Official Kayaking/Canoeing Thread

http://www.thebassbarn.com/

 

http://www.stripersonline.com/f/164/kayaking-and-kayak-fishing-forum

 

This is how I transport my yak in the truck. It's a 12 foot yak and I employ the bed extender on my DCSB to get more boat in the bed. (The yak length appears distorted due to the wide angle lens). It's a really easy way to get the kayak on and off the vehicle. Before, I used J-racks on my PT Cruiser, but that was more difficult to mount and strap down. This just slides in and over the extender. I attach two ratchet straps - one through the nose handle and one through carabiners in the seat area to the bed D-rings - and snug them down. I don't have to get in the bed of the truck.

I can easily get two in side-by side. I've had three in there and it's only complicated by the amount of strapping you have to do to secure all the yaks plus someone has to actually get in the bed to secure it all. I think I could get 4 in there with a little ingenuity.

All the fishing equipment goes in the bed as well. When I unmount the yak, I can lock any unused equipment in the bed by flipping the extender inside, rolling out the Roll-X cover and locking the Pop-N-Lock.

Downsides:
- I lose the use of the tailgate camera - unless I want to check on my license plate or the road directly beneath it.
- (Roll-X issue only) When I have multiple yaks in the bed, I have to be very careful not to bend the supports near the tailgate. Unfortunately, they can't be removed or relocated.











Can I say I love my truck? Don't know why I waited so long to get one.

 

*** SOLD ***

See FS thread here
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/bu...ean-kayak-frenzy-sot-excellent-condition.html

 

Went right from the lake to a 1/2 acre farm pond. Thought the taco carrying a kayak through chest-high grass was a funny sight.

 

Was that consensual?

 

They are having a baby - that's why BGR has not been on here lately.

 

I was wondering where the one BGR has been.

 

He is ashamed of his shitty Rangers and ran to hide. Same thing he does every season when they flop at the end.

 

Looking into a Hobie Pro Angler 12. Anyone with any experience?
Been doing some research and love the options on this kayak. Friend has an OldTown predator 13 which is also really nice but I'd like the option of hands free movement while fishing.

 

There are two schools of thought, love or hate from my experience. On the plus side they do allow hands free fishing, they can move damn fast, and won't tire you out on a long paddle like a normal yak could. But they are damn heavy, and have mechanical parts that can break. You have to be careful not to smash the drive system on any rocks, stumps, etc...

I personally like a regular paddle powered yak for the simplicity and relatively light weight. I don't have to worry about not being able to drag my kayak across a few hundred feet of salt flats if I take it to the ocean and come back when it's low tide. It's easy for me to move around by myself, I don't need to bring along some cart to get my kayak across the beach, to where ever I need it. (most of this applies to fishing the salt) My primary use is in the lake behind my house, and most of the areas I fish are all stumpy. I wouldn't want to take a hobie in there.

I guess what I'm getting at is it depends on your intended use. For me a paddle powered is perfect. If you plan to use it in more open areas/ in the salt with long paddles (peddles?) to where you need to go then the hobie is a great choice.

 

This ^^^

I fish creeks, rivers and lakes with my Tarpon 120. Been doing it for 10 years. With some experience, you will naturally learn subtle one-handed movements with the paddle to correct even in stealth situations. With my foot-controlled rudder, I can really maneuver if I want to. The only time I could see the pedals really paying off would be if you were actively trolling for fish and wanted both hands on the rod rather than having it in the rod holder.

I completely agree with the weight vs. freedom tradeoff that he mentions.
I would add a cost vs. benefit tradeoff. Those Hobies are twice or three times the cost. And they are more susceptible to damage/replacement than a traditional boat. I'd personally rather have a fleet of 3 yaks that I can share with family/friends than 1 yak for myself. But that's just my opinion.

 

Good point about the cost. I have 2 yaks, a Wilderness Pungo 120 and a Wilderness Tsunami 140, and combined they were probably less than a hobie. Not trying to steer you away from one, there are a lot of guys who swear by them, especially for the salt. For my uses (70% freshwater on stumpy lakes, 20% Cape Cod Bay/ 10% camping) A regualr paddle yak is perfect.

 

Good point about the cost. I have 2 yaks, a Wilderness Pungo 120 and a Wilderness Tsunami 140, and combined they were probably less than a hobie. Not trying to steer you away from one, there are a lot of guys who swear by them, especially for the salt. For my uses (70% freshwater on stumpy lakes, 20% Cape Cod Bay/ 10% camping) A regualr paddle yak is perfect.

 

Just curious, what kind of MPG loss do you get with the yaks on the truck (and without the trailer)? Thinking about this rack for my DCSB.

I carted my 2 yaks on top of my PT Cruiser with J-racks and the loss of MPG was dramatic - like minus 20%!

Thanks,
Randy

 

How did I just now find this thread? 12' perception and 12.5' perception

 

After buying a 13ft tandem last fall and seeing how much it hung out over the tailgate I grabbed one of these bed extenders from Harbor Freight for like $70-25% (yay coupons) I drilled an additional hole to lower the cross bar.


I only use to pull tight straps to hold it forward in the bed and on the road I go towards the water!

A few pics from my kayaking around Southern Maryland this spring/summer

I found a decoy in the reeds


Had a small bottle neck... (i'm not on my kayak in this picture, I'm far younger and better looking haha)


Caught a dog fish. I tried getting him to sit on the kayak, but he would rather swim and try to bite ALL of the water.


My first sunset kayak, hoping to do a full moon trip next time it's possible.