Bib Man Fishing Kayak

[MajBob]

I'm sure this has been asked before, but I'm new here - not yet familiar with how this community operates, and I'm seeking help. I may be in the market for a robust fishing kayak. I'm 6'3" and weigh 325. Most kayaks I've looked at online have a max capacity well under my weight. Probably with gear, I'm looking at 350 lbs. We live in Waldorf, and we're seeking advice on which kayaks would fill the bill, as well as where to buy. Your thoughts & suggestions?

Cheers,

[mcveyr]

Welcome to the site MajBob, I an not affiliated with any company, I would suggest looking at Backyard Boats in Maryland who sell Hobie’s, I personally use a Hobie Pro Angler 14 and love it for its ability on the water.

[MetroMan]

Another option is the Ocean Kayak Big Game. 600lb capacity, weighs 69lbs.

[J.A. Veil]

Both of the kayak models I own have high weight capacities. My original kayak is an Ocean Kayak Drifter. It is wide and stable, but slow. The listed weight capacity is 500 lbs.

My newer boat is a Native Watercraft Manta Ray 14. It is a better fishing kayak and is more comfortable for longer sitting periods. It has a weight capacity of 375 lbs.

I'm sure there are other models out there. Once you have found a subset of kayaks that meet your weight capacity requirements, it would be worth your time to at least sit in those models in a showroom, or better yet take them out for a test ride. At your size, you want to make sure the sitting position is comfortable for you -- not all seat wells are made the same. Consider the sitting position, where you would mount your accessories or store your tackle. See if the scuppers still drain effectively when you are in the seat -- it is not much fun to get a wet butt on every trip.

I live in Annapolis -- you are welcome to test either or both of my boats to see how they work for you. If you like the Drifter, I believe MKF member Grady Black has one for sale in good condition.

[Pinch]

My buddy is selling a malibu 13 for a really good deal. If you would like to try it out there is a community pier in his neighborhood. Send me a PM if you are interested. I can text you pictures of it. Capacity 450lb and only weighs 57lbs.

[Meadeo]

I recommend my kayak.. As a big guy @ 240 lbs.

I have a 2012 Wilderness Systems Angler 13.6..

It is extremely stable, great fishing platform lots of space and options plus it has a max weight capacity of 550 lbs.

Good luck and i hope you find a boat that works well for your needs.

Meadeo

[ictalurus]

There are several options for bigger guys, and the boats mentioned are good ones.

If you want to try out the Wilderness Systems Ride, you could go to Annapolis Canoe and Kayak and take one for a spin. I bought my Tarpon there a few years ago and highly recommend them.

Bluhaven in Ridge (St. Mary's county) also has Hobies, and you can rent them there for a good price, which will then be applied to the price if you buy one. I'm not sure if that's closer than Annapolis or not, though.

I would not recommend Beacon Surplus in Waldorf. I've been in there a couple times, and the guy working there was really put out that he had to get up and help a customer each time I was there. There are too many places with good service to waste time at a place with that kind of attitude. That was several years ago, so maybe the service is better now. Just my 2 cents and your mileage may vary.

[CB kayak 02]

Depending on what you would like to spend there are a couple different makes/models that can accomodate..

My suggestion personally would be the Hobie Pro Angler 14 with capacity of 600lbs and its the ultimate fishing yak and provides ultimate comfort!!!

My thought is if you really want to enjoy something "Kayak Fishing" you have to be comfortable while your doing and if that is the case then you do that activity more often.

[ronaultmtd]

I am a fairly large economy size guy not quite as large as you and I carry a lot of stuff- I have a Hobie Outback and it was fully loaded last Friday with a live bait tank full of water, 70 pounds of chum, bag of ice, drinks, lunch, bait tackle and five rods- My seat was still high and dry-

[MajBob]

Thanks!

Thanks to all for the good advice. I'm overwhelmed. Looks like I need to do a bit of research. The Malibu X13 sounds interesting, as does the Ocean Big Game. I think the Hobi is probably out of my range right now.

My son (he's a below the knee amputee) and I went over to Trap Pond in Delaware lase weekend. He borrowed a friends kayak, and absolutely loved it. He doesn't want his pontoon anymore. So, either we get him a kayak and I move up from my float tube to his pontoon, oR we both go into kayaks. Offhand, I thinks I prefer option 2. But cost will be a factor. I'd like to keep the price tag down around $1,000 - $1,200 .

Again, thanks for all of your responses.

Cheers,
Bob H.

[medicyaker]

My new Ocean Kayak Trident is rated for 450lbs. I'm 345lbs and have been fishing in a BassPro Ascend fst12. Its been good to me and its affordable at about $479. I agree with most here that if you can afford a Hobie Pro Angler its the way to go. Its a bit on the expensive end at about $2,500 but well worth the investment. If you do your homework you should find something that you are comfortable in. Good Luck

[ronaultmtd]

There are a number of us MKF'ers that live in Charles County, Bob- I would have never bought a Hobie Mirage Drive if I hadn't fished with several of the forum buddies who have one- I really like my Ocean Kayak Prowler 13- great rough water boat, but it is a wet boat- just designed that way- in cold weather you wear stocking foot waders and a dry top to fish out of it (as well as any other kayak) and during the summer months it is nice to cool off- I bought my Outback after finally deciding on that model- I went back and forth about the Revolution vs. Outback and finally my size dictated the Outback- much higher in the water and carries so much more gear- and it is slightly slower than the Revolution on a long trip- after settling on the Outback, I started looking for a used one that was fairly new- one or two years old- and I found one within a month of starting looking that was exactly what I wanted- I made an offer and picked it up the very next day- that was about a year ago and I have been very happy with my buy- If you fish a lot, the Hobie has advantages that are hard to ignore- you just can't over emphasize the hands free issue- or being able to use your hands while peddling the drive holding position in current- not the least is the speed of travel- paddlers can go as fast as any peddle drive- period- no discussion...

But not for long periods of sustained distances- try paddling at top speed for an hour- I troll a lot in my kayak and my optimal speed is 3 knots for the Mann's Stretch 25's that I like to use- try paddling for hours on end at 3 knots- after a day of fishing you would need someone to help you out of the kayak- but it isn't a problem peddling- your leg muscles can handle it- especially after a few trips- (my first trip left me with leg cramps)

If you go, anchor up and bait fish or just cast- you can do pretty good with just about any fishing kayak- but for versatility, comfort, speed and fishability- you will eventually buy a Hobie-

[kevinfry]

If your son is an amputee, the Hobies are probably useless. SOT in general would be great for him especially if you are there to help launch. They are stable and even the slowest yak is a huge step up from a fishing pontoon as far as area you can fish!
If you need to get 2 kayaks for $1200, for you and son, you'll likely need to do some hard shopping on craigslist or go the Bass Pro/Dicks route. Though everyone here likes their Hobies and OK, very many of us started out in Ascends and other lower priced boats.
At Dick's for instance you could get 2 Future beach Angler 160, a good stable 13' medium fast SOT with 420lb capacity for $1000.00 new complete with rod holder and get 20% off paddles. For the same price at Bass Pro you'd have lower weight capacity (and 14" shorter) but a nicer seat for the same price.

[kevinfry]

Catching fish is still 80% fisherman, 20% boat (.....of course give a great fisherman like Ron a great boat and he'll always be a highliner). Here's a link for you to support my position... hobie VS future beach
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5w6hXPBF1M"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5w6hXPBF1M[/ame]

[dham340]

Some suggestions

Hi, like you I am in the market for a kayak (first one). While I would love a hobie pro angler 12, price is a bit of an limiting factor for me. That said, maybe my research can assist.

Many of the kayaks already mentioned have great reviews. I guess the one thing I have learned so far is that you need to balance your needs on price, capabilities and where you will be fishing. Don't forget that the cost of the boat is going to increase around $200+ once you add paddle(s), PFD, and other accessories (wheels, racks for car, etc). My budget is around $1300 and I was looking for a stable boat (flat hulled with a big flat deck to stand on) for fishing mostly in big river and occasion trips to the susky flats (in other words, very rare surf/ocean fishing).

That said I've looked at the following : hobie revolution 11, tarpon 120 (well, kinda, more in a bit) and Jackson coosa.

So the hobie: great boat, pricy new (although hobies come with paddles, so that's 100 value there). Everyone I've spoken with has said try and find a used one, but that's tough - especially right now with summer coming. Apparently fall/winter is when the used boats come out. So, as much as i want one, for now, I've eliminated it from my list for this season.

Confluence water sports Pescador. This is sold by various folks, notably west marine. Cost is 499-599 (depending on sales). Now, key to this boat is apparently it is made using the exact same mold as wilderness systems tarpon 120, just the 2008 version mold (same company makes both brands). Tarpon 120 has lots of fans and I think is one of the most popular fishing kayaks out there. I looked at it and it seems like a nice budget fishing kayak. However, it's outfitted kind of bare bones so once you add in all the necessaries, you are probably pushing close to 1000$.

I've also looked at the ocean and malibu lines, but for some reason personal to me, I don't like them. Maybe if I ever get a chance to try them, I'll feel different. That said, you should definitely consider them - very popular.

Wilderness systems: if I hadn't bought my the boat I did, I probably would have gone for one of the wilderness boats (not sure which one though). Got to paddle the tarpon 120 and it's nice. But, it was missing a couple features I wanted.

Finally, I pulled the plug yesterday on a Jackson kayak coosa (my preferred color had to be ordered from the factory so I won't get it until next weekend). Picked this boat for a few reasons: cost - boat (1099), PFD, life jacket, paddle, wheels came just under my budget. Stability: wild, stable boat easy to stand in (I do some fly fishing so that was important). Size: I live in a condo so I don't have a ton of room indoors to store (thus any boat had to be around 12 feet). Finally I just liked it over the others, which I guess is important.

Anyway, good luck hope this helps. I know the kayak fishing forums, websites and YouTube videos have been a great help to me, so I highly recommend them.