This was in a small lake. Water temps were ~43, but the steering cables are inside the hull, so it took a little while of jiggling to get them released
The Obligatory Pedal Kayak thread
- Thread starter Bugmeister
- Start date
Gonna join in, though a bit late to the game. I fish out of my Hobie Compass with Northern quite a bit. When I am trolling I tend to do it moving forward because I am afraid of running into something going backwards. I can't move my neck around as well as I'd like to be able to look over my shoulder to check for targets, so forward facing is more safe for everyone. If there is no one else on the lake with me but Northern, I will troll backwards. She just has to watch out for me! I think the Hobie has been a gamechanger for my fishing. Opened up so many more waters, super stable, plenty of room to stash stuff, easy to maneuver forward or backward and in the wind. I can lift it if needed as it is about 65 lbs. empty. Can't go wrong with the Mirage 180.
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Thanks for your perspective @FishingGirl - appreciate you!
I’m also glad to see more and more women getting into fishing. I come from a family where everyone fly fishes, no matter the “preferred gender pronouns.” Grew up fishing with accomplished fly fisherwomen. Some of my aunts are the best fly tiers in the family as well.
Here is a pic showing one of my aunts with an illustrative sample of the maaaaannny fish she has sneaked up on with her trusty Winston. Dry flies are her gig. She has a bad ankle so she mostly floats these days, but the lady has style and is ageless.
I'm kind of on the fence on getting a kayak. It's between that or a Float tube. With a kayak I'll only get my feet wet. With a float tube I have to wear all kinds of shit to keep me dry. That's quite a bit more to wear. In don't mind wet feet and then again I don't like getting all wet either. Looking at one that is a little wider than some.
Jim, as much as I love my kayak, and feel it is as stable as a kayak gets, I think you are better off in a pontoon. A kayak that is wide and stable is also going to be very heavy. Like around 100lbs. Hard to move. And you also have to consider what you'd do it you managed to fall off (most stable kayaks don't tend to flip, but rather you lose balance and fall in). And getting in and out can be a little tricky depending on the spot you are launching from. Kayak is better of you want to travel good distances and not be too afraid of some good chop / bad weather. A pontoon - probably going to be sticking within range of the launch. Just my 2 cents... Oh,and pontoons are much cheaper as well. You can spend under 500 on a decent pontoon where that same 500 is going to be hard to get the kayak you'll need.
I agree (and I'm a kayak fanatic...got a total of 7 now).
Were I only interested in owning a dedicated flatwater flyfishing craft I'd most definitely go with an inflatable.
Update: Just ordered a Hobie Mirage Compass with the 180 drive. This constitutes my birthday, Xmas, and some other special occasion presents.
Woohooo! Must begin reorganizing my garage to optimize storage location. Prob need to buy hobie kayak cart as well......
Woohooo! Must begin reorganizing my garage to optimize storage location. Prob need to buy hobie kayak cart as well......
Congrats! Thats the exact one I have; I love it. And yes, you'll want a cart. Enjoy!
If you like to bring more than one rod when you fish, here's an easy DIY fly rod storage system for the Hobie. I made 2 sets of these for a few bucks, in 30 min, for @FishingGirl and I to use on our Compasses.
Dowel, pipe insulation, duct tape, 2 rubber coated U-hooks, Nite Ize gear ties.
Then two plastic conduit straps screwed onto the rear deck to secure the rod tips. Holds a rigged, halved rod down out of the way on each side.
You could probably make a prettier version, I just haven't gotten around to it
Welcome to try mine out.
ARecher
Smolt
Here's mine. An older Revo 13. I love the speed and it's fairly stable if you're a little cautious. I upgraded/fixed the mirage drive a couple of years ago and now I'm considering an upgrade kit for 180˚. That'd be almost $600 though. For salmon fishing (where I fish) I think I would really like that capability. I've caught a few from it but I tend to catch more fish from the beaches though and have considered just selling it. The commercial guys pretty much wipe out the crab around here so not sure it's even worth keeping it for that.
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Took out the Passport 12 last week for it's maiden voyage. A very stable craft, and the speed is quite impressive, even with the standard Mirage drive. You can cover a lot of water with these things, with far less effort than paddling. Very comfortable. A real bargain, for a Hobie.
I would agree. I use my Native because I can access large lakes with ease, also can cruise over to feeding fish pretty quickly and see what's going on. But I fished out of a Super FatCat for years and I really think I catch more fish using it. Better set up for fishing with pockets on each side for all of your fishing gear and I rain jacket and lunch in a waterproof bag behind the seat. Many times I found myself at the wrong end of the wind at Minnie Lake and kicked forever to get back to the launch. I used to own a Scadden Escape which was a great fishing platform, sat higher out of the water which was very nice spring and fall, and I could cover water pretty quickly with the oars. But for fishing big lakes the kayak is the best.
Thank you for sharing this! I had been trying to figure out a rod storage system and now I'm just going to steal your idea!!
Sweet! In the pic it looks like you could make it lower profile, but that's a tiny reel. Make sure you measure with your largest diameter one so that it hangs freely and doesn't bang on the gunwale in chop
If you can walk and chew gum simultaneously you can troll backward in a pontoon, tube, or kayak.
I personally love trolling backwards in a tube or pontoon boat for the reasons @Northern mentioned.
It is based on the type of craft. Not difficult to switch between types of boats for trolling.
you could troll backwards in Carnival Cruise Liner - but would you want to? Again, in a tube or pontoon boat, you pretty much HAVE to since that is who they are designed to be propelled. Just like a drift boat, pram, or other typical row boat. A kayak is designed to move forward with you facing forward. sure, you CAN troll backwards. My point was that some people for some reason have avoided fishing kayaks because they falsely assumed you HAD to troll backwards, and that was a deal breaker for them. I'm just pointing out that with today's fishing designed kayaks, they are designed to troll forwards, and you always have the option to troll backwards, wind drift, anchor, etc. They are a very versatile platform, with many of the more advanced kayaks allowing the fisherman to stand and move around comfortably, cover long distances, camping expeditions, open ocean, rivers, small lakes, etc.
I'd probably get a kayak but I doubt I'd stay married as I have 5 floating devices now and my wife would have a fit.
mtskibum16
Life of the Party
I usually troll forwards with my rod held backwards so not out to the side water loaded much. I've never thought about trolling backwards actually! I don't troll much either though.Yup! Totally agree.
It's a feeling thing. Trolling forwards with the rod bent under water tension just doesn't feel like fly fishing to me - it feels the same as trolling gear. I'm not saying it's not effective, just that it tends to be more of a fish hooking themselves feeling. Nothing wrong with that, and I actually do often carry a spinning rod to fish deep or while in forward travel mode. I'm not gonna complain if a fish hooks itself!
Like @Chadk said - it's all about options!
I fish the salt quite a bit and drift sections of shore pointing right at the beach (goes for a lake with a breeze too). It's nice to be able to easily pedal backwards and forwards to control the distance to the beach. Then I'll use my free hand to swing my paddle if I need to adjust the angle of the boat. A drift sock would probably help there, but I've never messed with one.
I have a Native Slayer 13. Pros and cons with every boat, but it's been pretty good to me.
If I am just mindlessly trolling along, I troll forward, rod in right hand, left hand close to my rudder control. Usually though I am working drop offs, I will position myself facing the shoreline, make long casts, count down for depth, and then slowly pedal backwards or sometimes anchor up and strip retrieve. I like being able to see my line and see where the strike is in relation to my boat, trolling forward is not as satisfying from that regard. I have a Berley Pro rudder extension on my Slayer Propel and it has made the boat track so much better and trolling backwards is pretty easy now.
