hobie kayaks

[jalama]

anybody fished from a mirage drive boat. if so, how does it perform?

[FishnDave]

It fishes well. My ONLY complaint is my Hobie Outback doesn't have a flat floor, so standing is tricky. So, I fish it from a sitting position most of the time. I fish lakes, and I usually just drift-and-cast, or drift and fish vertically, rather than anchor...but I have an anchor if I need one. I've also trolled with a sinking line (works like lead-core), and caught a couple white bass. When trolling, I discovered I had to pedal VERY SLOW, cuz the kayak goes a lot faster than you think. You can get pretty close to fish in shallow water with a kayak without seeming to alarm them.

[jalama]

thanks, how shallow can it operate ? exactly how do you operate the rudder/steering mechanism? i located a dealer 3 hours away, demo is not an option, salesman says my height, 6 ft 7 in, will not be an issue and that "everyone loves them" appreciate your input!!

[NewTyer 1]

I saw them demonstrated at a fishing show once. Doesn't the drive mechanism pull out and drop in?

[FishnDave]

I'm 6'2...the pedals are adjustable. For my height I have them set on the furthest setting from the seated position.
I can't claim to have measured the water depth that I have operated in, but the Mirage drive can operate in fairly shallow water. You need water depth greater than the draught of the loaded kayak, obviously. If you are super-shallow, you can just use the paddle or a push-pole. And with the Mirage Drive, the "fins" can lay nearly flat against the hull. You can simply propel yourself in super-shallow water with "short pedal strokes" that don't extend the fins very far down away from the hull.

Yes, the Mirage Drive can be removed, and usually IS removed during transportation to/from the water.

[James Smith]

I have been fishing extensively out of my Hobie Outback for the past seven years and I love it. Granted, I fish small to medium sized lakes (usually from 5 to 200 acres in size), but it works great. I have routinely taken it into shallow water or passed over logs that about 8-9 inches deep with no problems at all. As far as standing to fish, I would never attempt it even if the floor of the kayak was flat. I have no problems casting in the sitting position and it is a very stable fishing platform. Bottom line, this is the best personal fishing craft I've ever used.

Jim Smith

[john52948]

ive got an outback, and a revolution, have had them for 5 or 6 years i think. love em. use them in south texas to fish the flats and nothern new york to fish the lakes and streams. im 6'4" and dont feel that my height is a factor in either one, but i will say that the outback seems a little more comfortable. its more like a party barge than the revo is.

as for shallow water, you can feather the fins in shallow water but i would say that anything less than 12" and you should probably pick up a paddle or a pole. i usually lock my peddles in place with the bungie cord and take out my trusty ping pong/ maneuvering paddle. the ping pong paddle works so well for close quarters that i have been tempted to buy a truck load of paddles relabel them as kayak maneuvering paddles and sell them fo 20 bucks apiece.

i dont, and wouldnt recommend standing in either kayak unless your about half my age. they are both very stable, and when seated you would have a hard time trying to roll them, but as you age your sense of balance deteriates, and you my find yourself taking an unplanned swim.

have you looked at the pro angler

[Buddy Sanders]

I have a good friend that fishes from one.

She loves it.

Some 'drawbacks' I've seen with the pedal drive are:

You can't back up with it....if you want to be able to maneuver in shallow water around cover you have to keep that in mind.

It doesn't turn like a regular kayak, or even like a boat with a front mounted electric motor. I'ts not ideal for fishing from if you want to work shoreline cover or around stuff like bridges, etc....

You can always use a paddle to alleviate this, but it seems the whole idea of the foot pedals is so you don't HAVE to use a paddle.

Advantages I've seen:

You can cover long distances in it with little effort....on a lake with 27 miles of shoreline there wasn't anyplace she couldn't fish if she wanted to.

If you need to 'troll' there is no kayak better suited.

Amazing stability.

They are really fast and handle rougher water well.

Up to you...depends on how you fish.


Buddy