New To Fishing Kayaks

 Hi All

 

Looking for some advice / recomendations / expertise.

I am new to fishing kayaks and have never been in one or used one how ever now that i have sold the boat and have a camper trailer i am looking at getting a kayak to go on top of it.

I have been looking for a while at 2nd hand and new imports and am a bit lost for what i want / need. most of my fishing will be done in rivers, lakes, dams and sheltered water however i would like the option to go a bit offshore on a nice day.

I have been eyeing off a Ocean Kayak - Prowler 4.1 that comes with a bit of gear and at a very good price. doesnt any body have any experience with these as a fishing yak?

 

Not really keen on paying the price of a hobie considering it wont be used all the time. Looking at $800 - $1000 limit.

 

Cheers in advance.

 

Jayce


Hutch's picture

Posts: 2221

Date Joined: 21/04/13

 A 4.1m yak might be a bit

Sun, 2017-03-19 10:53

 A 4.1m yak might be a bit big and clumsy if you're mainly fishing tight spaces in rivers, dams etc. 

For mainly sheltered water I'd look at a smaller, more manouevreable kayak. Something around 3m would be ideal and still should be able to fish the ocean on a good day.

I use a Finn Gizmo and most of my yak fishing is in the ocean, you do get wet but being so small and easy to control I can also launch in bigger surf than I'd be comfortable doing in a long, heavy yak. If you havent had much experience you're probably better off going with something a bit bigger and more stable.

avatinni's picture

Posts: 141

Date Joined: 06/06/10

 The 4.1 prowler is a great

Sun, 2017-03-19 19:15

 The 4.1 prowler is a great yak ,good stability and with the 4.1 mtr length is what you want for speed and stability in the chops. I had a 4.1 Finn beachcomber that I fished well offshore at seabird with . Hope that helps.

rob90's picture

Posts: 1528

Date Joined: 06/02/13

 Match the yak to the

Mon, 2017-03-20 09:15

 Match the yak to the majority of the fishing you will be doing, trying to fish finesse in quiet rivers and lakes will be impossible in a 4.1m paddle yak with the slightest of breezes, but you might be able to fish offshore but fishing for smaller species will become stressful and not enjoyable. If you want to be able to fish both ocean and rivers you'll probs have to compromise comfort and fishabulity in both circumstances for rivers the finn series are pretty and good i think native do a decent 11 or 12ft paddle yak that might not stretch the budget too much. If you can tho id recommend a peddle yak hobie/native simple because they keep your hands free for fishing/drinking beers but as you have mentioned they are a expensive.

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jayce's picture

Posts: 564

Date Joined: 10/12/11

 Sorry lads should have been

Mon, 2017-03-20 10:20

 Sorry lads should have been a bit more specific.

I probably wont be fishing any very small rivers.

Will be more like harvey dam and those sort of places aswell as sheltered bays around albany and up the coast aswell of lot of squidding.

 

Unfortunately at the moment the budget wont stretch to a peddle yak. If i get enough use out of a cheaper one then i may upgrade down the track.

 

I would rather stability and comfort in the ocean i think as probably will do more fishing there than in very tight rivers.

 

Any one had much to do with the Dream Kayaks beast or or dream catcher 4?

Cheers for the advice.

Hutch's picture

Posts: 2221

Date Joined: 21/04/13

 In that case a 3-4m would be

Mon, 2017-03-20 14:02

 In that case a 3-4m would be your best bet. 

Dream catcher 4 is an alright yak, good for sheltered waters and fairly heavy for its size. Its stable but doesnt handle chop or waves too well, plus you get pretty wet.

Posts: 875

Date Joined: 30/12/09

https://www.youtube.com/watch

Tue, 2017-03-21 07:45

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlo9G4nu18w

this is my kind of yak

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 Get busy living, or get busy dying!

Posts: 311

Date Joined: 13/12/12

 Hey Jayce, I've got the 4.5

Wed, 2017-03-22 07:03

 Hey Jayce, I've got the 4.5 Elite Prowler version of the Ocean Kayak and couldn't be happier - very stable and confident in rough conditions - I can only imagine the 4.1 would carry the same pedigree.

Plenty of rod holders and lots of screw holes for fitting aftermarket mounts.

Solidly built and never had anything bust on it - only little niggle is getting the seal back on the front storage hatch but I rarely use it so it's no biggy.

Quick bit fo vid of mine heading into some chop

and some blokes fairly extensive review on the 4.1