Thanks for the info...Currently checking on the Old Town Predator K140...Just might be an affordable option...even though it'll add some extra unwanted weight...guess none are perfect...
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Thanks for the info...Currently checking on the Old Town Predator K140...Just might be an affordable option...even though it'll add some extra unwanted weight...guess none are perfect...
[url=http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/:e8db0]http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/[/url:e8db0]
is a good link with some interesting articles. Worth looking at for additional info.
jed
Jed,,,
Didn't list KFS because it had been previously listed...the owners are nuts, anyway. They go out 3-5 miles or more in the Atlantic....not me!!!!!
They're extremely knowledgable and accomodating with sales, service and information sharing.
Jim
Anyone got an opinion about using a kayak instead of a pontoon boat to drift a trout river?
I don't see how one could control a kayak when drifting down a river and fighting a fish at the same time. At least I can use fins with my River Tamer.
billnepp mentioned the "anglers edition". The OK Drifter is a great, stable yak, but I wouldn't get the anglers edition of any kayak. For the extra cost, you can set a stock kayak up the way you want it. In addition, you can get any color you want. This may not seem like much, but when a power boat is bearing down on you, believe me, it is better to be in an orange kayak that a dark green one.
If anybody is worried that using a bright color for their yak might spook the fish, I'd like to point out that my yak is a bold red. I've caught multiple fish inches off the side of it while fishing maybe a couple feet below the surface.
All of the times it's happened, I was bait fishing (worms under a bobber is a weakness of mine some times). I'd just rebaited my hook, tossed it over the side so I could put the worm container away and wash the gunk off my hands...looked up and my bobber was under water with a fish on. http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/smile.gif
If a 13' red blob over head doesn't spook them, I don't think any color will.
I've also drifted down river on slow clear waters just to see how close I can get to trout before they notice me. I can get pretty much right on top if I sit still.
If I'm going up river, I can pedal really slow and get within a few feet of them. When they do spook/move, they generally just go wide of me and circle back behind to right where they started from as soon as I'm out of the way.
This summer, I'm planning to try drift fishing over a particular corner on the Fall River. The water gets wide and very deep. I've seen fish stacked up there early in the morning. When I was there last September, I was dead drifting nymphs through that corner with good results while anchored well above it.
The long distance drift makes it difficult to set the hook and I was pondering how to get closer and still be able to drift the right area (the feeding lane crosses from right to left as it heads into that corner so anywhere you park upstream puts you in the way or you have to deal with weird currents on different parts of your line).
It finally dawned on me that I should be able to cast slightly ahead of my yak and keep the yak just out of the feeding lane as the indicator and I drift down through/over/past the area. Then, I'll come back up the inside of the turn where I'm easily 10-15 ft away from the sweet spot and set up for another pass.
If I hook up, I'll let the trout pull me down river which takes the action out of the sweet spot and hopefully avoids putting the other fish in that spot down. That sort of answers the earlier concern about fighting a trout while drifting...just go with it and come back up afterwards to fish any good spot you missed.
Moving a kayak back up a driftable waterway is trivial and letting the trout drag you downstream should help protect your tippet (vs. the trout pulling against your anchored yak). http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/smile.gif
Then again, I'd be happy to hook a trout big enough to pull me a meaningful distance downstream, upstream, or wherever. http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/smile.gif
Color is not at all an issue for me....Some of the best fishing I've ever had was out of an Old Town Discovery 16 that I stupidily sold a few years back....it was Red also!!
The more I think of why I sold it...The more I think of getting their pack canoe...it's a 12 ft Solo rig priced at under $700.00... The 16 footer was a bit much alone...Was fishing with my bro in-law when I bought that rig..and since he and my sis split...I just did'nt need that much rig..Even with it setup with oars it was not quite there yet.
I have a Hobie Floatcat 75 Expedition...but it does not quite fit the bill for what I want a yak for....I'll not see any power boats while useing it..... http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/wink.gif
Bright is best if fishing water with boat traffic....makes you much more visible to them. I own 2 yellow (yeah yum yum yellow I've heard the stories and seen no more sharks in it than I have my camo or olive drab yaks) SOT's and feel much better out in the ocean or bays than I do my camo or olive drab yaks. Though my Olive drab will get out of the way faster than all of them with a visible rooster tail from behind http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/wink.gif
I must admit....The Hobie Mirage Drive is really screaming my name !!! and I may just end up owning another Hobie product.....anyone interested in a Floatcat 75??...lol...or some bamboo rods...I gotta stop looking at these things !!