Fishing Kayak ?

kyflyfisher · #1 03-26-2009, 05:14 PM

I am looking into getting a Kayak to fish from, but do not want to spend a ton of money. So whats a good one to get? and what do you look for in a good fishing kayak? I will mainly be fly fishing out of this.

dmwphoto · #2 03-26-2009, 05:22 PM

here is the one that I use. a Wilderness Tarpon 120

I think a SOT (sit on top) is important.

look at this site too

Rodn276 · #3 03-26-2009, 05:29 PM

ive never fished from them myself but i hear these are good boats

http://nativewatercraft.com/

Check out the "ultimate" series, they are designed so that you can even stand and fish.

kyflyfisher · #4 03-26-2009, 06:12 PM

How hard are they to fly fish out of?

ddoss · #5 03-26-2009, 06:23 PM

I use a Dagger Approach 10.0, and love it, but i am curious as to the advantages of having a sit-on-top. What are the pros and cons of each type of kayak?

kyflyfisher · #6 03-26-2009, 07:31 PM

I do too!

rdricks · #7 03-26-2009, 07:32 PM

ky -

Where are you planning on using it? Depending on the use, you may want to look into Pontoons also. For the small lakes around here the Pontoons are great. If you are interested in more rivers, particularly the ability to go upstream, the kayak may make more sense. Kayaks move quicker, with less effort. Pontoons are slower, but are designed for fly fishing and are great to fish from.

dmwphoto · #8 03-26-2009, 08:05 PM

a sit on top allows you way more freedom to move around and get in and out of the craft. I will often navigate up the James river as fas and far as I can and get out and wade good spots then drift back down. I can flip my legs over the side and get in and out without fear of tip over. These are designed to be able to stand up in but I am not quite man enough for that.

Richard · #9 03-27-2009, 07:18 AM

They all have their advantages and disadvantages...kayaks, canoes, pontoons...and situations can be different...and they can all work great for fishing. Having owned all three, my first choice is usually a good canoe. But it varies with each person. How much are you willing to spend? How much weight can you really pickup and lift by yourself? How will you transport the watercraft? What kind of water will you be using it on...how much maneuvering is needed? Is it rocky where a smooth bottom is a plus sliding over and off rocks? Are you going to run a vehicle shuttle...or are there times you'll want to paddle upstream and fish and then turn around and float and fish back to your vehicle. Do you want to camp out of the boat? Or carry a friend or dog? Do a good bit of research and zero in on the one that works best for your circumstances.

Tobias Judd · #10 04-01-2009, 10:56 PM

My wife and I fish from a Native Ultimate 12.5 and 14 and they are both great boats. We even fish from them with our dogs in the boat. They are great to stand up and paddle and are relatively stable to fly cast from. With that said, it takes some practice with balancing, but overal really stable. They are both set up with multiple scotty mounts which is good to take a few rods with you. We have used them on flat water and rivers. THEY ARE NOT GOOD WHITE WATER BOATS and they will fill up with water. Native makes spray skirts, but they are expensive. I have used the boats on open water in a big late with a decent chop and did get wet, but not too bad.

All in all, I highly recommend. We bought one of our boats that was a demo from a shop at the end of a season. Our other boat we bought a huge end of season swap meet and got a great price.

Good luck!