Just starting out

So I know this has been posted a thousand times probably, but im just getting started in kayak fishing. Ive been interested in a while and plan on primarily ocean fishing. Ive got about 1500 that I can throw out to find a nice kayak. Ive been looking at the Jackson Cuda 14. Anyone have any advice or think theres a better kayak out there for the money. Id love to get everything set up for 1500 but I doubt that will be able to happen.

If you are wanting to save a little money look at floor model /demo kayaks.scuff marks and a few minor dings arnt a problem. god knows we ding and scuff them up anyways.you can get a great buy this way sometimes$ 500-600 off or more.

Actually you should be able to stay within budget and get close to what you need or want.

Find the local kayak vendor nearest you and demo the ones that fit your need statemt first before buying.

A nice online alternative retailer to get what ytou decide on might be WWW.kayak city.com. my reason for suggesting these guys is that they have package deals on cosmetic blemished boats for reasonable.

Sorry having some typing issues with this droid. Some words may be misspelled.

If you are buying new, $1500 is definitely doable, but you can easily spend that much more on outfitting, gear and accessories. There are members deals on here regularly too that can get you a great bang for the buck that is already outfitted. For ocean fishing, the Cuda is an excellent choice. For a paddling ocean fishing yak, it rates right up there with the Trident/Prowler/Ultra's in my opinion. One thing to keep in mind when preparing for going out in the ocean is to reserve some of your budget for safety gear- ie. drysuit, booties, PFD, VHF radio, GPS, etc. Most all kayak retailers will make you a hell of a discount on all of your other purchases the day when you buy a new boat, so be ready to take advantage of that.

Demo, borrow, try, demo again.... If I were you,  I would come to an NWKA meet up or event and meet, talk, see, other member set-ups. I can't really speak for everybody, but I'll bet most members would let you try out there kayak for a bit before it goes back on the kayak rack to go home. Most kayak retailers host "demo days" once in a while too, and some even join us at our events! (Talk to Langston <Langcod> from Kayak Shed here.)

Good luck!

Not to ding the retail market but I'll throw in an opinion of combing the used listings to see if you can find what you're looking for (or similar). If you can find one that isn't thrashed you can save quite a bit of $$ and still have a good first platform.

That said, nothing feels better than a fresh boat

If you are planning on mostly ocean fishing, please budget a dry suit (or at least a good wetsuit) and a VHF.  like others mentioned, a used, demo, or blemished kayak will save you a lot of change.  With that level of funding I'd look for a used kayak.

Craigslist is your friend.  Welcome to the sport.

Not to ding the retail market but I'll throw in an opinion of combing the used listings to see if you can find what you're looking for (or similar). If you can find one that isn't thrashed you can save quite a bit of $$ and still have a good first platform.

I have yet to buy a brand new kayak.  My first one (which I still have) had been through at least 2 previous owners, probably more.  My tandem that I just picked up back in November (from Capt. Redbeard) is also one that is now on it's third (at least) owner.  Same goes for paddles.  I won a new one at our annual tournament in 2012, but the others I bought used, or came with a used kayak.  I highly recommend following this suggestion that you look at used for your first boat.  That way if you get out there a few times and realize that yak fishing isn't really your thing, or that you love yak fishing but the style of boat is not what you really want, it's fairly easy to re-sell the boat and get most/all of your money back, maybe even turn a tiny profit.  If you buy new you'll lose 20+% of the purchase price on re-sale even if you only take it out a couple times.

Not to ding the retail market but I'll throw in an opinion of combing the used listings to see if you can find what you're looking for (or similar). If you can find one that isn't thrashed you can save quite a bit of $$ and still have a good first platform.

I have yet to buy a brand new kayak.  My first one (which I still have) had been through at least 2 previous owners, probably more.  My tandem that I just picked up back in November (from Capt. Redbeard) is also one that is now on it's third (at least) owner.  Same goes for paddles.  I won a new one at our annual tournament in 2012, but the others I bought used, or came with a used kayak.  I highly recommend following this suggestion that you look at used for your first boat.  That way if you get out there a few times and realize that yak fishing isn't really your thing, or that you love yak fishing but the style of boat is not what you really want, it's fairly easy to re-sell the boat and get most/all of your money back, maybe even turn a tiny profit.  If you buy new you'll lose 20+% of the purchase price on re-sale even if you only take it out a couple times.

+1

Wobbler

Another plus of used boats is if you're like me and you try hard to not ding up a boat unnecessarily, then it's kind of a luxury not caring about the already scratched/dinged boat. I drag my Tarpon all over the place in ways that I would cringe if I did with my Oasis.

Too bad you live down in Grants Pass, I'd otherwise lend you my Trident. Don't pass up blemished boats too. I got a blemished kayak for a considerable reduction in price. Some of these blemishes have to do with small dimples on the inside of the boat (nothing external) for example, d maybe there are even color blemishes (not sure on this one though).

Thank you all for your input, its much appreciated. I've been looking around for a used for a couple months now but just haven't found anything. I still have a couple weeks or so before I plan on buying so ill keep combing through.

I bought my outback for under that, and still would have had enough left over for a paddling suit. Life jackets are not very expensive, and i personally would hold off on the radio until you figure out who or if you're going with someone.