I too carry a spare paddle, in case I find myself among the too many to count who are "broken down and on the disabled list".

I tease... I just can't help but to picture a Water World nation of broke down pedalers banded together in the middle of Lewisville with paddlers (aka: "Smokers") circleing and chanting "I told you so.. I told you so"

Again, I tease, I'm just an idiot who can't let go

Personally, my opinion is:
- for the sport and enjoyment of kayaking, shallow rivers, salt and open water fishing... Paddlers win
- for the sport of bass fishing, crappie fishing, trolling, wind and simple enjoyment of being on the water with a cold beverage... Pedalers win

I cannot see myself without a pedal kayak, but I can see myself also owning a paddle kayak. I've been looking more and more at the Wilderness Commanders

All in good fun. I learn a lot from y'all.

Signing out.

Maybe you just didn't recognize what one looks like with bad pedal drive.

This beer comment is offensive. I drink as much beer as anyone and i paddle. Habahaha!

And the guys fishing bass, crappie.....well they might not be man enough to paddle. Paddlers only catch big fish. Really im kidding. I like to give bass guys a hard time. I do like pedal yaks, never owned one but consider it at times. Ive seen a hobie outback out in the gulf with myself and amanda when we got caught in the worst storm i have ever paddled in, 10-12 ft surf and 20+ ft waves offshore. We paddled and he pedaled nearly 20 miles and the outback did very well. Cant really say a single bad thing about that.

Trolliing isn't fishing.

Always a great and fun topic.

I wanted to add that the first two fishing tournaments this year in the NTXKC? They were won by paddlers. I wish that, in addition to fish stats by placements, they'd add a column showing the make/model of kayak, paddle versus pedal.

And, I'd only add that one reason I think paddlers CAN compete well is the nature of how we fish. I sit here looking out at Lake Athens as I type, I see boats float by and they never really stop. Most have their trolling motors operating. But, for me and others I see out on the lake in canoes and kayaks, we most often pull up to a spot and we really work the water longer. So, you can do this by pedaling back and forth, like in my Propel 10, but I can do the same thing out of my canoe using an anchor, a brush clip, or both, pulling up into weeds (wave arrestors).

Too, not for comps, not certain of the rules there, but plenty of places have nice sand or gravel bars, long banks, small islands, where a paddler can easily and quickly drift up and let us get out for a bit, fish on our feet. You can certainly do this with a pedaler, too, but this'd be yet another thing paddlers do at least a bit better.

Covering miles and miles of open water? If you are in a rush, it starts tipping over a bit more in the pedaler's favor, or it would for me.

Brad

The hands free aspect of pedals especially for fishing is hard to beat. You can always pull the pedals in shallow water and paddle.The rule of thumb in stumps is to go slow whether a kayak or big boat. I learned this the hard way.

All Hobies and any quality kayaks are roto molded polyethylene which means the hulls are thicker, stronger and can be �welded� in case of a hard stump crash. I repaired mine and buried stainless steel screen in the hull. It�s stronger than from the factory. All the drive components are replaceable. For me I will always have a pedal drive.

This pretty much sums it up for me. I have the predator pdl and can raise or lower my drive with one hand at anytime, or even remove it if I don�t need it and paddle to my heart�s content. They are more expensive and heavier, but functionally I just don�t see any disadvantage with a pedal drive, personally

I just bought a Hobie Outback and it's my first pedal yak. I utilize it both ways, as a pedal craft and a paddle craft. The way I look at it, I have the best of both worlds and use it the way best suited for the situation.

Your kayaks are all pretty fast - the vikings are good fast SOTs.
Stealth are really nice composite skis but man are they expensive- I am hoping to get my hands on a carbon fiber version in the future.
Pedal yaks are very good, extremely convenient, in many ways. I personally prefer the lighter weight, simplicity of paddling and also more balanced whole body work out that paddle yaks entail.

I�ve had many of both and I always go back to pedal drive. It�s just so much more enjoyable for me.

For me I think both are necessary. It's really hard to find one kayak that fits all types of fishing. I have a Pro Angler and enjoy the pedal drive when I'm fishing for catfish on the lake. But when I'm down in the salty water fishing flats it's not a good kayak to have because it's tough to paddle when water gets shallow. Almost impossible to paddle into a stiff wind.

pedal and i'm a new kayak owner. but there are times when you obviously can't peddle and need to paddle.