me either, so after a couple hours I'd need to get out and walk around. 

 

Now with a nice, stable kayak with a good seat, I can fish all day, stand and fish, and never feel like I'm one little wobble away from getting wet. Being a pedal yak, control is so much better too. 

Very similar experience. 1st kayak was a good one but just not stable enough for me to be comfortable standing. Traded that one within 4 months for a Big Rig. Unless there are whitecaps I’ll be standing all day

[CountryboyinDC]

On 5/27/2021 at 11:51 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

I think it was an estimated/calculated speed. I've given mine everything I've got on smooth water and got to 5.5mph. I don't know how I could get that extra 2.5mph without a motor or something. 

That is fast.  On the GPS on my graph, if I hit 6 mph it's all I can do to keep it there for 30 seconds.  I've got a Predator PDL, which certainly isn't the fastest pedal drive, but it isn't the slowest either.  Even at 5 mph, mine starts feeling like it's 'pushing back'.  

[FishTank]

Yes and no for me.

 

Last week I got capsized on a resivor and lost a few things, luckily nothing major.   The wind was bad but not horrible, maybe 15mph.  The current and white caps on the other hand, were extremely bad.  I might get one or two casts in at 200 feet from shore before I was into the bank.  Fishing was good though. 

 

Two weeks ago, I got my PB in a kayak.  I'm guessing 8-9lbs but it was 25 inches.   So that was a lot of fun in kayak and definitely more challenging than fishing from a boat. 

[Koz]

I think the best piece of advice is to try as many different kayaks as you can before you buy. Rent them out and go to demo days.

 

That being said, I got lucky when I bought my Seastream Angler 120 pedal kayak. I had never tried a pedal kayak before purchasing one, but I knew I disliked trying to fish bigger bodies of water in paddle kayaks.

[Darth-Baiter]

14 hours ago, Koz said:

I think the best piece of advice is to try as many different kayaks as you can before you buy. Rent them out and go to demo days.

 

That being said, I got lucky when I bought my Seastream Angler 120 pedal kayak. I had never tried a pedal kayak before purchasing one, but I knew I disliked trying to fish bigger bodies of water in paddle kayaks.

I bought mine by pointing at it and saying, “I’ll take that one” no test drive etc.  I’ve never been in a kayak before.  I

Wouldnt  know what I liked or disliked.  I could barely stand up then.  Now I can.   I think a total rookie can stand in only the most stable of kayaks.  At least this applies to me.  I bet of the Hobie line I could stand up in the pro angler on that first day.    That would have skewed my ideas and I would own a giant kayak now.  I’m glad I didn’t buy that one.  Too heavy. 
 

I might upgrade to an outback one day.  But I’m pretty happy with my general purchase. I got lucky. 

[Holetail]

To answer the OP question, I hope not since I put the deposit down to order a Bonafide RS117. Most likely will not get it until August, but that will give me time to research and acquire all the needed “extras “ that a kayak needs! Haha. Figuring on an anchor trolley, stake out pole (DIY), fish finder (already own, but need mount and figure out transducer mount, anchor set up (thinking 5 lb outrigger ball with a float buoy and quick release). If anyone has suggestions to source kayak gear outside of the usual outlets, I would love to hear about them. Thanks

[GP_Cobb]

5 hours ago, Holetail said:

To answer the OP question, I hope not since I put the deposit down to order a Bonafide RS117. Most likely will not get it until August, but that will give me time to research and acquire all the needed “extras “ that a kayak needs! Haha. Figuring on an anchor trolley, stake out pole (DIY), fish finder (already own, but need mount and figure out transducer mount, anchor set up (thinking 5 lb outrigger ball with a float buoy and quick release). If anyone has suggestions to source kayak gear outside of the usual outlets, I would love to hear about them. Thanks

I'm a newbie and started a thread but here's where I am, I have two Pelicans, a Hunter sit in and a 13 HyDrve.  I have put electronics on both with Garmin Striker 4, solar chargers, bow & stern lights, overhead lights, underwater lights, home made anchor trolleys and many pole holders.   I carry them both on an 18 foot PJ trailer.  All accessories to date have been found on Amazon.    Since the Covid I don't go out I shop online and avoid public.   And I'm too old to change.   Love my Kayaks, till my sweepstakes come in.  (grin)

[David 7]

The thing about the kayaks with all the additional features though is they seem to weigh more. My new Pelican Trailblazer is a simple 10 ft sit in but only weights 36lb and cost me $250. Everything is a trade off and you have to weigh the pros and cons with what you decide to get. Personally I’m very content with what I have but I like to keep things simple and being able to easily load and unload is crucial for me as a solo angler. 

[ThrowinPlugs]

If you can't afford or don't have the room for a boat, its absolutely worth it. I spend 90% of my time during the season in my hobie. 

[HaydenS]

Finally saw a old town sportsman in person!  Those things fly!  The guy using said he didn't have any problems in the white capping, windy lake.  I wouldn't mind giving one a spin...

I was curious to see how they steer, and saw the guy using a "stick shift" to steer while he pedaled.  It was an amazing yak!

You get one of these and there is no such thing as misery.

[ThrowinPlugs]

8 hours ago, HaydenS said:

Finally saw a old town sportsman in person!  Those things fly!  The guy using said he didn't have any problems in the white capping, windy lake.  I wouldn't mind giving one a spin...

I was curious to see how they steer, and saw the guy using a "stick shift" to steer while he pedaled.  It was an amazing yak!

You get one of these and there is no such thing as misery.

Incredible boat. Expensive, but incredible.

[HaydenS]

37 minutes ago, ThrowinPlugs said:

Incredible boat. Expensive, but incredible.

If I sold everything I owned I wouldn't have enough to buy one.

[ThrowinPlugs]

Dude my boy has one. If I wasn't trying to get into a Tracker, I'd buy one.

[Bluebasser86]

On 6/25/2021 at 11:03 PM, HaydenS said:

Finally saw a old town sportsman in person!  Those things fly!  The guy using said he didn't have any problems in the white capping, windy lake.  I wouldn't mind giving one a spin...

I was curious to see how they steer, and saw the guy using a "stick shift" to steer while he pedaled.  It was an amazing yak!

You get one of these and there is no such thing as misery.

If you can find a time, you're welcome to pedal mine around sometime to try it out.  

[Krux5506]

Still waiting for my Old Town predator pdl. Ordered it I think in April, maybe early May. Old Town has been so screwed up with their inventory and shipping though, I expect I'll see it maybe in August. 

[the reel ess]

On 6/23/2021 at 10:59 AM, David 7 said:

The thing about the kayaks with all the additional features though is they seem to weigh more. My new Pelican Trailblazer is a simple 10 ft sit in but only weights 36lb and cost me $250. Everything is a trade off and you have to weigh the pros and cons with what you decide to get. Personally I’m very content with what I have but I like to keep things simple and being able to easily load and unload is crucial for me as a solo angler. 

That's the reason I bought the one I'm currently using. My first kayak was a Perception Pescador 12'. It served me well as an entry level kayak. It was nice and light and tracked pretty well, but not very stable and the seat was padded, molded in and it put my butt and legs to sleep after a couple hours. So I decided it was time to step up to a used FeelFree Lure that came with a trolling motor setup. The seat was awesome. But it was HEAVY and I felt like I was wasting time lugging it around and taking off and putting on the motor/battery. I sold it for what I paid and got a new Pescador Pro 10'. It only weighs 50 lbs. so it's quick and easy to load and unload. Its stability is between the other two models and it has a good stadium seat. It doesn't track great and the rear has a tendency to creep around on you. But I'm pretty used to it now. I don't notice any difference in numbers of fish since I'm paddling again. And I really like the exercise of it.

On 6/8/2021 at 2:22 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

Man I'd never get to use mine if I followed that rule ?.  A lot of it depends on the kayak I imagine though. I've had mine in 20mph plenty of times and never felt like it was too much. You certainly should watch the weather more and check it ahead of time because mistakes are greatly magnified in a kayak.

I'll fish on a bigger body of water in wind up to 10 MPH, but not much more than that. But I have a couple of other options. One is a friend's pond that's sort of low-lying and shielded from heavy wind. It's a go-to on some of those spring days when it's "white capping in the commode". And I have a couple of places I can go walk. 

[HaydenS]

19 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

If you can find a time, you're welcome to pedal mine around sometime to try it out.  

Thanks for the offer!  I really appreciate it and will definitely take you up on it!

[Bluebasser86]

1 hour ago, HaydenS said:

Thanks for the offer!  I really appreciate it and will definitely take you up on it!

If you're looking to eventually upgrade, getting into as many different types of kayaks is the best way to help decide which one you want. I didn't get the opportunity but did a lot of research and am really happy with my purchase but the first one I bought was not for me and about turned me away from them entirely.