When I lived aboard my boat in the Caribbean(20+ years), my inflatable dinghy was my "car". One rule for fishing in an inflatable: NO TREBLE HOOKS!

IslandJim

1st day on the water review

The “needs mods improvement”
Comes with six built in rod holders. I don’t like the positioning of the rod holders. Been spoiled with horizontal rod tubes in my Hobies and will be making this mod

Don’t like the seat positions. I’m 6’5” and the two built in seat positions work well for 6’ and under.
Just have to lengthen the seat harness straps with paracord and carabiners

It’s slow, but it’s what I expected with pontoons that wide and big

The inflatable seat greatly benefits from that lumbar seat support. In hind sight, I maybe would have purchased the nice seat upgrade; but happy with the seat mod and will now make it more permanent.

The good
Handles waves better than any kayak I’ve ever owned. Can see how it’s rated for class 4 rapids

Tracks well with skeg addition.

Tough as nails and very well built

Catches fish

Converting vertical rod holders to horizontal
2” rubber T connections—found in pvc section HD
1.5 would be too narrow.....1.75 would be ideal, but ring clamps and gorilla tape solved the issue.
The 2” diameter is nice for spinning rods

Seat position adjustment. Paracord and zip ties

Easy mods that make the kayak more comfortable and fishable for taller anglers

Glue on (used Sta-bond) Scotty mounts for FF and swing arm/transducer

CCTX,
That's pretty cool. I wouldn't mind having something like that in the trunk of the car on vacation or when a likely looking fishing hole pops up. How easy does it pack up, or are you able to pack it up with the glued on attachments. Can you post a pic of it packed up?

I’ve made some permanent modifications that have affected how small it can be packed
—extra skeg (now has two)
—horizontal fishing rod tube mod X3

The glue on mounts for the FF and swing arm are at the same level as one of the skegs so as not to further impair packability.

I’ll post a pic of it folded up tomorrow. It fits easily in any car trunk even after the mods.

Unmodified it packs up about 50% smaller.

CCTX/All,

Railblaza makes an accessory mount that can be permanently glued in place that then allows an adapter to be added where one can then install a Hobie H-Rail with all of the things attachable to them that are available. So, these H-Rails would be taken off for folding.

In the video I have seen of these mounts, the installers make certain that these mounting attachments aren't positioned at the "folds." With most of the Hobie inflatables, I believe they are folded up in roughly one-third boat length sections, so, the bow is folded back toward the middle, the stern the same, then these two are brought together for packing.

If anyone wants me to post the video of these being installed, let me know. And, of course, one could use an accessory mount for a rod holder and dozens of other things. The H-Rails aren't cheap nor are the Hobie attachments. I get that. Still, a lot of them are super functional for anglers.

Brad

Folded

Myself prefers to minimize the time consuming starting from folded package setups and takedowns on inflatable craft. Plus things should be dry to avoid mildew before folding into a package for storage. Since I go out frequently, I keep everything set up and inflated under low pressure in my garage, and and either strap to top, or slide it into my SUV, then top off air pressure and quickly load at destination. For me, the folded package option comes into play when traveling out-of-state or by air travel, or when packing in. One thing to be aware of, is that the pressure may need to be adjusted to avoid the over pressure from hot sun/ very high altitudes or under pressure from cold water.

Hope this helps.

porta's idea is exactly what I plan to do as long as I own my truck. I'll just get my inflatable all set up so when I arrive at my destination I can hit the water a few minutes faster. Then, I suspect that, again with a truck bed, one could sort of knock it down, drop the PSI to about 1/3 max and cart it home that way. I wouldn't want to fold it up and store it wet.

Where I intend to pack mine up and bag it will be on trips where I am gone for several days at a time.

Brad

That Sea Eagle looks sweet. The question I have is about paddling them. Their kayaks are very wide, over 3 feet, and I am worried I would be constantly hitting the sides when trying to paddle them, have you had any issues paddling it?

The 350fx is wide. I have long arms, so I haven't had to adjust my paddling stroke much. Tall and big, so I've always had wide kayaks. It is certainly no speed demon. Have struggled into a 25mph headwind but got lots of exercise doing so.

If I were to get an inflatable as my primary fishing vessel, I'd get the Sea Eagle 385 fta. It's narrower and tracks better than the 350fx. I'm dragging the 350fx through the woods and down rocky rip rap, so I chose the more rugged one made out of thicker material and rated for class IV rapids.