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Fishing Kayaks


Davyo
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Sold my Old town Canadian (16') a few years back.Now I'm fully retiring im thinking of getting a Kayak,either a rigid one or one of the new Inflatables (not the cheap things).

Anyone using either? will only be using on lakes/rivers for a spot of fishing.I initially ordered a boat set up but had to knock it back till October.Wanting to get something to see me over the summer.Have a budget of around 1k.

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I would avoid inflatable kayaks simply for the fact that they tend to sit higher in the water and catch the wind so much more making paddling harder.

Thanks mate,I have heard they can be an issue if the wind gets up.But it's the fact that they are easy to store and transport.I am swaying towards a rigid though after a bit of research.

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get a sit on top one for fishing ,and make sure it is designed as a fishing kayak .have a jackson cuda myself ,brilliant bit of kit for in the sea and rivers ,lakes ect .nice and stable ,and comfy seat . good luck with your purchase .

Just had a look,prices are OK and there is a place just 25mls away that sellooks them.Will give them a ring in the morning and pop down to have a look if any in stock

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I started out with a 12 foot Pelican Strike angler kayak. Travelled many miles with it and very stable, could stand up on it. Sold it for a 15 foot RTM Tempo angler which is less stable but faster and easy to car top yourself. Had great fun and caught loads with both. Both were sit on tops but could keep up with friends tourer kayaks. Just be safe out there tho

Edited by stuartyboy
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I've been river kayaking a few times in the last couple of months.

 

In was thinking of investing in a kayak and am a keen fly fisherman, but haven't tried kayak fishing.

 

Are the kayaks intended for fishing still comfortable for leisure use outside of fishing?

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i used a sevylor colorado inflatable kayak for a couple of years , despite being a very clumsy oaf and pretty unlucky , i didnt manage to puncture it with strings of feathers /lures etc, i was always very careful though.

 

it certainly wouldnt have won any races , and it did catch the wind , but , it fitted easily into a car boot , and was very very stable. i even used mine with a small electric outboard.

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This post past me by!

I have a 12ft kayak that's rigged for fishing. It's the only way to fish! I've used mine on the sea, rivers and lakes and it's fantastic. I'm just in the process of selling mine, becuase I want something with a little bit more length as i will be doing more and more sea fishing from it in the futre and length is useful if you're paddling more. On rivers, shorter comes in handy to navigate round trees and snags. 12ft is the perfect all round length.

 

Mine's a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120, but as mentioned, Ocean Kayak would be another great company to check out - it's what I'm thinking of changing to. Were it not for the increased paddling distances needed for sea fishing, I'd happily stiuck with the Tarpon, it's so well thought out as a fishing yak

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

This post past me by!

I have a 12ft kayak that's rigged for fishing. It's the only way to fish! I've used mine on the sea, rivers and lakes and it's fantastic. I'm just in the process of selling mine, becuase I want something with a little bit more length as i will be doing more and more sea fishing from it in the futre and length is useful if you're paddling more. On rivers, shorter comes in handy to navigate round trees and snags. 12ft is the perfect all round length.

 

Mine's a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120, but as mentioned, Ocean Kayak would be another great company to check out - it's what I'm thinking of changing to. Were it not for the increased paddling distances needed for sea fishing, I'd happily stiuck with the Tarpon, it's so well thought out as a fishing yak

 

Ha I've bought two of theses but the Tarpon 100.Wont be going in the sea,just rivers and lakes.Might venture into the harbour when confident.Ive only used Canadians (Oldtown) before so looking forward to getting on the water.
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I had a sit on surf canoe which i use to fish from, very good fishing platform. Only had one problem when i hooked a Thornback Ray! it decided to tow me off to Ireland. after about 400 metres I had to use my teeth to bite through the line and let it go. :unhappy::) So if you catch a big one it will be a bit of a problem landing it without turning turtle!

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I have been thinking about getting one of these for a while now. What are the main differences between say a Tarpon/trident and a cheap £300 canoe? What are you paying the extra for? If buying used, what should you look out for? Thanks.

Great question. Very often, it's the type of plastic that the yak's made of. The cheaper ones tend to be made of thin, less durable plastics. Ordinarily it's not going to be a problem - just don't do anything stupid like paddle over a rock. But they're also less resistant to UV light, so they degrade quicker and have more potential to warp.

 

Fixings - like flush mounting rod holders and the like - aren't usually a problem, any idiot can pack something with sealant but hatches can be more of a problem.

 

Buying used is the way to go. You don't get a warranty, but kayaks are pretty basic things and tend not to actually go wrong. The things to look out for are how well fixings have been done and whether they're in the right place. If you put in fixings, you're drilling holes in a boat, if they let in water it could be dangerous, but more likely just annoying. anything in your hull you wanted to keep dry gets wet, including potentially a battery for a fish finder. Tipping some water round the fixing should reveal any bubbles seeping out of holes. The only downside to second hand is that you're getting someone else's fishing positions. you might want the anchor trolley on the other side, or holders in a different position etc. and that either means changing habits or drilling yet more holes in it. Something to think on but not necessarily to worry about overly.

 

You will never find a s/h yak without scratches on the bottom. They all have them and you will give them more. However it's worth just checking there isn't anything really deep on the hull.

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Thanks for the info. Is there a big weight difference between the cheap/ more expensive ones? Would i easily be able to put a 12ft one onto the roof rack, by myself?

A little bit of a difference, but I manage and I'm not the tallest of chaps! I do it in two stages, with the use of an old karrimat...

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Join up to some forums. Anglers afloat is the place to start, but also Gumtree. ebay occasionally has some worthwhile deals, and local kayak forums. I'm on the Solent Kayak fishing forum and the North Wales one too, neither are local to me, but they are places I visit regularly.

 

Getting what you're after locally is hard work though, so you might have to be prepared to travel - or not be too desperate on what you're after! East Sussex is, I imagine a good place to be for some yak fishing, so I'd have thought there'd be some local forum online for stuff going on there. Occasionally facebook pops up with something

 

http://anglersafloat.proboards.com/ (I'm having a few issues today with that site today though, I think Proboards are having difficulties, as it's the same on a couple of other of their sites. Usually they're fine)

 

If you see a Ocean Kayak Trident 13 for sale though, hands off - I want it! ;)

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