Hobie Mirage Drive Kayaks

[Ron Eagle Elk]

VEE was on a Women's Fly Fishing Weekend (4 Days) recently and saw some folks with Hobie Mirage Drive Kayaks. Much faster and seemingly easier to get around in than her float tube. Any opinions from actual users? Are they worth the money?

Help a stream fisherman out here folks.

REE

[FishnDave]

I have one. Awesome! Decked it out with rod holders and color fishfinder (thru-hull mounted transducer), also have a handheld GPS mount, haven't attached it yet.
They are quick! They are stable. They are also somewhat heavy...I think mine, unloaded, weighs around 70 lbs. I use the 2-wheeled cart that plugs into the bottom for getting in and out of boat ramps/canoe launches quickly.

For small shallow streams...might not be the best choice. For deeper streams and rivers with moderate currents, or lakes..or ocean, they work really well.
My advice...try one and see what you think! They aren't cheap, so make sure it'll work for you.

[cycler68]

I've had a Hobie Revolution for about three years now & the more I use it the better I like it. The feature I like the best is the ability to fish & pedal at the same time keeping you fly in the water longer than otherwise would be possible. Going against the wind it's easy to work a shoreline pedaling as slowly or as fast as you want. Going with the wind I can drift with the wind, steer with the rudder & pedal as needed. I find it has good agility for all but the tightest spots where you might have the get out your paddle. I'm very happy with the speed & stability. I have plenty of space for all the stuff I need for a full day on the water. I've been out in 15 - 20 mph winds and the Mirage drive generates plenty of power to go against them at a decent but not fast pace. I don't think I would go out in stronger winds.

You can only pedal forward so if you need to go backward or sideways a bit you need you use the paddle. If there are emergent weeds in the area you need to pay attention as these can catch on the pedals or rubber. The fins on the Mirage drive are basically self clearing with not much help needed. The rudder is harder to clear but not that much trouble. If some are caught on it I raise it and they drop off. Usually I can avoid trouble by just steering around them & using short, shallow strokes with the Mirage Drive to keep from catching them in the first place.
All in all I think the Revolution in an outstanding kayak for fishing or just plain having fun.

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Looks like I may have to find a dealer near here so she can test drive one to see if she really wants one. Heck, I may give one a try myself.

Thanks for the info guys, it's appreciated.

It's much cheaper than the last boat she had her eyes on. A 20 foot jet sled for zipping up and down the steelhead rivers. That was a measly $23,000. No, we didn't actually get one.

REE

[tigfly]

You would like that Hobie, but you NEED that jet sled! Probably should get both.

[pikebum]

I bought the Outback when it came out. I love it. Everything above is true. You need the jet sleed to transport the Hobies to places that would take to long to paddle to.

[WarrenP]

REE,

I have seen them in action on my local rivers and they do look like they would be easy to navigate the rivers here. They are like all other crafts in that they do have their disadvantages and their advantages. I have owned and used canoes, flatbottom boats and a Hobie Cat 75 and they all have their place in my fly fishing. I strongly urge you to demo one where you plan to use one before commiting to owning one to make sure it is what you want and need. The only reason I have not been interested in them is: They do not navigate grass and weeds very well, you can only navigate forward so you would still need the paddle on board somewhere and the biggest disavantage, for me, is that at my age, I do not want to be sitting on the bottom with my legs straight out in front of me because, after awhile, it would get to be very unconfortable for me plus I would feel confined to one space and could not move around to get more comfortable. I, also, like to be able to fish from it and you will be restricted to fishing only the water in front of you. It would be difficult to fish water on each side, without twisting around at the waist and fishing that way and you would not be able to fish any water behind you. Now if you only want to use the craft to go up and down a river and get out and wade fish, it would work great. I want to be able to fish from mine, sit like in a chair with your feet on the floor, have the option of a swivel seat so that I can swivel side ways to fish water on each side or turn all the way around and fish water behind me. I can do all of this in my NuCanoe and it is very easy to navigate with it using a double bladed paddle. Trust me, I am not trying to sell you a NuCanoe, I am just trying to explain why I can do more with a NuCanoe than I could with this particular craft and that gives me "more bang for the buck".

I strongly urge you to demo anything you plan to purchase to make sure it will do all the other things you want to do in it besides go up and down a river or lake. If you do not plan to fish from it from all angles and do not mind sitting on the floor with your legs and feet straight out in front of you for extended periods of time, it will probably work just fine.

[Ron Eagle Elk]

I guess I wasn't really clear here. We would only be using the Hobie(s) on lakes. I'd hate to loose the propulsion system on some of our fast shallow riffles our local rivers are famous for.

I am keeping an open mind on the sled, at my age it's easier to fire up the jet than pull on drift boat oars. Plus, there's no shuttle involved with a sled.

REE

[cycler68]

WarrenP,
In my earlier post I forgot to mention that you can fish the water to the side of you by turning to the side and dangling your feet in the water. When I've been out for several hours this change of position also offers some relief to my knees and back. But if I need more relief I beach my kayak to get out and stretch for a bit. If you're way out in the ocean or lake this may not be feasible.
I agree with you that Hobie kayaks with the Mirage drive do not navigate weeds and grass very well if the tops come within say, about a foot of the surface. But it does help if you keep the pedals close to the boats hull and use only short strokes so they don't go deep into the water. Same is true when navigating shallow water.
Although caution is warranted in shallow water you won't damage the drive without a fairly substantial impact. I've bumped the bottom, bumped stumps, got tangled in weeds, etc. without hurting it.
For me the biggest negative of my Revolution is I can't stand up in it. I can't see the fish until I'm very close to them.

Ron Eagle Elk,
If you find yourself in a position where it's no longer possible to use the Mirage drive you can use the paddle. The Revolution paddles fairly well but most people simply don't paddle except when they have to.

[Thwack]

Supposedly, if you put the pontoons on a Hobie, you can stand to cast/fish. I haven't bothered doing that on either of my Outbacks but I have considered it many times.

For backing up, I carry a short (18", maybe 12"...shortest I could find) wooden paddle. It looks like a really tiny canoe paddle.

I can easily use it one-handed to back up, push away from a dock, etc. It cost maybe twenty bucks I think at a local outdoors store.

I've fished from my Outbacks on lakes, ponds, and rivers (with slow current). I know folks that take them in the ocean but for that, I'd want one of the Hobie models that are longer (and thus faster).

I added a simple sailing cleat along the top about as far back as I can comfortably reach. I slip the anchor line into it and can easily pop it out (some cleats are closed on top...I went with one that's always open). If you get hung up in current or wind, being able to toss your anchor line overboard can be important (on any small watercraft). A float on the winding-end of the line will hopefully let me retrieve it later.

When it's really shallow or really weedy (small ponds for chasing bass/bluegill), I stow the pedals and just paddle. I'm a big guy and can still skim over the weeds to get to places float-tubers struggle with (their legs dangle too far down into the salad).

I've caught fish literally within inches of the side of the kayak so I'm not worried about having to cast while sitting. It's no more limiting than a float tube. Line management is just as important as in a float tube so you don't tangle on everything in sight.

Good luck with whatever you end up with.