Jackson fishing kayak

I love kayaking, so I decided to buy the Jackson fishing kayak. What do you think about this kayak, can you help me with some advices?

I've had the Cuda and the Coosa but prefer the Coosa. I use it on the salt and rivers about 100 days a year. Yes, I'm retired. That said, I've owned about 20 kayaks over the last 45 years since I built my first one.
It is a paddle and not a pedal. Seems like many of the people on the board are Hobie people. Maybe one of these days.

I am new to kayaks, as in "never been in one before" but jumped on a Craigslist deal for a 2013 Cuda 14 with a bunch of accessories included for a deal! Anyway, size matters: what I have learned since I brought it home just 2 weeks ago; I have to agree that this is a HEAVY and rather unwieldy kayak, so I suggest you factor into your decision:

• your car/truck size: how high will you need to lift the yak in order to transport to the water; you may need to purchase some racks (Yakima and Thule are on sale now!)
• you will probably need a little dolly/cart to help with car topping and for getting the yak from the car to the water
• how/where will you store it? I bought an overly complicated ceiling lift harness to fit in my garage

In short, take into account lifting, ground travel and storage.

HTH

I haul a Big Tuna on the roof of an Excursion.  Not too bad to lift as long as I plan ahead with the slope of the truck.  For a cart, I'm sold on the C-Tug.

Mostly it lives on the cart in the garage, but I do have a wall rack, which works best with an extra pair of hands.

As for storage I bought these $29 kayak lifts for my garage and store 4 kayaks. Since I'm small and old I also use the Yakima boatloader on my roof rack. Only have to lift half the weight at one time.

I haul a Big Tuna on the roof of an Excursion.  Not too bad to lift as long as I plan ahead with the slope of the truck.  For a cart, I'm sold on the C-Tug.

Mostly it lives on the cart in the garage, but I do have a wall rack, which works best with an extra pair of hands.

... I should add I carry a small step ladder to help sliding the kayak on / off the roof rack and to reach the tie downs.

[/quote]... I should add I carry a small step ladder to help sliding the kayak on / off the roof rack and to reach the tie downs.
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Now, why didn't I think of that!! Great idea!!

Evelyn, you asked a similar question earlier and I suggested then that you tell us what you hope or plan to do with your kayak before you ask us for advice.

A kayaks rarely fits all purposes.  I have a kayak that is ideal on small rivers and lakes of any size, but it is not ideal for big rivers or saltwater - and I'm beginning the search for a second kayak for big rivers and ocean fishing.

So you understand why I don't consider my kayak a big water kayak, it is a 10-foot Wilderness Experience Tarpon - which is exactly what I wanted for coastal streams - and it has plenty of room and storage space for fishing smaller bodies of water, but not enough space for all of the extra safety gear (plus me and my fishing tackle) that I need to be on any busy body of water or out on the Columbia or out in the ocean.
 
You have probably ten thousand years of combined kayaking experience at your fingertips here with the NWKA members, but you have to ask a question we can answer.

How do you want to use the kayak?  Ocean?  Big rivers and tributaries?  Mountain lakes?  Small coastal rivers?  Upper stretches of rivers?  Ponds?  Touring/fishing?

Will you be using improved sites to launch and land?  Will you need to haul it to the water?

What is it you need to know?

I haul a Big Tuna on the roof of an Excursion.  Not too bad to lift as long as I plan ahead with the slope of the truck.  For a cart, I'm sold on the C-Tug.

Mostly it lives on the cart in the garage, but I do have a wall rack, which works best with an extra pair of hands.

I haul the same boat on a 2008 Subaru Outback and use a modified Malone sea wing ( slats bolted to the saddle arms) but I'm a big guy.