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Looking for guidance #15013391 03/10/24 08:50 PM
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mikereils5er Offline OP
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Pretty close to getting a good bass fishing kayak, just don’t know where to start. Can anyone give me some guidance, willing to spend potentially up to 3-4 grand for right set up.
Here is what I want in the rig and for it to do in no order
1. Big water and skinny water, I live in west Parker county so i have easy access to the brazos as well as PK, granbury, Squaw and Weatherford.
2. Would like to mount electronics eventually
3. Primarily largemouth fish, looking for a set up to hold rods vertically on the back?
4. Easy to transport, have a 1500 truck but it is a short bed

Been looking at natives and old towns but not sure what is considered “good” or “top of the line”

Thank you

Re: Looking for guidance [Re: mikereils5er] #15013567 03/11/24 01:10 AM
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TxDanFishMan Offline
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I think you are on the the right path with either Old Town or Native.

Old Town 106 or 120 Sportman, paddle, peddle or autopilot.

Native , 10 or 12.5 , Slayer propel, Slayer Max or Titan.

All of these are stable, well built platforms that you can rig many ways.
Weight may be one of the main factors, I have a Sportsman 106 that I haul around in my pickup and really like it.

If you haven't already been I would check them out at Mountain Sports in Arlington, Mariner Sales or Anglers Pro Choice in N.Richland Hills.

These other threads at the top cover most of the topics you need to consider.


Slide right, coming in .... Fish On!
Re: Looking for guidance [Re: mikereils5er] #15014183 03/11/24 07:45 PM
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Dan90210 ☮ Offline
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Like the Old towns myself. I have a Predator, now the Big Water. Great boat.

Now that is a big boat, unless you are large man you may not need all that.

Those other models mentioned may suit you better. My buddy has a TopWater by Old Town and its really sweet. You wont go wrong with an Old Town.

Re: Looking for guidance [Re: mikereils5er] #15014273 03/11/24 09:34 PM
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lconn4 Online Content
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A good rule of angling philosophy is not to interfere with another fisherman's ways of being happy, unless you want to be hated.
Zane Grey, Tales of Fishes, 1919

https://vimeo.com/73372194
https://vimeo.com/72859045

Re: Looking for guidance [Re: mikereils5er] #15015544 03/13/24 12:53 PM
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christian myrick Offline
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So the this how you want,,,I dont think a prop style kayak is going to be very good in skinny water. I'm not a pedal kayak guy or a bass guy but I'm of the opinion hobie has the best pedal options for skinny water. The flippers can go almost flat to the hull. The prop style drives require you to pick up the drive thus taking away your hands free propulsion. Hobie you can do real short strokes and still move in the shallows. If it were me and I was fishing the way your asking about I'd get a compass, outback or revolution. There are I'm sure lots of great options out there but that's what I'd look at.


Re: Looking for guidance [Re: mikereils5er] #15015672 03/13/24 02:47 PM
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Mike@972 Online Content
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I agree with Christian. I have the Hobie PA and my son has a Hobie Outback. They are not even close to being in the same category but I like them both for different reasons.

All and all, I think the Outback is the best all-around kayak (although I personally prefer the PA). The Outback is like the Leatherman Wave of kayaks (the multitool that all others are measured against).

Native, Old Town, Jackson, and some others also make good kayaks. However, as Christion said, I believe that Hobie makes a good kayak and the best drive system. Not only does it function in shallow/stumpy water, it's the most energy efficient because you "press" vs "cycle". This small energy savings is multiplied by a tens of thousands a day. It adds up and makes a big difference by the end of the day.

However, the brands you mention are like comparing Ford, GM and Dodge... We all have personal preferences, but they all make a good truck.

Re: Looking for guidance [Re: mikereils5er] #15015882 03/13/24 06:37 PM
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lconn4 Online Content
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Even though I had paddled canoes and rubber rafts since I was a kid, I rented kayaks for a year before I ever bought one... tried out everything I could get my hands on in south florida where there were a lot of different brands and a lot of different type waters to fish...from super skinny to the deep blue sea... I wanted one that would work reasonably well in any conditions... I never even considered a hobie. I wanted something I could easily load and unload on a car, that paddled very well, and was less mechanical.. didn’t even want a rudder.

The last thing I wanted was a mechanical breakdown that would leave me stranded. The more I paddled, the more I wanted a performance paddling kayak... kayaks that I rented early on that seemed unstable, were actually very stable after I had more experience in them. To this day, I feel for someone in the under 200 lb range, that a 14 foot kayak, 28 inch beam is the best way to go for all types of fishing. Now you aren’t going to be comfortable trying to stand up in it to fish in anything but calm water, but for getting you home in the worst conditions, its a winner.

I guarantee when you get caught out in shallow water around stumps, in grass, in pads, or in the salt around coral heads and oyster bars, with the winds howling and waves pounding, your butt will want to be as low in the seat as possible. roflmao And there will be days that start off nice and end up a lot worse than you would intentionally go out in, or days that require you to go around open water that’s really bad to get to areas that are wind protected. Owning a kayak that caught a lot of wind from high seating position, was a deal breaker for me.

Loading a 70lb kayak is about as much as I want to lift these days... 90 is too much for me. You don’t see many 14’, 70 lb kayaks anymore.. but back when paddling performance was more important, they were everywhere. Lots of used ones still around if you look... Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140... 14 feet 28 inch beam.. Manta Ray 14, same specs.. you find you one of those for about 500 - 600 bucks and you are set for pretty much any kind of waters and conditions in my opinion.. oh, and if you are in the 200 and above weight range.. you might be pushing it for these kayaks with all your gear.

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

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I can paddle right over these with a running start roflmao Floating timber too!

keep it simple.. lightweight plastic kayak, upgraded surf to summit seat if you need one, a good paddle, good rack for carrying on car or truck ... shallow water or deep, good conditions or bad... you got all conditions covered with one kayak.

[Linked Image]

Nothing better than the quiet and glide of a good paddling kayak


A good rule of angling philosophy is not to interfere with another fisherman's ways of being happy, unless you want to be hated.
Zane Grey, Tales of Fishes, 1919

https://vimeo.com/73372194
https://vimeo.com/72859045

Re: Looking for guidance [Re: mikereils5er] #15015920 03/13/24 07:15 PM
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christian myrick Offline
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I do agree there is nothing better than a nice paddling kayak. I have vikings, wilderness tarpon 160 and a stealth fisha 500, all of those paddle like a dream. I can even stand in my tarpon. The vikings I could my 440 but the others have a sloped cockpit that makes it harder for me to stand. I don't even wanna pee in my stealth. Lol


Re: Looking for guidance [Re: mikereils5er] #15015942 03/13/24 07:43 PM
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lconn4 Online Content
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the market changed when kayak bass fishing became more popular... the first kayak fishing tournaments 20+ years ago were mostly saltwater inshore.. Texas, Florida, and up in the North East..New York/New Jersey (Jamaica Bay)... didnt keep up as much with what was going on in California but they had their own deal going on as well. As there are more fishermen not near the ocean, the kayaks became designed more for fishing lakes and rivers and the kayaks kept getting shorter and fatter roflmao, just like the general population today.


A good rule of angling philosophy is not to interfere with another fisherman's ways of being happy, unless you want to be hated.
Zane Grey, Tales of Fishes, 1919

https://vimeo.com/73372194
https://vimeo.com/72859045

Re: Looking for guidance [Re: mikereils5er] #15015975 03/13/24 08:18 PM
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christian myrick Offline
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I have certainly gotten fatter. Lol.


Re: Looking for guidance [Re: mikereils5er] #15016339 03/14/24 02:17 AM
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Jezreel Offline
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Whew! ! ! That’s a tough question to answer. And every response so far is spot on. A few questions ya gotta answer. 1. What type of fish do you wanna specifically target. 2. What type of water will you be in. ( you answered that, but as explained that makes it a bit tough as it certainly narrows down the choices.). 3. Do you want a 100% paddle or 100% peddle.

I fish for Crappie 95% of the time. So I got the PA14. A Large platform. I put a trolling motor on it with electronics.

Iconn4 is an absolute fishin’ warrior in his 100% paddle yak.

I Struggled HARD trying to decide between the PA14 and Outback. I wanted the Outback, but also wanted the larger platform. I went with larger.

I like the Titan X 12.5 that Greg Blanchard uses. Look him up on YouTube. If I had it to do all over again, maybe I’d seriously look at the Titan X.

As said before, it ALL comes down to personal preference. If you have availability to try a lot of them, that’s a good thing.

Re: Looking for guidance [Re: mikereils5er] #15022949 03/21/24 12:01 PM
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mikereils5er Offline OP
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Thanks everyone, lot of good information. Once my newborn gets a little older I’m going to figure out something for the waters around me. Maybe this summer but maybe be this fall, who knows. But thank you!

Re: Looking for guidance [Re: mikereils5er] #15023474 03/21/24 10:26 PM
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texasflycaster Offline
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Everyone has their opinion, as it should be! And all the questions and analysis here is spot on. I have been thinking about keeping the raft I have up for sale (in classifieds) BECAUSE it would carry a grandma I know and a grandkid of the very small variety with a lot of safety and ease. Super stable ... pontoon of the river.

Re: Looking for guidance [Re: mikereils5er] #15023961 03/22/24 01:03 PM
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lamar44 Offline
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ocean kayak prowler 13 ' 550.00

Re: Looking for guidance [Re: lamar44] #15025046 03/23/24 05:18 PM
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christian myrick Offline
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Originally Posted by lamar44
ocean kayak prowler 13 ' 550.00

If that was a 15,,,,I'd jump on that!!! Such a great boat


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