Kayak fishing?

[TimMurphy]

honestly looking at those $5k kayaks makes me wonder, "why not a jon boat"... probably get a used jon boat, electric motor, and used trailer for $5k

Dear Jeremy,

You'll get no argument from this kid. I'm looking for a 14' jon boat to replace my 16' deep V boat. The boat is fine once it's on the water, but it's getting to too big for me to manage alone. More to the point, I'm getting old enough to not want to mess with it alone, and I can't always count on the wife or a buddy to help. If I could I'd run it until I die.

The problem is finding decent used boats is getting difficult. With Covid we pretty much went 3 years w/o any new boat sales and in the eyes of many that has driven the prices for used boats sky high. I actually went to look at a used boat last weekend at a dealer. It was a nice boat, but he wanted substantially more for the package than the boat, motor, and trailer sold for new in 2002 when it was new! I know he needs to make money on a used boat, but my motor is worth what the whole boat package he had for sale is worth.

It's frustrating, I just want something to fish out of, either with my wife or by myself. Nothing fancy, just a boat, but even today if I went the route of a brand-new boat and motor the stock is scarce.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[Fredrick]

Dear Board,

I have a Crescent Lite Tackle kayak that I fish out of on occasion, but I find it far from ideal as a fishing craft because even on a lake or pond boat management becomes the primary task in all but perfect conditions like pcray mentioned on streams.

I have float tubes that let me stay where I want to stay by lazily flipping my feet in the water. They aren't handy for moving 3/4's of a mile across the lake though.

My buddy has two Nucanoe Unlimited kayaks with Torqueedo motors on them. He keeps threating to take me out in one of them and I'd like to go but I'm afraid I'd like too much! These suckers are tricked out with Garmin GPS finders and with a phone app he can stay exactly where he needs to be with the Torqueedo in any condition, even the current on the Susquehanna.

But with his trailer he probably has at least $10K wrapped up in the kayak fishing set up he and his son use. He sold his jet boat to buy the kayaks. For that kind of money, you can get a used hard boat with a gas outboard and a GPS capable trolling motor and fish in virtually any weather or at any time of year the water isn't hard.

That's where I'm at on kayak fishing. I enjoy it but am not sold on it 100%. I'd like to sell my 16' Grumman boat and buy something smaller and more manageable for me and wife to use. She likes to fish but isn't a die-hard. I love to fish and can be a die-hard, but not when I'm handling a 16' boat by my lonesome.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Love my Torqeedo's they give you more energy for the fishing.

 

[afishinado]

what it comes down to is what fishing you wanna do. jon boats are good so are hobies. but i wouldnt take a jon boat where i took my hobie like the bay or ocean for example. at the same point a jon boat would be great for a river so i dont scratch or damage the mirage drive on the hobie. the mirage drive can be removed but still. hobies or any sit on top kayak has the ability to remove water on its own keeping you afloat. if you take on water in jon you need a bildge pump. another note would be flipping. its much easier to flip a kayak back over whereas a jon would be impossible.

The Mirage drive has kick-up fins if you hit an obstruction in the river which is rare since you can flutter kick with the fins nearly pinned against the hull and pedal in inches of water. I've fish on my Hobie mostly in bigger rivers and have never had a problem in the years I have fished out of it.

 

[Kyle]

The Mirage drive has kick-up fins if you hit an obstruction in the river which is rare since you can flutter kick with the fins nearly pinned against the hull and pedal in inches of water. I've fish on my Hobie mostly in bigger rivers and have never had a problem in the years I have fished out of it.

yeah i know. but at the same time if you happen to damage the mirage drive then you are looking at big $$$ to replace it. i only took my outback where i knew scrapping river bottom wouldnt be an issue. and i made sure the drive was out of the kayak before beaching. yes the fins kick up almost agaisnt the hull but i have seen them break while catching rocks. its rare but the posibility is there. at the time i bought my hobbie outback the kayak was around $3500 but the drive was almost $1700. not sure what the warranty was but i did fill it out just in case

 

[krayfish2]

I've been fly-fishing out of the Hobie Kayak for a few years now and love it.

A Hobie has pedals making it hands-free fishing. I also can pedal in reverse which is like back-rowing in a drift boat.

Last year I added an electric motor to give me more range and the ability to slow my drift hands free and fish out a good section.

I fish my kayak on lakes for panfish and bass, but mostly use it on rivers like the Susky and Juniata for smallies.

When river fishing I can launch and go up and/or down river a couple of miles and return to the launch at the end of the day. No need to drift down to a take-out area have to figure out the logistics of getting back to the launch for my vehicle.

The kayak has increased my fishing opportunities allowing me to fish in higher water when wading is not doable. In addition, I can pedal and/or motor to a more secluded area or island, beach the kayak and wade fish. Also I can now fish in areas of deeper water where wading is impossible.

My Hobie kayak has really increased the amount of fishing I can now do as well as my enjoyment of fly-fishing.

Tom,

Thank you for your kind words. The check will be in the mail by Thursday.

Sincerely,
Hobie Marketing

🤣🤣🤣

 

[Bamboozle]

...Not sure if you are legally required to wear a life vest but that would be even more constrictive on my range of motion when casting...

In PA you are positively required to wear a PFD on a kayak, however a throwable device is NOT required.

Usually when I'm out in a boat like I was last Thursday the only person I see wearing a PFD is me...

 

[pcray1231]

The hobies are nice, but I'd be real concerned with them on rivers I fish. A lot of yaks fit that description.

I'm no whitewater enthusiast but I need to turn tight in heavier riffs. And I am scraping bottom the entire way in many riffles. I find I want to float in about 2 inches of draft or else I'm doing more dragging than floating. Even at that there's a lot of getting hung up and shifting body weight to get you off that rock bar. So no bottom fins or rudders or even those molded in rudders to make it track better. A little rocker is real nice too to be able to turn quick.

Plus I have to cartop it. 2 of them so J hooks. Which keeps ya at 33" wide max and 60 lbs is about all I ever wanna do for cartopping or portaging around dams and such.

I'll yak the skuke in Pottsville type area, or the Swattie up towards Pine Grove. The little J or Penns are fine. Pine through the canyon. I don't see those places as Hobie territory. Now a lake, or the Susquehanna, Allegheny, or skuke below Reading, sure.

I have a jackson coosa. The original, not the HD, and it was designed as a small river boat. The rocker and high bow for heavier stuff, is a sail in the wind. It's not an open water boat.

 

[afishinado]

yeah i know. but at the same time if you happen to damage the mirage drive then you are looking at big $$$ to replace it. i only took my outback where i knew scrapping river bottom wouldnt be an issue. and i made sure the drive was out of the kayak before beaching. yes the fins kick up almost agaisnt the hull but i have seen them break while catching rocks. its rare but the posibility is there. at the time i bought my hobbie outback the kayak was around $3500 but the drive was almost $1700. not sure what the warranty was but i did fill it out just in case

I would guess you have the older model drive without the kick-up feature. (See video below).

A new Mirage 180 drive (with reverse capability) and kick-up fins is around $1000.

https://strictlysailinc.com/product...HRA9I15H5XdqnWunnSXp6fmXmr_eZDNBoCrIMQAvD_BwE

To be clear, a Hobie works well in lakes and bigger rivers (Susky, Juniata, Delaware, etc.). It's not ideal for the smaller rivers and streams where you have to drag through the shallow riffles like Pat describes in his post.

 

[Fredrick]

Hobies are nice but unless you get the pro angler the seat is way too low for me, I like a high seat for fishing kayaks. Standing is nice and all but you open up more tangles and possibilities of you falling out of the yak. The best kayaks for fly fishing are ones that have a high seat and an open deck they make for less tangles of your fly line and the high seat makes casting while seated better and standing and seating in general there is less distance to travel to sit up and down.

 

[afishinado]

Hobies are nice but unless you get the pro angler the seat is way too low for me, I like a high seat for fishing kayaks. Standing is nice and all but you open up more tangles and possibilities of you falling out of the yak. The best kayaks for fly fishing are ones that have a high seat and an open deck they make for less tangles of your fly line and they high seat makes casting while seated better and standing and seating in general there is less distance to travel to sit up and down.

Fast forward to 8:00 minute mark and enjoy!! >

 

[jifigz]

In PA you are positively required to wear a PFD on a kayak, however a throwable device is NOT required.

Usually when I'm out in a boat like I was last Thursday the only person I see wearing a PFD is me...

You are only required to wear a PFD at certain times of the year on kayaks, canoes, and any boats under a certain length limit. So, the only reason you are the only person you see wearing one is because you don't have to. I would never wear a PFD right now and use my kayak or canoe. I trust my abilities to not drown and it would be too hot to wear one.

Brush up on your regulations.....you don't have to wear one on a kayak until like mid October at this point. In PA you are required to have one on board at all times, regardless of the time of year.

 

[jifigz]

Directly from the PFBC website with a simple search....

COLD WATER KILLS BOATERS​

WEARING A LIFE JACKET IS THE LAW FROM Nov 1-April 30​

Follow the law:​

"a person shall wear a Coast Guard approved personal flotation device (PFD or life jacket) during the cold weather months (November 1st through April 30th) while underway or at anchor on boats less than 16 feet in length or any canoe or kayak."

 

[Shawn Joseph]

Anyone else out kayak fishing this summer? I've recent found a new purpose for my 4wt rod for panfish and bass on my local reservoirs. Curious if others take a fly rod out on flat water, or spinning gear etc...

Floated the Susquehanna two weekends ago and had a blast. Caught around 15-20 Smallies. It

 

[Shawn Joseph]

honestly looking at those $5k kayaks makes me wonder, "why not a jon boat"... probably get a used jon boat, electric motor, and used trailer for $5k

Or get a jet kayak for $8,500.

Products – Aquanami – World's Best Jet Kayak

www.aquanamiusa.com

 

[Shawn Joseph]

@Silent Ocelot i use a self inflatable pfd. It’s sleek in profile and doesn’t get in the way at all.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

Again I trust my abilities to swim. People float. I hate wearing stuff or having stuff on my body that I don't think are necessary. I don't even care for a wading staff, it's more of hindrance than a benefit IMO. From what I've read on this thread I need to get a Hobie (funds are tight as I'm on another rod buying binge) (reports on how those rod cast will be posted shortly). The jet kayak sounds really cool.

 

[troutbert]

Jet kayak sounds cool.

But does it have AFTERBURNERS!!??

 

[henrydavid]

You are only required to wear a PFD at certain times of the year on kayaks, canoes, and any boats under a certain length limit. So, the only reason you are the only person you see wearing one is because you don't have to. I would never wear a PFD right now and use my kayak or canoe. I trust my abilities to not drown and it would be too hot to wear one.

Brush up on your regulations.....you don't have to wear one on a kayak until like mid October at this point. In PA you are required to have one on board at all times, regardless of the time of year.

In Pennsylvania life jackets are a must for Pittsburgh District United States Army Corps of Engineers lakes (only), everyone in boats less than 16 feet in length and in all canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards.

Otherwise cold water regulations apply including watercraft under 16 feet in length.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

But does it have AFTERBURNERS!!??

Yeah, and can I buzz the tower?

 

[JeremyW]

Again I trust my abilities to swim. People float. I hate wearing stuff or having stuff on my body that I don't think are necessary. I don't even care for a wading staff, it's more of hindrance than a benefit IMO. From what I've read on this thread I need to get a Hobie (funds are tight as I'm on another rod buying binge) (reports on how those rod cast will be posted shortly). The jet kayak sounds really cool.

I use hiking poles for fishing in shenandoah NP, mostly because it helps arrest yourself sliding down a hill, or trying to make good time hiking through the creeks downstream.