I made my third trip out on Lake Athens yesterday in my new Jackson Cuda Lt thermo-formed kayak. I paddled from my home to the boat ramp on the lake fishing a few spots on the way out, then fished my way home. Total distance according to the mapping of my general path from Google Earth was just under 2.5 miles.

Wind:

The wind was generally southerly (and gusty) but anyone who kayaks knows that on lakes, for whatever reasons, the wind can be very capricious. So, I couldn't say I had the wind in my favor going back as it should have been; as a matter of fact, I think I encountered more wind when it should have been at my back. I sound here a little bit like the story of the old grand dad telling his grand children how tough his life was, that he walked 10 miles to school each morning uphill, then 10 miles back home after school . . . uphill too. Ha! But, in a kayak, we often experience something eerily close to this.

Just a general observation: I sort of prefer going out into the wind then having it behind me on the trip back in when one is more tired.

Differences Pedaling and Paddling:

If I were pedaling my Native Propel over a similar distance, the pace would be generally more constant. With paddles and light winds, you glide more so you can press on for 50 or 100 yards, then glide for 10 or 20 more, then go again. It is like doing sets of repetitions as in weight training. A pedal kayak, since it has its drive unit down in the water, comes to a stop much more abruptly. Speed? Hard to say but my best guess is a Hobie or Propel would certainly hold a sustained all-out pedaling speed longer than an all-out paddling effort . . . but not by much. I think some competitions bear this out.

Outfitting your kayak:

There is one big difference. A paddle-only kayak has to keep an area just in front of your seated position up to about your toes, a bit back to the rear of you, too, open for the paddle stroke. In a pedal kayak, this is less important. So, for anyone really loading up gear-wise, I'd say the pedal kayaks are the way to go. A PA 14 looks like aircraft could land on its deck and that translates to a whole lot of gear. A paddle kayak, at least all but some of the really big rigs, in my opinion, is slightly more suited to finesse riggings. So, 3 rods, some tackle and all of that, just not every toy in the world mounted on rails up and down the sides.

Weight:

Paddlers tend to be lighter. I can lift mine rather effortlessly overhead, at 12'11", 32" wide and 57 lbs. without the seat and carry it down to the water over 200 feet or throw it in the back of a pick up. Yesterday, I rolled it down on a cart pre-rigged to fish. On the downside, even with those dimensions, my Jackson is only rated for 350 lbs. max loads. Not sure why since it is almost the same dimensions as a Propel 13 which loads up to 400 lbs. That said, it feels accurate at 350 lbs. and not dialed in too low. Maybe, some of the other ratings are optimistic? Anyway, a lighter boat and if you are going to paddle, you want to take advantage of it by keeping things light.

Fishability:

At least with Native Propels, there are simply no other kayaks out there with that level of fishability in terms of holding water. Getting to a distant fishing spot, fishing in weeds, etc. favor a Hobie and some other pedal types. So, here, thinking through how you will hold water is a big deal. For me, I am going to mount an Anchor Wizard right behind my hip for easy reach, then run the little anchor lift directly off the stern tip. Even the slightest bit off to one side or the other causes a boat to swing a bit more and it cocks the vessel. I'll need to have Kevin D. make me a little aluminum mount to do this right. So, with that in place, easy to drop and lift a light anchor and no storage issues with a large hank of rope, I am also going to put on an anchor trolley where I can use it in some cases to further position things, to attach a stick pole, leash on to a tree limb, that sort of thing.

Yes, even without an anchor, I caught 3 bass and a few bluegills on ultralight tackle. Lots of fun. Anchoring will help.

Maintenance:

Nothing to do on this paddle kayak but rinse it off and put it up. It is so nice not to have to worry about cables, grease and other mechanical issues. I like this aspect a lot. It feels so minimalist to me. But, I lean that way in all aspects of my fishing.

ideally, for a serious kayak angler, you'd have a couple of kayaks with different abilities. And, for anyone fishing rivers, there are a whole additional set of things to consider. A pedal and a paddle kayak would really provide a whole lot of coverage for different circumstances.

Pic of my route.

Brad

I love to kayak fish, but I also like the simplicity and to have a lot of room for gear and another person, and also go longer distances, so that is why I'll never sell my 14' outboard powered fishing boat.

Pedal vs paddle. Have not tried a pedal type yak, I can see advantages over the paddle when casting lures. I do use an anchor and a stick to hold in place at times, but for me, slow paddling or drifting bait (live or cut) is where its at. However, if the fish aren't cooperating I put up the rods and go for a paddle. I have had bass boats, flatbottom, and one man boats with trolling motors. Kayaks are more fun, I caught as many fish, and spent less money. Pedal vs Paddle - me thinks its what you like

Still paddling my Perception Illusion, going on 14 years. Wished I were standing to fish at times, wished I were pedaling at times, wished I had a lot more room for gear at times. But most of the time, I'm happy. Really enjoy the feel of a paddle blade in the water on calm days and the workout and battle against nature on the not so good days. Its all good.

Really good insights. Thanks guys.

Jimbo, yes! If one had a pedal and a paddle kayak AND a small boat, it'd be heaven. Just two days ago, I was down fishing off the boat dock, a guy from Forney came gliding by and I said hello, asked him what year model and make his little boat was. he said it was a 14' Lonestar . . . 1961 year model. Aluminium.

He said he'd had it for over 30 years and was only its second owner! It looked like an antique in all regards other than the new motor he'd recently put on it, 25 HP as I recall. It had a pedestal seat up near the bow where he sat to fish, work his trolling motor. He told me people asked him why he didn't paint it. He said he told them he liked it just the way it is, that it even leaked a little but no worries. I told him, sure, I'd just leave it alone, that many would just call all that wear and tear a lovely "patina" like watching shiny new copper turn bronze and then green with age and weathering.

So, anyway, that'd be a GREAT addition: a lightweight boat, easy to trailer, not having to worry about a scratch here and there, bring a friend along, a lazy day not wanting to paddle or pedal.

Brad

I love not having to rely on a motor to start, big batteries to charge, store, or replace with a kayak.

But I may have to get a Solo Skiff, jon boat, or maybe even an actual skiff in the future to access some places that might be beyond reach from a kayak.

I fish kayak tournaments quite often, and going from a paddle to pedal yak really upped my game. I could tackle long distances without worrying about wind being a deterrent. The extra casts I gained not having a paddle in my hand are also important. Lastly, being able to back-pedal my Native Slayer while fighting a good bass is a huge bonus. I still have my Wilderness Ride 135 and I still love it. In weedy conditions, it's nice not having to worry about a fouled drive. Also, I've wrapped my anchor line in my drive more times than I'd care to remember. Never had that problem with a paddle.

There's pluses and minuses to both, but I find myself using the Native much more often than the Wildy.

-SSJr

Agreed. I own both a pedaler, a Slayer Propel 10, and a paddler, my Jackson Cuda Lt, as I have mentioned earlier . . . and there is no doubt that in terms of which one fishes the best, my pedaler is much better considering all forms of fishing and various presentations. The paddler would do as good in something like deep water jigging, close anyway, but if you are working along a bank in shallow water where you need to move and not anchor, the Native is tops.

*** A tip for pedalers I wrote about on a Native website: You can cast out almost any finesse bottom technique: drop shot, Texas Rigged worm and more . . . let it hit and drop, see if you get a bite on the drop (often the case) or in a minute or so once it hits bottom; if not, pull your rod tip up to pull the presentation back toward you . . . but here is the trick . . . instead of reeling in that line, you pedal back away from it to take the slack out.

That is, you never reel in the line as in most cases where after a few movements your lure is back close to the kayak and you reel in and re-cast. The way I am describing means you leave the presentation in the water for a long, long time as you "crawdad" back away to take out the line slack. Really cool and you cover a whole lot of water as you re-position your lure to see if you get a fish to react.

My favorite way of doing this has been to find the depth I want to fish, say fish are at 8 feet and that is 25 feet off a dam. So, I go to one end of the dam, turn around with my stern facing the other far end, then I flip a T-Rig in the water, often this is in the rip rap at the base of dams, and I literally back pedal myself in that 8 feet of water zone all the way down the dam if I care to.

As the story goes, the son asks his father why it is that the father catches more fish, and the dad replies, "Because I leave my worm in the water a lot longer." So, bringing your lure all the way in a re-casting repeatedly is "time out of the water" so keeping it in means more chances for a fish to grab it.

Brad

I have a cheap kayak and have to paddle. I would love to try out a pedal kayak some day. great post

i have an outback/ i like to peddle while casting

I'm new to a PA14 and I am so impressed about how it goes through the wind and up current I think it' because there is constant force applied. Also found it easy to "tread water" to hold a position in a breeze

I got a used PA14 a few months back and have since added the sail kit since we have a lot of wind in Texas. The great thing about Hobie is that you get all the options in one kayak. Don't want to pedal or need really shallow access? No problem. Pull the pedal unit out, put the blank off piece in, lift your rudder, then grab your paddle. Want to go a long ways? Pedal it, sail it, (can even do both at the same time in a hybrid mode) or put the electric motor in it. You have options. The sail is a true sail and you can tack upwind with it.

Unlike the propellor pedal yaks, you still glide in the Hobie for awhile because all you have is those two narrow fins hanging straight down acting more like a keel than anything.

I had a paddle only fishing kayak before the PA and it was frustrating for certain types of fishing. But like others, I like to paddle sometimes for the sheer simplicity and the exercise.