Getting back in the Game

[justeric]

I will echo what several guys have already said - if you want to fish rivers (Potomac, Susky, etc.) AND the bay/tidal rivers, you will need two kayaks. Like Ron, I attempted to fish at a meet & greet out of Lowes Wharf in a paddle. It's about 2 miles across the bay to Poplar Island, which is where the fish were that day! I made it, and I caught 7 or 8 stripers, but most of the pedal guys reported catching 20 - 25 fish. It was just a matter of time. The other benefit of a pedal kayak is that you can fish (troll) on your way to the destination much easier than you can with a paddle. The ability to maintain consistent trolling speed is a HUGE benefit. And being able to hold position in strong current or wind is important as well. When I fished in the

I keep my Wilderness Ride 115 for lakes/rivers/sightseeing tours with my wife, and my Hobie Revolution for the Bay and tidal rivers. I bought the Revo used, and I am very pleased with the purchase so far. I expect to use it for several years to come.

I cartop, so I can't speak to trailers, but I have seen the goal post attachments for trailer hitches that keep you kayak stable, and I think they are cheaper than a full trailer.

I don't have a fish finder (yet) and I don't know if I'll go down that road or not. This was my first year fishing for stripers in and around the bay, and I just fished where I knew there would likely be fish, or I fished with other guys that have fish finders!

If you budget conscious, I would suggest searching for a used Hobie pedal kayak. You can find several on Craigs List at any given time, depending on how far you are willing to travel.

Like Mark said, a decent paddle fishing kayak is going to be around $1,000.

Hi Belair Fisher,
It sounds like paddling is tough in open water when you have to cover some ground. Not to mention finally getting to your fishing spot and having to turn around and paddle back. You also put yourself at risk for getting stuck in quickly changing weather conditions that make it dangerous to be from port with a slower kayak.

Did you make your goal post attachments for the trailer hitch? If not, where did you buy them?

Having friends show you where the fish are is the best "Fish Finder" you can get!

I will keep my eye out on Craigslist for used Hobie pedal kayaks. They have a different drive system then most. Which drive system is considered better, the propeller or the wings on the Hobie? I suspect there are trade offs.

Thanks for your response and have a great weekend,
Eric

[justeric]

If your schedule allows, try to get out to the HOW fishing flea market this Sat (Jan 19) at the Odenton fire hall. There will be many kayak anglers attending or selling gear at their tables. You can pick brains in a leisurely manner.

As you have already heard from others, you can get on the water and have fun for a modest price. If you want to move to a pedal-drive kayak and fully accessorize, you should be prepared to shell out big bucks. Generally you can get more for your dollar by buying a used kayak that may already have accessories added to it.

I will try to get out to the flea market tomorrow. Will you be selling your book, Fishing in the Comfort Zone at the flea market? Hope to see you there.

Thanks for your response and have a great weekend,
Eric

[justeric]

I've taken my PA14 on the upper Potomac. Would not recommend. I should have kept my first kayak (12' SOT) but instead I sold it to finance the PA14. A 10-12ft SOT paddle driven is much more preferable to the shallows / below-surface rock formations of the Potomac.

PS That being said, most of my fishing is salt water, so the PA far better suits my main use.

PPS smallmouth pull hard, and i'm still considering picking up a shallow water yak this spring/summer.

Hi Elite,
I agree on the upper Potomac. Sounds like I will need a second boat for that. I'm also mostly interested in fishing area's where the pedal boats shine.

Thanks for your response and have a great weekend,
Eric

[justeric]

Food for thought, to my knowledge all of the pedal kayaks have drives that detach and can be lifted out, or tilted up out of the way when traversing shallow water with or without rocks. From what I've seen the advantage of the Hobie is one can feather the mirage drive fins to traverse shallow areas that a pedal prop or motorized couldn't still propel a kayak but one would certainly want to remove it for rocky areas. Personally although I do have 2 kayaks I only use 1 for fishing. I fish both deep tidal, the Susky river including the shallows, Furnace bay, the Flats etc. with my 13.5 transom motor kayak. For me its easy to tilt my motor up out of the way and paddle around rocks or when in shallow grassy areas, which for now works for me. As you can read there is a wealth of knowledge for you to draw on and base your decision on how to start.

Hi Old Bay,
A powered kayak sounds like a blast. Do you feel safe in the open water with kayak? Do you only go out on slow wind days? How far can you travel with a full charge on a battery? What type of fishing do you usually do out of the kayak? The tilt motor sounds like a easy but expensive solution.

Thanks for your response and have a great weekend,
Eric

[Mark]

Hi Mark,

Your course at Anne Arundel Community College on March 9 sounds great. I have to check my schedule but if I am free I will attend. Where do we sign up?

Thanks and have a great weekend,
Eric

Eric,

Registration is through Anne Arundel Community College (AACC). Details are in this thread:

http://www.snaggedline.com/showthrea...hlight=college

I'll have a copy of the AACC course catalog with me tomorrow at the HOW event in Odenton. I'll be tying flies there. Stop by and see me if you get a chance.

[Oldbayrunner]

Hi Old Bay,
A powered kayak sounds like a blast. Do you feel safe in the open water with kayak? Do you only go out on slow wind days? How far can you travel with a full charge on a battery? What type of fishing do you usually do out of the kayak? The tilt motor sounds like a easy but expensive solution.

Thanks for your response and have a great weekend,
Eric

I enjoy powered, I certainly wouldn't go out in some of the conditions I get caught in with paddle power. Mine's powered because my knees can't take peddling otherwise I would have a self power. My Kayak maker makes a system for mine and another model that has both Peddle and the option of a power motor in one unit. It's expensive but to me that would the best of both worlds for my use but like I said the peddle wouldn't get much use so motor only is fine for me.


I've spent most all of my life on the water boating, diving and surfing I never feel completely safe but I am comfortable with being out there with one. The worst encounter was being alone and flipping my kayak in 42 degree water. I had a drysuit and pfd on so I didn't freeze, righted my kayak and paddled it back 2 miles to the launch with it 1/2 full of water because I lost power. I also keep a vhf radio on my pfd with me so if needed hopefully I can get a hold of help.

When the wind rises above 15mph normally I wont go but then again wind direction and where I am going to be fishing plays a factor. I've had some of my best days in miserable weather.


I use a really good battery monitoring system so it's not so much how far but how long can one go on a charge. It varies with how much consistent power your using. To me monitoring and managing your amp draw power usage is the key. I fish for a lot of hours at a time and usually a good distance from my launch point so for my use I feel it's imperative I know and control my usage.

I do a lot of troll fishing out on the bay but also stand up river fishing on the Suskey and elsewhere. I fish for bass, a lot of striper, blue fish, specks, reds & occasionally flounder mainly.

Most all transom mounted motor can tilt so it does come in handy. Also my motor comes off really easy for transporting my kayak. Motorizing can be inexpensive but it can get really expensive it's a matter of what you want to put into it. For what I have tied up in mine I could have easily gone the Torqeedo route, which is a great system but at the time I put my power system together they didn't have the larger battery so I didn't like the run time and the cost of having extra batteries.

Most consider I have too much crap on my kayak but it works well for me as a few of my buds on here can attest too...lol