Minnesota to SW Texas is quite a change of venue Roggie. Your buddies will be envious of the gigantic largemouths and the year round kayak fishing you'll be near, but you'll probably miss the pike, walleye and trout. Right now, Ivie is probably one of the best bets in the state (if not the entire country) to land a 10 pound bass.

Just be prepared to deal with the big wind and ridiculous and sometimes dangerous heat. It's no joke. It gets the best of those of us who are used to it sometimes. Sadly a guy doing the Texas water safari (a 200 mile paddle race) this past week succumbed to hyponatremia. Kind of an extreme deal in extreme circumstances maybe but it underscores the fact that you need to take precautions and be on guard while exerting yourself in the outdoors in the summer here. Things can get real serious real fast.

That said... Fishing in November through February sure is nice. Welcome to Texas!

Sinks vs SOTS. I kinda agree that it's a blonde vs brunette thing. Pros and cons to both, but they each can work well with the conditions we have here in Texas. Always was a SOT guy in the past but now that I've got a hybrid (WS Commander 140) I realize that the advantages of a non scuppered boat are not championed enough. It's way more stable than any SOT when you're seated in the low paddling position. Honestly you'd have to work hard at capsizing this thing in normal conditions. I've had it out in rough conditions and while some water got in while going through 2-3 foot swells, the boat was so stable during it that it gave me more confidence than if I were in a SOT. Capacity-wise it blows away most if not all SOTs. My hybrid is big and kinda slow and hard to turn, but many smaller SINKS make for much more efficient paddling and maneuvering. A 14 foot sink can be a very fast boat depending on the hull design. I think the thing I like most about the hybrid is the durability. All scuppers crack eventually.

All that said, the initial stability of the SOT really does make it the best option for most people. No argument there....

well i love all the points yall are making. things i hadnt really thought about. heres my dilemma. i bought a jackson coosa and in the higher seating and standing position it was the most unstable thing ive ever been in. no getting used to it at all. im about 5ft10 and about 230. so i used a buddy's hobie p/a for a day and really love it. problem is transporting it for me, and also the fact that my primary fishing will be done out of my bass boat. just my preference. so what im looking for would be something that doesnt weigh a ton, is stable and when i pull it from truck to shore it doesnt tip one way or the other like my coosa did. was a nightmare. so in my mind im looking at the w/s rides or a commander. i like the ability that teh commander had as far as being able to "throw stuff inside" as opposed to being perched out to fall out on a sot. im built about like chad hoover so watching him with the stability of the wildy products is a plus. let me know what yall think. thanks again

I have an ultimate 14.5, very similar to the commander and I wind up carrying more when I go out in it because it is easy to manage gear in. I also have a ride 135, both are a joy to paddle and have their strengths. Try out the mentioned hybrids and decide for yourself if they are what you are looking for, if they arent there are a ton of SOT kayaks that may fit better in to what you are looking for. The key is to try them until you find one that fits your needs, pulling the trigger then figuring out it is not what you want and costs time and money to correct.

If you want to paddle my Ultimate for a day of fishing Freon to see if the hybrids are what you are looking for name a weekend or evening that works for you and we can work out some time on the water so you can see the difference.

blondes

*FALSE*

I have a sit in and this is not true. My buddy on his SOT has a much harder time in the wind staying put than me. My kayak sits IN the water vs. his being on TOP of the water.

Dont count out the redheads.
Ron

hmmm... you found the coosa unstable? I have 3 kayaks, coosa, a ride 115 and cuda. To me they are all about the same stability wise, seat in high position in coosa and cuda will make you feel tipy til you get used to it. I have been running in high position ever since the water got above 60. If the Coosa feels tipy to you then none of the boats mentioned will feel much different in that regard. The only more stable is like you said a PA.

yeah that coosa was very tippy and i thought it was me and having time on the water.. but standing my toes were constantly tight and i felt like i had very little stability. as far as the high position, overall it felt ok buit i couldnt make any sudden moves without feeling like i was goinna tip or actually tipping. i dumped it several times and it wasnt hard at all. after calling several dealers they said the same thing that after about 180 pounds guys seemed to complain more about unstable... my only thought about the commander or even the ride was that the hull design makes it more stable. i watched several videos of chad hoover moving around and it seems like hes got a good handle and never looks unstable, same can be said for drew gregory... but the difference is probably about 8 inches and a hundred pounds.

I have heard the feeling that being able to press your legs against the inside helps with that feeling. I would definintly suggest you go try one out. Because in general there is not alot of difference in width with all those "standing" Kayaks. I am about 180 to 190 so i can't speak as regards to weight as u mentioned. You probably wont ever have the stability as in a Bass boat, but I have fallen out of a bass boat before.

im almost thinking that i just need to go with the most stable and not stand...

Sorry! I fixed it!

This is why you have to test them out before you buy! A lot of the hype about stability and standing is just that, and the only way to find out for sure is to test paddle one and then test paddle some of the other kayaks. Any time you take 30+ inches of width and add several inches in height, I don't care who makes the kayak, you are raising the center of gravity and you will feel tippy, and if you go too far one way or the other you will take a dip.

I tested the coosa before buying. Thought the tippyness was from me being a newbie.

Honestly freonfreak that's kinda where I'm at. I stand occasionally while in the Commander, but for the most part it's just to stretch my legs. It's not to fish very often.. When you stand in a yak, you're letting go of the reins. Unless conditions are perfect, you can't orient the boat, or at least keep it oriented in a direction that is ideal, while standing. While seated and fishing with the paddle across your lap, you are constantly making small adjustments with your paddle. Once you stop doing that you're at the mercy of even a small breeze. Yes, you can tie off or anchor, but I just find that I don't do that really that often. Sometimes, but not that often. I find that you have to prepare too much to stand. It's just not a really efficient way to fish from the yak IMO. I dunno. I'll concede that maybe I take the ability to stand for granted, but I really don't think so since, well, I rarely do it.

The Commander has close to 500 lbs capacity. I love that about it. Theres a bunch of things this capacity and stability allows, including moving around a lot, stretching, carrying 7-8 rods, sitting sideways on the captains perch, turning around completely on said perch, carrying nearly a couple hundred pounds worth of gear, etc.... Of all the things this stability affords, the ability to stand is the least important to me. The rest of the stuff has become important to how I fish, but the actual standing while fishing?

Meh...

Of course this may just be me. I do know of some guys who stand every chance they get.

I usually set the hook pretty hard. Don't think I could ever do that with a yak. Just wouldn't feel comfortable. I originally liked the commander looks and features but was talked out of it after hearing. Horror stories about never getting it flipped back over etc. like I said chad Hoover is a bit top heavy like myself and seems to do fine in both the ride and the commander. I think just as a general feeling good about it I'd feel more comfortable in the commander. I have a fear about knocking my gear into the water etc. for me it really is a toss up between the two. I think I'd wanna stay around the 12-13' range just from a transportability thing.