Crescent kayaks

[bassguy84]

I was able to get a great deal on two new crescent kayaks, a ultralight and a crew (Severna park). Does anyone have any experience with either and getting them set up for fishing. The crew will be a family/trolling/everything fishing while the ultralight will be a throw and go for me and a single fishing outfit for the rest of the family. Any dos and don'ts would be much appreciated. I have mostly older Scotty rod setups and hoping to move them over but seems like yak attack is the only ones that fit the ultralight mounts. I have rail adapters for those and going to order the rails for the crew. Haven't posted in a while with the last fishing machine really showing it's age I didn't make it out as much last year. Thanks everyone.

[bassguy84]

The new rides

[J.A. Veil]

I have never seen a Crescent kayak in person. From the images on their website, it looks like the gear tracks on the front gunwales are generic enough to handle Scotty #438 Gear Head Track Adapters. If they fit, you can insert your Scotty rod holders into them. I have used them on several brands of kayaks, both my own and on ones provided by guides.

I noticed that the ultralite model has a weight capacity of 280 lbs. Depending on your body weight, you may have to pay attention to how much gear you bring with you.

[DanMarino]

Looking sweet. I'm not familiar with the latest kayaks and rod holder mounting systems. What John posted makes sense to me though. I hope you can post back with some photos of your kayaks and family on the water soon.

[dsaavedra]

I've heard great things about Crescent kayaks. They have a reputation as having the best paddling performance of most fishing kayaks on the current market. I considered buying a Crescent Ultralite last year as a throw-and-go kayak for myself. I even went as far as to demo one on the water. It felt like a quality kayak and handled well but ultimately I did not purchase it.

For the Ultralite, I suggest embracing the throw-and-go aspect and leaving it bare. Bring minimal gear with you and just focus on the fishing, not the distractions of a bunch of gear and accessories that you have to load/unload and sift through while on the water. If you'd like to add a rod holder for trolling your existing Scotty holders should fit on the gear tracks.

Even on a larger kayak I prefer to minimize the amount of stuff I bring. Some guys mount 16 different things on their gear tracks. I just have 2 rod holders and a fish finder mounted on mine and I don't even bring them on every trip. For the Crew, you have a bit more space to work with. It doesn't look like it comes with gear tracks but has flat recesses on the gunwales where you could install some. I would do that and use the space to mount rod holders and a fish finder if that's in the cards for you. You may want to add a hatch for in-hull access to run wires if you decide to install a fish finder.

I don't see paddle holders on either kayak so that is something I would probably add, too.

[NoDakYak]

Do you mind saying where you got them? I'm really interested in a CK1 as a short throw and go kayak, but there don't seem to be many local dealers that stock Crescent.

[dsaavedra]

Do you mind saying where you got them? I'm really interested in a CK1 as a short throw and go kayak, but there don't seem to be many local dealers that stock Crescent.

I demoed the Crescent Ultralite at Bulldog Schwinn & Sports in Severna Park last year. The staff member that helped me out was a pleasure to work with. I felt bad that I didn't end up buying the kayak from him! I really wanted to love it but ultimately it wasn't exactly what I was looking for and the concept of an extra throw-and-go kayak was not a necessity for me anyway so I couldn't pull the trigger. I would recommend that shop though, they were great.

[bassguy84]

Good afternoon,

I took out the Crescent ultralight today and here is the review. I'm not the best writer so stay with me lol.

So getting gear ready I pulled the yak out in the yard and sat down to get the chair adjusted etc. This is my first "chair" kayak and loved the comfort. One of the first things I noticed about the yak is it doesn't lay flat like my old 2007 135 ride. At first I was a little worried about this but got everything in order with the Scotty rail mount and made sure I had everything ready to go.

As a minimalist even with my giant old kayak all I took was one rod holder, one rod and a fanny pack with worm hooks and the two soft plastics I use. (Life vest paddle).

As I sat and headed out around 1015 I noticed this is not my ride and I need to get use to this boat before I get crazy. So here is my assessment so far.

The pros:
- super easy to car top
- fast with out trying.
- turns at a right angle to the current keeping me faced to the shore more often. (My ride always turned head on to the current making it hard passinf structures in wind and current)
- very stealthy and get get very skinny if needed. (The bass I caught pulled me around and got very shallow but didn't feel anything getting stuck)

Cons:
- I'm 6' and 190. Not uncomfortable but need to mind my balance a bit more. Keep my nose and belly button in the middle of the middle.
- really I don't need a lot of gear but if a gear guy a minimalist kayak.
- learning curve if u have a large kayaks, just remember to relax, use small movements to adjust and let the kayak donits thing.

Overall not ever going to be my favorite but will be my favorite for a small trip for my size. For my girlfriend that's 5'2" I think she will have a great time. A stealthy great paddle kayak that turns on a dime, holds track, and can get moving with little effort. Overall I'm very happy about purchasing this kayak with the combination of the crew.

I got this at bull dog bikes and sports. I got a great deal, I almost don't feel comfortable telling. I think getting both helped. Also thanks if you read this and hear is my PB at centennial I caught today.

[dsaavedra]

Glad you enjoyed the kayak and had a good first trip out - congrats on the PB bass. And thanks for following up with your first impressions.

[DanMarino]

bassguy84 that's a nice largemouth bass. I never have done very well fishing there.

[bassguy84]

I usually catch a ton of small fish there. This is my PB just for that lake. I have caught bigger bass but that place just seems filled with small fish.

[ski357]

Nice fish! Also congrats on the new boats!

[bassguy84]

Good afternoon!!

Launched the crew today in solo mode. No rails or accessories, just the crate and 2 rods and a few lures. Was out on the a little before 9 and really wanted to get the feel for the new kayak and have a good time with some friends. I wasn't expecting an epic day of fishing.

First the review of the kayak. It is heavy and hard to cartop by myself. Felt heavier then my ride and the handles seem to be off the center of balance to try and hold above your head. I did it but was tricky. On the water it was very easy to paddle and turns on a dime. It does seem shaky at first compared to the large flat bottom of the ride but once you get yourself comfortable it was fine. It has a "banana" shape hull keeping a lot of the boat out of the water making much easier to turn. I was able to stand but only did it to try and didn't risk it to much being kinda cold still. It has a huge open deck to leave everything right in front of me if wanted. I have no rod holders etc except my crate but the rails in solo mode look like the rod holders might get in the way of paddling but I will figure that out when I get there. Overall besides it being bare bones great Kayla to paddle. It was easy and my shoulders agree.

The fishing was great. Almost all the coves I hit caught or hooked up with a bass. Didn't get to as many coves as I wanted trying to stay with my friends but I was able to get 7 in the boat missing a few and a nice one. I caught all of these pounding the shore and laydowns. Earlier I asked my friend what swimbait I should use. He ended picking the contender Jr. in crappie pattern. I throw it around more learning the lure then really fishing it. It glides big and wide and turns around on a jerk. I never fished a glide style bait before and looked super cool. Well it was time to head back and decided to troll the swim bait and hold it between my legs. I could see a bunch of stumps and thought I might be in a juicy spot. I paddled on and Wham!! Just stopped. I grabbed the rod and felt a shake and could tell this was a nice fish not a snag. It felt like it was swimming at me and just felt heavy. It started to come up. Holy crap a musky! It must of heard me because them it was pissed. Darting everywhere I was being tugged around. It rushed to the front of the kayak and launched out of the air hitting my other rod and actually getting hooked on the worm hook on it's fin. That rod starts to get pulled to. It jumped again. I had him on both rods for a second, crazy. I dropped the light rod grabbed my knife and cut the line. Trying to figure out how I'm going to land this beast my friend suggested beaching and taking care of business. Amazing fish. Got a few pics and a good release. WOW!! We were off the water by 1230.

Great kayaking, great fishing and a great day with friends. Thanks for reading

[bassguy84]

Pics

[dsaavedra]

Wow, that musky is an awesome catch!! And a crazy story to boot... I was relieved to hear you landed it, I expected that story to end with a lost fish and lost rods.