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I want to get a kayak for fishing freshwater (gentle rivers, lakes). I am looking to buy used if possible, but could you guys give me some options to look at? I know nothing about kayaks so I don't know exactly what I am looking for. I guess I want sometihng with a little room for gear, a place to put a rod while I am paddling (and a place to put the paddle while I am fishing). I'm in MA, so if you know of any good stores around, that would also be great. Also, I need a roof rack for my car- any help there for used racks would help out (or if you know a way to transport a kayak without a rack please let me know how- I have a 4 door sedan). Thanks.

 

-shutterfish

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IMHO the WS Pungo is the best sit inside yak around for your needs.I added 2 Old town bungee cord paddle holders to mine and can use them to hold rods as well.If you prefer a SOT the WS Tarpon is a great boat too.That said,you might want to wait for the new models to come out.Jon will be back from the show soon with some info on them.Good luck!

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shutterfish -

 

Search the archives here; your question comes up repeatedly. Have a look at http://*******/. Lots of info and resources there, including a kayak/canoe fishing bulletin board. The bulletin boards are here: http://www.*******/message/. Search the archives there as well.

 

I'll second Bernie on the Pungo. A lot of Massachusetts guys seem to like them. I'm one. Stable, tracks well, and you can use it as a layout boat for duck hunting right into ice season. Good place to shop is Billington Sea Kayak down in Plymouth. Directions and info here: http://www.billingtonseakayak.com/. They've got a big old lake in their backyard, so you can try out and compare a bunch of boats at once. Wilderness House on Comm. Ave. in Boston is another place that has some knowledgeable people about both boats and fishing. Good luck.

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I wouldn't have thought that a Tarpon would be a great choice for fishing on rivers. It would be too big and unwieldy for any close quarters fishing. Great if you fish the big water though, from what I hear.

The Pungo sounds good for the fresh water stuff in particular, or in the SOT arena I guess a Cobra Explorer or Navigator would be a good start point.

 

You can buy foam blocks that allow you to mount a Yak directly onto the roof of a car. My advice though, would be to get a roof rack of some kind and then use the foam blocks on that. Note: if you can get a rack that has a "flat" cross section on the cross bars rather than round, this makes loading the yak onto the foam blocks easier as they don't rotate round the bars. I have the foam blocks on my factory Jeep rack and they work great, just as good as the expensive Yakima setup with kayak rollers and mounts, that I bought for our other vehicle (a Honda Odyssey).

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shutter: all the above advice, Orb, others, very good. I personally have two very large kayaks (>100 lbs each). The weight is taxing. I am looking at the Heritage Featherlite Angler to keep in the city (I live in NYC and keep things in 24 hour accessible storage). It is only 37 lbs, has two recessed rod holders, 30" wide, 9'5" long. It is a SIK with a very large cockpit.

 

I think this would be an excellent intro boat for you to look at, especially for freshwater, river areas.

 

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Dune%20Path.jpg

SOL # 925

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You could visit Jon's web site and read the article "Choosing a Kayak" this will help yopu inthe decision making process. He also have other articles that can prove very useful to you. In adition, there is a book called "KAYAK FISHING: The Revolution" by Ken Daubert that has been an extremely helpful tool for me.

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AMAZIN!

 

How so many fellows can make a recommendation when you have no idea what the guy weighs, or how tall he is, or how wide his butt is ...

 

There are SO many variables, I have said this a thousand times, and I will say it again. YOU are the best judge of what you are comfortable in.

 

I had a #@$%* recommended to me, but when I sat in it at the launch, it just was unstable, It is the only kayak I rolled in! Yet it comes highly recommended by people with thousands of hours in a kayak!

 

It really doesn't matter what boat I finally selected, because I selected it for ME.

 

Paddle ANYTHING you are considering. Buy the one you are comfortable in. Only YOU know when you are comfortable!

 

Try 'em all, don't be in a hurry to throw your money away. Make an informed decision.

 

Flounder

 

[This message has been edited by Flounder (edited 09-12-2002).]

><))))))))))@>
*AMMODYTE*

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I agree with Flounder .Take evry thing with a grain of salt .Whats right for might not be right for someone else.

However unless you are fishing rivers less than 16 feet wide I will fish my Tarpon anywhere the smaller yaks can.

JoeV

 

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Always Wishin I Was Yak Fishin

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Hey Flounder,

Nice to hear from you again. I agree, and not just comfortable in it, but getting in and out of it, carrying it, loading it etc. Your first first boat may not be the boat you want a year from now but don't worry about it, trade up if that happens.

"I have ... put a lump of ice into an equal quantity of water ...  if a little sea salt be added to the water we shall produce a fluid sensibly colder than the ice was in the beginning, which has appeared a curious and puzzling thing to those unacquainted with the general fact."- Joseph Black

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Hey Flounder relax, people were just suggesting yaks that might make the shortlist for further consideration, as was requested in the original post. Of course everyone is different, but some basic advice on a few potential yaks to add to a shortlist is very useful information to have, certainly beats the hell out of going to the nearest yak store and expecting unbiased expert advice on suitability of different models for yak fishing.

 

Joe, I know that you can fish a 16' long yak such as a Tarpon etc on narrow freshwater rivers and ponds, but surely that still doesn't make it the best choice unless you also plan to use it on the ocean a lot of the time too?

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Orb I know that just thought I would let em know that the short yak small water thing is a farse IMHO.Unless you have to carry in(smaller = lighter).I still would rather paddle my Tarpon than a smaller slower yak.Thats allsmile.gif

 

As far as fishing yaks there are a bunch that many of use and thats a good place to start.I think JonS calls them the ones with fishing pedigrees.Those are proven and with the new fishing yaks coming out there will be alot more choices.

Everybody has a favorite.I plan on paddling more yaks this year and if I find one that suits my needs better than my Tarpon I will buy it.

JoeV

 

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Always Wishin I Was Yak Fishin

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Flounder Most yaks are gonna fit the average guy.There are always exceptions to the rule.Nothing wrong with the guys letting him know what they paddle.I am 6 1 250 pds and every yak I tried fit me.Some yaks fit some people better than others thats all.

JoeV

 

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Always Wishin I Was Yak Fishin

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Guys I get lots of emails and most of them are "I want to get a such and such kayak, I hear its the best" or something like that. That's the reason I wrote "Choosing a Kayak". One cannot make a reccomendation to someone with info about the persons physicallity, where they plan on using the kayak and how they're going to transport it.

 

The more info that can be provided the better the advice is going to be. Some kayaks have a wide range of use and people who can use them and some don't.

 

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baja55@optonline.net

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