And what were your thoughts, regrets, impacts, etc...

Seem as I am getting older and spending more time with wife, and older house that needs repairs.. I keep having less and less time to fish on weekends. Thinking of going to kayak and having one for me and one for my son... so we can go, or invite others, etc.

Thanks

I sold my Ranger 2009 Z520 this spring and have no regrets what so ever. In fact, I was a little relieved when I sold it because it had been sitting around taking up space because I no longer guided or fished the big tournaments and it had been replaced by my Hobie PA for fishing for bass for several years anyway. Since selling the Ranger I added a Hobie Outback to my two kayak fleet and have used it twice to take friends bass fishing and it has worked great. I also have fished Kayak Bass tournaments for the past 11 years and actually enjoy them more than the big tournaments I used to fish out of the Ranger. I'm 64 years old and no longer have the motivation to put in the time and effort to take care of a tournament bass boat and to put in the pre-fishing time to fish big time tournaments let alone the expenses involved. For me, at least, going to kayaks from a bass boat has been a very good idea and I have no regrets what so ever and I actually enjoy bass fishing more than ever.

Thanks for the feedback.. I'm 53.. so I'm not quite to your age yet... but I find myself fishing out of my boat less and less each year. Home repairs, trips with wife now we are getting close to empty next, kids off at college, church, etc. One would think I would be fishing out of my boat more.. but that doesn't seem to be the case.

tx_basser,

Drop on down to Lake Athens one day and I'll let you take a spin in my Meyers Sportspal S-15. It might change your selection process. You could purchase the S-13 model. It is 13'2" long and weighs 57 lbs., will fit on a roof-top or a truck bed with an extender, has a square stern for a trolling motor or a small outboard. The small outboards would be lighter than a TM and a battery. And, it'll carry two large men and gear. I paddle my S-15 over a mile out and then back . . . standing the whole way. There are just a few kayaks this stable and they weigh a ton and cost much more.

Here, you could go out paddle-only, or paddles and TM, or hook up a small outboard. Since all kayaks today are hybrids of other things, here you'd have a small boat/kayak hybrid. No need for a trailer or a cart. Comfort? No comparison.

Brad

I am 35 and have never owned a boat personally. My dad had a jon boat when I was young and then got a Ranger 25 years ago and I fished out of those up until 2010.

A boat is nice but the prices have gone up and significantly in some cases. Between my job and family I don't have time to spend every weekend on the lake and if I had a boat, it would do a lot of sitting. Plus now there is the ethanol in the fuel which can be a problem when a boat is in storage for long periods.

So a kayak offers me an easy way to get out and fish when I have the time and I don't have to worry about not being able to get where I want provided I don't leave my paddle at home. I also like how it forces me to think about where I will fish and with what. The exercise is also good too.

I catch more these days than I did in the past because I work an area more.

In the boat days, a slow fishing day usually turned into a glorified pleasure cruise going from spot to spot.

Really thinking hard about it, as I have had a boat off/on since I was 16, but I see that if I'm only using it half a dozen times a year the total cost of ownership seems to skyrocket. Yes it is paid for... but it still requires allot of upkeep, tires, batteries, maintenance, etc.

I have had several boats over the years. I was without one and looking to get another when I stumbled across kayaks. Got one instead of a boat. I've never looked back and no regrets. I've saved money, become a much better fisherman, have more fishing options, and fished some really cool places that I could never take my boats. My garage is a garage again instead of a boat storage unit. I guess the biggest impact is my wallet is fatter. No regrets here.

Had a buddy blow is motor 3 times in his Ranger. First time cost him $4,000 for a rebuild. Second time Wiseco Pistons paid for it because they had a flaw. Third time he sold the hull for a few hundred bucks. His was paid for too.

The cost of maintenance was also part of it for me. A new battery for my depth finder is $25 from Amazon. Tires and all that are for my truck so nothing I wouldn't have to deal with anyways too.

My garage isn't very big and the kayak doesn't take up much room with the wall storage mount. I keep most of my stuff in there too and then I have a room in the house for the rods, lures, and a few other things. Pretty easy to load up and go and I don't have a monthly storage fee.

These are very valid points. And, we have talked about this a bit on various forums that if you are only using a boat a half dozen times a year (for many, it'll be even less than this), for all the costs and time involved, one could hire professional fishing guides to take you out. You just show up at the ramp, hop on board and away you go. You can pick different lakes, different species, the list of advantages is long.

This circles around to the extreme importance of buying something you will use and use a lot. If not, save yourself the money.

Brad

I live very near a lake and my HOA has a private launch. When I got a boat, the kayak got sold to a neighbor kid. If i didn't live so close to our launch, my boat would not get used much. For me it boils down to how much headache is/ or isn't involved. I can decide to go for a short cruise and be on the water in 30 minutes, hook up, get some gas, and park the trailer. 45 if the wife is going.

Your wife is fast! When my wife goes it turns 30 min into a hour and a half.

I do have a boat again but a ski style boat for the family to enjoy. I like using it to mother ship my kayaks around the lakes.

When I switched focus back to salt water I sold the bass boat. I loved the boat and used it often, but it wasn't viable for chasing reds in the marsh. Now I use kayaks and my Soloskiff. Love them too.

Why do you think you'll have more time to fish in a kayak?

I've had an aluminum bass boat and now have 2 kayaks. It's different fishing, but I don't know that one is superior to the other, they are just semi-different forms of fun. Even if you get a kayak, you'll spend money buying things for it. You still have to store it, maintain it, and haul it around.

I sold my boat about 6 months after getting my PA 12. I really enjoy the fishing experience more and I catch more fish. One I can get in areas boats can't and two I fish areas more throughly because I can't simply run across the lake. Plus fellow kayak fishermen are some of the nicest people you will meet.