Kayak for ocean nearshore bottom fishing... Which one?

Can't help ya with wiring, but there is a TON of info on the interwebs about that (i've looked into it before)

Not sure what options you have down there, but Scappose Bay Kayaking (scappoosebaykayaking.com) carries pretty much the FULL line of Hobie craft. Its all they carry for SOTs.  It would be worth going up there for a day and demoing.  They also had a Hobie demo day with a ton of boats, tours, and the works...

17 views, and not one reply, to help a new guy out?

Wow, looks like I found the internets friendliest web forum!  

Patience my friend! As a matter of fact, you have found the Internets friendliest forum (just don't piss off Zee ) It also does not help much that you started out with the most nebulous and best "answered" question on the board though (the search box is your friend). But I'll take a crack at it anyway .

 First, pretty much every newbie is looking for waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy too much stability. The result is most buy a Big Lame or a it belongs Outback ahhhh, barge in search of a kayak that fishes like a Carolina Skiff or a Sled. ALL kayak fishing boats are unstable compared to any conventional fishing boat. That's a big statement, but show me a sled that I can turn over. Now find a kayak the you can't turn over. Get the idea?

Back to what's first: If your fishing in a kayak, you should expect to swim everytime you go out and be pleasantly surprised when you don't. With that in mind, you'll be safe and happy with your yak fishing experience.

Back to your question. All of the boats you mentioned are fine boats (no matter how bad I talked about it two paragraphs ago ) , but the slightly narrower and longer boats are faster than the shorter fatter boats. Faster does not mean you can ski behind it, it means that you get more distance per paddle stroke. That means its easier to get out to that haystack.

 The narrower boats are a bit tippyer than the wide ones but the learning curve is pretty shallow and a day or two on the water will have you paddling (pedaling) with the best of them. Does that mean they will dump you in the water as soon as a good ling pulls on your line? No, especially if you hang your legs overboard while your fishing (which is a LOT easier on the narrower boats than the wide ones) and even the Outback will dump you if you lean too far out over the water or twist around too far to get something out of the tankwell.
 Find Revo Roy and Coos Bay Yaker or the rest of the Coos Bay crew.

The Pro Angler looks pretty sweet as well, but it weighs a gigaton and unless your launching like a dory in PC, that could be a problem. Also, I don't think its self bailing (Zee?). There's a short vid of a Hobie Pro being surfed in San Diego, so you can play in big water, but that's not exactly what its designed for. But as I've said before, who cares what its designed for! If we did, all of our SOT's would be relegated to Caribbean hotel tourist lagoons. That said the Pro Angler looks like it would REALLY be a bear to paddle, but I have not paddled it.

Finally, the best first purchase for a potential yak fisher is a paddle lesson. (Jason: send my commission check to Florida ) It will shorten the learning curve tremendously and is well worth every penny even if your pedaling. I'm kidding about the commission, but a good paddle lesson (beginning ocean kayaking as opposed to a whitewater class) really is the best investment one could make starting out especially before your buy a boat. The only caveat on paddle classes is that most will not be able to give you much advice on fishing SOT choices. Except for perhaps Jason in PDX, most don't use SOT's let alone fish from them, but all of the other skills will be directly tranferable.

Thank you for the thoughtful response. I appreciate that.

You mentioned that one of the major drawbacks of the Pro Angler, is that it's relatively heavy, and that launching it might be a serious consideration. Well, even though this boat is not currently number 1 on my list, I'm not all that concerned about hauling and launching, because I will be using a trailer, and a set of those yak wheels to take it off the trailer, and get it to the water. And as you probably know, Sunset Bay is an easy launch, as far as ocean launches go. And lake launches should be even easier, I would think.

The other concern (hard to paddle) might not be too bad either. It comes with the turbo fins, and the only time I would likely be paddling, is during lauch, or to get myself into reverse. These boats look like they are very good at turning in a tight circle, because of the location of the rudder. Still, I realize that with it's weight (and width!), it's not going to be as easy to go distance, as with the Revo. Especially since I will be getting the turbo flippers if I get the Revo, or ANY of the Hobies. I also intend to get the sailing rudder, for better turning and tracking.

One consideration that I also have, is that my friend (the one who is also getting a new yak) is going to be with me most of the time when I go fishing. He is 63 years old, and not in the shape that I am, but he is still a very young 63 at least. He looks more like 55, or so. He is still fairly agile and flexible (used to be a gymnast). Pretty spry for an older guy. But no matter what boat I get, I will likely be pacing myself according to his ability to keep up with me. Right now, he is mostly interested in buying the Outfitter (Tandem model) so that his son (or others) may come with him. I think he is doing this for the added fun, but also for the added safety. But when he is solo, I imagine that he will not be moving too quickly, peddling that yak by himself.

None of it is etched in stone though, and that is one of the reasons that I have been lurking on the forum here, to sort out what he and I should be planning for. He might end up getting a Revo too. I think his son (Sammy) is going to like it so much that he will want to get his own yak. Maybe we can work it out so that we can get THREE new yaks at the same time!      

  Speed is way over rated ,IMO, unless you travel long distance or race
      All boats can wander around together with out a problem,... comfort use-ability more important
  Royg

 Speed is way over rated ,IMO, unless you travel long distance or race
      All boats can wander around together with out a problem,... comfort use-ability more important
  Royg

Ahhhh... so my original intent (to buy the outback) might just be a better choice after all, instead of the revo?  


I'm pretty much to the point of... eeny, meeny, miny, moe... lol.

Bottom line, like everyone has said , test , test test..  you REALY need to  try them all...
 This isn't a problem... We have lots kayaks, all shapes and sizes, Empire lake is close and everyone here is ready and willing to be there so you guys  can try them out.. I  don't know of an    Hobie Adventure here but have revos, outback, sport,
  Capers.  river yaks ect. Royg

What's your size & how far are you going to paddle it?

I am 6 feet, and about 200 pounds. Very muscular, with good stamina. As far as paddling goes, I don't intend to paddle any more than necessary, but I DO intend to peddle it for several miles, at times!  

At the moment, I am seriously leaning toward the Revo, mostly because (like the other guy said) I probably won't be worried so much about staying upright, after I gain a decent level of experience, and then I'll probably be sorry that I DIDN'T get the Revo. And like I said in my initial post, I could actually get a set of those baby outriggers (training wheels!) that Hobie sells. The kind that inflate, and you can adjust how high they ride too. They can ride IN the water, or just OUT of the water, and I can't imagine that they would slow ya down too much, especially if you keep them in the high position. And even in this position, you are probably not going to turn upside down once the pontoon goes into the water. To be perfectly honest, I am a good swimmer, have good balance, and very able to hoist myself up, but I still really don't have any desire to spend time in the water, even though it wouldn't be that big a deal. If it happens, it happens, but if 5 years from now I still haven't flipped my kayak, I will consider that a plus.

My suggestions would be the Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120 or 140, OK Trident 13 or 15, Native Mantaray 12. Don't know the Hobies very well. Depends on if you want to peddle or paddle I guess.