I've been looking to buy a kayak for fishing and duck hunting. I'm leaning towards the Pelican Castaway 116. Is there any word out there on the stabilty and ease of paddling of this boat? The price is reasonable and it looks like a good boat, but this will be my first kayak. Little help?

just my opinion, but if you are going to duck hunt also, i would get sit in kayak, and a floating gun case.
you need the room for decoys, that are hard to lash on a sit on top.
i have rowed right into the middle of probably 100 mallards in my kayak. right at sunrise. it was incredible. at lake Possum Kingdom, really Rock Creek

I just bought the Castaway 116. Yesterday was my second time to get it out and I spent 6 hours fishing in it. It's comfortable to sit in, pretty manueverable, easy to paddle and very stable. The wind was blowing pretty good yesterday and I felt very confident in it's stability. It works just fine for fishing, duck hunting on the other hand, I have no idea. The only draw-back to this kayak in my opinion is that it weighs 62lbs. It is a chore to get that thing on top of an SUV when the wind is blowing. Mind you, this is my first kayak so I have nothing to compare it to.

Never used these, just throwing a link to you

http://www.pokeboat.com/PokeHunting.htm

I have had my Castaway 116 for almost a year now and I am loving it. Plenty of room for storage, tackle, small ice-chest. It's an easy kayak to handle (My wife handles her Castaway like a champ). Best Kayak for your money! I first bought mine as a "hold me over" kayak, until I could afford a more expensive model. Now I don't think that I would ever want to part with my Castaway. Guys in $600 yaks are telling me how great mine looks (I paid $380). In my opinion, you can't go wrong with the Castaway 116 Gary.

Rip

I have the Castaway as well. I have spent quite a few hours in the bay, marsh, surf, and local lakes in it. The yak seems to track very well for a cheap boat, and there is plenty of room for storage. For the price, you cant beat it. The only drawback I have found is that the front hatch is not sealed very tight, even when the straps are tightened to the max. I noticed that when large waves would crash over the boat, the front hatch takes water in. The waves I am talking about were 3-4 feet. For most all lakes and bays this is a great yak.