Hey ya'll, I've been reading up on kayaks the last few weeks hoping I can purchase one soon. To preface 95% of my fishing will be on local lakes/creeks/ponds. I do however want to get one that maybe once or twice a year I can take to coast to fish both inland and possibly offshore if the weather is right. I'm looking at either a 12' or 14' PDL kayak. 14' seems to be overkill for what I'll be using it for majority of the time, but the extra space would be nice. My real question is loading/unloading/trailer/bed of truck. From what I've seen a 12' you can probably get away with the extender and a truck bed. Can you do that with a 14'? I'll be solo 95% of the time too, I'm not a big dude so I don't want to buy something I physically can't handle. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! Can't wait to get one and explore with it! Thomas 979-257-9796

I recently bought a 14' and it can easily fit into your truck bed with an extender.
It can be a tad cumbersome. The weight really comes into play when you are having to dolly up and down inclines.
Most of my use is local ponds and lakes, but went with the bigger one for the coastal trips and when I feel adventurous to hit some of the bigger lakes around.
The extra room makes me feel more at ease when inevitably over pack for every trip.
With all of this being said, I'm a little bit of a bigger guy, so the weight isn't as big of a deal for me and the extra room is nice.
If you are at all worried about the size/weight, go with a 12'. Still ample room for everything you need. Just going to be a little tighter of a ride.
Best advice I can give you, is meet up with someone local when they are going out for the day. Ask to meet them at the ramp so you can kind of get an idea of what it takes to load/unload.
Should make it a little easier to help you determine what will fit your needs the most.

I have a 14' and a 10'. I believe the 14' may have cob webs on it by now. The bigger yak is heavier and much more cumbersome to transport and get in to the water. Extremely stable, but loading a 14' yak in to the back of my truck after a full day of fishing is just no longer fun. I use it now to tow my kids behind while I peddle the 10' yak. My 10' is plenty stable and can be loaded down, plus easy to carry down a ramp if needed vs dolly. I don't take it in salt.

For overall stability in all bodies of water, I would go with 12'.

Ya, that's kinda what it's looking like. It's almost like some of the local 14' used sell for less b/c they are such a burden to transport. I appreciate the input!

I guess it depends on what model 12 or 14 your looking at. Fishing kayaks have changed dramatically over the last 20 years.. the one thing that hasn't changed is wind and current. Plenty of both in the salt water, plenty of wind everywhere at some point during the seasons. You can always find a place to fish out of a bad wind, you can't always get there and back without going through some bad conditions. I like low seating, not as comfortable as the chairs types, but when the going gets tough, you'll remember why.

When I started out, I test paddled a lot of kayaks... the more I tested, the more I realized that wind or wind and current made how a kayak handled those conditions the most important factor. For me it worked out great.. still have the first kayak I ever bought 20 years ago.. 14' length and 27 inch beam. I'm 6' 168 lbs. Used it for fishing saltwater flats, deep sea, fresh water rivers and lakes and everything in between. Good Luck in whatever you choose.

I started out years ago with a Wilderness Ride 135. Sold it after years of amazing fun and bought a bass boat. Had it many years and sold it because of limited storage space.
Found a Hobie PA14 that was already set up on a trailer. Overall, the Hobie was the best purchase of all. I could pedal it at 4mph for long distances. Having the reverse (180 unit) made fishing a real blast. Loading it on / off the trailer was a breeze. Had to sell it to pay bills during COVID, but I will definitely get another one as soon as finances allow.
If you’re looking at getting a PDL kayak, don’t hesitate to get a 14 footer. I used mine on open water on lakes, in streams for trout, and at the coast and in marshes around Galveston.
No question about it. Hobie PA14 is the kayak to have.

JR

I had a Hobie PA14 along with a Hobie Revo 13 and a Hobie Outback (2020) and the PA14 just sat because lugging that beast up a ramp or incline after fishing absolutely sucks! If you get a PDL 14 a trailer is a must IMO. I wouldn't concern myself with offshore or inshore if this is something you'll do one out of 15 trips a year. That said if you decide to go with a 10 footer your chances for offshore would be cancelled. Not really reasonable to consider taking a 10' kayak offshore. 10 footer is doable inshore but you'll battle the wind a lot more. Based on what you've said I would lean 12' for you unless a trailer is an option. Either way you will need a good dolly if you're not going with a trailer.

If youre not a bigger guy I would not want to tangle with a 14. Not the way they make fishing yaks now. My yak is 13.5 and it gives me all I want. I am 6'4 220lbs. Its a bit of a workout to load and unload from my truck bed...its not terrible but its not fun.

The 12 will be great.

i like 12'
Mainstream Patriot sit in (not sink)
i got it as a young man
combine duck hunting & fishing
i did 2 day Brazos trips pretty EZ
Actually I meant 2 night trips

my wife has a 10' SOT
it is too little
no tracking

i need a SOT now

Have to make a note on loading and unloading. I'm an old, fat short guy that's NOT in good shape. Who also fishes out of a PA14. Loading and unloading is less about strength and more about technique.

Take a look at skinny Minny - girly girl loading her boat. Note that woman is a very accomplished angler and knows what she is talking about:


Kristine Fisher loading her PA14

I use a similar technique on my trailer at the ramp. Boonedox landing gear instead of Hobie wheels, but you will get idea.

Technique doesn't change the weight of the kayak. Pulling 150 lb kayak plus gear up a long steep ramp sucked for me regardless of how I did it. Weight is by far the biggest reason people get rid of their PA14.

You are probably correct Jerry, but that does not mean that I agree with the overall conclusion if weight is the only concern. For me, a 2 minute pull up a ramp sucks, but not enough to trump 4, 6, 8, 12 hours of relative comfort on the water.

In short, I will be the first to admit that a PA14 is a heavy son of a gun (it really is!). However, in my situation, it's a 5 to 1 return. Meaning, for every 1 con, there are 5 pros.

For me (because haul in the bed of a truck and store it behind my shed) the only con is pulling the beast 100' up a ramp at the end of the day. Meaning, even if I had a 12' kayak, I would still use Boonedox landing gear, haul it in the bed of my truck and store it on a rack behind my shed.

One of the nice things about Kayak fishing is that we now have a lot of options to meet our specific needs. For me, I "need" to be comfortable on the water

No doubt Mike it's what works best for you. Heavy kayaks just aren't for me. I've had 3 Hobies and for me the PA14 was the least comfortable.