Who's ready to go fishing???

[Zoub]

Stability, typical of most wide Sit on tops, this is also same model as mine. Crow Wing Pro angler+ 1080. The plus has two more storage ports, one is waterroof for small electronics or wallets etc.
[video=youtube;6X6p-F86OzU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X6p-F86OzU[/video]

 

[SigFan07]

Stability, typical of most wide Sit on tops, this is also same model as mine. Crow Wing Pro angler+ 1080. The plus has two more storage ports, one is waterroof for small electronics or wallets etc.

How is the durability of that kayak? Does it look like or feel like it can take a lot of abuse and last a good number of years or yearly use?

I bought a Wilderness Systems Ride 115 over the winter but I've not had the chance to use it yet. I have noticed it is rather heavy.

 

[FishnHunt]

I bought a Wilderness Systems Ride 115 over the winter but I've not had the chance to use it yet.

I know several people with that yak that love it. Should be very stable for you, I've seen plenty of videos of guys fishing standing up in that one.

 

[SigFan07]

I visited Tennessee the last week and stopped in at the Bass Pro Shops store in Nashville. Oh man, what a nice store! They had tons and tons of lures. I bought a big case of Bass Pro Shops 241 piece soft plastic lures. I've never used Bass Pro Shops soft plastics before so I wanted to get some. I heard good things about their Stick-O worms. After opening up the case I have to say - I can't wait to try them out! It came with a ton of worms, lizards, tubs and creature baits. They really look good.

I also picked up a bag of Charlie Brewer Slider worms. I can't wait to try them too. And, I picked up a bag of Mann's eight inch jelly worms. Finally, I picked up 11/0 Owner hooks for big plastic worms!

When I started fishing last year I thought 1/0 hooks were big. Then I started using 2/0 and 3/0 and thought 1/0 was small. Then I started buying 4/0 and 5/0 and now 3/0 looks small! Now that I bought 11/0 hook the 3/0 looks tiny! lol.

 

[danielson]

I guess all sit ons arent created equal then. Im no expert, but Ive had my sit in for a few years and never dumped it. I got in a sit on, and dumped it 3 times in 3 different spots, on the same creek Ive taken the sit in several times with no problems.

I just kinda had ruled all sit ons as having too high center of gravity.

 

[FishnHunt]

I guess all sit ons arent created equal then. Im no expert, but Ive had my sit in for a few years and never dumped it. I got in a sit on, and dumped it 3 times in 3 different spots, on the same creek Ive taken the sit in several times with no problems.

I just kinda had ruled all sit ons as having too high center of gravity.

What kind did you have? Just curious...

 

[bwframe]

I know several people with that yak that love it. Should be very stable for you, I've seen plenty of videos of guys fishing standing up in that one.

Wow, that's a thousand dollar kayak!

I guess all sit ons arent created equal then. Im no expert, but Ive had my sit in for a few years and never dumped it. I got in a sit on, and dumped it 3 times in 3 different spots, on the same creek Ive taken the sit in several times with no problems.

I just kinda had ruled all sit ons as having too high center of gravity.

I think yaks overall have different designs. My neighbor's boy bought a small sit inside that he says he cannot tip. It has a concave sort of bottom. Conversely, my Dagger Blackwater is very tippy. The Blackwater is quick in the water though, I've passed more than one trolling motor powered boat. Hook a fish of any noticeable size, I get pulled right in to it.

 

[Zoub]

How is the durability of that kayak? Does it look like or feel like it can take a lot of abuse and last a good number of years or yearly use?

I bought a Wilderness Systems Ride 115 over the winter but I've not had the chance to use it yet. I have noticed it is rather heavy.

You will be fine, just get in it and start. Let me toss out a few factoids.

First, plastics. Two moves ago while still in Indiana I sold my Coleman canoe made of Ramex and a lot of gear cheap to a local Scout Master. It was 17' long and as I recall weighed 80lbs? We, my Dad, bought it in 1978. Freakin' steamer ship, could haul a couple half dead scouts and a ton of gear. It is almost 40 years old and still going. So now how tough do you think today's kayaks are? Yeah, they are tough and Wilderness are as tough as anything made today. When fishing solo in it, that 17' canoe would also be more tippy than your kayak. It is very hard to get your weight centered and balanced in a big canoe. So your kayak is tough and stable. Go ahead and decide now which grand kid will inherit it. When the canoe got a deep gouge, I got a wet rag and an iron and "fixed" it.

My Kayak is 49lbs empty. In general the difference between 50lbs and 75lbs is carry versus drag. A short, 50 lb craft carries easy and drags easy, especially in tight spaces like a forest trail or in wind. Much easier for one guy to load and unload, that whole solo thing. 75lbs, you will work a bit harder probably drag it more then carry. Guess why they made the 2 wheel kayak and canoe carts.

The only people who really wear out a kayak are the guys on rivers with sharp rocks. Even then, they can be repaired. Number 1 killer of plastic hulls, butt scooters. You get stuck and you scoot your butt to break loose. When you get stuck on rocks, get out if it is safe to do so or accept you may be putting a few gouges in your hull if you are stuck on sharp rocks. Our river is a classic clear, rocky river with lots of boulders from glacial deposits but most are smooth. Sharp stuff tends be in higher elevation streams with faster currents and more erosion of stone and fresh rock falling into the river. There is a professional fishing and hunting guide up stream from me and one thing he offers is kayak and canoe rentals. All plastic, all well worn, all still going. I don't expect to wear mine out in 3-5 years. If I did, I would consider that money well spent because I fished my ass off. I can easily justify spending money to fish or hunt.

Size of your kayak. There were many reasons I sold the 17' canoe. Most of my fishing and hunting partners are long gone or live too far away. I run solo these days or with one dog. I also have a bad shoulder. Big canoes catch big wind and harder to drag around. I did research for a couple years on kayaks and solo canoes, I knew in general what I wanted. I also enjoy rigging boats and half my family is in the marine industry so I am not going to buy boats that are prerigged. I have a Rubbermaid bin full of Ram Mount and Tite-lok stuff that is left over from previous boats I have owned. (I am also between fishing boats right now.) So for me I was patient, found a killer deal buying direct from a distributor and grabbed them. I also know the Crow Wing area in MN very well and live in area exactly like it so I know my kayak is designed for my local waters. With fishing there is always that Zen-Voodoo-Lucky charm crap going on, AKA confidence baits. The Crow Wing gives me that.

I applied my shotgun principals to kayaks. In the power boat world you get the two more feet longer or 2 more mph faster syndrome going. X dollars spent will get you Y more mph. Eventually it takes 3x dollars to add 1/4 Y. You just went way to far, your ROI is gone and will probably die when you wreck. You have small water, open water, big water. I can easily justify owning a kayak for each and in fact have access to all 3 types within 1 hour of home, but the closest is small water, bogs, channels etc...So when it came time to decide what kayak, I went for the smallest I could find that I liked. My next kayak will be probably be a beast, 13-14'. There is your shotgun principal. If you run 18" barrels, 20" is not much different, 21-22" you start to see it. 24" and up is different. So you can own an 18" and 24" or just a 21". Yes I own them all but if I had to survive with just one it would be 21-22". If I want more specialized guns, I choose shorter or longer. Just one kayak, 11-12', under 80lbs. It's a compromise, you may get wet in bigger waters and get stuck in the shallowest stuff a bit more but it will handle all of it until your skills improve.

You are ready. Hope this helps you work your way back into justifying your purchase. If you are one of those guys who rotates his gear as much as you do your fishing line, call me before you dump your kayak.

 

[Zoub]

I visited Tennessee the last week and stopped in at the Bass Pro Shops store in Nashville. Oh man, what a nice store! They had tons and tons of lures. I bought a big case of Bass Pro Shops 241 piece soft plastic lures. I've never used Bass Pro Shops soft plastics before so I wanted to get some. I heard good things about their Stick-O worms. After opening up the case I have to say - I can't wait to try them out! It came with a ton of worms, lizards, tubs and creature baits. They really look good.

I also picked up a bag of Charlie Brewer Slider worms. I can't wait to try them too. And, I picked up a bag of Mann's eight inch jelly worms. Finally, I picked up 11/0 Owner hooks for big plastic worms!

When I started fishing last year I thought 1/0 hooks were big. Then I started using 2/0 and 3/0 and thought 1/0 was small. Then I started buying 4/0 and 5/0 and now 3/0 looks small! Now that I bought 11/0 hook the 3/0 looks tiny! lol.

A lot of times in-house brands of rods, reels and lures come from the better manufacturers. It may not be the top of the line but it is quality. Typically also great value for the money since they buy in bulk. One example is St. Croix rods. A BP rod won't be built on a rod blank used to make a $400 St. Croix rod but rest assured the blank probably came from them. If a reel looks a lot like "X" brand, guess what, it probably is just with less ball bearings or certain features. I tend to have more confidence in house brand rods then reels. I will pay full price for Yamamoto plastic baits but buy plenty of other house brands of stuff. Sometimes you go quantity over quality because the fish just don't care (FYI they cant read the logo on your baits and gear).

The best advice I ever heard on gear, don't use crap line. You can catch a fish on a cheap pole with decent line, but an expensive rod is squat with crap line on it. But, I don't run top dollar lines on all my rigs, I run what works for me.

One other thing I would add, don't buy black tackle boxes. As you accumulate more gear, you tend to play with it in the off season. The day will come where you leave that black, 50lb box out one night, like in the living room. Then WHAM, spouse jams or breaks a toe on it. She didn't see it in the dark. Me, I enjoy stories like that, I also happen to be divorced. Got the truck, bird dog, guns and fishing gear.

 

[saberstar]

I would be ready to go fishing but they drained my nearby lake, Griffy lake . Only took me 7 minutes to drive there. Now I have to drive 20 minutes to go to Monroe. Biggest issue I have is I can't use my little boat at Monroe. Or that I don't want to use it.

 

[danielson]

What kind did you have? Just curious...

It was an old town, a rental. My kayak is cheaper than that thing was Im sure, Mines just a pelican, but its pretty darn stable in comparison, of course it has kinda like a tri hull, so that helps.

Im sure not all sit ons are that way, I just got a bad first impression, but thinking about the physics of an elevated mass' effect on center of gravity made me sorta group all sit ons as more tippy than sit ins.

 

[FishnHunt]

It was an old town, a rental. My kayak is cheaper than that thing was Im sure, Mines just a pelican, but its pretty darn stable in comparison, of course it has kinda like a tri hull, so that helps.

Im sure not all sit ons are that way, I just got a bad first impression, but thinking about the physics of an elevated mass' effect on center of gravity made me sorta group all sit ons as more tippy than sit ins.

Hull design has a lot in it, but the higher center of gravity does make things a little more tippy even on the more stable sit-ons. They do take a little getting used to. I really like mine because it's kinda the best of both - very stable hull design like a sit-on but lower center of gravity of a sit-in. This is what I bought two years ago (on sale as a demo boat, paid a little over $700 for it) - Commander 140 - Wilderness Systems Kayaks

 

[danielson]

dupe

 

[danielson]

yeah that looks pretty badass. Alittle salty for me. I found a pelican pursuit for $178 and it was my first ever kayak, besides rentals. I set it up the way I like it, and it does a good job. Its cheap, and something better would be nice, but hell after adding tiedowns, anchor system and rod holder, I aint got $250 in it, and I fished the hell out of the big blue river last year. Im not sure if I like fishing as much as just seeing nature. I hope the water stays high enough to hit big walnut this year. It looks beautiful just south of the highway 36 bridge.
My yak:

 

[danielson]

dupe. Damn, all I tried to do was change the second picture.. effed that up pretty good... lol

 

[FishnHunt]

Yeah, no reason to spend that much on one. I'd be better off if I'd bought a cheap one and waited till I knew exactly what I wanted. Good looking yak BTW, and nice scenery! I hear ya about the fishing vs. nature thing. I really need to get mine out on some rivers this year.

 

[HICKMAN]

My yak is a Future Beach Angler 144, bought it at Dunham's here in Bedford.

I spent 20 minutes rowing around and leaning over both sides to see what my limitations were and never once did I feel unstable.

After that, I had a blast and fished, lol.

 

[FishnHunt]

My yak is a Future Beach Angler 144, bought it at Dunham's here in Bedford.

I spent 20 minutes rowing around and leaning over both sides to see what my limitations were and never once did I feel unstable.

After that, I had a blast and fished, lol.

I've heard really good things about those, everyone I've talked to that has one loves it.

 

[bwframe]

My yak is a Future Beach Angler 144, bought it at Dunham's here in Bedford.

I spent 20 minutes rowing around and leaning over both sides to see what my limitations were and never once did I feel unstable.

After that, I had a blast and fished, lol.

I like it. Is the dry storage up front big enough to get a break down rifle case in there?

 

[SigFan07]

I read somewhere that some kayak companies lease their kayak blueprints to other companies so they can make cheaper kayaks. So a $400 or $500 kayak might actually be exactly from a design from a $800 kayaks. Of course the construction materials and workmanship might not be as good as the $800 kayak. Then again it might be better.