Inflatable Yaks?

My Necky is a nice boat for most stuff, but there have been a few times when I was wishing I had a SoT too. What I do have is a Aire Strike 2, pretty high quality inflatable yak. A cooler or milk crate fits pretty good behind the seat, and I have plans to rig a hard platform for rod holders, fish finder etc.
Bear in mind this is the alternate boat, so don't fear for my safety/sanity in bad conditions. I just thought it might be nice to rig up my other boat for fishing.

Anybody know anybody who uses a IK to fish? Or should I Craigslist it and get a SoT?

Since you already have the Strike, I'd probably just keep it. Never fished out of one myself, but have talked to a couple people using inflatables, and they seem to work just fine. Advanced Elements (another IK manufacturer) even includes rod holders with a few of their models. Only issue I can think of offhand would be stabbing a hook into one of your tubes, but that shouldn't be too hard to avoid.

Brian

I was thinking about the hole hook in the tube issue, too. I think the outer cover on the tubes should be thick enough to keep any of the smaller stuff out. I was thinking of trying to i.d. high wear spots to reinforce also. I'm definitely not going to be using a gaff!

I have a Sevylor SVX200 and it should be renamed sux. The boat however, is a phenomenal fishing platform. Extraordinarily stable, paddles pretty well, holds all the stuff you could possibly want to fish with, and best of all for me was its portablility (its used to be one free checked bag on the plane). The only problem is it does not hold air. Its never been a hook (or knife) problem though. The skin of the boat is very tough. Mine is a factory problem with the tips of the bladder. I've replaced them 3 or 4 times and they still leak.    When it holds air its one of the best fishing boats I own. Your boat should be fine. In fact I should have bought the Strike2 as they have polypropylene bladders (don't they?) and are generally better built boats. I would not be concerned about babying it either. Its a white water boat and should be plenty strong for any conditions that are fishable.

I've considered getting an inflatable, mostly for rivers.  Came close to pulling the trigger on a river pontoon boat this weekend, but I was too late.

-Allen

Hobie makes an awesome inflatable, the Mirage i12s. This thing has been engineered for fishing (x-tra tough material) and even has a hatch w/ storage. If you ever have a chance to check it out in person, do it! Hobiecats NorthWest at Magnusson Park has them in their showroom. www.hobiecatsnorthwest.com Next time I go to Japan I will be taking this bad boy w/ me. Well anywhere in the world that is... 

Z

I've fished out of Aire Lynx and Tomcats, and NRS Bandits... Tomcat was the better fishing platform (more stable, more room).  If I were doing a lot of fishing on a river like the John Day, I'd buy and Aire in a heartbeat.  Most of the SOT angling kayaks are made with fairly thin single layer plastic... great for flat water, but not really river rock friendly.

For flatwater though, I'd keep my eye open for a used SOT.  I'm not sure about the Hobies, but I know the Aire will get blown around like a leaf in the wind, and does not track very well over long distance.  The things that make for agile whitewater kayaks make them preform poorly on flatwater.

I'm not sure about the Hobies, but I know the Aire will get blown around like a leaf in the wind, and does not track very well over long distance.  The things that make for agile whitewater kayaks make them preform poorly on flatwater.

Yeah that's the major drawback of any inflatable yak. They're gonna be total sails since they sit so high in the water. I'm gonna demo a Hobie i12s and see how they do. I'm guessing since you have the mirage drive and rudder in the water you'd be less likely to be blown around so much. We'll see.

Z

The Hobie looks like it should be the best of the darker dark side. Although the strakes on my sux make it track pretty well, a rudder would be really useful for positioning on anchor and drifting, and hands-free pedaling is just really really nice.

True enough about the wind/tracking issues. But that's what I've got the SinK for. I think I'm going to rig the Aire this weekend and take it out on the lake to test. I'm headed down the Kenai Penninsula next week, so I'll test it on the salt too. I'll let you guys know how it went when I get back.
Or, I might be posting a boat on Craigslist. We don't know...