Fishing kayak worth it?

[Deleted account]

34 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

Most guys think they are great

Some folks think Big Macs and Budweiser are great...

[immortl]

2 hours ago, flyfisher said:

I think if you fish offshore a lot a spot lock motor would be very nice to have.  My dad has the old town autopilot with spot lock and it is a nice set up for holding location, even seen him do it in rivers but the motor to me is severely underpowered.  My NK180s will be at under 50% throttle while his is at 100% and it isn't great for moving water at all.  I did envy him a little though on our last river trip when he just hit the button and it held him in current very nicely.

I ordered the Motorguide Xi3 kayak 36" salt water trolling motor last night (had $1000 credit with my perks at work deal, which was usable with Bass Pro).  It has 55lbs of thrust which I believe is a bit more than the Minnkota in the Old Town Autopilot (45lbs maybe?).   I hope it'll be enough, but we'll see.  The NKs and torqueedos, iirc, have twice as much thrust or more. Maybe to balance the Xi3 in front, a torqueedo or NK will need to go on the back . Not much of a salt water guy at the moment, but guys in the trout club like to go for stripers, so I though for an extra 200, I'd hedge my bets and keep salt water as an option if I so choose.

 

 I know, I'm not fitting the traditional idea of 'simple kayak'.  This is as close to a bass boat as I'm going to come for a while and am outfitting it as such.  Lots of stuff and heavy, but still ought to be movable by me alone in the bed of my truck and access to the assorted little places as well as the larger for NJ spots available to me.  I can always take some things off if the situation calls for it.

[KP Duty]

I'd put my $400 towards a Pelican Bass Raider or Bass Hunter boat.  I wouldn't want the lack of stability or the limited ability to work baits while seated.

[flyfisher]

3 hours ago, immortl said:

I ordered the Motorguide Xi3 kayak 36" salt water trolling motor last night (had $1000 credit with my perks at work deal, which was usable with Bass Pro).  It has 55lbs of thrust which I believe is a bit more than the Minnkota in the Old Town Autopilot (45lbs maybe?).   I hope it'll be enough, but we'll see.  The NKs and torqueedos, iirc, have twice as much thrust or more. Maybe to balance the Xi3 in front, a torqueedo or NK will need to go on the back . Not much of a salt water guy at the moment, but guys in the trout club like to go for stripers, so I though for an extra 200, I'd hedge my bets and keep salt water as an option if I so choose.

 

 I know, I'm not fitting the traditional idea of 'simple kayak'.  This is as close to a bass boat as I'm going to come for a while and am outfitting it as such.  Lots of stuff and heavy, but still ought to be movable by me alone in the bed of my truck and access to the assorted little places as well as the larger for NJ spots available to me.  I can always take some things off if the situation calls for it.

Nothing wrong with that.  I have seen guys with a torqeedo and up front trolling motor and that seems like a lot to me but hey, it's not my money to spend lol. Whatever gets you on the water is what matters really

 

[Darth-Baiter]

4 hours ago, immortl said:

I ordered the Motorguide Xi3 kayak 36" salt water trolling motor last night (had $1000 credit with my perks at work deal, which was usable with Bass Pro).  It has 55lbs of thrust which I believe is a bit more than the Minnkota in the Old Town Autopilot (45lbs maybe?).   I hope it'll be enough, but we'll see.  The NKs and torqueedos, iirc, have twice as much thrust or more. Maybe to balance the Xi3 in front, a torqueedo or NK will need to go on the back . Not much of a salt water guy at the moment, but guys in the trout club like to go for stripers, so I though for an extra 200, I'd hedge my bets and keep salt water as an option if I so choose.

 

 I know, I'm not fitting the traditional idea of 'simple kayak'.  This is as close to a bass boat as I'm going to come for a while and am outfitting it as such.  Lots of stuff and heavy, but still ought to be movable by me alone in the bed of my truck and access to the assorted little places as well as the larger for NJ spots available to me.  I can always take some things off if the situation calls for it.

Nice.  Don’t fall out while under power. That thing will leave you in a hurry.  My friend has that setup and the lack of a kill switch lanyard isn’t great. 

[immortl]

1 hour ago, Darth-Baiter said:

Nice.  Don’t fall out while under power. That thing will leave you in a hurry.  My friend has that setup and the lack of a kill switch lanyard isn’t great. 

That is an excellent point.  I was just looking at wiring and relays a little earlier, thinking maybe it would be good to have a power switch for the trolling motor instead of direct hard wire...  I wonder if I can find a kill switch module to wire in to the trigger lead for the relay.  Then if the kill switch cuts out, the trigger for the relay is cut out and motor should lose power.  I'll dig into that.

Edited January 15, 2023 by immortl
correcting typos

[casts_by_fly]

8 hours ago, KP Duty said:

I'd put my $400 towards a Pelican Bass Raider or Bass Hunter boat.  I wouldn't want the lack of stability or the limited ability to work baits while seated.

the old town sportsman option is a standing capable kayak. Being limited to a paddle will limit the conditions when you can stand to fish while also move along but the boat is stable enough for it. I rarely sit in mine (only to tie hooks or net fish really).

[Gregorym38]

Ig one of my worries is that the kayak will be so big and heavy that it will be hard to paddle, but i dont want to spend an arm and a leg on the power setup. Is there a way to do it sort of budget?

[Susky River Rat]

On 1/12/2023 at 8:14 AM, flyfisher said:

Now I am saving up for a jet boat for the rivers

Once you get a jet you’ll forget all about that kayak. Just have to get the kahunas to run it shallow. I played the canoe and kayak game for years. I’d quit before I ever did that again.

5 hours ago, Gregorym38 said:

Ig one of my worries is that the kayak will be so big and heavy that it will be hard to paddle, but i dont want to spend an arm and a leg on the power setup. Is there a way to do it sort of budget?

Get that rowing machine out! Kayaks are made to paddle. If it’s just you and some fishing stuff not a big deal. If you add another 400lb of stuff then start to worry. The TMs come from not wanting to paddle and to get places faster than paddling. The hobie kayak tournaments you can’t use a TM for the tournament part only prefishing. The way those guys load them up you’ll be fine.

[casts_by_fly]

10 hours ago, Gregorym38 said:

Ig one of my worries is that the kayak will be so big and heavy that it will be hard to paddle, but i dont want to spend an arm and a leg on the power setup. Is there a way to do it sort of budget?

my autopilot with battery and motor weighs about 150. I’m another 225. Add my tackle bag and anything else and I’m 400-425 fully loaded. It’s not a boat meant for paddling and yet it does just fine when I need to. The paddle version will be better still. 
 

the difference in having a boat and not is dramatic, especially around here where shore access is so limited. Get one and use it for a season before you think about a motor. A paddle kayak is a super simple way to get out on the water at low investment.  You can launch it just about anywhere you can get access to the water. You don’t need a special parking space for a trailer.  Storage at home is easy. Adding a motor is more complication and more fuss. You might not want it after you’ve used it a while. The best advice I can give for new kayak buyers (and others echo the same) is to just put time on the water. See what you like and don’t like. Don’t spend a ton on something you might change or upgrade later. Kayaks are eminently modifiable. Buy a good hull and you’ll be well served. 

[flyfisher]

10 hours ago, Darnold335 said:

Once you get a jet you’ll forget all about that kayak. Just have to get the kahunas to run it shallow.

Nah, the jet wouldn't be able to be used in a lot of places I fish, especially for largemouth so the kayak will still get some work for sure.  The rivers around here also get really low in the summer where i would be able to run a jet sure but i couldn't stop so that is when i'd need the kayak still too.  It would open up a lot more of the season though as far as higher water goes which would be nice.  Just another tool to put in the toolbox to get on the water.

[jitterbug127]

I’d say anything that gets you into the water and off the bank is well worth it! Kayaks excel at being light, portable and  going places other boats can’t go. They can be put on the roof of just about any car, and are great for apartment dwellers. I have a boat now which has its own advantages, but there is something to the kayak I can’t match with anything else. 

[Susky River Rat]

15 hours ago, flyfisher said:

Nah, the jet wouldn't be able to be used in a lot of places I fish, especially for largemouth so the kayak will still get some work for sure.  The rivers around here also get really low in the summer where i would be able to run a jet sure but i couldn't stop so that is when i'd need the kayak still too.  It would open up a lot more of the season though as far as higher water goes which would be nice.  Just another tool to put in the toolbox to get on the water.

I did the whole canoe thing for years. Got my boat with a 20hp prop still did the same lakes and the river if it was the right height. All but one lake within an hours drive of me is unlimited horsepower. They rest are electric only. Once I got the jet I stopped fishing electric lakes and focus on the river. When the river gets below a certain level I may visit a lake but, that’s a once maybe twice a year trip to an electric lake. I can run in 4” of water on plane. So when I stop fishing the river you can walk across it at most spots.

[Bankc]

On 1/14/2023 at 11:23 PM, Gregorym38 said:

Ig one of my worries is that the kayak will be so big and heavy that it will be hard to paddle, but i dont want to spend an arm and a leg on the power setup. Is there a way to do it sort of budget?

Try it without a motor first.  See how it works for you.  As noted, you can launch a kayak anywhere you can access the bank.  So that makes traveling long distances less of an issue.  

 

Then, after you've gotten used to it, if you decide you do need a motor, the cheap way is to get a 30lb. trolling motor, deep cycle battery, and just side mount it behind your seat.  My kayak has side rod holders that I placed some PVC pipes into and bolted a board across them and had one end of the board stick out just over the kayak to mount the trolling motor.  It would probably run you about $300 for the motor, battery, and DIY mount including taxes.  That's the cheapest way into a powered kayak.  Though, make sure you don't have to register the kayak as well now, as that can also add to the cost.  

[Gregorym38]

1 hour ago, Bankc said:

Try it without a motor first.  See how it works for you.  As noted, you can launch a kayak anywhere you can access the bank.  So that makes traveling long distances less of an issue.  

 

Then, after you've gotten used to it, if you decide you do need a motor, the cheap way is to get a 30lb. trolling motor, deep cycle battery, and just side mount it behind your seat.  My kayak has side rod holders that I placed some PVC pipes into and bolted a board across them and had one end of the board stick out just over the kayak to mount the trolling motor.  It would probably run you about $300 for the motor, battery, and DIY mount including taxes.  That's the cheapest way into a powered kayak.  Though, make sure you don't have to register the kayak as well now, as that can also add to the cost.  

Yeah thats pretty much my thinking. I just wanted to see how doable it would be, and it is always an option in the future. How did it drive with the side mount?

[Bankc]

1 hour ago, Gregorym38 said:

Yeah thats pretty much my thinking. I just wanted to see how doable it would be, and it is always an option in the future. How did it drive with the side mount?

Well, it wanted to run the kayak at an angle with the motor pointed straight forward, which was a problem.  But there's a set screw on where the handle connects to the shaft, and I just marked an offset location and drilled a new hole and set it up so the kayak ran straight with the handle pointed straight.  Assuming there wasn't any wind or current, of course.  Or you can just get used to pointing it at an angle.  And I probably gained about 0.5 mph of speed when I moved it to the stern about a year later (going from about 3.5 mph to 4), so you lose some speed.  And making tight turns were pretty difficult, but I usually did those with the paddle anyway.  Still do.  It went forward better than backwards.  But again, I often do that with my paddle anyway.  Also, controlling it while fishing took some talent, but I eventually learned to move it with my left elbow while fishing, which made things a bit easier.  

 

The worst part was the balance issue.  Since you've got this chunk of weight sitting over the side of the kayak, it wants to make it very unstable.  But I turned the battery longways, and moved it over as far as I could on the other side of the kayak, also right behind my seat.  With the battery weighting 65lbs. and the trolling motor weighing 15-20 lbs, but sticking out much further, they balanced each other pretty well and brought some stability back.  You can math out where to place everything, or just spend some time with trial and error.  When I got the placement right, I riveted some eye bolts to secure the battery with bungee cords.  

 

All of that is to say that it definitely works, but there are a few drawbacks.  But the benefits far outweigh them.  You'll be happy you made the upgrade.  The best part of it all was, it allowed me to get to the final setup I wanted, and by doing it all in incremental steps over the course of a few years, it didn't hurt me that bad financially to get there.  I'm still using the same trolling motor I started off with and the old side motor mount is now my rod holder. 

 

After installing the side mounted motor, I installed a rear rudder.  The cables and foot controllers for that would become used for the motor once I made the rear motor mount the following year.  I also installed a PWM controller and used that for a while with the trolling motor set to 5 speed all of the time, using only the PWM box for speed control.  Eventually, I removed the old speed controller entirely.  My last upgrade was replacing that old lead acid battery with a lithium one.