what kayak do you have and why

[scrotty]

Hobie Outback, Easy to peddle, hands free, efficient propulsion, local dealer. Love it!
Cheers

[GreekBoi]

2013 Hobie Revolution 13 - Great for anything, got it so I could go offshore easily and inshore. Used it for 3 night camping trips and it easily has enough storage.
My ad and me have been building a storage box for the back which will be great and later down the track going to outfit it with 2 outriggers like the Hobie AI and a
sail. As much as I'd love the Hobie AI I just don't want to spend a heap..

I've only caught a few small stuff so far but I've hooked onto the big stuff just never got them up
The peddles are amazing for fishing. I do however like the stealth's due to the storage and how light they are.

[SURLY]

I Have a Prowler Torque, but am using it without its motor as more for fitness . Have just recently paid extra money to colour fishfinder installed plus a few extras. Doing quite well on sand flats around crab island in broadwater. Still on my wish list is a go-pro as so wanted to film one of the big girls I have been lucky enough to hook. I tell you even though new to this I am addicted to it, and to hook a 80cm + lizard in just over a metre in crystal clear water is awesome. Even better watching them swim away

[Spot82]

I have an ocean kayak prowler torque, love it to death, probably caught 60-80 barra out of it up to 120cms+ Love the fact that you can troll with two rods, also manouvre hands free basically with the electric and rudder to get those big fish away from the snags and not get towed around too much. Also loved fishing with it in the Brissy river for bass.

With some good weather and a good run of pelagics I will be giving it a fair workout offshore as well.

With a 80amp hour deep cell battery I have been on the water for up to 8 hrs and still not needed to paddle.

Biggest downside it just setting up and packing up with connecting batteries, sounder, etc, etc. Although I do take a fair bit of camera gear with me as well.

Steers well, little bit wet, but self draining scupper plugs are well worth the $$$, Good amounts of storage and good stability when loaded also, Although I wouldn't stand up and fish in one...

[Gigantor]

I have a Hobie Outback (1 person) and a Hobie Oasis (2 person). Have been a Hobie convert since 2007 when I got my first one, a second hand Outback. Before that I have a 15 foot Rosco canoe and a sit-in kayak.

The Hobie is a perfect fishing platform, giving me hands-free ability to play a fish and spend all day out on the water without getting tired. Hobie have always put in design features that are a benefit to fishos. Things like moulded in rod holders and trays, as well as giving you a kayak that has great capacity for gear and me. The leg-powered Mirage Drive makes trolling 2 lures a breeze in virtually all conditions. Though I generally fish the rivers, creeks and dams. Don't really play in the off-shore area, as I'm not confident in big swells.

The other important factor in staying with Hobie is their unwavering product support. They stand behind their products 100%, even when the kayak is old. If there is a problem – they will work with you to fix it.

Also I've seen quite a few yak fishos move to Hobies then move away to Ocean Kayak & other brands only to come back to Hobies again. I guess there will always be fads (for the want for a better word) or having the latest brand of kayak - but if what I'm seeing is anything to go on, then Hobie continues to offer something that yak fishos want. There must be a reason for this.

The other factor I would draw on is when a second hand Hobie is listed for sale on either www.akff.net or www.kfdu.com.au (2 long standing kayak fishing web sites) they don't stay listed for too long, as they sell very quickly.

NOTE: I am not paid by Hobie to voice this opinion. This is all simply my opinion and experience over 10 years or so yak fishing now.

Cheers,

Pete

[Gigantor]

Thanks just seeing what people like and dislike at the moment

FTW,

One key thing when considering what to buy is "Capacity". Can't emphasise this enough. 2 key questions on this…(1) what’s your weight? plus (2) what is my gears weight? Add these together and then compare that figure with the kayak’s capacity. The 2 figures (yak capacity - Me + gear = ?) shouldn’t be too close to each other – otherwise you’ll be sitting quite low in the water and need to expend more energy to propel yourself through the water, which = get tired quickly.

My situ is....I’m 6 foot 4 inches tall and 105kgs and I carry approx. 20kg of gear = so about 130kgs, and the Hobie Outback’s capacity is 180kgs. So I’ve got a very good total weight margin/buoyancy ratio. This issue was mentioned to me in my very early yak fishing days and I was forever grateful. You’d be surprised how many fishing yaks there are out there that have pretty sad capacities.

Cheers,
Pete

[randell]

I have a 12 ft canoe with a 3.3 hp Merc. It gets me to the place and back..... sometimes I paddle..

Randell

[Gozz]

FTW,

One key thing when considering what to buy is "Capacity". Can't emphasise this enough. 2 key questions on this…(1) what’s your weight? plus (2) what is my gears weight? Add these together and then compare that figure with the kayak’s capacity. The 2 figures (yak capacity - Me + gear = ?) shouldn’t be too close to each other – otherwise you’ll be sitting quite low in the water and need to expend more energy to propel yourself through the water, which = get tired quickly.

My situ is....I’m 6 foot 4 inches tall and 105kgs and I carry approx. 20kg of gear = so about 130kgs, and the Hobie Outback’s capacity is 180kgs. So I’ve got a very good total weight margin/buoyancy ratio. This issue was mentioned to me in my very early yak fishing days and I was forever grateful. You’d be surprised how many fishing yaks there are out there that have pretty sad capacities.

Cheers,
Pete

Totally agree.
I'm about a 100kg and sometimes I put one of my kids on the front and one on the back of my outback and it still holds the weight no probs.
it actually doesn't lose that much speed even with a combined 170kg.

[Nicko_Cairns]

I now have another Fish Bandit for my wife and I got a Lifetime Angler 3.0 for me. The Angler is big and slow which is great for barra in impoundments which is all I wanted it for. I wouldn't recommend it for offshore or in the surf. I picked it for its stability, holds 204kg and I can stand up on it if I want to (not that I would very often but will be good for a mid fishing stretch now and then).

I had two fish bandits (Extreme Kayaks) in Canberra and I miss them so much we're buying another two. We couldn't fit them in with the move unfortunately, great little yak and very good for impoundments, wouldn't take them into the inshore/offshore world though, but I'd take the bigger brother the Outlaw into that stuff.

Aus made too, and at around $699 you just can't go past them. No they're not a pushpeddle/flap thingy like a hobie but most yak fishos up here in Tinaroo swear by paddling to attract the barra and apparently the peddle ones are too noisy (from a fish perspective). ps this was told to me by Mark Hope, from worldrecord########### .theusual.au and if anyone knows how to catch barra from a yak, it's him.