Alaskan fisherman. To pedal or paddle that is the question

I was raised in Kodiak now living in Anchorage.

Looking to make a purchase on a kayak soon.

I'm looking at the vibe sea ghost 130 for $890

Or the pescador pilot pedal kayak for $1,799..

The Hobie is just too damn expensive for me.

I'd be interested in hearing from people who have owned either or both.

If you drop down in Recent Topics, there's an Outback with gear for close to your range and in your back yard.

I paddle a Trident 13.  Not starting any discussion pros/cons, or, stealing your thread, but there are clear advantages to catching fish if you peddle.  For me personally, kayak fishing involves paddling and doing the dance, challenging as it can be. There have been times I would like to be peddling, but not after landing a fish paddling. 
The budget is one thing, and it seems like you can mostly work around that with good used yaks near your range, so for me, it's a matter of personal choice.  Unless I was in a real rush I personally would never buy a new Hobie.  I'd keep an eye out for "like new" used one after someone realized how big a chew they bit off on cold water.  That way if you opt out, you get your money back. 

I too paddle a Trident 13 and have landed every thing from perch to king salmon. I have a downrigger installed, anchor, fish finder and everything else I can think of. It is possible to catch and land any fish from a paddle kayak that can be caught from a pedal kayak.
That being said I wish I had a Hobie. I don't think I would catch any more fish but it sure would be nice to have my hands free, especially setting up the downrigger into the wind. Or jigging.
Hindsight is 20/20.

I have 32 years of whitewater kayaking experience.  Six or seven years ago I bought an Ocean Kayak Trident and started using it for kayak fishing and snorkeling and speargunning for pike.  I rigged it with a fish finder and a downrigger, and had a lot of fun with it.

Then I tried out a friend's Hobie Outback, and was instantly sold on the advantages of a pedal kayak for fishing.  Within a week I bought a Hobie Revolution, and have been completely pleased with it.  The advantage of a pedal kayak are that you can use both hands to fish, eat lunch, put on suntan lotion, etc., while you pedal around.  For jigging, you can point your nose into the current and/or wind and pedal gently to hold yourself stationary over the bottom.  If you aren't an experienced paddler, you may find that you can put in long days and get less tired in a pedal kayak.

I encourage you to try out some kayaks before you buy one.  And I encourage you to try out various pedal kayaks, because of their inherent advantages for fishing.  Hobie makes excellent kayaks, and over the years they have corrected a lot of the glitches which arise in any manufactured product.  However, unlike the kayaks produced by some other manufacturers, they don't come out of the factory outfitted for fishing.  You have to add gear tracks and other fishing-related accessories.

There are a lot of used kayaks advertised on Craigslist, the Hobie Kayak Fishing Facebook Page, and similar internet resources.  Many of these kayaks are almost brand new, and often come with a dizzying array of accessories.  Apparently a lot of people think that kayak fishing would be fun, run out and sink a bunch of money in a kayak and other gear, and then decide that they don't like it.  Because there are a lot of used kayaks on the market, you may be able to negotiate a pretty good price for some excellent and lightly used gear.  For you, the trick will be to find a good kayak in Alaska.

I started my fishing here in Alaska using a 9ft mini-x (paddle).  Completely the 'wrong" kayak for saltwater kings and halibut.  yet oddly enough I caught plenty of them.  Really, any stable kayak that gets you on the water will catch fish for you.

having said that, I LOVE my Hobie Outbacks.  Anywhere you are going to fish in current, like Cook Inlet or River situation, you just can't beat the hands free advantage.  I don't know what the other pedal kayaks are like but people seem to catch plenty of fish with those too.

A lot of the fishing I do here including halibut is trolling.  For that a pedal drive is going to be easier to manage than a paddle kayak.  A lot though depends on your budget.  The major problem with Hobie is that they are a) Initially expensive b) they really seem to hold their value well and not many come on the market here in Alaska.  That may change now though with more and more Hobie being sold every year.  I would say 4 or 5 years ago, I would be amazed if I saw more than 3 or 4 kayak anglers per YEAR.  This year, at our recent derby we had nearly 40 people show up.