Good morning! I’m looking for some information on Kayaks for the purpose of fishing and adventure. Mostly fishing tho. I’ve been looking at Native (Titan) and a few others. I also like the idea of something somewhat compact and light that I can move around myself and stand up in to fish. I’m not a small guy, 6’3” and around 250. I’ve been hitting quite a few lakes and getting mostly trout. I have thoroughly enjoyed that. But I’d like to open up the door to bass, crappie..etc. The “good” waters for those, you need a boat. Anyone a kayak extraordinaire? Thanks!
I bought an emotion stealth 11 a few years back and it's been a great kayak that didn't cost as much as an entry level bass boat. I stand up in mine, but it really depends on your balance and whether or not you have current, wind, or other boat traffic. There are three things I don't care for but none are deal breakers, just things that would improve the experience. The side handle isn't dead center so it requires two hands to carry since the balance point is forward of the carry handle. Next, is the lack of a cup holder. Not a huge deal, but it would be nice to have something in arms reach to hold your beverage. But if you only bring a water bottle of some type you can keep it in one of the storage areas. Last is the storage area inside the hull. A plastic insert, like a bait bucket, that could store small items but be removed to stuff rain gear or a jacket inside the kayak would be a great idea. Other than that it's built solid and tracks well for what it is. https://www.cabelas.com/product/EMOTION-STEALTH-ANGLER-SAND/1804145.uts
I'm running an Old Town "Next" myself. It's stable enough to stand if you wanted, but getting to your feet from the low/legs forward position...I think that would be a bit challenging. It might be easier from the seat of a canoe but I don't own one to give a definitive on it. I have always just fished from the seated position, some of the bigger catches have made for an interesting ride.
Thanks for all the inputs! I think I have pretty good balance, mountain bike and dirt bike rider, used to standing up in the gnar. That’s another thing I’ve been looking at, the ability to move around and ease of standing up (beat up vet).
You won't be standing up in it and it isn't set up for fishing, but it'll cover alot of miles in a hurry
A couple years back, my wife wanted one and we "planned" to get two so we could go together. I worked some extra off-duty gigs and bought the one she wanted (Vibe Yellowfin 100) but I held off getting mine, and since I've retired, those extra jobs aren't available to me so no extra money. She;s been several times in the two years since, and really likes paddling. I'm a WAY big guy (375lbs) so I was looking at fishing kayaks for the width, weight capacity, and stability. I don't fish, but the things I needed seemed to be best represented in the fishing kayaks. Also, the modularity of the fishing kayaks was a plus. The two that I came down to were the Feelfree 13.5 Lure (with the intent of painting over the big logo of the bass) or the NuCanoe Frontier 12. I have since decided on the Frontier 12, but as I said earlier, that money is not in the cards anytime soon. I would suggest at least looking at the Frontier line of NuCanoe or the Lure from Feelfree. Also, I'm a devout anti-Facebooker, but I do go on sometimes and check out the owner's groups of these and see what mods others are doing. (I can view this even without a FB account.)
Aquaglide 125 inflatable constructed of Duratex PVC. Solid build. Can be configured for one-two persons. Cruise or fish. Weight 38lbs. Tracks extremely will. I like it as it can be setup for sit in, situp or stable enough to stand. Designed in US, manufactured in China (dammit). Sets up in about 15 minutes. I have about $1200 into it. Some good videos on YouTube. In the bag. Lake Michigan
