I LOVE my kayak.

[Darth-Baiter]

I’ve been on this one just over a year.  I know how it feels underneath me.  I can stay standing on some boat wakes. I have figured out where everything goes by now.  I can pee to the side.  It’s a good fit for me.  If it broke and Hobie told me to go pound sand, I’d buy another one. (Maybe cover up the Hobie emblem with a big sticker :D)

 

I cruised almost 8 miles today.  Made a dumb run to find fishless shoreline and had to turn around.  Never leave fish to find fish.   I remember always fishing using the buddy-rule.  I’m comfortable flying solo.  I like solo. 
 

today I pulled up the drive and the rudder and paddled over weeds to find open water.  Score.    I was unbothered by boats.  
 

jets skis can fly over weeds apparently.      My friends were boating the Delta today.   We had a gentleman’s tournament. I put on a clinic. I doubled his bag weight.    

 

 

[Susky River Rat]

I know some people on the susky traded in their jet boats for high end kayaks. They say they like doing that a lot better. I can see the advantages at times. What matters the most is you enjoy it!

[Bassin Bruce]

I got my Hobie last year as well, a retirement present to me from me. I am on it 2-3 times a week for 4-6 hrs a time, I love this thing....Enjoy yours in good health.

[padon]

22 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

I’ve been on this one just over a year.  I know how it feels underneath me.  I can stay standing on some boat wakes. I have figured out where everything goes by now.  I can pee to the side.  It’s a good fit for me.  If it broke and Hobie told me to go pound sand, I’d buy another one. (Maybe cover up the Hobie emblem with a big sticker :D)

 

I cruised almost 8 miles today.  Made a dumb run to find fishless shoreline and had to turn around.  Never leave fish to find fish.   I remember always fishing using the buddy-rule.  I’m comfortable flying solo.  I like solo. 
 

today I pulled up the drive and the rudder and paddled over weeds to find open water.  Score.    I was unbothered by boats.  
 

jets skis can fly over weeds apparently.      My friends were boating the Delta today.   We had a gentleman’s tournament. I put on a clinic. I doubled his bag weight.    

 

 

which model hobie do you have? 

19 hours ago, Darnold335 said:

I know some people on the susky traded in their jet boats for high end kayaks. They say they like doing that a lot better. I can see the advantages at times. What matters the most is you enjoy it!

i call my kayak with my torqueedo a poor mans jet boat. lol. i use the motor with rock gaurd to go upstream, pull it up and paddle through the super skinny water, then put the motor back down and continue on.

[Susky River Rat]

24 minutes ago, padon said:

i call my kayak with my torqueedo a poor mans jet boat. lol. i use the motor with rock gaurd to go upstream, pull it up and paddle through the super skinny water, then put the motor back down and continue on

I see their value for sure. I’ll personally stick with my jet boat. That way my dog and dad can go with! 

[padon]

2 hours ago, Darnold335 said:

I see their value for sure. I’ll personally stick with my jet boat. That way my dog and dad can go with! 

no doubt a jet is the ultimate river craft. i have a prop boat for other waters and the wife was not going for 2 boats.

[Dye99]

I came back to Austin Texas from overseas in 06.

Plans were to purchase a bass boat. In the meantime I was looking at different ones for sale I took my canoe out to pitch some docks when a weird looking SOT fishing yak came rolling down the shoreline towards me.

Coolest thing Id ever seen. Asked him where he got it and he told me a local place called ACK..

I pulled in my line, paddled in and headed to the store and bought a Yak.

Every few years I upgrade to better boats and electronics but I havent had the urge to look at bass boats ever since.

The silence, the freedom of what waters you can fish, and the ability to just pitch the boat in the back of a truck and go is paramount to me.

Love Yak Bassin! Its the only way for me.

 

 

[Susky River Rat]

7 hours ago, padon said:

no doubt a jet is the ultimate river craft. i have a prop boat for other waters and the wife was not going for 2 boats.

Ask forgiveness not permission 

The only issues with jet boats is you will bust them up. Kayaks if you bust them up they are a lot more forgiving.

[padon]

4 hours ago, Darnold335 said:

Ask forgiveness not permission 

The only issues with jet boats is you will bust them up. Kayaks if you bust them up they are a lot more forgiving.

yeah thats the other thing im not sure i have the stones to go blasting through a foot of water filled with boulders.

[Susky River Rat]

@padon well my advice is when you see it getting shallower make sure you’re throttle all the way down. I have a mph I like to cruise at. Do when I see it getting shallow I dump it. If you can even get up a 1/4 of an inch that’s the different between you hitting or not sometimes.

[Darth-Baiter]

hahahahah..  my kayak thread mutated into a Jet boat thread?!!  the complete opposite. hahahhah

[FishTax]

Back on topic... I have an old town pdl 106 and love it as well. I can stand in boat wakes most of the time as you said. I don't have location of everything figured out yet, still getting it set up but I am not tempted by a bass boat at all right now. I think as my kids get older I may want to get a Jon boat so they can go, but that's the only reason I'd change. And I may just get them yaks and solve that too! 

[Darth-Baiter]

@FishTax  last year i met this guy my age out on the water.  he was fishing for crappie out deep.  we chatted a while and then he said, "well, i guess i should go give my son his lunch".  his kid was on a small 10' Hobie.  out fishing.  kid could cast a baitcaster like a rock star.  they met out in the middle, hooked legs over each other's boat and dad started pulling out sushi rice bowls from his ice chest.    it made me wish i had a kid.  (almost - okay it did).  it did make me crave sushi.  

 

i would get my kid his own kayak as soon as i could.  if he wanted to fish.  

[TnRiver46]

My buddy’s kids kayak and canoe all over creation, they love it. He started them off riding in his yaks/canoe very young so they are quite comfy in all of it. The usually end up in shallow water grabbing turtles and frogs but still having fun 

[FishTax]

@Darth-Baiter I actually got an inflatable 2 person kayak for $100 I'm going to start taking him on to see how he does. Will probably be rough for old dad to paddle that thing, it sucks by myself because it's basically a glorified air mattress but I already confirmed I can catch bass out of it so it'll do! If that goes well, we'll see about getting him a real one. I saw a cool thing someone rigged up in their Old Town front storage hatch, basically turned it into a kids seat. I think I could do that if I clean it out, not sure I want to clean it out though  

[TnRiver46]

@FishTax, one of my friends made a canoe seat for his daughter that is a metal frame bent at a 90 degree angle to fit over the gunnels. The rest is just the old town standard seat with the wooden frame and webbing . He can move it anywhere it fits over the sides which is quite a few places and can remove without any screws 

 

 

something like this 

[FishTax]

4 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

@FishTax, one of my friends made a canoe seat for his daughter that is a metal frame bent at a 90 degree angle to fit over the gunnels. The rest is just the old town standard seat with the wooden frame and webbing . He can move it anywhere it fits over the sides which is quite a few places and can remove without any screws 

 

 

something like this 

That's pretty cool! 

[flyfisher]

On 7/15/2023 at 10:13 PM, Darnold335 said:

I know some people on the susky traded in their jet boats for high end kayaks. They say they like doing that a lot better. I can see the advantages at times. What matters the most is you enjoy it!

My next boat will be a jet boat but I won't be getting rid of my kayak when I do as there are places and times on the river a kayak is just flat out better and more versatile, especially on a river like the susky

[Susky River Rat]

@flyfisher the better you become with a jetboat the less likely you will find the need to use a yak on the susky. You enjoy fishing out of a kayak so I am not saying you won’t still want to use it. Anything above 3.5 you won’t have much issues anywhere with a boat. Below that is when it get dicey and you need to be more selective.

[Cbump]

Back in the day I was big in to kayak fishing. Have owned 3 ocean kayaks, a wilderness systems, a Viking, and 5 hobies. Hobies were my favorite hands down. 
I used to own a hobie adventure (not the island). This was a 16’ rocket. Went up to 5 miles offshore in Florida in It and all over the marsh. Amazing amazing kayak. They eventually renamed It the Revo 16 and then discontinued It. Guess not many wanted long touring/fishing kayaks. 
Today, if I went back to kayak fishing and since i picked up bass fishing, I’d get an outback for sure.