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Recommendations for a beginner fishing kayak


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Hello everyone,

 

I am looking for kayak and brand recommendations for a beginner. I have only kayaked less then 5 times. I will be using the kayak mostly for fluke and bass and will be fishing in the back of Shark River Inlet NJ, possibly in the actual inlet but nowhere near the last bridge. I am also looking for recommendations on how to transport the kayak as I do not have a truck. A friend of mine had recommended a Hobie, however it is currently out of my price range. If this is something I enjoy doing I would love to eventually upgrade to a much better kayak. However I want to make sure I feel comfortable, and get use out of it first. I was briefly looking into the Ascend 12T * as I really like the style. I was also looking into the Lifetime Tamarack, however I only saw a 10ft. Can these type of kayaks be upgraded? Added pedals etc. Due to covid, I can not go to West Marine or any other shops to look around and ask questions. Again, I am very new to kayak fishing and any tips and recommendations are very helpful. Below is some information needed, thank you for taking the time to help me out!

 

Price Range: $500-$1,000 (Might be flexible depending on recommendation)

Height: 5' 11"

Weight: 205

Travel Load: Light Tackle, maybe a small cooler

Location: Inlets and Back Bays

Edited by TimS
Please don’t post commercial links here - thanks :-)
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If you look at the many similar threads in this forum you'll see that you need to spend as much on accessories as the boat, and that if you can find one, buying a used beginner boat is a MUCH better deal. Plus if and when you want a different boat, there's minimal depreciation.

 

Easy to find and excellent beginner boats are the Tarpon 120 and it's clones and close copies like the Pescador 12, Eagle Talon, and West Marine Pompano 12. These are fast and stable "wet ass" boats not the big, slow "dry ass" lawn chair boats.

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Do you need a pedal drive? Here are some entry-level pedal drive options. I would also check craigslist for used models. I got my first Hobie Revo for $1000. It was an older model but it's still going strong. 


 

There's also a buy / sell / trade section of this site that you can keep your eye on. 

https://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/forum/90-kayak-and-boat-stuff/

Edited by TimS
Eric, sorry, commercial links had to be removed

  

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44 mins ago, gellfex said:

If you look at the many similar threads in this forum you'll see that you need to spend as much on accessories as the boat, and that if you can find one, buying a used beginner boat is a MUCH better deal. Plus if and when you want a different boat, there's minimal depreciation.

 

Easy to find and excellent beginner boats are the Tarpon 120 and it's clones and close copies like the Pescador 12, Eagle Talon, and West Marine Pompano 12. These are fast and stable "wet ass" boats not the big, slow "dry ass" lawn chair boats.

Thank you for the recommendations! 

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1 hour ago, EricM said:

Do you need a pedal drive? Here are some entry-level pedal drive options. I would also check craigslist for used models. I got my first Hobie Revo for $1000. It was an older model but it's still going strong. 

 

There's also a buy / sell / trade section of this site that you can keep your eye on. 

https://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/forum/90-kayak-and-boat-stuff/

Hi Eric,

 

Thanks for helping me. I don't necessarily need a pedal drive. I would rather one, however most pedal drives I see are all above $1,500. I will be sure to check out craigslist as well. Thank you again!

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With your budget you could get yourself a nice used paddle yak off of CL. Purchase a paddle and PFD, and find some type of crossbars for your cars roof.

Tis better to remain silent and thought the fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.

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With that budget, like others have said, look for used.  You might be able to find a roof rack for next to nothing and get lucky on a packaged deal for a good paddle yak. I paddled a Tarpon 120 for years. It was a great yak. Should be some used ones around. 

 

For new yaks the Moken 12.5 v2 is a nice yak. It goes for $799, and includes a cheap paddle. I saw the Moken 14 for the same price. The wheel in the keel might be useful for you and save you from having to purchase a cart right away. 

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I could be persuaded to part with awesome starter kayak, a 2013 Ocean Kayak 4.3 Trident Ultra, 14 footer, with ocean kayak tank well cooler, Ocean Kayak New Zealand seat and seat back, custom center hatch cover , in hull rod storage tube, anchor trolley, tons of rocker and a sweet knife sharp bow with flare. One problem is I actually love this kayak, literally saved me from myself in a storm on the Chesapeake! 

You are a newbie asking questions that I have never heard before which is great, no you can not upgrade a paddle kayak to a pedal kayak, lot of new guys think they want stability so it has to be wide and kayak companies are building them wider every year, but when it comes down to it usually the thinner longer boats paddle better then short wide boats and have better secondary stability which kicks in as you get to the limits of flipping over, while wider boats have better intial stability they typically don't have the secondary stabilty and can flip quickly. Also most kayaks are coming with "Lawn Chair" seats now which are much more comfortable but usually raise the kayak center of gravity, your first thing to know is there is no perfect kayak they all have trade offs. I have  three kayaks now, two paddle OK boats 54lbs. and 75lbs, and a Liquid Logic Manta ray pedal drive 69 lbs. and the pedal drive is my fishing boat short and wide at 33" and goes great all day.  

P5170185_1.jpg

Just wanna fish!
DMS#1157    NCBBA#11293     NJBBA#4597

Yellow Eyed Devil from the beginning!

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Might want to check out the vibe shearwater - looks like a pretty nice yak that you can buy as a paddle model to start out with and then upgrade to pedal drive later on. It's slightly above your price range but I think you would find some benefit of not having to sell to  upgrade.

 

It comes with foot braces which control your rudder as a base model and once upgraded to pedal you can use a knob/rudder control as well. If I didn't buy kayaks last year I'd be all over these (they're just being shipped now). A couple youtube video reviews are out there if you search. 

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5 hours ago, TC Keating said:

Hello everyone,

 

I am looking for kayak and brand recommendations for a beginner. I have only kayaked less then 5 times. I will be using the kayak mostly for fluke and bass and will be fishing in the back of Shark River Inlet NJ, possibly in the actual inlet but nowhere near the last bridge. I am also looking for recommendations on how to transport the kayak as I do not have a truck. A friend of mine had recommended a Hobie, however it is currently out of my price range. If this is something I enjoy doing I would love to eventually upgrade to a much better kayak. However I want to make sure I feel comfortable, and get use out of it first. I was briefly looking into the Ascend 12T * as I really like the style. I was also looking into the Lifetime Tamarack, however I only saw a 10ft. Can these type of kayaks be upgraded? Added pedals etc. Due to covid, I can not go to West Marine or any other shops to look around and ask questions. Again, I am very new to kayak fishing and any tips and recommendations are very helpful. Below is some information needed, thank you for taking the time to help me out!

 

Price Range: $500-$1,000 (Might be flexible depending on recommendation)

Height: 5' 11"

Weight: 205

Travel Load: Light Tackle, maybe a small cooler

Location: Inlets and Back Bays

After several hours of research and watching reviews. I am still leaning towards an Ascend 12T. Has anyone ever used one or have any knowledge with them? I have looked at every kayak that has been recommended so far. Unfortunately, most of them are a little bit out of my price range. This kayak seems that it will be a good fit with what I am looking for. I am still open to all recommendations as I will not be buying it for at least few days. All newbie kayak fishing tips are appreciated as well! Thanks

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Just don't forget in your extending yourself for the boat that you have hundreds more to spend on decent quality PFD, paddle, GPS/FF, and garments so you can fish outside of the warmest months. 

 

I did this checklist for myself and posted it a while back. It can give you an idea of what we have and carry.

 

5c1eb7196811e_kayaklist2.PNG.b7b4f50a0c20c1a7b60812678ed14238.PNG

Edited by gellfex
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13 mins ago, gellfex said:

Just don't forget in your extending yourself for the boat that you have hundreds more to spend on decent quality PFD, paddle, GPS/FF, and garments so you can fish outside of the warmest months. 

 

I did this checklist for myself and posted it a while back. It can give you an idea of what we have and carry.

 

5c1eb7196811e_kayaklist2.PNG.b7b4f50a0c20c1a7b60812678ed14238.PNG

That's a good checklist.  I'm gonna print that one!

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24 mins ago, gellfex said:

Just don't forget in your extending yourself for the boat that you have hundreds more to spend on decent quality PFD, paddle, GPS/FF, and garments so you can fish outside of the warmest months. 

 

I did this checklist for myself and posted it a while back. It can give you an idea of what we have and carry.

 

5c1eb7196811e_kayaklist2.PNG.b7b4f50a0c20c1a7b60812678ed14238.PNG

Thank you sir! Very helpful checklist

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