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Picture Of The Month



SD2OR with a trophy fall walleye
 

Topic: Looking for Advice  (Read 1785 times)

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wetwhopper

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Pacific Beach, Wa.
  • Date Registered: Jun 2006
  • Posts: 128
Hi all. It's been a long while since I've posted. The last few years has been extremely busy. Kid's sports, school, wife and I changing jobs, selling house, buying a new house, paying for kid's cars, braces, etc. etc. Lol! I'm sure many of you know what I'm talking about. Through it all I've never lost my desire to fish.

Life is slowing down, I've managed to scrape some clams together and I have a fourteen year old stud who is willing and able to go kayak fishing with me. My boy and I have fished and crabbed off of two Malibu Mini-x's and are ready to upgrade our game a bit. We have handheld vhf's, quality safety gear, carts, tackle, etc. What we don't have are fish finders/gps or serious enough kayaks to do larger water like LaPush, Westport, Sekiu, etc. Saltwater wise, we have pretty much stuck to very near shore crabbing and rockfish but need kayaks fast enough to troll for coho and chinook as well as try our hand at halibut (eventually).

We have been doing are homework and have $2000 budget/each (as mentioned this would have to include fish finder/gps also.

A few years ago, I would have went the 13' OK Trident paddle route but used Hobie Outbacks and especially the Old Town Salty peddle drives look very tempting, not to mention some of the Wilderness kayaks look very promising.

I guess what I'm asking is, if you could only have ONE kayak for the Pacific Northwest under $2000.00 (Chinook, Coho, Dungeness, Rockfish and Trout) which way would you go?
I'm 5'10" 225lbs, my boy is 5'10" and growing and maybe a 150lb.

Thanks ahead of time and hope to see you all out on the water!

« Last Edit: June 11, 2022, 02:48:33 AM by wetwhopper »


kingdr1300

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Castle Rock
  • Date Registered: May 2014
  • Posts: 128
When I upgraded, I went with the Hobie Outback.  Obviously those are going to run you over 2k with a finder even used.  I saved up longer than I wanted to be able to afford it and it was well worth it.  I also STRONGLY considered the Salty, seems like a great kayak also.  Good luck with whatever route you go.


Mojo Jojo

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Suffers from Yakfishiolus Catchyitis
  • Location: Tillamook, Oregon
  • Date Registered: May 2014
  • Posts: 6006
You could also sell the current boats to add a little more to the pot, just be patient and watch the for sales. Go peddle drive, I have 2 native propels love them both.



Shannon
2013 Jackson Big Tuna "Aircraft Carrier"
2011 Native Mariner Propel "My pickup truck"
2015 Native Slayer Propel "TLW's ride"
20?? Cobra Fish-N-Dive “10yo grandson’s”
20?? Emotion Sparky “5 yr old granddaughter’s”


wetwhopper

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Pacific Beach, Wa.
  • Date Registered: Jun 2006
  • Posts: 128
Sound advice guys. Thank you. I’m leaning toward the Salty bc of the reverse gear. I fish for rockfish along a strong tidal flow and being able to bounce a jig along the rocks and maintaining my bearing sounds very appealing although the Outback seems more stable.


Clayman

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Newport, OR
  • Date Registered: Feb 2017
  • Posts: 778
I've seen some great deals on used Hobie kayaks over the last year or so. Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and here on NWKA. If I were you, I'd make it a habit to check those sites for deals daily, and be ready to pounce on it as soon as you see it advertised.

The environment you described with strong currents makes a pedal-drive kayak your best option. The Outback is a wide platform, but don't overlook the Revo 13 either. Maybe give them both a test-drive at a kayak shop's Demo Day or something.

And to start you off on the right foot, it's "pedal" kayak. As in, pedaling a bike. Not "peddle". Unless you're looking for a kayak to sell goods from, in which case "peddle kayak" is the correct term  :laugh:.
aMayesing Bros.


rogerdodger

  • Fish Retriever
  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • roger
  • Location: Florence OR
  • Date Registered: Dec 2012
  • Posts: 1490
If you could find a couple of used Outbacks in the new design (2019-present), I think you would find them to be a great balance between stability and speed. Several other features on these Outbacks (drop down rudder, steering on both sides, retractable transducer mount large enough for any transducer) are real advantages for off shore/big water use.  My 'roll and recovery' testing when I got mine made me an instant fan of the lower profile, it was easy to climb back on in front of the seat or right onto the rear deck.
 
cheers, roger 
2019 Hobie Outback (Fish Retriever)



SD2OR

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Eugene, OR
  • Date Registered: Jul 2020
  • Posts: 619
I own two Outbacks, and freaking love em.
I think the only other boat I might ever consider, would be an Autopilot.
A day without fishing probably wouldn't kill me,
but why risk it?

3rd Place AOTY 2023

3rd Place ORC 2023

1st Place Team Event BCS 2023
12th Place Individual BCS 2023

2nd Place AOTY 2022
1st Place Tiny Fish Slam 2022



2007 Red Hobie Outback "Serenity"
2021 Camo Hobie Outback "Lagertha"


pmmpete

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Missoula, Montana
  • Date Registered: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 1989
A few years ago, I would have went the 13' OK Trident paddle route but used Hobie Outbacks and especially the Old Town Salty peddle drives look very tempting, not to mention some of the Wilderness kayaks look very promising.

I guess what I'm asking is, if you could only have ONE kayak for the Pacific Northwest under $2000.00 (Chinook, Coho, Dungeness, Rockfish and Trout) which way would you go?
The basic question is whether to get a paddle kayak or a pedal kayak.  I recommend that you buy a pedal kayak. 

I have many years of whitewater kayaking experience, and when I started kayak fishing I got a 13' Ocean Kayak Trident, which is an excellent paddle kayak.  After fishing for several years from the Trident, I tried a friend's Outback, immediately recognized the many advantages of a pedal kayak for fishing, and bought a 13' Revolution.  Since then I have done all of my fishing from the Revolution and a 12' Pro Angler 360, and the Trident languishes in my garage.  I only use it when snorkeling and spearfishing, and to loan to friends.  When I want to fish a shallow river where you would quickly destroy a pedal kayak by hitting the drive on the bottom or on rocks, I put the plug into the Revolution's Mirage Drive hole and paddle it.  For example, I just got off a five-day 69-mile float of the lower John Day River (Clarno to Cottonwood).  I paddled my Revolution, and my sister paddled my Trident.  The Revolution has a bit of rocker and is much nimbler and more maneuverable than the Trident, which has a straight keel.  I ran both kayaks through Clarno Rapid at 12,000 cfs, and the Trident was much harder to maneuver in the rapid due to its lack of rocker.
« Last Edit: June 12, 2022, 08:26:09 AM by pmmpete »


BentRod

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Issaquah
  • Date Registered: Mar 2016
  • Posts: 135
I too highly recommend a pedal kayak, especially if you're gonna troll, but even for jigging, it's such a nice change. 

I don't think you'll go wrong with either a Salty or an Outback.  The Salty is fully capable and a bit more budget friendly.  Only drawbacks (pending what you may want to outfit it with) would be storage and where/how to mount downrigger, etc as it doesn't come stock with anything really strong enough to support such additions, so really needs some mods for that type of stuff. 

I have a Sportsman 120 PDL which does the trick, but if I had my choice for saltwater I'd go with the Salty or Outback. 

You can reference Tyler Hicks on YouTube for Salty outfitting.  Think his name on here is uplandsandpiper or something like that.

A friend of mine got the Salty just this year and has taken out in Puget Sound for salmon, halibut, and Lingcod already.

Of course the Outback has a large following, so no lack of info out there on how to outfit. 


BigFishy

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Clackamas
  • Date Registered: Nov 2020
  • Posts: 103
I've done quite a bit of research on kayaks a year ago being in similar shoes you are right now and ultimately went with new Outback. Their Compass model is very similar frame geared towards inshore fishing. It is 1K cheaper and I was tempted to get it for that reason but looking at other people that bought it, they still ended up spending almost the price of Outback by doing all of the upgrades to it. If you are ok with the way it comes from a factory, that is another good option to look at around 2.6k I believe. (The price went up from 2k last year) I am very happy with my Outback and currently outrigging it with Newport Vessels NK180 motor and building a lithium battery for it but one feature that I would love to have from the Old Town competitor is the Spotlock feature; it would be super handy in the ocean as it would "anchor" you over the reef or school of fish. Also, when you look at all of the options consider the weight of the kayak and how you will be transporting it.
2021 Hobie Outback


wetwhopper

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Pacific Beach, Wa.
  • Date Registered: Jun 2006
  • Posts: 128
Thanks for all the great advice everyone. Much appreciated. I went with the Salty bc I had money left in my budget for a trailer. 🤓


LawyerBob

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Beaverton, Oregon
  • Date Registered: Jun 2015
  • Posts: 187


BentRod

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Issaquah
  • Date Registered: Mar 2016
  • Posts: 135


 

anything