Looks like fun!

[DoWorkSon]

My first post here!

Former NY/MD boy living in the mountains of Colorado. I used to fish for stripers/blues/skates (not willingly of course) at the Indian River Inlet and at the OC Inlet.

Always told myself if I move back (which wife is not really down with right now) from Colorado we would move to the eastern or western shore of the bay and I would buy a boat.

Well, after lurking on this forum for a few weeks, I do think I would just purchase a 'yak instead! Looks like a hell of a lot of fun you fellows have out there! I am considering getting a Hobie Outback to fish some of the larger lakes/reservoirs out here in Colorado.

I have a couple of questions though...

Is the Hobie brand generally considered to be the best when it comes to a fishing yak? It seems some prefer it and others do not. I would want something to fish from, but, would also want something I could crab from if and when we make trips back east. I have been watching Moc and his crabbing updates and man o' man that looks like fun.

Anyway, thanks for all the great threads and posts! Any advice you can offer would be much appreciated in regards to where to start looking for a fishing yak!

[Memory Maker]

Just got back from fishing Antero with a guide in a Lund but boy was I missing my Hobie Pro Angler out there ........ Colorado's lakes and rivers would be a BLAST in a Hobie ..........

Oh ..... and welcome aboard

[MetroMan]

Is the Hobie brand generally considered to be the best when it comes to a fishing yak? It seems some prefer it and others do not.

Welcome! What part of NY? I'm from Brooklyn...been in MD for a while now.

They are definitely good kayaks. As far as them being "considered to be the best"...that totally depends on who you ask. Ask a Hobie owner, and sure, you'll be told that its the best...and they'll tell you that Jesus didn't really walk on water...he was in a Hobie.

Paddle as many kayaks as you can so you can see what suits your preferences the most. Regardless of what you decide on, you are bound to have a good time out there on the water with some up close & personal fishing.

[J.A. Veil]

Here is a reply I made yesterday to someone on another fishing board who asked what kind of kayaks local fishermen used. I think it addresses your questions somewhat:

"You asked about types of kayaks in your reply to my post. Just like any style of boat, each model is a compromise. Unless you have a very large power boat, I would discourage you from buying a kayak with the intent of carrying it on your boat. Kayaks are much easier to deal with when launched from a shore.

Most of the kayak fishermen in this area use sit-on-top style boats. I have two sit-on-tops of different size, brand, and performance and comfort features. But even the smaller of these is 12.5 ft, and too heavy and bulky to carry aboard most power boats.

My recommendations before buying a kayak are:

1) Visit the Maryland Kayak Fishing website at http://www.snaggedline.com/boatyard/index.php. This is a far more active and helpful site compared to the Tidalfish kayak anglers board (many of us started on the Tidalfish site and moved to the MKF site where people are more communicative). The classified ads section of this website regularly offers used kayaks of many different models that are already fully rigged.

2) Try out several models either by using a friend's kayak or by renting. Some of the better canoe/kayak shops (like the one in Eastport) rent different models. For a modest rental fee, you can quickly determine if you like a model and are comforable sitting in it. [Aside: my first kayak ride ever was a rental in Lake Tahoe in 2001. I liked the experience so much that I came back to Maryland and bought my Drifter the next week]. To emphasize that last point, my original kayak is an Ocean Kayak Drifter. It is very stable, turns easily (good for shoreline casting), but it gives me butt fatigue in about 1.5 hours. My second boat (a Native Watercraft Manta Ray 14), which I was able to try when I booked a charter trip with a Virginia Beach kayak fishing guide, was so much more comfortable that I made it through a 4-hour trip without much butt fatigue. I liked the boat so much that I bought one the following winter.

3) I have never used a Hobie pedal kayak. Many anglers like them a lot, particularly when you can keep your hands free for fishing. If you are going to fish primarily shorelines, remember that the pedal fins stick down below the hull, so instead of a 6" draft, you may have an 18" draft. Plus as you noted, they are much more expensive than the paddle type boats.

Good luck in your search.

John Veil"

[Southerly]

good points above!

in flat water, wave drag is perdominate part of total drag. here longer is faster, though an excessively blockey shape could be slow. and narrower is faster, but generally less stable than wider.

i've had a keowee 3 sit-in for many years. can take 2 adults and a child, dog etc w/o real problem. i feel like it actually paddles at good speed when used single due to its long length 14' i guess. ultimate in flexibility?

so all was well until i really wanted to go to my fishing spots, when i wanted to. this, as opposed to taking a sigth-seeing paddle somewhere nice when weather was good. it was on one of these outings that i 'saw the light' as regards sit on top. with gear i had on board, my Sit-IN-Kayak actually could become sunk. if it took one over the bow, gained weight, and took that 2nd one, it would be nearly certain to take on additional waves quickly.

even if it doesn't sink, when full of water, it is too unstable to get back into, until bailed out, which is going to be difficult in a 'heavy seas' situation.
a sit on top should not be sinkable with its hatches closed, and some pool noodles inside of hull, just in case.

it was on that trip in a very remote location in southern chesapeake, that i decided i wanted a SOT. but didn't really know which one at all.


then soon after, i fished in a strong current at OC with CB Kayak02 and saw him able to fish using both hands while i could hardly stop paddling for 30 secs to drift backwards then had to reel up, stow gear, etc, to paddle, i decided pedal power was the way to go for me since i want to fish in current as much as i can.

there's pros and cons to everything, and i enjoy the paddle experience, but the little bit i've used my outback is amazing as regards enhancing the fishing experience.

native (i think) also has a pedal power but i did not investigate much after reading that it required a more slumped body position and might aggravate my back.