new, so new I don't have one yet

Howdy, new from the coast of SW Washington.
 Been fishing from an old Coleman flat back canoe for years and it's to the point where it's too hard to load on top of the truck. My son (almost 10) and I love to fish in the SW Washington area. I'm pondering getting a two person, either fishing kayak or possibly a recreational one? I need advise on that. My son is ready to strike out on his own he says, as long as I'm nearby so getting two is a possibility. I see that some of these rigs are into the $1000.00 range while others are in the $400 and up. We do not plan on doing any white water rapids but are on fairly big lakes and they can get a bit choppy. The other thing is wind, the canoe got pushed around pretty good. These things do the same or are they easier to control? So many questions, and no doubt more to come. Thanks for any and all replies.

welcome to NWKA. you have come to the right place for answera to all of your questions. So many options but i would recommend a sit on top kayak for sure. then from there it's budget, what kind a water you plan to fish and general preference(paddle or pedal).

 A large tandem might be kinda difficult for a young kid to handle alone and since hes about at the point to strike out on his own, two kayaks is probably the ticket. just try to demo as many boats as you can to get a feel for what works best for you, and then get a Hobie!(sorry, couldn't help myself)

welcome to the site.

+1 on demo as many boats as you can.
Keep in mind the price of the boat is only part of the cost. If you want to go out year round and fish cold water you will need some type of immersion gear.

What I like about he Hobie is you get ever thing  but your PFD and immersion gear in the price of the kayak. With most other kayaks you will need to buy a paddle,  pay extra for a rudder and might have to buy the seat.

See you on the water.

  Hi tima,
  The search function of this site will help you get answers to most all of your questions.There is a wonderful group of people on here that want to see you be successful and will go out of their way to help.And that includes myself.What part of sw Washington are you in ? I live a few miles out of Raymond so we probably share the same waters.Salmon are right around the corner.If I can help you and your son hook-up I'd be happy to help you out.Many of our coastal rivers are nice and gentle paddling.And they get some good runs of salmon with liberal limits.
  CBY is spot on about getting 2 kayaks and even more so about sit on tops.Certainly you can fish with a sit inside,I did it for many years.But kayaks have come a long way for being more fisherman friendly in recent years.And you are correct--you can spend a lot of money quickly getting started.But you don't have to...spend some time looking at craigslist,the classified section here,and even demo yaks at dealers.Try before you buy.
  Good luck with your search and have fun with it.

Welcome tima

What I like about he Hobie is you get ever thing  but your PFD and immersion gear in the price of the kayak. With most other kayaks you will need to buy a paddle,  pay extra for a rudder and might have to buy the seat.

Hobie paddles are junk and the stock seats at least in the outback/revo/adventure, are pretty uncomfortable especially after sitting for many hours with extra padding or other mods of somesort. Then you add in a cart, turbo fins etc.

Most rotomolded SOT kayaks also don't cost $1700+ new either.

Hobies are awesome no doubt but their cost is indeed an issue, even if they throw in a crappy paddle

  Hi tima,
  "The search function of this site will help you get answers to most all of your questions.There is a wonderful group of people on here that want to see you be successful and will go out of their way to help.And that includes myself.What part of sw Washington are you in ? I live a few miles out of Raymond so we probably share the same waters.Salmon are right around the corner.If I can help you and your son hook-up I'd be happy to help you out.Many of our coastal rivers are nice and gentle paddling.And they get some good runs of salmon with liberal limits."[/i][/i][/i]


Hey Mark, for sure I'd love to meet up. Never really fished for salmon in the rivers down here. Live in Grayland on the ocean and done plenty of ocean fishing (on a boat) but not river. I'm think'n I'll have to go to Olympia to see a bunch of kayaks and Hobie is out of the question on price alone. I'm used to the canoe and the free board it has, the sit down type look kinda um, sceery?? Just not used to sitting on the water like that. As long as they're stable I suppose I'll get used to it. on to the search with all my questions, thanks!

   tima,
   I currently have 3 kayaks--a Hobie outback,a Native Watercraft Ultimate 12,and a homemade SINK.If you'd like to try any of them out just let me know and we can figure out a time and place.
   And bring your son so he can check em out too.

Hobie paddles are junk and the stock seats at least in the outback/revo/adventure, are pretty uncomfortable especially after sitting for many hours

Ha! It's funny how two people can have a completely different opinion on the same things. One of the things that sold me on the Hobie, after using one of Jammer's, was how comfortable the stock seat was.  I have a bone spur on my tailbone and every seat I have tried besides the Hobie (including a very expensive aftermarket seat) was only comfortable for about 2 hours.  I can last much longer, on the Hobie seat.  I did over 5 hours a couple weeks ago bass fishing when I forgot my after-market pad.  With the additional pad, I have done over 8 hours trolling.  The straps on the backrest do tend to slip, so I had to put a knot in them.  Of course it may be the sitting position in the Hobie compared to my other kayaks that is helping me.

I like the paddle, too. Both my Hobies are 2011s so maybe you got a different paddle than I, Micah.   I heard the older ones, before Bending Branches made them for Hobie, were not very good.

Thanks Mark, I pm'd ya already with more questions. Love to meet up and talk about this, it just sounds like a lot of $$ right now. I have to too many hobbies I think. Anyone wanna buy a Coleman canoe??

Hobie paddles are junk and the stock seats at least in the outback/revo/adventure, are pretty uncomfortable especially after sitting for many hours

Ha! It's funny how two people can have a completely different opinion on the same things. One of the things that sold me on the Hobie, after using one of Jammer's, was how comfortable the stock seat was.  I have a bone spur on my tailbone and every seat I have tried besides the Hobie (including a very expensive aftermarket seat) was only comfortable for about 2 hours.  I can last much longer, on the Hobie seat.  I did over 5 hours a couple weeks ago bass fishing when I forgot my after-market pad.  With the additional pad, I have done over 8 hours trolling.  The straps on the backrest do tend to slip, so I had to put a knot in them.  Of course it may be the sitting position in the Hobie compared to my other kayaks that is helping me.

I like the paddle, too. Both my Hobies are 2011s so maybe you got a different paddle than I, Micah.   I heard the older ones, before Bending Branches made them for Hobie, were not very good.

I know a few people who share my opinion on the seats. I wish it was that comfortable for me!

Must have been a 2010 paddle of mine that broke. I could have sworn someone else on here has broken their hobie paddle recently. Then again I spend a lot of time in the surf and the rough stuff so I am really hard on my gear.

My real point that got lost in my kvetching was that the price difference between a conventional rotomolded SOT and a Hobie is not made up for by the inclusion of a paddle or a seat or rudder especially when you factor in accessories that just about everyone buys for their hobie ie turbo fins, sailing rudder etc

My stock hobie paddle also broke surf launching at Hobuck last month. Just snapped off clean right at the blade as i was digging in to go over a wave. As for the seat, my only complaint was the plugs pulling out but i just put a little duct tape on them and it holds fine. Love my Revo.

The stock hobie paddles are absolute garbage.  I spent some time using them this weekend while the kids were doing cannonballs from their new kayaks and the entire thing just flexes and I could feel it straining with every pull.  Of course, I'm comparing it to a Werner Corryvrekin, so that might not be fair, but I swear I could almost feel it cracking under the pressure.

I don't paddle my Outback so I can't speak to the Hobie paddle, but I love the Hobie seat. Having lower back problems means I HAVE to love the seat in my kayak. I've even fished 8 hrs straight and have had no issues sitting in the Hobie seat. It really does boil down to personal preference.


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I guess all our butts are different.  I like the Hobie stock seats and didn't see much difference between them and the GTS Expedition.  I've done 8 hours on the stock seat.  On the other hand the included paddles are junk and I don't even know where mine is.  I'd NEVER give it to someone who was going to use it as sole means of propulsion. 

More to the point of the OP, welcome to the site.  If you are patient, craigslist will provide opportunities for kayak procurement.  I think things start to pick up in the fall on craigslist.  I've got to agree with the two singles rather than the tandem idea.  Perhaps you could survive this season with the canoe and acquire kayaks and gear slowly over the fall and winter.  No matter what kayaks you get, the boat, plus the necessary safety gear is significant coinage.

Back to the the original posting...

Looks like a few decent deals on CL:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/boa/3147390615.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/spo/3157683645.html
http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/spo/3155998402.html

There are definitely deals to be found