This is my first post on this forum. My son just recently moved out and now I've got the space to store a kayak in my garage. I'm close to pulling the trigger on a Hobie outback so, I went out on 3/21 (Saturday) to check out some possible places to launch from. I noticed Westpark and Sycamore Bend were closed on Lake Lewisville. Any suggestion on where to go to start on Lake Lewisville? I live in Carrollton, so its a very short drive. Should I consider waiting to but one? Thanks for the suggestions!

One of the benifits of having a kayak is you can put in at any part of any lake you can legaly get to the water. You dont need a boat ramp. You just need parking or a legal space on roadside. Crecent oaks boat ramp, little elm boat ramp, cottonwood marina, hidden cove. Those are the ones i use on lake lew. Google and google earth may be your best friend when the parks are closed. You can look along the shoreline for tire tracks etc.

I have an Outback. It is a great fishing platform, fairly easy to pedal and you can fish hands free. No complaints with it at all. The 2017's and up have the 180 or 360 pedal drives in them. Mine is a 2013, so I don't have that. I think there is/was a pretty good deal on a PA12 on here recently. Slightly heavier than and outback and probably not quite as easy to paddle, but would be great fishing kayak.

Most of the lakes around here are so high and water coming in and going out of them so crappie fishing may be sketchy for a while.

Wayne

To clarify, the Outbacks do not have 360... at the moment, that is only offered as an option on the 2020 PA models.

My son has an Outback and loves it. I have a PA14 and love it. I cannot explain the physics of it, but the 12' Outback and 14' PA pedal the same. On more than one occasion, my son and I started from a dead stop and called off a cadence to ensure that we were pedaling about the same. They move along at the same speed. This may not be the case in a 12' PA, but the extra 2' in length in the 14's offsets the added weight and extra 4" in width.

As Lurethewind said, the PA's are not made for paddling. They send a paddle in the PA models as a backup mode of transportation in case the drive has issues on the water. The Outback can be paddled... but not nearly as easy kayak that is designed to 100% paddle.

Hobie redesigned the Outback in 2019 and then came out with 360 fins on 2020 PA's. This might result in more used 2017/18 Outbacks as people upgrade. However, with the COVID-19 situation, it will likely cause people to pause for a while before forking over $3,000 to $5,000 for a new kayak.

BTW... welcome aboard. You will love it!

Welcome Rappcon.

These are crazy times we are in right now. Used kayaks are dropping in value almost by the day since so many people are being affect financially over Covid19. If you can buy used especially if you can buy one that's not more than 2 years old you'll save hundreds and in some cases over a grand. The Outbacks are amazing kayaks. IMO the most versatile kayak on the market. They're heavier than many paddle kayaks so getting them to the water usually requires a cart or Boondox landing gear. But you don't have to have a cart to start out.

Good luck and be safe.

Thanks a bunch for the info! So they haven't shut the lakes down at this point. I'll make time to check out some of the spots Christian recommended this weekend. I think I'll probably wait a little while before I make my purchase. I've been waiting for over a year and another month or so won't be that bad. Hopefully all this craziness will start to calm down soon. I know a lot of people are having tough times. I'm okay thus far, but who knows what the future will bring.

Welcome!!

Agree with comments above, Lewisville has many options to launch. The high water means you may have to be creative but there are options. Will be many more when the water gets closer to normal.

The great thing about the dfw area is there seems to be no end to spots to chase trophys in just about any speceis you like. Explore all the lakes and rivers around. Personaly i seem to stick with lewisville and ray roberts.