For me, kayak all the way. Tried pontoons and float tubes. I can get anywhere with a homemade kayak dolly so transport is a breeze from truck to the water with a distance in between.

I am comfortable all day, paddle good distances and can go light or with a lot of equipment. Fish deep or shallow.

Learning curve is not hard like some may say.

It all depends what are you looking for and what works for you. YMMV. As for the storage issue, a rigid kayak has a small footprint when hanged in a wall. Still, it may be a concern for you.

Hi, Pappy:

Call around to fly shops and see if you can rent a tube, then the same for a kayak or, see if someone will let you borrow.
Then judge for yourself on the various points considered above. How many times will you get in/out instead of just standing up, lumbar support sitting flat vs. a recliner, how long it takes to learn to hover or hold position in the deep and how much trouble is it, how steady/stable is the platform, how fast do you need to go, how easy to transport/store for your personal situation, etc.

P.

Don, if you are wanting to save some money i have a classic arrow backpacker inflatable pontoon with fish finder i'll trade you for some of your baitrunner reels. I am asking $100 cash for it but will trade for some things

Reading the posts, I think there are advantages and disadvantages to having both. Renting a kayak when you're fishing say the saltwater lakes on the coast, an East Texas park, Caddo Lake, e.g., floating a river makes perfect sense, too, and that way you don't have to worry about where or how to store it in your situation. Living near many Central Texas rivers, I am sure there are plenty of places that would rent you one.

Now, if you talk with Kevin Hutchison, he's going to tell you kayaks are a waste of time and one of the biggest myths forced on to fishermen of all time. For Kevin, pontoon boats are the only way to go. I have a tendency to agree with him, because I think the pontoon boats marry the best of float tubes and kayaks in one inflatable, easily storable piece.

This from the owner of a canoe, kayak, paddle boat, float tube, and pontoon boat, so take it as just my 2 cents worth.

I am under the same criteria as you. BUT, I decided that a kayak would work best for me. I don't dare take a tube out in saltwater.

I live in an apartment and decided to upgrade to a apartment with a 2 car garage to have room. I know have 3- 12 foot kayaks and still fit my car in there. I decided kayak so I can move miles about the water.

I also own a float tube AND I have a inflatable kayak called the Sevylor Colorado I bought for $500.

i float down rivers. a kayak is best. dont have to worry about punctures. get home throw yak in backyard and its ready for next trip. throw it in back of suv and off i go in minutes.

Enjoyed reading this trail. I have owned and/or fished in everything mentioned thus far. I then found the boats I currently own in Canada. Storage/Stability/Ease of transport/Fishability/etc./etc. in my view these are hands down the over all best choice. Check them out and feel free to contact me for more information and you can take one for FREE any time to test. Merry Christmas!

I would be willing to take you up on your offer. I have never seen a Frog Boat before in my life. I really like the pictures with anglers standing to fish/boating, and I like the way they store in your garage. Very interesting boat.

85# is too heavy for the remote areas or packing/crossing narrow hiking paths between streams. But this one can go where no other boat can: https://www.alpackaraft.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=store.catalog&CategoryID=53&ProductID=66
Too pricy for me, but the ODC 420 L at 7# is a lot more comfortable and can be found for under $100 during special sales.
Not even inflatable kayaks can go miles in remote riding in comfort, and without repeated inflation/deflation cycles because of their length.... Not for everyone, just the type of areas I enjoy. Lightweights also work in regular places, but they are SLOW to row/paddle....

Porta

Porta

I live in Granbury and can be reached via email and/or mobile 574-536-6617. Touch base to set up a time/location and I will bring you a boat to test. Just an FYI the hull wieghs 53lbs. Pontoons are 8lbs each. I am 52 yrs old and have no problem loading/unloading by myself. You can see more photo's and video's on our Facebook site. Simply type Go Froggin' in the search box to find the page.

I have 5 float tubes, i love them, but most of my buddies have moved on to kayaks, so im looking at the native ultimate kayak. I will let you know which i prefer.

Great, except where is the motor mount?

Reliving an old post.
Saw one of these in the wild of tawakoni
At first I was thinking that must be homemade but it wasn't
It was awesome. The guy took to very small kids with him did a couple donuts.

Curious do you still sell these and what is the weight limit for an adukt.

really enjoyed reading this for the first time.. I fished for many years as a kid out of a float tube, canoe, inflatable raft, and now only kayaks.. transport, storage, weather conditions, all come in to play when choosing what is best for each of us and the waters we normally fish ..moved to south florida and only had my float tube at that time. Fished the everglades for bass until I finally heard what sounded like bullfrogs were actually alligators late one evening.. no more tubing in those waters..

Fished my tube in the salt water after that for maybe a month before Ft Lauderdale, Broward County Sheriff Dept helicopter sighted me coming back in from about a mile out and had Drug Enforcement Agency Boat stopped me ... they thought I was floating in from Cuba... told me I was too near the shipping lanes and to go back in closer to shore.

It was my first summer in south florida and the ocean was as flat as a pancake.. later on I was out just past the surf and nearly couldnt make it back in when a strong west wind from the beach along with a little rip tide kept me from reaching shore... I had those flipper flappers that fit on the heel of your shoe and along with using both hands to help with propulsion, I was about to be swept out to sea.. ending up having to release my seat strap, exiting out the bottom of tube in water shallow enough to walk out.. didnt take long for metal clasp to rust out and that was the end to tube fishing.. downside of tubes was turtles eating fish off your stringer, exposing your skin to bad stuff in the summer when waters became more toxic, and being wet for hours at a time.. especially in the salt water.

Canoes were out of the question in salt water down there, they caught too much wind, hard to load and unload in the wind, and the aluminum ones made a lot of noise.. I went back to fishing from only the bank, jetties, and piers..

It was on a trip from fishing one of the bridges down in the Keys that I had a car beside me in a big traffic jam that I got to see a Cobra Fish and Dive (no longer made) kayak strapped to the roof of the car... an hour later as I passed through Key Largo, I stopped at one of the largest specialty kayak outfitters in all of Florida, at the time.. Every kind of kayak you can imagine.. long, short, sit on top, sit inside, hobie peddal kayaks... bought a book.. Kayak Fishing, the Revolution.. read the whole damn book that night... went looking for a fishing kayak to rent the next day.. lots of choices.

To me the most important thing in a kayak, is getting one that you can load by yourself, that you have a place you can easily store it, that works well in all types of water, big and small... and is comfortable (you can usually upgrade the seats) Hard to find ones like I have now.. but if you look, they are out there, and cheap! The new kayaks are to0 big, too, heavy, and most are hard to paddle..

I will be 70 this year and can still load mine on top of my car, can fish small ponds to miles out into the Atlantic without fear for my life. Lots of places to check them out in Dallas and along the Texas gulf coast.. craigslist also in the bigger cities will have plenty of older model kayaks.. the main thing is to get one that will carry your weight and gear. For around $500 bucks there are plenty of 10 years old plastic kayaks that will work great.

If you are still favoring a tube.. carry it with you on kayak to the other side of the lake and park your kayak and fish out of your tube..
Whatever gets you on the water..