Good fishing kayak under $1300?

[Jake51823]

Hey all, Ive been in the market for a new fishing kayak. I currently have the feelfree lure 11.5 v2. I love the gravity seat in it, the only problem is it is way too heavy. Looking at the specifics online it’s 87lbs without the seat. I’ve been using this for a couple years now and am looking at some kayaks. 
 

The BKC RA 220 has me really interested. I love the storage compartments right in front of the seat. The dry weight is 68lbs which is significantly lighter than what I have now. Comes with a rudder. I’ haven’t heard much about the Brooklyn brand though. Has anyone else? Any other suggestions?
 

Standing up isn’t that important to me. I’m 5”7’ 150 so I’m not a big guy. 
 

[JimT]

the Native kayaks seem to be pretty popular, the FX 12 is 60-ish pounds but no closed storage hatch. for some folks that might be a plus. 

[Drew03cmc]

I have a Lure 11.5 V1 and a Moken 12.5 V2. The Moken is a 75lb boat that paddles well, is stable and handles current far better than the Lure. 

[Jake51823]

1 hour ago, Drew03cmc said:

I have a Lure 11.5 V1 and a Moken 12.5 V2. The Moken is a 75lb boat that paddles well, is stable and handles current far better than the Lure. 

I have issues with controlling my lure sometimes. Was looking at the moken

[bulldog1935]

@Jake51823

Any boat that sits your torso away from the center of the keel length is going to have wind control problems. In the common case of shorter-length boats, you sit behind the keel center, so your torso acts like a mainsail and is always steering the bow into the wind.  

Rudder or skeg helps to overcome that by resisting spin and effectively lengthening the keel.  

[michaelb]

If weight is important have you looked at crescent lite?

[Jake51823]

48 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

@Jake51823

Any boat that sits your torso away from the center of the keel length is going to have wind control problems. In the common case of shorter-length boats, you sit behind the keel center, so your torso acts like a mainsail and is always steering the bow into the wind.  

Rudder or skeg helps to overcome that by resisting spin and effectively lengthening the keel.  

Yeah that’s the kayak I’m looking at. What do you think of it? Comes with a rudder which is good and seems to be pretty light. 

30 minutes ago, michaelb said:

If weight is important have you looked at crescent lite?

I have. I sadly cannot find any of them in stock anywhere. But they are in the hat of names I’m looking at. Hard to decide. 

50 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

@Jake51823

Any boat that sits your torso away from the center of the keel length is going to have wind control problems. In the common case of shorter-length boats, you sit behind the keel center, so your torso acts like a mainsail and is always steering the bow into the wind.  

Rudder or skeg helps to overcome that by resisting spin and effectively lengthening the keel.  

Also I understand and see what you’re saying. 

[bulldog1935]

It looks like a nice boat to me.  

I fished that little Redfish 10 in the river a couple of weeks ago, and compared to my long coast boat (T160), it sure handled great in small water - also glided extremely well for my large size, - 6'3", 215 lbs.  

At 30", it was just the widest width I could straddle comfortably for sit-up fishing.  

At 45 lbs, it was very easy to portage where we had to get over a 3' chute - to this deep pool:  

 

___________________________________

 

ps - the T160 is the best big wind boat I've ever seen.  On a coast trip, NWS hourly forecast missed the reinforcing effect of two fronts (welcome to Texas).  They predicted a wind shift to light E - 10 kt - within 2 hours, but the 16-kt NNE we launched in built to 28-kt gusts when we had to retreat.  What was predicted for an easy ride home, we had to cross the flat on beam reach, and my buddy turtled his Revo 16 twice when he wasn't able to steer in the wind (the flat was only 3' deep).  The Tarpon would always let me steer upwind to address waves that were trying to swamp us.  

Other buddy Lou, in another good wind boat, ancient Emotion Fisherman, even managed to score a slot red in that wind.  Here taking a wind-shelter breather before the last 2 miles back home.  

[Jake51823]

36 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

It looks like a nice boat to me.  

I fished that little Redfish 10 in the river a couple of weeks ago, and compared to my long coast boat (T160), it sure handled great in small water - also glided extremely well for my large size, - 6'3", 215 lbs.  

At 30", it was just the widest width I could straddle comfortably for sit-up fishing.  

At 45 lbs, it was very easy to portage where we had to get over a 3' chute - to this pool:  

 

 

ps - the T160 is the best big wind boat I've ever seen.  On a coast trip, NWS hourly forecast missed the reinforcing effect of two fronts (welcome to Texas).  They predicted a wind shift to light E - 10 kt - within 2 hours, but the 16-kt NNE we launched in built to 28-kt gusts when we had to retreat.  What was predicted for an easy ride home, we had to cross the flat on beam reach, and my buddy turtled his Revo 16 twice when he wasn't able to steer in the wind.  The Tarpon would always let me steer upwind to address waves that were trying to swamp us.  

That’s awesome, thank you for sharing. That looks gorgeous honestly and sounds like a great time. Also nice bass, love the colors on it. I’m in New York and the ones I catch don’t have much color pop to it, more of a dull green. My lure kayak is 34 inches wide and I feel as if it’s a little too bulky for my liking. 

[bulldog1935]

That was right at the tailout above the chute, and even more fun, I caught this little bluegill first. 

 

The bass followed the bluegill to my boat, and I was able to lead the bass as it was heading back to the bank and watch him flare on my cats whisker.  

[Smalls]

That's a serious downgrade. Those BKC kayaks are just wish.com kayaks with their name slapped on the side. 

[Jake51823]

22 hours ago, Smalls said:

That's a serious downgrade. Those BKC kayaks are just wish.com kayaks with their name slapped on the side. 

Have you used or seen them? I know they aren’t a very widely known brand. 

[Smalls]

6 minutes ago, Jake51823 said:

Have you used or seen them? I know they aren’t a very widely known brand. 

I've seen a few of them in person.  The drive and seat look like Hasbro made them.

[DogBone_384]

On 8/24/2021 at 10:24 PM, Jake51823 said:

I have issues with controlling my lure sometimes.

Do you have a rudder on your Lure? I have ‘15 and ‘18 Lures (w/Overdrive). I installed rudders, and problem solved.

[Smalls]

1 hour ago, DogBone_384 said:

Do you have a rudder on your Lure? I have ‘15 and ‘18 Lures (w/Overdrive). I installed rudders, and problem solved.

Good point.  Adding the beavertail rudder is a night and day difference. 

[the reel ess]

On 8/24/2021 at 2:31 PM, Jake51823 said:

Hey all, Ive been in the market for a new fishing kayak. I currently have the feelfree lure 11.5 v2. I love the gravity seat in it, the only problem is it is way too heavy. Looking at the specifics online it’s 87lbs without the seat. I’ve been using this for a couple years now and am looking at some kayaks. 
 

The BKC RA 220 has me really interested. I love the storage compartments right in front of the seat. The dry weight is 68lbs which is significantly lighter than what I have now. Comes with a rudder. I’ haven’t heard much about the Brooklyn brand though. Has anyone else? Any other suggestions?
 

Standing up isn’t that important to me. I’m 5”7’ 150 so I’m not a big guy. 
 

I've had a Perception Pescador 12, a Feelfree Lure 12.5 and a Pescador Pro 10 (my current ride). The problem with the Lure was, of course, the weight. It also should come with a rudder, but that adds +/-$250 to an already expensive kayak. And mine tracked terribly without one. I got an electric motor kit for it later, but that was also more trouble than it was worth. The seat was great though. The old Pescador was light and had a low center of gravity and tracked well. The seat was a thin cushion on a molded in seat with a pretty decent back. It was a decent starter at about $500 10 years ago. But my butt and lower legs started going to sleep after a couple hours. I still have this one for buddies, though I rarely take anyone. The Pescador Pro 10 is about 50-60 lbs with the seat. The seat is a comfy 2-position stadium style that you can take out and use around a campsite. That's the main reason I bought it. It's a good deal at around $800. If there's a knock on it, it would be that it doesn't track great. I would recommend it in the 12' length. It also has 2 molded in rod holders that serve no purpose. I have no idea why they're on it. They're shallow and too large to actually hold anything. I added two flush-mount. 

 

I guess the moral of my story would be the 2 most important things to me are a comfortable seat and the tracking, if you don't care about standing. I don't. The upper limit of $1300 gives you more options.

[flyfisher]

There are lots of good kayaks out there especially with standing not a primary concern.  

If you need a rudder to paddle straight then it is one of two things...your kayak just doesn't track well which isn't always a bad thing if you fish a lot of moving water or your paddle stroke is not where it should be.  

I am looking at SUP for my next "kayak".  Lighter weight, wide open deck for fly fishing and shallow draft for the rivers I frequent.  

[CountryboyinDC]

I've never seen anything Brooklyn Kayaks made, but I proabably will soon.  A guy I've taken out fishing several times went and bought one (against my advice).  I would say that if none of the paddle shops are carrying them, there could be a reason, and it's likely not about cutting out the middleman (paddle shops are mostly worthy middlemen imho). 

 

The Lure is heavy, and the wheel at the stern may help maneuver some, but it's still heavy.  You can look at thermoformed kayaks a la Eddyline and Hurricane, but I don't know that new sit-on-tops are under the $1,500.  If you want a reasonable all around boat that's not too heavy and tracks well, the Wilderness Tarpon difficult to beat if standing is not something you're concerned about.  The 12 footer paddles well, the 14 a bit better, and the 16 is probably as slick a fishing kayak as you'll find.  Keep in mind that as lenght increases, maneuverability suffers and weight increases (although not so quickly as it does with width).  

1 hour ago, flyfisher said:

If you need a rudder to paddle straight then it is one of two things...your kayak just doesn't track well which isn't always a bad thing if you fish a lot of moving water or your paddle stroke is not where it should be.

Can't agree with this.  My paddlestroke is not what I'm sure Dane Jackson's is, but if a rudder was helpful for what I was doing, I would add it.   Touring kayaks like a 17' Current Designs model I paddled have one, and to me they track like they're on rails already.  If the conditions warrant, a rudder can both keep you from wasting energy on corrective strokes, and keep your kayak from weathervaning.

[the reel ess]

If you're interested in a Wilderness Tarpon, take a look at the current Perception Pescador. They're very similar. From what I've been told, the Pescador (not the Pro) is the last generation of Tarpon. It's the same mold. You could save a wad.

[Boomstick]

The only one I have personal experience with that really fits the bill is the Oldtown Topwater 120 (currently sold as the Sportsman 120) and I have nothing bad to say about it. It's in the middle of the road in terms of speed and total weight, among the more stable kayaks out there, doesn't rock side to side much when it catches a boat wake and it's pretty well equipped.

[flyfisher]

On 8/29/2021 at 1:57 PM, CountryboyinDC said:

 

Can't agree with this.  My paddlestroke is not what I'm sure Dane Jackson's is, but if a rudder was helpful for what I was doing, I would add it.   Touring kayaks like a 17' Current Designs model I paddled have one, and to me they track like they're on rails already.  If the conditions warrant, a rudder can both keep you from wasting energy on corrective strokes, and keep your kayak from weathervaning.

That is exactly what I said.  If you aren't tracking straight it is your paddle stroke or your boat.  The stability of boats now lends them to tracking somewhat straight.  Weight distribution also plays a very big role in a kayak's ability to track straight as does a seat positon that is dead center.  

Comparing a touring kayak to a fishing kayak isn't a fair comparison at all.  Most are designed to use a skeg or a rudder from the get go and also are designed to accommodate rougher conditions and weather which may facilitate the need for a rudder.

 

Most kayak fisherman would benefit more from using the wind to their benefit than trying to overcome it.

 

[CountryboyinDC]

@flyfisher, we'll have to agree to disagree.  I think that rudders and skegs have their place on fishing kayaks just as they do on touring or Class III/IV whitewater expeditions kayaks like a friend of mine has.  I have seen cases where rudders helped even relatively wind-resistant fishing kayaks like a Wilderness Attack.  And if you're paddling straight, rudders can definitely save energy.  No matter how textbook your forward (or reverse for that matter) paddlestroke, you'll waste less energy if you're trying to go straight with a rudder.  The great thing is when you don't need it, it retracts, and bow and stern draws and sweeps are just as effective at turning the kayak.

[moguy1973]

I have an older Ocean Kayak Trident 11 Angler.  I was going to suggest one of those because mine only weighs about 54lbs unloaded, but I looked up the specs on the new ones and they've gotten chunky at 72lbs.  Mine doesn't have the greatest seat, but the new ones look like they have an upgraded one from mine.  the thing I like about the Ocean Kayaks is they have a Rod Pod (Mod Pod on the new ones) in the middle where I can store a couple extra rods if I so choose, it's really come in handy though on over night trips where I can shove all my camping stuff inside all the way to the back of the kayak and still have room up front for all my fishing stuff.

[bulldog1935]

@CountryboyinDC and @flyfisher

and then there's my kevlar Kestrel that turns on thigh straps.  

A fast taxi to wading water - 39 lbs and 5 kts is no effort.  

 

 

[CountryboyinDC]

7 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

my kevlar Kestrel that turns on thigh straps.  

Oh the thigh straps.  Can you roll it?  I considered adding them to my Coosa HD (pretty sure I'll never roll that) so that I could have enough control to do some peel outs and eddy turns well enough to take it in a few spots I consider cataraft fishing territory.  I came to the conclusion that the seat was the greatest impediment to control, and thigh straps wouldn't help that (sure is comfortable though).  Thigh straps don't really help you go straight, though.  I hear and read exchanges about what they do, and everyone's not in agreement.  I've never had them on a boat, K-1 or OC-n, so I can't say personally.  I've been a user of bulkhead saddles back to the Perception and my last OC-1 is finding a new home, so I'll probably never have a pedestal which is where you see thigh straps in canoes.