new to yaks

so in my fishing carrier ive been faced with the same challenge of fishing from the bank and i was pretty sure i wanted a pontoon boat until i stumbled on to a kayak fishing vid on youtube. and that opened up a whole new world but im very clueless to what yaks are better than others except hobbies are like the kayak Cadillac i think. but those are a little out side of my price range. i would like to stay under 800 for a yak and i dont mind used stuff. its going to be used for bass fishing and trout fishing most. so what should i be looking for in a yak. thanks for the help in advanced.

First decide what kind of fishing you want to do, then decide 2 or 3 boats that will do the job, then check the classifieds.  You'll find lots of Hobbies and Ocean Kayaks here with a good representation from Jackson and Wilderness systems.  Ask any question.

I think the Hobies offer key advantages in certain situations by letting you multi-task:

trolling, especially with 2 rods or a downrigger, the Mirage drive makes it easy to maintain desired trolling speed and have your hands free for rods or sonar or snacks.

covering lots of water- ability to pedal 3 to 4mph in a heavy kayak for extended amount of time and have your hands free for camera/phone/snack/rigging while you are changing locations...

moving and casting- good example is moving along a shoreline and casting spinners, no need to put the rod down to move and steer.  avoids going back and forth between paddle and rod. 

cheers, roger 

To hold down the price of your first kayak, I suggest that you look for a used sit-on-top fishing kayak.  After a year or so of kayak fishing, seeing other kayaks, and talking with other kayak fishers, you'll have a better idea of what kind of kayak you want, and how you want to outfit it.  Then you can splurge and buy your first dream boat.

Do you want to trout fish on lakes, or do you want to fish rivers?  If you want to trout fish on rivers, how difficult of rivers (Class I, Class I, Class III)?  If you want to be able to fish on rivers which require some maneuvering, look for a kayak which doesn't have a rudder, which has some rocker, and which turns easily. 

Even if you currently only intend to fish on small lakes where you don't expect to encounter very big waves, I suggest that you consider buying a kayak which can handle open ocean conditions, because after kayak fishing for a while, you'll probably be tempted to try ocean fishing.

You can get a lot of great ideas about how to outfit a kayak for fishing from this forum.  But don't be surprised if after a year or so, you've figured out better ways to outfit your kayak.  Where outfitting is concerned, you can consider your first kayak a practice kayak.

I agree with Rogerdodger that Hobie Mirage Drive kayaks have major advantages for kayak fishing in lakes and oceans.  Much less so for river fishing, because of the risk of hitting your fins on the bottom.  If you're lucky, you may be able to find a used Mirage Drive kayak which you can afford.  If you buy a paddle kayak, I predict that after a year or so of watching kayak fishermen chug by in Mirage Drive kayaks, fishing with both hands, you'll be ready to hold up a gas station to get enough money to buy a Hobie.

I've settled on Tridents and found them to be perfect for what I do fishing here in the Valley as well as lakes and bays. They are solid boats. You should be able to find one used for under $800. I bought one new online for $880 this year delivered. They are also great for sneaking up shallow creeks and negotiating log jams if you are fishing some of our little rivers around here like for bass and trout. Just get a milk crate and a rod holder and you're fishing. Good luck.

I really like the hobbies with the mirage drive. But would that get Hung up in the weedy bass ponds because most of them are very thick with weeds. I suppose I could pull some cash out of my truck fund. What about wilderness systems tarpon 100. And then at cabelas and bass pros they have sit on tops for 550 but I forgot what they were called. I don't plan on going into rivers or the ocean for a while but I definatly have a interestes for the ocean.

I really like the hobbies with the mirage drive. But would that get Hung up in the weedy bass ponds because most of them are very thick with weeds. I suppose I could pull some cash out of my truck fund. What about wilderness systems tarpon 100. And then at cabelas and bass pros they have sit on tops for 550 but I forgot what they were called. I don't plan on going into rivers or the ocean for a while but I definatly have a interestes for the ocean.

my only experience with weeds is in Siltcoos lake and outlet river, lots of spinner fishing near shore for coho.  catching and dragging weeds has never really been an issue, the drive fins and rudder will occasionally catch some but they usually don't cause any problems and it is relatively easy to clear them by just pulling up the drive and then locking it back down in place.  for shallows, pushing either pedal forward brings the fins up tight against the hull so they don't hit anything.  to maneuver in shallows, I keep a single ended paddle with T handle that I can grab in a second, this lets me move around in shallows and/or get back to deeper water and get back to pedaling.   cheers, roger

I have tried to fish heavily choked lakes with the mirage dive and have utterly failed. Thick weeds catch the drive and rudder and stop you immediately. The only option is to pull the drive and rudder and paddle your way out. The Revo works well in this situation. It is easier to paddle than the Hobie Outback.

im going to stay away from the mirage drive for this yak because 3/4 of the bass ponds ill use it on are extremely weedy. im going to buy a kayak and get used to fishing from one first to make sure i like it before i drop a grand or two on a kayak. ive never used a kayak before  i should have mentioned this earlier. is there any where in oregon i can try some out. has any one ever used a ascend fs12t ive been heavily considering this one due to price and the wilderness system tarpon 100. 

The Wilderness System Tarpon 100 is 10 feet long.  The Ascend FS12t is 12'8" long.  In general, longer kayaks are faster.  You may find that the Tarpon 100 and any other short kayak will be slow and require more effort to paddle than the Ascend FS12t and any other long kayak.  A short kayak will not necessarily be more nimble than a long kayak; how easy a kayak is to turn, and how well the kayak tracks without constant correction, depends on the design of the hull.  However, if you would have trouble storing a 13 foot long kayak, or carrying it on top of your vehicle, you may need to choose a shorter kayak.

Since you don't have any experience with kayaking, I suggest that you go to a kayak shop and ask a sales person to show you their sit-on-top kayaks and compare and contrast the designs of the kayaks.  This will educate you about the designs and features of different kayaks.

Get something like a used Trident 13. It's going to fit your price range and will also be a solid boat. I smacked a lot of bass from mine in small ponds and it is plenty suitable for trolling trout.

Don't know if this kayak has been sold, but it seems to fit your immediate requirements   http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=14576.0

i would be all over that but im not getting my yak till april or so. ive decided to go with something cheaper for this one i will use it for a year or so than get somthing nicer when i get more knowledge about them. im leaning towards the tarpon 100 due to size and it leaves me some extra cash for a fish finder. i like the ascend to but ive still got lots of time to research what i want. is there any kayak shops here in oregon that have the wilderness system boats that i can sit on and possibly try out.

West marine sells a Pamlico fishing kayak new for 499 I think, and about once a year they nock off 100 off the price, shipping is reasonable if you don't live close to a store where you can ship to store for free.  I believe it is just an older Ocean Kayak mold that they bought.  I have one, and it is sufficient for me

I have a 10' Tarpon and it works fine, but I don't have any experience with others, so I can't give you a valid comparison.  REI handles the tarpons and have them displayed in the summer, but they may not right now.  They are often excluded from the member's 20% sales, but I was able to catch one on sale.  At REI you eventually get 10% back so that makes it a little cheaper.  I got the 10' simply so I could haul it in the back of my short bed pick-up.