Decent kayak forum for a new kayaker

[Fisher Kat]

I have a Future Beach Angler 160 and love it.  it's a 13' sit on top.  Bought it on Craig's List for $350.   I'm a heavy guy (6' 280) and it's super stable.  Threw together an anchor trolley system for $15 and it was ready to rock.  Good luck and tight lines!

[Spider1]

Nice kayak Kat, and you got a great price. I just missed out on a pair of F+S Talons for $300 each or $500 for both. I wanted one for my boy and one for my wife. I txt'd my wife to see if we had the cash on hand and by the time she ok'd it they were gone.

[Fisher Kat]

That's Craig's List for ya Spider1.  Blows my mind how the cool things just get pounced on!

[Monovasia]

I have a 6 year old Hobie Revolution, I purchased it when I was fishing the ocean, love it for fresh water as well.....best boat I ever had....check out www.bigwatersedge.com it is focused on ocean fishing, but u would be SHOCKED what these guys do with a kayak....and for a bonus site, check out

[9huskies]

 The first thing I would recommend for a fishing kayak is get the longest one you can handle. A long boat tracks better and will cover more miles with less paddling effort. 14 feet is the bare minimum but 16 feet is better. My fishing kayaks are a 14' Wilderness Systems Pungo and a 16' Wilderness Tarpon. I use the Pungo in early spring and late fall when the water is cold. Because it is a sit-in I can use a spray skirt and stay dry. Without the skirt you will get wet when water drips off the paddle or a wave splashes you. I use the Tarpon when the water warms up. It's a stable fishing platform with room to stretch and relax. It paddles almost as nice as my 17 foot sea kayak. I had a chance to paddle the Old Town predator sit on top. I was impressed with the stability and straight line tracking but it was not easy to turn. That was enough to keep me from buying one. A well designed solo kayak should not need a rudder. I've also paddled several Ocean Kayak sit on top boats. None of them had cut through the water with any efficiency. It was like paddling with a snowplow blade in front. There is one more kayak I use for fishing but I doubt it's what you want. It's an inflatable whitewater kayak from NRS. I strap a fly rod to one of the tubes and paddle downstream. When I stop at an eddy I'll make some casts. If you want to combine fishing with whitewater it works well. If you try paddling that boat in flatwater you'll be miserable.

[Spider1]

I would say that it depends alot on the type of fishing and waters being fished. You don't need a 14' or 16' kayak to fish small lakes and moderate rivers. You don't even need a craft that big to fish large lakes and big rivers. Heck, I have a wildy 115 and I'll be taking it to the south shore of Long Island and hopefully Raritan Bay as well. If I was going BTB I might decide to size up a little but I don't think I would want a 16' yak but I can see in some waters it might be nice to have a craft like that.

Rudders are often a good thing, in some kayaks they are absolutely necessary. If you have a Hobie Mirage or a Wildy Radar or one of the other pedal drives where you need a steering component. And some people can use all the help staying on course depending on the waters they paddle or their own styles.

The thing is, you can't take a blanket statement and make it fit all situations. The boat needs to fit the paddler and the waters regularly paddled. That's why it's good to go to a website with lots of people and lots of info.

[9huskies]

I have paddled and fished from 10 and 12 foot kayaks. It's obviously possible. The Wilderness Systems 12 Pungo has a hull design that makes it paddle like some longer boats. Even on small ponds I have never been in a situation where a longer boat isn't better. I have never been in a pedal drive kayak but I see your point about needing a way to steer. With traditional paddle kayaks I stand by my statement about rudders being unnecessary on a well designed kayak. You are 100% correct when you say the boat needs to fit the paddler. As a whitewater paddler and instructor I know the importance of fitting a boat. Making a boat fit a paddler is about the hip and thigh pads in the cockpit and placement of the foot pegs, not the length of the boat. When it's properly fitted and equipped with thigh straps it's possible to do an eskimo roll with a 16 foot Tarpon. Not easy, but possible. It took several tries and left me with a sore back and shoulder for 2 or 3 days.

[Spider1]

yeah, but not everybody wants a sit inside type kayak. I like my sit on. I don't have thigh straps, my pegs are fine and I still ain't gonna do no roll, lol! Not if I can help it anyways, takes a lot to roll a Wildy Ride 115. I think I'd fall out of it before I actually roll it. Try taking a 14 or 16' kayak down the Broadhead sometime. You'll spend a lot of time walking it. I can do it in my 115 but even then it'll be tough. I don't need too long a yak for the delaware or susky either, I'm fine with my 115 on Wallenpaupack... just gotta keep a lookout for the motorheads. Like I said, I'm even gonna take it on the salt... a little. All I'm saying is, different boats for different applications.

besides, the op was just looking for a dedicated kayak website. Not to be told what kayak to buy.

[9huskies]

Nobody's going to roll a fishing kayak without trying really hard. I was just trying to show how far someone can go with fitting a kayak. Also, I don't recommend trying to roll a Tarpon or any other sit on top kayak. I did it to prove that it is possible to do an eskimo roll with a sit on top. I'm not familiar with the rivers you mention so I'm not qualified to say what boat is best for them. There are reasons why river kayaks are shorter than flatwater kayaks. They are the same reasons why I have 8 kayaks for different conditions and purposes. The longest is a 17 foot sea kayak and the shortest is a 5.5 foot whitewater playboat. I wouldn't want to fish from either one. Regarding the thigh straps on my tarpon, I didn't install them for the purpose of rolling. They are useful in rough water for leaning into a wave or using the edges and chines to turn quicker. They allow the use of different muscle groups and body language which can make paddling less tiring over rough water or long distances. When the wind makes 2-3 foot waves I want every advantage I can get. That also applies when I paddle through 6 foot surf.

[Spider1]

8 kayaks! man oh man, you got it bad, LOL!!! most folks don't have room for 8 kayaks. Gotta make what they can store fit there individual purposes. It's nice to be able to go on a site and ask questions and be able to get different points of view. Usually an ice fishing site isn't really the best forum to talk about kayaks, that's why the op was pointed to another place. I've been to several and like yakanglers the best so far. Very friendly to beginners and always happy to help.

[9huskies]

As you can probably guess I am more into paddling than fishing. The kayaks are a 14' pungo and a 16 foot Tarpon for fishing, a creek boat, a playboat, a squirt boat and an inflatable for whitewater, a tandem whitewater boat, a 17 foot sea kayak that is mostly used for covering lots of miles on big lakes and a surf kayak. Correction to my above post: I have 9 kayaks. In addition to the kayaks there are 4 canoes on the boat rack and 4 more stashed at remote hike-in ponds. Paddle selection is another subject worthy of its own conversation but I'll leave that to a paddling site. There's still about a month of ice fishing around here. Ice fishing is a good way to kill time while waiting to paddle the spring runoff.

[straightShot]

... a little. All I'm saying is, different boats for different applications.

besides, the op was just looking for a dedicated kayak website. Not to be told what kayak to buy.

I'm reading everything that's posted.  It's all good!

For my kayak, I'll be using it mostly on Lake St. Clair and possibly sometimes on the Detroit River.  A 12' or 13' kayak will probably allow me to navigate these waters, load it onto my truck bed with a bed extender to take it to and from a launch, and this size won't be too long to store it in my yard and to be able to lift it onto the extender and slide it on and off my truck.

[Spider1]

You'll have plenty of boat there. One thing that 9huskies touched on, the paddle, is very important. It has to be sized right and the right type of paddle for your paddling style. And as he said, it is a subject best left to a paddling site. If you do stop off at yakanglers, they have a bunch of articles on paddling and paddles. Read all you can and then sign up and introduce yourself. Plenty of guys over there that know a heck more than I can tell you.