Well after a few trips out in calm and very windy conditions I think I can do a decent review of the Cuda. If anyone wants some more pics let me know and Ill shoot some more this week.

I'll start out by saying the kayak impressed me from the first time I saw it. Its a very well thought out kayak and was truly made for fishing in mind. I loved my Tarpon but I would consider it more of a "Fish and Ski" of the kayak world. Its was very fishable but lacked a lot of features that a person who likes bells and whistles would prefer. I tend to take too much when i go fishing and never have enough room. But thats how I like to go out on my fishing trips. Not to mention the wife and I plan on doing a few camping/river trips during the summer so being able to haul everything I need is important.

My impressions of the kayak in the winds of saturdays tournament were a bit mixed initially. Since I've never been in a kayak this size (14' 3") Im not 100% sure of how they turn. When stopped in the wind and trying to turn it wasnt the easiest thing to do. The Cuda had a big turn radius for sure, even with the rudder down. This was very much due to the wind as I found out turning is much easier in calm condition on LBL Sunday.

As far as anchoring in that fairly high wind a 12lbs dumbbell was more than enough to hold me, even with the kayak sitting lengthwise getting pounded by the wind and waves. I found out the previous week a 5lb weight wouldnt cut the mustard. I felt pretty stable rocking in the wind but I felt it was dumb to do if I didnt have to so I repositioned eventually. With my back to the wind I noticed waves rolling over the stern regularly. The non latching hatch held off the water like a champ! At days end very little water was inside the hull. I threw a shammy in there and it soaked up every bit of water. The waves pushed water into the tankwell and the tankwell doesnt have scupper holes. The only scupper holes are by your feet. Amazingly the water drained without me even noticing it. Trust me I would have noticed it flooding my feet as I grabbed my wifes rubber boots so I was stuck with only my Keen sandal/shoes on. More about the scupper holes, they make a weird sucking/slurping noise sometimes when paddling. Not loud but I found it weird. Water also seemed to shoot up a little on the front two scuppers during paddling. I inserted two scupper plugs in those two holes saturday and it was even more dry that way, believe it or not, yet drained just as good. Paddling into the wind was drier than in the Tarpon for sure. The Tarpon would rise at the crest of waves and crash back down, bow first into the trough and water would literally flood the kayak and drench me. The Cuda would rise slightly, but mostly cut through the waves and water would splash outward, not over the bow. Even when the water would get over the bow, the hatch held off water and the Cuda has drainage molded into the bow to allow water to roll off and not build up around the front hatch. The Tarpons front hatch would let water in the hatch everytime. An issue Ive heard lots of people have plus the Tarpon doesnt have drainage built in like the Cuda. Im not one to stay home during higher winds so having a kayak that keeps out water is a big deal for me. At days end I was really happy with the way the Cuda handled winds and lots of water. I stayed really dry and that made me really happy.

In calm conditions the Cuda turned a lot better and even more so with the rudder down. Of course it was even drier and tracked very straight.

One big issue I do have with the Cuda is the anchor trolleys I installed. The bottom of the Cuda is really flat and the plastic ring used to secure a line to on the trolley has worked its way under the kayak many times already. It can be hard to reach under the kayak and grab it. From the high seat position I dont think its even possibly without flipping. I cant really blame it on the kayak I suppose but it is very annoying at times.

The rudder operates smoothly and helps a lot in the wind. I may go to the fixed pedal setup eventually but for now im happy with it. Nothing really to brag or complain about, its a rudder.

The tankwell bungees are very strong and tight. Enough give to shove stuff in there but not too much as to lett stuff fall out. I actually feel they are bit better than the bungee on the tarpon. The bow bungee is awesome. It allows the paddle to be shoved up there and it wont move left or right. The Tarpon only had on single strand of bungee and while it secured the paddle it could easily be kicked out of reach, as I found out on multiple occasions. Im not a fan of the side carrying handles. They are not flexible and dont contour the hand well. If the WS handles fit I will for sure be replacing them with those very quickly.


The divets molded into the kayak to hold a paddle is a neat concept but not usable 100% of the time. In the low seat position, forget about it. In the high seat or standing position its useful but having a paddle bungee is a good idea in case you kick off the paddle.

Low seat position


Relaxed high seat position


Initially I loved the horizontal rod storage idea. My first time on the water I thought maybe its not so great for functionality. The inner most middle rod holders dont work at all in the low seat position unless you have a really short rod. I also thought with the way my FF is mounted the right side one wouldnt work but it does. It may be a little more cumbersome to use but it is still usable. Paddling or standing you can use all six horizontal holders. If you need more room you can put the seat in the tankwell and stand where the seat goes. Now, here is my issue with those holders. DO NOT hook a treble hooked bait to the rod. Reel it up to the rod tip and shove it under the rod protector. Otherwise you are asking for trouble. I did it the dangerous way on purpose to show what im talking about, you can see for yourself below. One other issue is if you have multiple baits under the rod protector up front you will get tangled. Single hooked baits wont be bad but cranks will be a nightmare. Still the holder are functional and I will use them. One last thing, depending on what hand your reels are you need to postion them just right or you may hit them when paddling. I did a few times but it wasnt a huge issue to me. The paddle holder wont work with rods in the horizontal holders either.






As you can see in the above pics the center hatch has very handy trays built in to place items. Theres a ton of room below to place things as well. If you look at the bow hatch area you can see the drainage I was talking about as well. Its a small idea but impressed me a lot.

Theres also a handy drink holder.


I install some of the STS silent traction stuff but it doesnt stick well to the Cuda. Now that I used the Cuda a bit I dont feel its really needed. Not that the Cuda is more quiet than any other kayak but I feel I dont make as much noise in it as I did in the Tarpon. Probably due to the room I have. Also the hull is textured so slipping when its wet isnt easy to do. Its also the reason the STS doesnt stick well to the Cuda.

In the high seat position the kayak is a bit more tipsy of course. Its like getting used to the kayak all over again and it felt a little weird being so high up on a kayak. When paddling I felt a little slower from that position but actually felt just a stable as I did in the low position. I still havent gotten very good at standing and need practice. Im not scared to fall but just dont want to tip while loaded with gear in cold water. So I cant really address how stable or unstable the Cuda is compared to any other kayak.

Storage on the kayak is awesome. You have a pocket behind the seat, under the seat, built into the kayak next to and on the sides of the tankwell. All the molded in sections allow for tackle boxes to be stored securely and in the high seat position you can store an anchor or more boxes under the seat. This leaves foot room galore! The side tankwell storage has bungees to secure the boxes in place in case you tip over. I use one of them to hold my hawg trough and it works perfectly for that.

Cruising speed for me on the Cuda is about 3.5-4.0 mph according to my FF. Hard paddling I got up 4.3-4.8 mph and could sustain it from the Mopac bridge until the AHS launch yesterday with sore arms and being a bit tired still. Overall I think I made the right choice and love the kayak. The pros and outweighed the cons and like Chris said to me. No one has made the perfect kayak and never will. You just have to know what you want in a kayak and know what you really need and let those be a deciding factor. More room, the abilitiy to stand, and more storage were a must for me. Some of the unexpecteds from the Cuda is just icing in the cake. Even if I hated it I'd have to learn to like it because the wife would kill me before letting me buy another kayak. [smilie=lol.gif] I hope this helps anyone thinking of buying a Cuda. If you see me out and wanna test it give me a shout and if Im not busy catching toads Ill be more than happy to let you try it.

My brain thanks you for the in-dept review, my bank account does not!

Also, I'm with you on the Veritas / Vendetta rods from Abu. Love my Veritas for crankbaits!

Wow ... great review! Thanks for putting the time and thought into it! Will help a lot guys considering a yak in this segment of the market.

May not be appropriate or deemed significant enough for this board, but I would love to see a sub-forum just for yak reviews either on here or TKF. I know there are numerous boards on the net and places to find reviews, but I always feel better about trusting "the guys I know".

I apologize for some of the local references. I wrote it for austinkayakfishing originally. I'll post this over on tkf later but I need to resize the pics first. Also I need to add the high wind review was done during the 10-20 mph winds at lake bastrop during the KATS tourney.

Nice review and I agree have taken mine out in big water and was impressed with the way things stayed dry. Nice tip on the hooks to leave them at the tip so not to get hooked.

Nice review.

Oh another detail. I'm about 6' 230lbs and I usually load down with 30-40lbs of additional gear. Keep that in mind when I reference paddle speed. And don't be confused I love this kayak and would recommend it anyone.

Thanks, this was very informative.

Wow, very cool to see some consumer reviews on the Cuda! By the way, this is Drew Gregory with Jackson Kayak here. On behalf of Jackson we're thrilled that you are enjoying the boat! Tony Lee, Scott Henderson and the whole gang did an awesome job putting this boat together!

Your review is pretty much dead on with what I figured the reviews would be like. One thing I'll mentioned (and mentioned in the promo video) is that we designed the Cuda with an extra set of scuppers (8) and decided to go with that oval shape to have the ability to drain water extra fast for those times when the seas are rough or when surf launching. The oval shape also molds better when roto-molding so it was a no brainer to go with them. We include scuppers with the boat so that if you do not like the ones by your feet (that, in big choppy conditions can have some water come pulse up) then you can simply plug them leaving you the standard 6 open. Some people plug 4 and keep 4 open because that is plenty for fast draining in most conditions.

You are also dead on about the paddle stager not being used when A.) Rods are in the horizontal rod holders and B.) when you are seated. The paddle stager is actually there for when you are standing. When I sit, I put the paddle in my lap.

Also agree on the part about keeping your hooks on the tip of your rods and not onto the reel when using the horizontal rod holders/stagers. What you can do though is put two under the rod tip protector and then have two outside of it. This works fine unless for some reason you are in very tight quarters where your boat might catch on marsh grass or mangroves, overhanging trees etc but with the length of the Cuda your rods should still be on the deck above the protector or just barely hanging off the sides.

By the way the tub for the center hatch should be for sale soon online at the Jackson Kayak store and at our dealer's shops as we start to ship theirs out. We also have side mesh panels up now that make the slots to the right and left of your seat turn into closeable side pockets! I love that accessory so much and it's pretty much a must have for Cuda and Coosa owners as it fits both kayaks. Keep catchin the hawgs in the Cuda and when it warms up you definitely need to put that stand assist strap to good use and give it a go in the true high (standing) position! Flppin and pitchin is a breeze!

What has me really impressed is the quality and performance along with features on the boat. You guys did your homework and nailed it. For such a young company you seem to have it together. I can't wait to see what the future holds for you and us, the consumer. You do realize this kayak is putting the pressure on you all to keep innovating though, right? lol The weight of the kayak was another factor for me as well. It's big yet probably the lightest kayak in its category. It weighs about 10lbs more than my old tarpon 120 yet has a ton more room.

I can't wait to get my sea legs and get to flipping. That was a big reason I wanted a standing kayak. We have lots of lake with reeds and such and pitching/flipping while seated is very difficult.

Keep up the good work!

I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a Cuda or the Ride 135 as soon as I can afford it.

The only thing I see that I don't like is the flat straps and locking clips that hold the mid port down. I don't know if there's a better way to do it, I've just had trouble with those.

I have thought about replacing those with a bungie and J-Hook. Those straps are bolted on so it would be easy. The current straps are 2 handed a bungie would be a one handed operation.

Also on my Cuda I strap it down in the bed of my truck. I replaced the T-handles with regular style handle. It can handle repeated load from the way I tie down my Kayak in the bed of my truck.

I pretty much love my CUDA and I love my Ride 115 too. They are just completly different boats. Now a Cuda and Ride 135 are probably very simular. What I like about the Cuda is the high seat and being able to store tackle under the seat. The large tank in the middle is super easy to store rods in. What I like about my Ride 115 is its a bit more stable and way more manoverable. I can't comment on the ride 135 though.

I am glad you posted about the STS traction stuff not sticking to the Jacson kayak. That will save me some $$. I have a coosa, so I assume it would apply there as well. Great write up.

Well it sticks to mine. Just dont put it on the floor! the Floor is textured and not needed there. It sticks fine on mine on the smooth surfaces..

Yea I was trying to imply it won't stick to the textured surface. At least not for very long.