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Kayak Recommendation

donnieballgame

donnieballgame

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 31, 2017
Messages
1,872
Alright if it's here somewhere I couldn't find it. I know folks were talking about a kayak group buy, and again I couldn't find it.

I'm wondering weekday folks would recommend for fishing hunting, etc. Mostly lakes rivers, but possibly the Sound in WA.

I like the idea of the pedal drive but am open to other ideas.

Thanks you guys rock!

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Ive had a couple Jacksons and one feel free. I really liked the Jackson big rig. It was beefy and paddling upstream was slow and could wear you out but man that thing was stable. I can't speak to Hobie but they seem very well made and I would like to have one. Kayaks are about like anything else, you're gonna get what you pay for.
 
The nucanoe frontier 12 has developed a cult following on here. If you do a search you'll find a few threads on it. They're not cheap though.
 
Add me to the Nucanoe Frontier 12 cult. Finally found a used one for half price on Craigslist last month. Love it!
 
For the love of cheap beer and canned cheese, if you're considering a big sit-on-top that weighs 80lbs so that you have fat-man stability and can carry your propane-powered toaster oven with you, consider a canoe. For the children's sake.

Seriously, kayaks we're originally made for Eskimos hunting seals. Light, fast, and just big enough for one dude with minimum gear. They've gotten more spacious over the years for sure, but I've paddled lots of kayaks, and those big sit-on-top are a DOG to load on the truck and carry up and down riverbanks. Rough to paddle too. Canoes aren't sexy any more I guess, but they were made to be light compared to the amount of gear they haul. I camp out of paddle boats, and kayak camping is similar to backpacking, while canoe camping is more like car camping.

My all time favorite 'yak is a Wilderness Systems Pungo. Light, fast, and plenty of room for all my saddle hunting stuff (weapon, backpack). Right at 40lbs and a joy to paddle. Killed a lot of ducks out of it, along with several hogs and a few deer.

My 17ft Grumman is an absolute warhorse too. I can paddle it solo in good weather or with a buddy, and it is plenty capable of holding 2 dudes and a big old buck. I bought a motor mount for mine too. Way easier to do a motor on a canoe, and you can put more horsies on it.

I haven't personally owned a pedal boat, but I know that they're heavy as a sock full of lead shot and expensive enough that you can afford a cheap, Bass Pro Jon boat and motor for the price of some of them.

This is all just opinion, and it's going to run counter to what most folks will tell you. But I've sold boats for a living, and logged MANY miles in MANY different boats. A $300 aluminum Craigslist canoe is cheap enough to at least try it. As much as I love my Pungo, if I had to choose between it and my canoe, it would have to go.
 
I've put my son on the back of my Vibe Sea Ghost 130 for fishing. He's a small critter now but moves about as much as a puppy bitten by a crab and it's still stable in 2' chop. Hauled duck gear for a mile or two on it in 20+ knots with gusts in tidal Chesapeake Bay too. Hard to say what I'll do when he gets old enough to go before he can paddle on his own. I guess what I'm trying to say is that in a few years I'll be in a different situation. The most probable answer for me will be I'll do what I need to do get him out with me but for now I'm paddling.

Good luck!
 
Add me in for the Nucanoe Frontier 12 fanbase. I haven’t been able to buy one yet, but have borrowed one from @Scoutman a few times. Unlike a canoe, the Nucanoe is SUPER stable. You can stand up with no concern for tipping over. They are heavier than a standard canoe, but also draw shallower in the water which helps out in the tiny little backwaters I tend to be in.

I have been borrowing a TINY 9 foot sit-inside kayak for my hunting trips the last couple of years. Although it is super easy to paddle, the stability sucks and you can hardly fit anything on it.
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Nutterbuster said:
This is all just opinion, and it's going to run counter to what most folks will tell you. But I've sold boats for a living, and logged MANY miles in MANY different boats. A $300 aluminum Craigslist canoe is cheap enough to at least try it. As much as I love my Pungo, if I had to choose between it and my canoe, it would have to go.
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I'm going to agree with you, get a 15ft canoe and if you want to run around high speed put a battery in the front and trolling motor on the back. It will still save you a ton of money. I own a pedal kayak, but that was for fishing tournaments.

I'm going to disagree with @IkemanTX on the draft. All depends on the width of the canoe, also the weight savings and extra few feet will mean it rides higher out of the water. It will also help if you sit in the middle with a kayak paddle. I stand up in canoes :)
 
BCHunter said:
I'm going to agree with you, get a 15ft canoe and if you want to run around high speed put a battery in the front and trolling motor on the back. It will still save you a ton of money. I own a pedal kayak, but that was for fishing tournaments.

I'm going to disagree with @IkemanTX on the draft. All depends on the width of the canoe, also the weight savings and extra few feet will mean it rides higher out of the water. It will also help if you sit in the middle with a kayak paddle. I stand up in canoes :)
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100 percent agree on the draft thing. Never could understand how a kayak with a 350lb capacity could ride higher with one man and gear in in than a canoe with a 700lb capacity.o_O My canoe can run in anything any kayak can. My experience is you'll be paddling mud before you touch bottom.
 
I recently got a good CL’s deal on a 14’, 79lb old town canoe. I mounted a trolling motor on it and plan to use this season. Downside is that it’s HEAVY for one person and tough to maneuver in my local river (more of a ditch really).

I’ve been researching and I’m looking to purchase an Ascend Hybrid 10’ canoe. It weighs only 47lb and carries up to 400lb. I think it’s better tailored for me to solo access my local “ditch” with a paddle vice trolling motor. I’m hoping Bass Pro will take some of the price off ($600) in the Fall.

Of course it didn’t help that I just purchased a mantis....
 
I guess the canoe draft would work in a lot of places, and I haven’t tried one of the wide body ones.

Around here though, it’s not uncommon for me to use my hands to push myself along in ankle deep water in creeks and sloughs. I’ve never found a canoe capable of navigating that. I’d walk those creeks with waders, but there’s too many chest deep and deeper pockets.
The Nucanoe does draw about 1.25” deeper than the small kayak I have been using, so that would probably be more in line with a canoe.

The biggest benefit I see to the Nucanoe overall is the fact that I can stand on one side and it maintains stability. We have a lot of creeks that have vertical banks for most of the year. Getting out onto them is difficult at best. To have no beach, or flat ground to land on, the stability of modern hybrids is invaluable.

I plan on starting with a small canoe for cost reasons, but my ultimate setup is definitely a Frontier 12.


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depends on how you fish in my opinion.

I fished from a bass boat running a trolling motor for ten years. Once you get used to fishing off a foot controlled TM its frustrating to do anything else. After selling my old boat and talking myself out of spending 25k+ on a new one I looked to kayak fishing tournaments.
Bought what I read was a good one at the time in a Wilderness ride 135....absolutely hated trying to bass fish out of it to the point I slowly started to ebay off my arsenal of rods and reels. Then on a whim last year I bought a predator PDL (pedal prop yak) and it was like I was back on that trolling motor.
Basically the main thing pedal prop drives (not hobbie mirage drive...hands free reverse is crucial imo) have going for them is hands free boat control. I do love Hobie boats though....just wish they would make a prop drive and Id buy one in a second.

Sure pedal yaks may be a little faster and easier to propel due to gearing and larger leg muscles, but main advantage is control while you are working a bank/structure
 
Just found a nucanoe 12 on craigslist for $985, not sure if thats a good price, they go for 1500ish new right?
 
donnieballgame said:
Just found a nucanoe 12 on craigslist for $985, not sure if thats a good price, they go for 1500ish new right?
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If it’s in decent shape, that’s about the bottom price you will find. For sure if there is anything that comes with it.


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IkemanTX said:
If it’s in decent shape, that’s about the bottom price you will find. For sure if there is anything that comes with it.


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It's a 2014 with 2 seats and one paddle, seats look like they are solid plastic though
 
donnieballgame said:
It's a 2014 with 2 seats and one paddle, seats look like they are solid plastic though
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For reference...
There are 3 listed in the dallas area (near me)
An older one for $800, a fairly recent one with nothing with it for $900, and a tricked out one with gas motor for 2K


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IkemanTX said:
For reference...
There are 3 listed in the dallas area (near me)
An older one for $800, a fairly recent one with nothing with it for $900, and a tricked out one with gas motor for 2K


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Click to expand...
Oh cool gas motor, what?, what typically comes with it?
 
The msrp price is bare bones, nothing but the kayak. So, when you see new prices, add 2 chairs and a paddle (AT LEAST) to initial investment.


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I love my nucanoe. My take my kids fishing in it and I never have to worry about tipping. I still haven't taken it hunting yet

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