Well, after my last trip down the Brazos with my brother I've finally got the bug to get a SOT fishing Kayak. The last 2 trips we used my brothers 16ft touring kayaks and I'm pretty certain I want an SOT as the fishing is a big part of what I'm enjoying.

I really like the speed and stability of these longer boats. I'm over 6ft and weight around 200lbs. So far it really looks like the Tarpon 160 is the best bet. Am I missing any other great boats out there.

I expect most of my trips will be around Austin as well as a few trips down the Brazos and maybe heading down to Port Aransas once or twice a year. So I need something well suited for all of those environments.

I was going to ask the same question.....has anyone reviewed the Hobie Mirage Pro Angler....pricey but loaded. also the Freedom Hawk has my attention.

I'm not sure where you are located J-bird, but we have our demo day coming up on Lake Belton, Oct. 24th from 10am to 4pm.

It's a free event and you can come test drive the Manta Rays (one I'd recommend based on what you wrote), Ultimaes (another potential), Tarpons (160, 140, 120, 100), Commander 120, Freedom Hawk, etc. etc. We'll have over 30 boats out there to paddle.

I'd come and test paddle every boat and see which one you like.

I love my Emotion Stealth great kayak.

I agree with Colleen. Hit the Demo Days and paddle them all first. With that being said, it sounds like you will be spending a lot of your time on the smaller hill country streams and rivers. If that's the case, you might consider going with a shorter yak like a Tarpon 140 for more manuverability in tight quarters.

good thread. if i was closer id go to belton and try em all out. sounds like a good oportunity

Belton is not to far from me. I'm going to try my best to make it out there. Thanks guys for all the suggestions.

Hope to see you there! Definitely stop me and say hi...I'll probably be in the pink Ross Reels hat.

I agree with Spiny, the 160 is a little long for the rivers around Austin. I actually rarely paddle anything over 12ft. on the local Austin waters (except for Lake Austin). A 140 would be more manageable and still give you a great boat for the trips to the coast. I would also try out the Manta Ray 14 and the Redfish series....as well as every other boat at the demo (if you're able to make it) because you might as well paddle them all while you're there!

I bought a Manta Ray 11 from HOT Grapevine location, Colleen was/is INCREDIBLE and very knowledgeable. She fit me perfectly with my Manta Ray. I love it!

I think if you can make it to the HOT Demo Day you should jump to it.

prowler trident 13 is great. Ive had it on several lakes, three different rivers and in the gulf. I think the 13'6" is great. I want a short one for ponds.

Spent some time at the demo day at Lake Belton (thank you HOTKayaks). Yep, I really liked the prowler trident. The 15' is very appealing to me. Was not in love with the Tarpon 16 but it had a rudder which I'm not used too.

Perception Search 13 or 15 is probably the most under rated kayaks on the market. The Search 15 is almost identical to the Tarpon 160 and is a few hundred dollars cheaper. The only difference as far as I can tell is the deck layout.

The Hobie's are good kayaks but they are huge and weigh a ton compared to other yaks on the market. Like everyone is saying though demo as many yaks as you can and if you can rent one and fish from it.

here is a great deal on tkf i saw. ready to roll

http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=132907

gone

Im 6' 200 pounds, and I went with a 15' Ocean kayak prowler trident 15 from ACK, had them put in the optional rudder kit, and I put in a fish finder.

I love it, you can store the rods INSIDE the boat, and you can even stand up on it. But yet, its not like paddling a barge either.

Good boat IMO.

I see this thread is a month old, but while I haven't written a review on the pro angler, I own one as well as a revolution and an outback. (and several more conventional "paddle" yaks and canoes)

In a nutshell,
the pro angler is not intended to be carried on a cartop. It hauls well in my pickup bed and kayak trailer. ( I know it is possible to cartop, but I am just being honest in my opinion)
It is not inexpensive, but compared to what I spent fishing and tournaments last year, it would have really made a difference a time or two.I will be fishing tournaments exclusivly from it next year against powerboats.

It is FASTER than my outback at the same paddling effort.

It turns quicker than my outback ( it will turn in it's own length.)

storage is obscene.

You can not only stand in it, you can walk around in it.

I carry a full complement of 6 rods below deck in the tubes.

Accessories are mounted on surface plates that keep you from drilling the hull and are replaceable / interchangeable.

Base weight capacity is listed as 600 lbs. I think that is conservative.

If you have any specific questions give me a shout. I will be rigging it in a couple of weeks and posting pics as well as a review.

If you see a yellow pro angler on the water this winter, send coffee!

Still haven't made a purchase yet...trying to work out details with HOTKayaks on the Prowler 15. Glad to hear positiver reviews, thanks Wingnut!

Carver, your talking about the Hobie? Looks great, but probably more of a boat than I need though.

The Hobie Pro Angler is NOT A KAYAK! It's a freaking boat you peddle. You'd be dollars ahead buying a jon on a trailer with an outboard and get way more versatility out of it than a Pro Angler.

I would look at the Trident 13. I had a trident 15 and it was a beast to handle. It is not so much the weight but the turning and carrying a 15ft. 6in kayak is for the birds. I went with a 12ft fish n dive.

If you want stability look at cobra fish n dive. I don't think there are to many kayaks out there that are as stable as the fish n dive. I really enjoy the flat cockpit and storage. I took mine out on thursday. The fishing was not that great so I layed down and almost fell asleep. It is not the fastest boat in the world but it is not hard to paddle. My trident 15 was slower than the fish n dive.

My tip: Buy used and use the money you saved on a good paddle.

Stability not so important. I'm not really a hard core fisherman...it's just leisure and an excuse to be out on the water. Most of my trips will be over nighters so I want a boat with some speed and great storage capacity. Do you guys think the trident 15 would be hard to maneuver in fast river turns? I've done the Upper Brazos twice in a 16 ft sea kayak with no problems so I'd think the trident would be easier to maneuver than that? The trident 15 I tested seemed to turn easily enough. Now you've got me wanting to do some more demo runs.

Monsterfireworks....been looking, lots of yaks on craigs but not the one I'm looking for. It's my luck.

Have you tried the Manta Ray 14? HOT in Grapevine has one in their rental fleet. It's pretty roomy and moves pretty well.

A fish and dive is an absolute barge compared to a trident 15. Its 7 inches wider, and more squat in the water. I used one to paddle out to a 7 fathom reef near corpus (didn't have the trident at the time) It was a mile and a half or so paddle and I felt like I was going nowhere. the trident isn't a rocket ship, but for its stability and capacity its a fairly quick boat.

If you get the trident 13 you will probably have no problem maneuvering it, the 15 however really needs a rudder. For fishing I would put the rudder on just about anything, for the simple reason its MUCH easier to fish with a rudder, just give her a stroke or 2 and use your rudder to keep the course and cast away.

I would not go with with the trident 15. I would look at the 13. I agree with wingnutt. IF YOU GO WITH THE 15 GET A RUDDER. Any 15ft boat is going to be hard to turn. I myself, want the stability. It took me 6+ kayaks to figure this out, everyone is different. If you want a 15, there if one of TKF without a rudder for $650.

I think if you tried a 13 you would like it bettter.

$650?! #$*^#@

thats about right!